1. Forming and Renewing Student Organizations

The University of Wisconsin-River Falls is home to over 100 student organizations spanning diverse interests, academic majors, beliefs, and hobbies. For a complete directory of student organizations click here!  The topics listed on the left provide resources for student organization Advisors and student leaders. Still can't find a student organization for you?  Find 3 friends and create your own!  You willl need to meet the minimum requirements below to start a student organization. 

Minimum Requirements:

• Complete the new student organization application, including a constitution and set of bylaws.
• The organization must consist of at least 4 members, three-quarters of your members must be students enrolled at UWRF
• Find a UWRF faculty or staff member to be your Advisor
• Extend membership and all membership privileges, including voting and eligibility to hold office, to all UWRF students

Click here to view the  New Student Organization Guide

Each student organization has different needs and expectations of their officers and Advisor. When transitioning officers within your student organization it is critical that the new leadership team and Advisor have reached consensus regarding these needs and expectations.  Use the following checklists as a way to begin a discussion with outgoing student organization leaders, incoming officers, and your Advisor about the responsibilities and expectations of each party.

Student Leader-Advisor Worksheet

This worksheet is to intended to assist in identifying expectations of Advisors and student leaders. The worksheet should be filled out by the Advisor and each officer within a student organization. Once all parties have filled out the worksheet they should meet to share and compare answers and discuss differences.

Officer Transition Checklist

Most successful student organizations implement some form of officer transition program. The Officer Transition Checklist should be used in addition to overlapping officer terms by at least one month so that new officers have the opportunity to work closely with outgoing officers.  Any questions regarding officer transitions can be directed to the Office of Student Involvement.

Recalling Officers

 If you are having concerns about your organization’s officers, please contact the Office of Student Involvement to discuss your concerns. Officers may be recalled from office for cause. To initiate a recall election the following steps must occur:

1. A petition signed by one third of the organization’s active members must be submitted to the organization advisor and one other executive member before the next regular meeting to have it included on an agenda for a “first reading.” 
2. The officer subject to recall must be given written notice 24 hours prior to the “first reading” and shall be given an opportunity to provide a defense at that time.
3. Following the “first reading”, a recall vote shall then be taken at the next regular meeting. A two-thirds vote is required to remove an officer. All active members must be notified of this prior to the night of the vote.

If the position of President becomes vacant as the result of resignation, ineligibility, or recall, the Vice President shall assume the office of President.  Vacancies in any other elected office shall be filled by an election held at the next regular meeting.  Nominations may be made any time after the vacancy is announced. The President may appoint an interim officer to fill the vacancy until the election is held. 

Some organizations have been moved to an "inactive" state. The following are a few reasons an oragnization could be considered an inactive group and found on the list below:

• The organization has registered in the past seven years, but did not renew their organization last year
• The organization was not in good standing at the end of the last academic year
• The organization was dissolved by the student members.

Inactive Student Organizations 2019

If an organization you wish to reactivate is listed through the link above, you will need to fill out the form below to re-activate the organization. You should do this instead of registering a new organization for the following reasons:

• You just have to review the existing constitution/bylaws and make updates instead of creating a new one
• You would get all of the history of the organization in MyOrgs (events, documents, etc)
• Re-activating an inactive organization reduces time-wasting redundancies for you and the Student Government Association

Request to Re-Activate a Student Organization Form

Advisor Recognition: We encourage student organizations to nominate their outstanding Student Organization Advisor!  Please email studentinvolvement@uwrf.edu with your advisor's name and what makes them such a great advisor.