New Student Organization Resources

Here you will find resources which will be helpful to your organization.  

Finding and Joining an Organization

Use our student org portal Presence! Involve can be found on your MySMC portal (my.stmarys-ca.edu) once you login in the top center set of links. Involve allows you to build your profile, browse student groups, see events and meeting times on campus, and even join groups directly from the software. 

How to Start a New Student Organization: 

1. Before registering a new organization, please write your mission statement, constitution, and choose your officers/structure and an advisor if applicable. Please note that you will need to have at least 2 executive members, the President and Treasurer being mandatory roles needed. A faculty or staff advisor is recommended but not required. Guides to helping develop mission statements and constitutions can be found here. 

2. Once your forms are complete, fill out the registration form which you can find on Presence. A staff member from Student Activities & Engagement (SAE) or the Associated Students' (AS) Vice President of Student Organizations will then contact you to inform you of the next steps. 

3. Your initial information that is submitted through Presence will be reviewed by the Associated Students Executive Team and staff from Student Activities and Engagement. Further clarification or information may be requested.

4. If approved by AS Executive Team & SAE staff, a conditional approval would be given to the new organization. During the timeframe of a conditional approval, the new organization can begin to hold meetings and events, participate in involvement fairs, and have an opportunity to request funding. The period of conditional approval is to allow the new organization an opportunity to establish itself and prove their viability on campus. 

5. The AS Vice President of Student Organizations & the Student Organization Council will review the progress of the new organization during the period of the conditional approval. 

6. In the spring semester, conditionally approved organizations will formally present to the Associated Students Senate. This presentation includes the purpose and goals of the organization, a review of meetings and events since being conditionally approved, and other pertinent information.

7. The Student Organization Council will make a recommendation to the AS Senate on whether the conditionally approved organization shall become an officially chartered organization. The AS Senate votes to approve or deny an organization's charter with the AS. Once chartered, the organization has full access to AS resources and are considered an official club or organization.

Note: New organization requests between November and August would remain in conditional approval until the following spring semester.