Policy & Procedures

Student Organization Annual Registration 

• All student organizations and residential life houses must complete an annual re-registration on Engage. Registrations will open during the summer prior to the academic term to ensure active status and ongoing operation. 

• The registration process requires student organizations to update their roster, including primary contact, leadership positions and new/general members. 

• Student organizations who fail to register within the timeframe set by the Student Involvement Office will not be in good standing and will be frozen on Engage, forfeiting all good standing benefits and privileges.  

• Student organizations who fail to register within the timeframe and are interested in continuing their organization should refer to and follow the student organization status policy to regain good standing. 

Student Organization Status 

• A student organization status may change due to failure to meet good standing expectations and requirements. This will influence their ability to access campus resources. The following statuses are listed below: 

  • Active:  A student organization fulfills all good standing requirements and re-registers the organization each academic year. 

  • Frozen:  A student organization fails to meet good standing policy, receives 3 SIO policy violations, and/or fails to re-register the organization for the upcoming academic year. A notification will be sent to the primary contact, advisor, and executive board indicating the organization is not in good standing. In order to become active again, a member of the group and advisor must meet with a Student Involvement Office staff to discuss an action plan moving forward. This must occur within the academic year the notification email was sent.

    • The student organization has 1 year to reclaim good standing by attending an action planning meeting. 

    • If the student organization has 2 years of inactive status, it will result in the loss of any existing funds in their account balance.

    • If a group of students would like to restart an inactive organization without going through the new club process, it must be less than two academic years (4 semesters) since the group was changed to inactive. The group must meet with the Student Involvement Office staff to discuss an action plan moving forward. If a group of students restarts an inactive student organization less than 2 years (4 semesters) since it was made inactive, they can access any fundraising money in the student organization’s University account.   

    • If the organization was changed to inactive for more than two academic years (4 semesters), the students must apply as a new student organization through the new organization process. Refer to funding policy for details about WCSA and  fundraising money. 

      Inactive:  A student organization fails to attend the action plan meeting within the academic year and fails to re-register for the upcoming academic year.  A notification will be sent to the primary contact, advisor, and executive board explaining the following: 

Student Organization Funding 

• Student organizations in good standing can fundraise money and deposit it into their University student organization account. If the money is not spent, it remains in the account and rolls over each semester and academic year. 

• Frozen and inactive groups cannot access their WCSA or fundraising balances until they regain active status and good standing with the Student Involvement Office. Their balances will remain available for them once they regain active status, but WCSA funding will be allocated back in accordance with the funding procedures.  

• The University will close the accounts of any student organizations who have maintained an inactive status for 4 consecutive academic semesters. Any remaining fundraising balance will be forfeited. Prior to forfeiture, the Student Involvement staff will send an email to notify the following:

  • Engage Primary contact

  • Advisor 

  • WCSA Comptroller 

  • Student Involvement Office staff 

  • VP of Student Engagement and Success 

  • Director of Office of Multicultural Student Affairs (if cultural group) 

  • University Chaplain (if religious group) 

• Once the account is closed and money is forfeited, the student organization’s University account is closed and no longer accessible to groups of students who may reignite an inactive student organization. 

Supporting Student Organizational Operations

• Student organizations are responsible for knowing and following all outlined policies and procedures from the Student Involvement Office and other Ohio Wesleyan University departments. These policies and procedures are designed to help student organizations thrive as they navigate their internal and external operations.   

• Student organizations will be held to a three (3) violation policy each semester for violating policies and procedures outlined by the SIO and OWU departments. The violation notifications and consequences are as follows: 

  • Violation 1: Reminder delivered via email to President and student organization advisor 

  • Violation 2: Warning delivered via email to President, Executive Board and advisor 

  • Violation 3: Student organization loses good standing and their status changes to frozen on Engage. Student organizations not in good standing forfeit the following benefits: 

    • Access to Club Storage 

    • Purchasing with the Student Involvement Office 

    • Hosting on and off campus events 

    • Requesting WCSA initiative, supplemental or semesterly funding 

    • Accessing their WCSA and fundraising balances 

• Student organizations who become frozen as a result of three (3) or more violations in an academic semester must attend a required meeting with Student Involvement staff in order to regain active status and good standing. 

• Example violations include, but are not limited to: 

  • P-Card Misuse 

  • Late return

  • Missing itemized receipt without reasonable explanation 

  • Saving a P-Card on an online platform for subscriptions or services 

  • Violation of P-Card check out agreement 

  • Event Mismanagement 

  • Hosting unregistered events 

  • Advertising for unregistered events 

  • Unapproved activity happening at approved events (ie. having alcohol at alcohol-free events, requesting fire pits outside of the event submission process, etc.)  

  • Misuse of storage spaces, including requesting Public Safety to open storage spaces after regular office hours and inappropriate use of storage space  

  • Advertising and Recreational Supply Misuse

  • Late return

  • Items returned in a damaged condition 

  • Items lost 

• The Student Involvement Office reserves the right to apply policy for violations not listed above on a case by case basis. 

Student Sponsored Event Policy 

• Events hosted by recognized student clubs, organizations and/or other formal student University programs (ie: Small Living Units, House of Black Culture, Honors House, etc.) must be registered through the Student Involvement Office via Engage. The hosts of the events are responsible for knowing the process to register an event and the policies that are applicable to that event. 

• Student sponsored events without alcohol must be registered on Engage no less than five (5) business days prior to the start of the event. Student sponsored events with alcohol must be registered on Engage no less than seven (7) business days prior to the start of the event.

• Student events must be registered on Engage in order for students to advertise on campus and access supplies, services and P-Cards through the Student Involvement Office.  

Student Organization Purchasing and Purchasing Card (P-Card) Checkout 

• Student organizations in good standing have the ability to schedule an appointment with the Student Involvement Office Student Purchasing Coordinator (SIO SPC) to make online purchases and check out a  University Purchasing card (P-Card). In order to this, a student organization must be in good standing and the event/program/travel must be submitted on Engage. An appointment must be made to make any purchases.

• Student organizations can check out one (1) credit card for up to three (3) business days at a time. If a student organization is traveling for multiple days with more than five (5)people, a group can check out two (2) P-cards. This is only possible if the SIO SPC is emailed at least seven (7)  business days in advance of the purchasing appointment. 

• If two (2) or more student organizations are collaborating for an event, only one (1) P-card will be issued to purchase items. 

Student Organizations and use of SIO advertising and recreational supplies

• Student organizations in good standing have the ability to reserve and check out advertising and recreational supplies from the Student Involvement Office. Students may email the SIO at involveu@owu.edu or visit the SIO circle desk on the first floor of Hamilton Williams Campus Center to reserve or check out these supplies. All supplies are available on a first come, first served basis and the Student Involvement Office cannot guarantee the availability of supplies.  

• Student organizations may use these supplies for no more than 3 business days and the supplies must remain in Hamilton Williams or on the JAYwalk (weather permitting).

• Student organizations must return supplies in the same condition they were checked out in. If supplies are determined lost or damaged beyond repair, the student organization account will be charged the full cost to replace the item(s).

Student Organization Advisors 

• All student organizations must have a current, OWU full-time employee as their faculty or staff advisor. If a student organization no longer has an advisor, they are responsible for informing the Student Involvement Office staff and fulfilling the position within 30 academic business days. 

• There are many ways to search for a faculty/staff advisor including the OWU Daily, targeted outreach, or an email to faculty/staff who have shown interest in serving as a student organization advisor. This list can be shared by contacting the Student Involvement Office staff. 

Employee and Student Organization Engagement in Demonstrations or Protests

OWU is committed to protecting the ability of its students, faculty, administrators, staff, and recognized student organizations to exercise their personal expressive rights. As a liberal arts institution, OWU encourages engagement in expressions of free speech and active participation in our democracy. If, however, statements of expression could be viewed as defamatory toward private individuals, businesses, or organizations, could be viewed as statements of the university, and/or could otherwise be reasonably determined to be attributed to an employee’s role at the university or a recognized student organization, then that could cause significant legal risks for OWU. The Oberlin case shows that OWU must be aware of and take steps to manage legal risks when disputes become the subject of campus discussion and activism. OWU cannot take action that either republishes a defamatory statement or that aids and abets in the publication of a libelous statement. OWU hereby provides the following policy statements:

1. Faculty, administrators, or staff must clarify that they are acting for themselves and not for OWU when participating in demonstrations or protests or other public commentary outside of their official roles.
2. No faculty, administrators, or staff will be asked or instructed to attend demonstrations or protests as part of their job responsibilities. Exceptions to this policy include Public Safety personnel or Dean of Students designees who are there for the specific purposes of maintaining safety, ensuring policy compliance, and protecting property. Faculty and staff taking an active role (i.e. transporting students, organizing involvement, providing aid or comfort, using university resources, etc.) in demonstrations or protests related to causes or issues of public discourse, but which are not directed specifically at private individuals or businesses/organizations, may also be exempt from this policy. Faculty and staff should consult with the Vice President for Student Engagement and Success before taking an active role in such demonstrations or protests when acting as an employee of the university.
3. No faculty, administrators, or staff should use, or allow the use of, university-related social media accounts to share, “like,” provide public commentary on, or otherwise endorse any social media postings in which defamatory statements are made against private individuals, businesses, or organizations.  Faculty, administrators, or staff who use personal social media accounts to do so should exercise care to ensure that their support for such postings is provided in their capacity as a private individual and not as an employee of the university.
4. To the extent any faculty, administrators, or staff attend a protest described in (1) above to support those who are protesting, those in attendance must make clear that they are personally supporting the protestors, but they are not acting on behalf of OWU.
5. No OWU resources (such as, but not limited to, paper or the use of copying machines) or OWU funds may be used for the demonstration or protest or other public commentary described in (1) above.
6. Though protestors and those engaging in public commentary described in (1) above may have discussions and gatherings on campus and OWU may provide a designated protest zone, OWU cannot designate/set aside any comfort stations on campus for protestors or provide food and drink to support protestors.
7. Any proposed OWU response to causes espoused by students, faculty, administrators, or staff must be vetted by the VP for Student Engagement and Success to assure that any factual assertions about third parties, particularly those that may be deemed to be “private persons,” are not defamatory. OWU legal counsel may be asked to provide an opinion on such statements at the university’s discretion.
8. Any proposed resolutions issued by an OWU-recognized student organization (including WCSA) making statements about a third party that could be viewed as defamatory must be reviewed by the Vice President for Student Engagement and Success. Before any such resolution by a recognized student organization is posted in an OWU facility, emailed to members of the campus community, posted to a social media platform or website, or otherwise published or distributed to a wider audience, the message must be reviewed and approved by the Vice President for Student Engagement and Success. OWU may require revocation of defamatory statements made by any recognized university organizations and may prohibit the posting or emailing to the campus community of statements considered to be defamatory. OWU legal counsel may be asked to provide an opinion on such statements at the university’s discretion.
9. Any material found posted in OWU campus facilities that makes a statement about a third party that could be viewed as defamatory must be reported to the Vice President for Student Engagement and Success so that OWU can review the material and if needed, remove it from the facility.
10. Emails, text messages, voicemails, social media postings, and other documents, including those found on personally-owned devices, may be subject to discovery in litigation. Therefore, faculty, administrators, and staff are urged to be careful with their communications as they relate to demonstrations or protests or other public commentary, particularly when using personal devices for such communications.