Student Organization Guidebook

There are two different classifications for Maryville College student organizations:

Chartered Organizations and Interest Groups.

Each has its own purpose and separate application process. The list below outlines general benefits available to both types of organizations with the exception of item 9. Item 9 is a significant opportunity and represents the main distinction between the two classifications, thus requiring more extensive paperwork and responsibility on the part of the applicant(s). Otherwise, both organization types receive similar benefits from the College. A chart has been included to further demonstrate the two classifications. Please contact the Director of SILD for further clarification on these issues.

1. Use of the Student Activities Suite and its supplies (Bartlett Hall 308)
2. Being listed in the Student Handbook and on the MC website
3. Participation at college events (e.g. Opportunities of a Lifetime Fair or Blister in the Sun)
4. Ability to reserve and use campus facilities for organizational activities
5. Ability to conduct fundraisers on campus
6. Ability to sponsor and facilitate campus events
7. Opportunity to petition the MC Student Government Association for funding via bill
8. Opportunity to represent themselves as official organizations of Maryville College
9. Chartered Organizations are able to submit and receive a budget for the academic year.

 

Understanding Chartered Organizations vs. Interest Groups:

As in Article VII (revised)	Interest Groups	Chartered Organizations
Do they operate all year?	No	Yes
May they be inactive for more than 3 semesters?	No	No
Can they…
Petition SGA for funds via bill?	Yes	Yes
Submit and receive a budget?	No	Yes
Use the MC name off campus?	Yes	Yes
Reserve space on campus?	Yes	Yes
Fundraise?	Yes	Yes
Do they have to…
Attend Presidents’ Roundtable Meetings?	No	Yes
Submit a summary at the end?	Yes	Yes
Hold a campus wide or service event?	No	Yes

Eligibility:

• Only enrolled Maryville College students may apply for RSO recognition.
• First year students may apply after their first semester at Maryville College.

Process:

1. Meet with the Director of Student Involvement and Leadership Development (SILD) and receive application packet.
2. Find an advisor, complete all forms, and turn in to the Director of SILD- Bartlett 226
3. Director of SILD checks to make sure everything is completed and notifies SGA that a new organization is complete for next steps.
4. Meet with SGA appointee to review prerequisites and paperwork.
5. Attend SGA to present application after hosting two interest meetings; SGA senate will vote.
6. Student Life Committee reviews applications for final approval.

Notes:

• All student organizations must have a Maryville College faculty or staff member serving as an advisor.
• Students submitting packets do not need to complete all the spaces on the signature approval form. A complete application will only have the first two lines completed. All other spaces will be completed during the approval process progression
• The Interested Students page does not need to be completely full, but there should be a fair amount of student interest in the new organization. We encourage this to be thought of as a recruitment tool for outreach if approved.
• Organizations seeking approval must host at least two interest meetings prior to presentation of application to SGA. To reserve space for interest meetings, please work with the Director of SILD to find an on-campus location for hosting the interest meetings.
• Groups can work with the Director of SILD to post in the TODAY@MC about the interest meeting.Effective 8.1.2020
• Until an organization is final approved by the Student Life Committee (chaired by DoS/VPSA), the organization may not claim the Maryville College title or utilize the benefits of club status; including creating social media accounts to promote.

WHAT IS A CONSTITUTION?

A constitution is a document that describes the organization and how it operates. It should contain explanations about each of the following topics:

• Name of Organization
• The name of the organization should be reflective of its purpose; an acronym is not necessary
• Purpose of Organization
• A statement of purpose should be concise and focused
• Membership Requirements
• Who can run for office of your club? Do they need some sort of prior experience?
• Officers and the Duties of Officers
• Create a hierarchy or team that suits the club and assign specific duties to each officer; any positio that does not provide specific duties is unnecessary and should be omitted
• Meetings of Organization
• Your organization is required to meet during a semester in order to be considered “active.” You should be meeting enough to make your organization worthwhile.
• Method of Amendment
• Understand that things change and anticipate that need here in your constitution.

What are Bylaws?

These are the permanent body of legislative rules by which an organization operates. There is seldom any difference between the constitution bylaws. Most organizations combine the two.

In reviewing constitutions and bylaws, there are several mistakes groups often make in writing a constitution. Although these are not intentional errors, with a little time and attention you can write a constitution that will prevent future problems within your organization. The following is a list of things that your group needs to decide in order to prevent problems in the future:

1. Setting a quorum. A quorum is the minimum number of members who have to be present at a meeting in order for business to be conducted legally. It is protection against the possibility that a small number of individuals within an organization might get together and transact business in an unrepresentative way. There is no magic number used to set a quorum for all groups. A quorum for most clubs or social organizations usually consists of either the average attendance at meetings or the largest number ofEffective 8.1.2020 members who can be depended upon to come to regular meetings. The quorum should be stated in the bylaws for the protection of the group as a whole. Care should be taken not to set a quorum that is too high. Generally a number that is 50% or more of the membership works well.
2. Defining duties of officers. The duties of officers are self-explanatory in many cases: the president presides; the treasurer keeps the accounts; the secretary takes notes and handles correspondence. However, other offices can be defined to suit the needs of the group. The office of vice president is one that offers much flexibility. And yet, few groups take advantage of this. Why should the vice president’s duty be to stand in for the president in an emergency? Why not assign the vice president a major responsibility for an important program or other need. The vice president could be in charge of membership, programs, or publicity. And your organization could have more than one vice president, or secretary, etc. Think about your group’s needs and programs and delegate responsibility to other officers. Otherwise, you know who usually gets stuck doing all the work.
3. Electing officers. There is nothing quite so discouraging as holding an election and having no one interested in running for office. It is also a good way to discourage new members from getting involved if they see no one else volunteering to do anything. The best way to handle this situation is with some advance planning. Select a nominating committee to recruit a slate of officers. This will ensure that you will have at least one willing candidate for each office. Nominations can also be taken from the floor if you want to make it a “horse race.” However, a hotly contested race can also be deadly for a group. The supporters of the losing candidate can harbor ill feelings about the group for quite some time.
4. Officer transition. Officers should be elected in the spring semester for the following fall. A spring election will allow time for a very important orientation to take place – officer transition. By holding elections in the spring, the former officers will still be available to train the new officers. Do not pick the last week of school for elections. Allow several weeks before the end of the semester. Elections could take place earlier and the actual officer installation could take place later in the semester. If your group is not on such a schedule, you should actively consider the benefits of changing to a spring election.
5. Removal of officers. Although you might think, “It can never happen to my organization,” it can. Officers were elected last semester and have yet to call a meeting, OR officers have misspent the group’s funds, OR officers have not attended a semester’s worth of meetings, etc. Whatever the case, a group needs to have a way to remove incompetent officers from office and to elect new ones when necessary. This is not a provision to be taken lightly, or ignored.
6. Structure of the group. Corporate America has begun to change its leadership structure to a “Flatter Progression.” Would your group operate more efficiently with a hierarchical, traditional structure of a president, vice president, etc? Would a flatter leadership structure such as a steering committee allow for more decision-making involvement from the membership? The great part of this decision is that you have OPTIONS! Take some time and explore different leadership structures.

 

Download sample constitution. Always type your constitution and omit unused sections of the sample.

By early September:

• Submit an updated Student Organization Profile.
• Turn in signed Advisor Guidelines.

As expected by SGA and Student Affairs Office:

• Update officers list (any time they change) by submitting a new Student Organization Profile.
• Submit SGA Budget packet in the Spring
• Host at least one of the following: campus wide event or service activity on a weekend.
• Attend monthly Presidents’ Roundtable meetings. Failure to attend President Roundtable meeting will result in a 5% budget reduction for each absence. This will be reflected in the following year’s budget.
• Please note that any club representative can attend the PRT meeting and it will be representatives/ org responsibility for knowledge of shared information.

Out of Status
Failure to submit Student Organization Profile and Advisor Guidelines will result in the organization being “Out of Status” (OOS) and the organization’s SGA account will be frozen until paperwork is completed.

Organizations will be removed from OOS at the end of the month in which paperwork is submitted.
Example: ABC org submits forms on Oct 5. The org is back in status on Nov. 1st.

Inactive
After one academic year of non-action, organizations are considered inactive.
Non-action includes at least two of the following:

• OOS
• No meetings
• No budget requests to SGA
• No fulfillment of campus wide/ service

Reinstated
If an organization would like to be reinstated and removed from Inactive status, they may apply to the Director of Student Involvement and Leadership Development (SILD) with a completed Student Organization Profile, a current list of interested students (must include underclassmen to assure continuation of the organization), and an Advisor Guideline form.

The Director of SILD may approve or deny the reinstatement.

If the Director of SILD denies the reinstatement, the organization may appeal to the Student Government Association (SGA)

Unchartered
If a student organization is On Hiatus for 2 academic years, the organization is automatically unchartered. If students would like that organization to return, they must submit paperwork as a new organization and go through the same approval process.

In order to maintain funding from SGA, campus organizations must submit the Advisor Expectations form with the names and signatures of the group’s leader and advisor. If at any time during the semester the advisor or officers change, the Director of Student Involvement and Leadership Development must be notified.

The advisor should:

• Stay informed about the activities of the group by maintaining contact with a designated officer.
• Ensure that the organization’s actions do not contradict Maryville College policy.
• Attend activities as indicated in the Student Organization Event Guideline sheet.
• Assist and maintain financial information. Complete all necessary financial documents (i.e. purchase order requests, budget reallocations, etc.).
• Reserve spaces for meetings and events.
• Assist organizations with meeting important deadlines (e.g. Leadership Awards Ceremony submissions, contact information updates, etc.).
• Develop and enforce safety and equipment plans with members for activities, meetings, and events.

The following are other expectations that should be discussed between the advisor and the organization. The advisor is encouraged to:

• Attend general meetings.
• Attend all officer meetings.
• Take an active part in the orderly transition of responsibilities between old and new officers.
• Anticipate problems and mediate interpersonal conflicts that arise.

If your organization has a page on Facebook, MC Staff must be included as an administrator for the page. This can be very beneficial to your organization because many pages go dormant if administrator privileges are not transferred to new leadership. Register your social media.

Other things to think about in regards to social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.):

Learn about social media!
Which social media platform is right for you. Determine who in your organization will administer your social media presence.

Have a plan!
Before you get started in social media, think about it from a marketing standpoint. Ask yourself:

• Who is my audience? Each audience has different interests and responds to different messages and different communications approaches.
• What do I want to accomplish with this audience? Keep in mind that the nature of social media is two-way communication.
• How do I want my audience to respond?
• Document plan for transitions in leadership.

After deciding to have a social media presence for College-related audiences or purposes, alert the Office of Communications. Office of Communications staff members will ask to be made administrators of your site with full password access and the ability to edit, delete and terminate an account.

• Use “Maryville College” in your page name.
• Select an iconic image to help people visually identify your program, department or division.
• Suggested MC Branding.
• Cross-promote your social media community and continually promote your sites in other publicity efforts. List your social community on brochures, posters, and other printed information.
• Connect with other social media pages. Repost and retweet when you think it is advantageous to your audience and the audiences you are following.
• Follow all campus and College System computing policies. Your use of social media should comply with the College’s Network and Computer Use Policy.
• Follow all campus and College policies regarding privacy, personnel, records and conduct. Personal conduct in the social networking arena should be in keeping with the College’s distinguished past and reputation for excellence. As such, do not post confidential or proprietary information about Maryville College, its students, prospective students, faculty, staff, alumni, business partners, or research partners.

On-Campus Events and Meetings:

Possible Injury/Risk Events – Faculty or Staff member should be present
Examples: Dance Party in Isaac’s on a Saturday night when the café is closed, a concert open to the public

Low-risk events – Faculty or Staff member not required to be present
Example: German Club watching movie in Lawson, events not open to the public

Off-Campus Events and Meetings:

Possible Injury/Risk Events – Faculty or Staff member should be present
Example: Wakeboarding on the lake with boats, large dance at rented facility, Frisbee tournament

Low-risk events – Faculty or Staff member not required to be present
Example: walk to Saturday Farmer’s Market.

*All off campus events require MC Self Transportation form if transportation is not provided. Agreement can be found in the appendix section of the guidebook.

Overnight Travel (out of Maryville/Alcoa/Knoxville area):

Faculty or Staff member MUST be present especially when the trip is funded through college resources (finances, equipment, etc.). Travel documents (such as health information forms) MUST be collected before departure

Accident or Injury at Meeting or Event

Should an incident occur during a student organization event or meeting, a Campus Accident Investigation Report should be completed by the organization’s advisor.

Financial Matters

• All spending should have a pre-approved Purchase Order (PO), and advisors must request PO’s through the college’s Business Portal System.
• When making purchases, you may be asked to have the vendor fill out a “W-9 tax form” if using a vendor not already on file in the Business Office (See “new vendor W-9” in Forms section).
• An Open PO can be opened to the student and then drawn against. (For example: student making multiple purchases at multiple businesses). The student will NOT be reimbursed for sales taxes associated with these purchases.
• Checks will only be cut once the business office has received a check request with receipts or invoices attached, and it takes 10 business days to have a check cut.
• Advisors can access account balances if they make requests to the Assistant Dean of Students.
• If your organization is fundraising by selling something (bake sale, t-shirts, etc.), your organization must pay sales tax of 9.25%. If you have questions about how to do this, ask your advisor to find the “Daily Receipt Report – Sales Tax” form on the MC Insider.
• Pcard purchases may be made for student organizations if the advisor has a pcard.
• Gift Cards: Gift cards may NOT be purchased with Maryville College funds.

Food Services/Catering

• If you are planning on having food or beverages at your meetings or events, contact dining services for more info (x8073).
• If you are having an event in Isaac’s, you may not bring in outside food.
• If you plan to use a food service provider that is not Metz Culinary Management, you will need to follow the Maryville College Catering policy.

Fundraising

Expectations regarding fundraising of any kind are set under the Maryville College Fundraising Protocol and Request Form. All organization leaders and advisors should read through the protocol before beginning ANY sort of fundraising activity.

Liability Release Forms

As part of the College’s risk management program, Cabinet has approved liability releases to be used in situations that are common in our day-to-day work in higher education. The releases address participation in activities, class projects/programs, internships, volunteers, and participation in a trip. Releases are available to advisors on the MC Insider under the Risk Management/Safety section.

The waivers are to be used for field trips; trips abroad; class projects/programs; students who are interning at MC from another College; students from MC who are interning outside the College; service learning programs, Bonner Scholars; volunteers (students, staff, alumni, community individuals at-large) in athletics, music, fine arts, KT Week, Great Scots etc.

What you need to know
WHO – Who needs to sign a release? All volunteers; all students who participate in a field trip or class project that might put the College at risk; all interns; all students who are participating in study abroad need to sign a release.
WHAT – What release do I use? If you cannot decide which release fits your situation, contact the HR Director, and they will help you determine the appropriate release for the situation.
WHERE – Where are the signed release kept? The advisor of the organization hosting the program or activity keeps the signed releases with his or her file on the event.
WHEN – When is a release needed? A release is needed for all field trips; all volunteer situations; all internships; all student activities and class programs where the individual or the College could be put at risk. The release must be signed prior to engaging in the activity.

Money from Events

If your organization has any cash due to sales or entrance fees, DO NOT leave the money in the open once your event is over. If it is after business hours or on the weekend, call Security (x8112), and they can hold on to the money until it can either be deposited or stored in the vault in the Business Office. Do not keep cash in an office, especially if it might be open to the public.

Movies at Events

“The Federal Copyright Act (Title 17) governs how copyrighted materials, such as movies, may be utilized publicly. Neither the rental nor the purchase or lending of a videocassette or DVD carries with it the right to exhibit such a movie publicly outside the home, unless the site where the video is used is properly licensed for copyright compliant exhibition.” -quoted from Film & Video Copyright Infringement from Residence Life Cinema

How does this affect your organization? You may NOT show films for an event unless you have purchased a license to show the film. Renting, borrowing, or owning a DVD does not allow you to show it in a public performance. Some studios will allow free performances and will grant free licenses, but for the most part, you need to purchase a license to show a film. If you have questions about how to do this, please contact the Director of Campus Life for help.

Organization Contact Information

• The organization president or leader must update the organization’s files by turning in completed Student Organization Profile and an Advisor Expectations sheet. These forms should be turned in to the Director Student Involvement and Leadership Development on or before the Tuesday following Labor Day or by a later date set by the Director of SILD.
• A Student Organization Profile should be completed any time there has been a change in officers or advisors and at the end of the academic year.
• Items to update in the Student Organization file include:
  • Student Organization Profile form
  • Advisor Expectations form
  • Constitutional Amendments or changes

Parking

If your organization is having an event that will be bringing any extra vehicles on campus, you need to contact Director of Safety and Security. Security officers can help you direct your guests to the proper areas for parking. It is a good idea to contact Security at least a week before your event so they can help you arrange parking. (x8004)

 

Publicity

• You may make banners and signs in the Residence Life Office Resource room (Bartlett 306) during the week from 9am until 5pm. The paper is for STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS only. If paper is misused, privileges will be taken away.
• When preparing banners, flyers, handouts, etc., please make sure that your publications are not discriminatory and are sensitive to others’ opinions.
• DO NOT attach signs to the wood railings or to the glass on any doors in buildings.
• DO NOT hang fliers or signs in the Residence Halls. If you would like fliers or signs put up in the halls, please take them to the Residence Life office. The RAs and RDs will make sure your advertisements go up in a timely manner.
• The campus events calendar can be found on the college website on the left side under “Full Campus Calendar”.
• Please do NOT hang signs in the Pearsons Cafeteria Lobby.
• Please take down your posters and fliers once your event has occurred.

If your organization is having an event and you want the community to know about it, make sure you take advantage of the resources provided to MC by the Communications Office. If you are planning on sending press releases to local media outlets, you must work with Communications. Typically, they need information for a release at least 3 weeks before an event…yet another reason for staying organized.

 

Reserving Facilities

Advisors must request on-campus spaces for meetings and events. In an effort to streamline the reservation process using the online calendar. For more information, go to the online EMS room scheduling calendar or email Jake Reagan.

Using Isaac’s: On weekdays, Isaac’s Café is available for reservation anytime. Evening events must conclude by 11:00pm. If you would like Isaac’s to be closed for your event, you need to contact James Dulin (jdulin@metzcorp.com) and ask for permission at least one week in advance. Your organization would be required to alert the campus to the closing via Today@MC message and posters in the dining area.

 

SGA Funding Process

All Maryville College Chartered Organizations are eligible to receive funds through this process from the Student Government Association. These funds are part of the Student Activity Fee paid by each student. Organizations are also encouraged to find alternative sources of funding, including conducting their own fundraisers.

Chartered Organizations can request funding in two ways:

• During the spring semester, SGA accepts funding requests for the next academic year. Once all the materials have been received, the Financial, Budgetary, and Organization Affairs Committee (FBOAC) will review budget proposals. A preliminary budget will then be submitted to the Student Government Association for final approval.
• During the academic year, SGA accepts individual funding requests. These requests need to be sponsored by an SGA member.

 

Sound Equipment/Technical Support

In order to get proper service for events with a/v equipment, an advisor should request equipment and technical support when making a reservation for event space through the campus EMS.

 

Volunteering

If your organization is planning on doing any volunteer work, please contact The Center of Community Engagement before you commit to an agency. It is extremely important that we have a method of tracking what agencies organizations are helping.

• Give notices and invite advisors to all meetings. Make every effort to schedule regular meetings when the advisor can be available.
• Keep the advisor updated about spending plans for the organization (See “Financial Matters” section).
• Submit minutes of meetings as well as other materials from organizational meetings to the advisor. This will help with leadership transitions.
• If your organization needs to make copies for meetings, publicity, etc., you may use office copiers. You will need a copy code that directly bills to your organization. To get your code, contact Doniqua Chen. Getting a new code takes at least two business days so plan accordingly.
• Suggestions for requesting funds from SGA:

1. 1. Any organization providing information late or incomplete will receive lesser priority.
   2. During the academic year, a SGA fund request should be made through a SGA member well in advance of the organization’s needed expenditure.
   3. Send at least one representative to all SGA meetings that consider your fund request.
   4. Make sure you have researched costs and planned well.
   5. Don’t be totally dependent on SGA funding.
   6. Each organization must be in good standing with the Student Government Association and the Student Affairs Office.
   7. SGA will normally consider the number of students who will be impacted by the fund request. The more students the better.

• Advisor Expectations form
• Fundraising Receipts and Reconciliation
• Register your social media
• Self-Transportation Form
• Student Organization Profile
• W-9