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Start an Organization

UNO is home to numerous student organizations, each with its own distinct mission, culture, and purposes. All of these organizations provide important experiences and skills to their members and enhance the student experience and campus culture. Below are the steps for starting a new student organization.

Step One: Learn the Rules

The students and advisor should become familiar with the Student Organization Handbook and the new guidance in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. These resources serve as guides for student organizations on campus and can be found in the online Student Organization Resource Library.

Step Two: Collect Your People

After you are familiar with the policies and resources for student organizations, the next step is to collect the following people for your roster. These are the minimums that your organization needs at all times:

  1. One student to be President or other Lead Executive Officer.
  2. One additional student to be the Treasurer or Lead Financial Officer.
  3. Two additional students to be members.
  4. One UNO faculty or staff member (no graduate students) to serve as an advisor for the organization.

Remember, only current students can be members.

Step Three: Do the Training

All organization Presidents and Treasurers that you collected in the previous step must complete the Student Organization Essentials online training and score 100% on the final quiz. It is a good idea to have your advisor complete this training as well.

Step Four: Complete Advisor Agreement

Each advisor your organization will have, normally only one, will need to complete the Advisor Agreement which can be found in the Resource Library.

Step Five: Construct Your Governing Documents

All organizations are required to have and follow at least one form of governing document such as a set of bylaws. This provides your organization basic structure and rules. A template set of bylaws can be found in the resource library. If you are re-starting an organization it is a often a good idea to start over with the current template.

Step Six: Get Governing Documents Approved

Once your governing documents are constructed, they must be approved by The Office of Student Life and receive the appropriate approval stamp. You can submit your documents through the Governing Document Approval Form in the resource library.

Step Seven: Complete Sponsorship Agreement

If your organization is going to be associated with a UNO office, department, or other kind of university unit, that means your organization is sponsored by that unit. That sponsorship relationship is documented with the Student Organization Sponsorship Agreement which can be found in the resource library. You will need to complete this agreement before moving on to the next step.

This step can be skipped if your organization is not going to be sponsored.

Step Eight: Apply for Recognition

After you have collected the above information, please submit the Organization Registration Form to present your organization's information for verification. This form is our way of ensuring you meet all the requirements. Do not apply until all above steps are complete or your application may be denied.

Step Nine: Decision

Once the registration form is submitted, our staff will review it and the person who submitted it will receive an automated email confirming the registration form was approved or or denied with comments for revisions.

Once it is approved your organization will be put up on Presence and are at that time fully recognized. Additionally, the members specified in the form will receive invitation emails to join your organization's roster. Please know that applications are processed as staff are available and may take more time during busy times of the year. You can check the status of your submission via your profile on Presence (watch how).