Student Organization Resources

Campus Life has hosted a number of live trainings related to prep for Involvement Fest. Recordings of these trainings can be found here and will be updated as more trainings take place.

Updating your Organization’s myUMBC page

Tips for Creating Promotional Videos

Supporting Documents for Creating Recruitment Videos

Creating a Virtual Space for Involvement Fest

Effectively transitioning from year to year is critical to keep your organization functioning well. Investing time in a good officer transition early in your term will mean less time spent throughout the following year making unnecessary mistakes.

Officer transition takes effort from all officers in your student organization and involves the outgoing group of officers, the advisor, and the incoming group of officers. Consider having a retreat or series of meetings where outgoing officers pass on important information to incoming officers, including:

• Past records/notebooks/social media passwords
• Completed projects for the past year
• Upcoming/incomplete projects
• Challenges and setbacks
• Anything the new officers need to know to do their job effectively

Elections and constitutions

Student organization constitutions explain the organization’s purpose, membership requirements, officer structure and election process, and serve as a binding agreement with UMBC. Each constitution also outlines the process required for making amendments to the organization’s constitution.

Elections for each student organization occur once a year, either during the fall or the spring, depending on what the constitution specifies (Article IV, section b). Article IV of the constitution also outlines what positions the organization will elect, as well as the duties of each elected position.

• If your organization has fall elections, the elections MUST be held between November 15 and November 30, and new officer terms begin on December 1.
• If your organization has spring elections, the elections MUST be held between April 15 and April 30, and new officer terms begin on May 1.
• Your organization’s constitution also states how many days notice must be given to members of your organization before elections are held. For example, if your organization decides to hold elections on April 20th, and your constitution stipulates that at least 14 days notice must be given to all members before an election meeting, it is required that one of your organization’s officers first announce the elections to the membership NO LATER THAN April 6.

To change your organization’s constitution, the proper amendment process MUST be followed. Each organization has a Google Drive folder containing their constitution. In order to edit and update your constitution, open the document with “edits” in the title. All edits should be made directly into the document using red font for new information, or red strikethrough for anything being deleted. Once this is done, your organization needs to have a vote to make changes. Once the vote has been complete, please tag one of the Coordinators for Student Organizations to review. When they are approved, your official constitution will be updated.

Student organizations have to renew each year between April 15 and May 15. All officers listed on the Campus Life website will receive the renewal form via the Student Org Officers myUMBC page.

If information changes outside of the renewal period, officers need to update their myUMBC page, and email the Coordinator of Student Organizations with the name and email address of the new officer or advisor. Changes may include names of newly elected officers and advisors.

Your advisor is a valuable resource to your organization and can help you in many different ways. The relationship between an advisor and an organization is unique to each group, and you are highly encouraged to meet with your advisor each time new officers are elected to discuss what expectations you have of each other.

To help you with this process, you and your advisor can complete this Advisor Role Questionnaire together, as this can provide a starting point for discussion.

Additional resources for student organization advisors can be found here.

If you are unsure how to contact your advisor, please email Tori Ciorra (toriciorra@umbc.edu), Coordinators for Student Organizations.

LeadingOrgs is an annual Student Organization Officer Training. This training typically happens around the start of the Fall semester. Below are some recorded sessions from LeadingOrgs 2020.

Becoming a Retriever Leader

Community is Not Cancelled

Email

To create an email account/mailing list you can:

1. Create a group page on myUMBC. Group pages can be used to send messages, have discussions, store documents, and promote events/initiatives.
2. Create your own email account. You can put UMBC in the address, e.g. UMBCcheeseclub@gmail.com.

Social media

Social media is one of your strongest marketing tools. Make sure that your advisor and any elected officers have the username and password to any accounts you may have.

myUMBC

All student organizations are able to create a group page on myUMBC, and doing so is highly recommended, as it which will allow interested students to find out more about your group. Additionally, you can send updates about meetings, elections, and other important reminders to all of your organization’s members through your myUMBC group. Learn more about creating a myUMBC group.

Flyers

Student organizations are another great tool to share information about your organization. Make sure to follow these guidelines:

• The Commons: Flyers can only be hung by staff members. To have your flyers posted, you can drop off three copies at the Commons Information Center (CIC) desk.
• Residence halls: Bring a copy of your flyer to the Residential Life office in Erickson Hall for approval. The flyer will receive an official stamp and you can then make additional photocopies for posting.
• Classrooms/academic buildings: Certain academic buildings have designated spaces where you are allowed to post flyers, and these are the ONLY spaces where you are allowed to do so. The community bulletin boards are typically located on each floor of a building, and if a flyer is posted elsewhere (in a classroom, on the walls of a hall) it will be taken down if discovered.
• The full posting policy can be found here.

commonvision & i­Net

An iNet, offered through commonvision, can be used to advertise an event or to make announcements to the UMBC community. They are aired on digital signage locations in The Commons, and on the UC Plaza.

Pricing for iNets varies depending on the type and duration of your advertisement. Explore commonvision’s website for more information.

Every student organization gets a copier code that gives them access to 100 free black and white copies and 100 free prints for the year!

Stop by the Information Desk in The Commons 336 and ask for your copier code. You must be listed as an officer with Campus Life in order to receive your code.

Your 4 digit code allows you to access the SGA photocopier in the Student Organizations Space to make copies for your student organization.

Campus Life allocates and maintains cabinets located on the second floor of The Commons. Campus Life staff can assist you with any issues. They are available at the Information Desk in the Campus Life Suite, 336, The Commons, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Application and assignment requirements

Every spring student organizations can apply for a cabinet during renewal. They are available on a first-come, first-served basis, and allocation notifications will be sent in early June.

If demand exceeds supply, student organizations that do not receive a cabinet will be placed on a waitlist. If spaces become available during the year, organizations on the list will be offered these spaces in the order their request was received. New organizations formed throughout the year may be assigned spaces if there is no waitlist. Otherwise, they will be added to the current list and will have the opportunity to apply for these resources during the next application period.

Cabinets are property of UMBC. The university reserves the right to access, inspect, and search cabinets at any time without notice, and is not responsible for items stored in cabinets or for lost or stolen items. Campus Life may reassign or rescind access to cabinets.

Access to newly assigned space

Student organization officers can get cabinet combinations and/or keys on the first day of classes in the fall semester at the Campus Life desk by completing the Cabinet User Agreement and Key/Combination Control Form. Only one officer can check out a key, and that officer is responsible for the key. If the key is lost, the officer will be charged $20 to replace the key. If another officer would like to check the cabinet, an Ambassador can open the mailbox for them. You must be listed as an officer with Campus Life to receive a cabinet lock combination, check out a key, or have an Ambassador open your mailbox.

Conditions of use and maintenance of cabinet spaces

All organizations that have been allocated a cabinet must:

• Utilize storage units for student organization related materials only. Student organization cabinets cannot be used for sales or commercial activities, direct support of academic programs, and/or activities of non-students.
• Use only the combination lock assigned by Campus Life. All other locks will be cut off at the owner’s expense and the organization may incur a financial charge.
• Take good care of the cabinet. Please do not store any items that will cause it to be damaged.
• Keep the cabinet locked at all times.
• Refrain from storing perishable, flammable, or combustible items.
• Inform Campus Life of any maintenance needs.

You can have student organization-related mail or packages sent to the following address:

UMBC
The Commons, 336
1000 Hilltop Circle
Baltimore, MD 21250

Safety and security

Student organizations are advised to practice safety at all times:

• Secure purses, wallets, and other valuables appropriately. Do not store these items in a cabinet/mailbox.
• Carefully maintain your combination/key. Report loss or theft immediately to Campus Life.
• Report suspicious activity to the University Police at 410-455-5555.

Reassignment or loss of cabinet

By May 31st, student organization officers must empty cabinets. Campus Life will remove items and attempt to contact the student organization for pick-up thereafter. If items remain unclaimed, they will be disposed or returned to sender.

All student organizations failing to comply with this or any University policy or procedure risk disciplinary action, including losing their student organization cabinet, losing recognition, or being sanctioned as deemed appropriate by University officials.