Student Activities

For more information on the registration process, please visit our website. Those who are interested in starting a new student organization must fill out an interest form online and attend a mandatory New Organization Welcome meeting during Student Organization Office hours.

Presidents, treasurers, and advisors of student organizations can register for training online here.

Your organization’s status change is a manual process and each organization’s requirements are reviewed in the order in which they are received. Typically it takes 1-2 days to review and update organization status.

New/Re-Established refers to organizations that have been registered for less than two (2) continuous years or organizations with a minimum of 5 members. Established refers to organizations that have been registered for at least two (2) continuous years with a minimum of 15 members.

Both levels of Active status are eligible for the same level of resources, except related to Programming Funds. New/Re-Established organizations may apply for up to $2,000 while Established organizations may apply for up to $3,000 annually.

If your organization is no longer functioning, please contact our staff at CSLS@osu.edu. We will remove the organization from the directory and assist you in bringing closure to your organization.

Primary Leaders can check the organization’s most recent status by logging on to the Student Organization Management System and clicking on ‘Org Information.’ Both the current status and registration window are listed at the top of that page.

Organizations are listed as ‘inactive’ when they are missing a registration requirement. Please log into the Student Organization Management System and click on ‘Org Information’ to see which requirements are missing. Each requirement has a Y or N listed next to it to indicate whether ‘yes’ the requirement has been completed or ‘no’ the requirement has not been completed. Our registration website explains the registration process and how to complete each component.

Primary leaders can find your current constitution by logging onto the Student Organization Management System and clicking ‘Org Information’ and then clicking on ‘Constitution.’ Then click on ‘Organization’s Current Constitution’ to view the current constitution. On this page you can also upload the newest version of your group’s constitution by clicking on ‘Choose File’ and selecting the constitution you would like to upload.

Primary leaders have full access to edit the organization’s roster in the Student Organization Management System. At the top, click ‘Org Information’ and click on ‘Leaders and Roster’ to update the roster information. Please use care when entering dot numbers so that the system is accurate.

Refer to this video for an overview of how to make these changes. The roster is discussed around minute 1:30.

Log in to the Student Organization Management System and click on ‘Advisor Approvals’ and ‘Approve Organization’ in red underneath the name of the organization. If you scroll down further, you will see a red link that says ‘Approve Goals.’ You will need to review the information the students entered, click on the links for ‘Approve Organization’ and ‘Approve Goals’ until the N’s turn to Y’s indicating that the requirement has been completed.

Refer to this video for an overview of the Management System and how to submit approvals.

Student organizations may include "at Ohio State," or “at The Ohio State University” in their name, only if placed at the end of the name. Student organizations may not use “OSU” in their group’s name. “Buckeye” may only be used in a student organization name with permission from Student Life Marketing team. Please email CSLS@osu.edu with any questions.

Some parts of an advisor role are required – related to registration renewal and funding applications – while other parts are negotiable between the advisor and organization leaders. Being an advisor truly is an experience that is up to you. You can build a relationship with the members of the organization and determine what they will need from an advisor and what you are willing and interested to contribute to the organization. The basic requirements include completing a bi-annual training, alternating between in-person training and online recertification. You only have to attend in-person training once every 4 years. Annually during your organization’s registration window, you will be responsible for logging in to our Student Organization Management System to approve your organization’s registration and goals. You will also be responsible for approving your organization’s funding requests if they have any.

Student organizations are not tax exempt by virtue of being a student organization; organizations must apply for tax exempt status through the IRS. Organizations are not considered entities of Ohio State, so they are not eligible for Ohio State’s tax benefits. Your organization may apply for tax exempt status. Any specific questions can be addressed on the IRS’ website.

Operating funds are used for general operation of the organization during the year (advertising, recruitment event refreshments, promotional items, office supplies, retreats or conferences) while programming funds are used to host programs and events on campus (performances, speakers). For more information on funding please visit our funding website.

An EIN stands for Employer Identification Number. All student organizations at Ohio State must have an EIN in order to open a bank account and receive funds from the university. You can obtain an EIN from the IRS by calling 1-800-829-4933 or by applying online. When you apply online, you will be asked to identify your organization's type of legal structure. Select: "View Additional Types, Including Tax-Exempt and Governmental Organizations" then "Social or Savings Club.” Treasurers may login to the management system and click on "View Org Information" to view the EIN on file for the organization.

We advise both the president and secondary leader co-sign on the bank account each year with the treasurer so that organizations don’t lose access to their own bank accounts. If none of these individuals are listed on the bank account for your organization, we recommend you work with your bank to resolve the issue.

Student Activities is not involved in management or oversight of student organization bank accounts whatsoever as student organizations are entities independent from the University. We do not hold records of your bank accounts. The information we need in order to pay you is only your organization’s name and EIN.  If you apply for a new bank account, you will likely need to apply for a new EIN (unless you have the hard copy from the original EIN). If you have any more specific questions about student organization bank accounts, funding, etc. Please feel free to consult our website resources.

You can check out items from the Resource Room by calling (614) 292-8763 or by stopping by in-person during regular operating hours. (Monday - Friday: 8 a.m. - 9 p.m. Saturday - Sunday: 11 a.m. - 8 p.m.)

The Resource Room is available to all Ohio State students and student organizations. The Resource Room offers printing, posters, balloons, buttons and more! Some items are available for free (pending supply availability) while others have a small cost. Active student organizations have a $250 line-of-credit that can be used to make purchases in the Resource Room.

To view a list of all of the resources that the Resource Room provides, please visit their website and list of supplies.

Your Resource Room line-of-credit resets as soon as your organization achieves active status. You can check your line-of-credit balance by logging into the Student Organization Management System and clicking on ‘Org Information.’ Your balance will be displayed toward the top of the screen.

You can contact the Resource Room at (614) 292-8763 or by stopping by the Keith B. Key Center for Student Leadership and Service on the second floor of the Ohio Union during regular operating hours. (Monday - Friday: 8 a.m. - 9 p.m. Saturday - Sunday: 11 a.m. - 8 p.m.)

To place a balloon order, call the Resource Room at (614) 292-8763 or stop by in-person. Advance notice is helpful to ensure we have the proper materials and can have your order ready for your event. Larger balloon orders (24 balloons or more) require advance notice of at least two days.

You can search for specific student organizations through our Student Organization Directory. You can use keywords and phrases to find the organization you are looking for.

We are happy to include announcements from student organizations and campus departments. Submissions received by Tuesdays at 2 p.m. will be included in the next Insider. We can run submissions up to 3 weeks in a row.

Submit Your Announcement

You can reserve space in the Ohio Union using the Virtual Scheduling System (http://ohiounion.osu.edu/plan_an_event/space_requests), by phone at (614) 292-5200, by email at sl-ohiounionevents@osu.edu or by visiting the Ohio Union Administrative Suite during their office hours. Ohio Union Events staff can also help you reserve select classroom spaces. You can reserve outdoor space using the Buckeye Events Network (BEN).  

You can subscribe to the Student Org Insider on our website by inputting your email address in the field provided at the bottom of the page. If you would like to unsubscribe to the Student Org Insider, you can click the option to unsubscribe at the bottom of the email sent each week.

You can reserve a room in the KBK CSLS by calling the Resource Room at (614) 292-8763 or using the Virtual Scheduling System (http://ohiounion.osu.edu/plan_an_event/space_requests). You can also stop by the Resource Room during regular office hours to make a reservation.