New groups
To establish a new undergraduate student organization, please submit an application for recognition via the Undergraduate Student Government (USG) Web site.
Once submitted, your application will be reviewed by the student members of the Student Group Recognition Committee (SGRC), which meets at least once a month and is led by the USG Student Groups Liaison. You will be asked to appear before the SGRC to present your application, demonstrate familiarity with University policies and answer questions from the committee. In addition, the SGRC requires that each new student group write a constitution. Here is a Sample Constitution.doc provided by the SGRC. After the hearing, applicants will be notified of the committee's decision via email.
If your organization receives recognition from the SGRC, you will set up a new group meeting with ODUS in order to do the following:
- Meet ODUS staff.
- Fill out a Student Organization Recognition Form with contact information for your president and treasurer.
- Register for a group email address with OIT.
- Register for a group Listserv with OIT.
- Go over policies, forms and resources, including OSERF and Blueprint.
- Receive a “project grant” account number, starting with 541.
- The treasurer will register for Datamall access to review the group’s account.
To reactivate a dormant but already recognized group, please contact Shelley Jannos in the Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Students.
Helpful hints for new groups
- All student organizations are required to submit an Online Events Registration Form for every event the student organization holds, including regularly scheduled meetings and events held off campus. Your event registration must be approved by ODUS before you can commit funds to the event.
- Please note there are no "start-up funds” for student organizations. Funding is given to groups on a per-event basis and can not be granted retroactively. Requests for funds should be submitted to USG Projects Board or other funding committees. See Funding an Event for more information.
- Students are prohibited from signing any contracts on behalf of student organizations. Policy states that these contracts must be reviewed and signed by the dean. Please give advance notice of potential contractual obligations, as the review process can take a few weeks to complete.
- All financial transactions are submitted to ODUS at 313 West College. Please keep in mind when completing all financial transactions forms, original receipts must be submitted for all reimbursements. All financial paperwork must be completed by 2 weeks after the end of your event. If you wish to process a check for pick up, full and complete paperwork must be submitted at least 1 business week prior to the event.
- Files containing financial records and related paperwork for all student organizations are maintained by ODUS at 313 West College, but groups should also maintain their own copies of their financial records. These records may be subject to an audit by the University at any time.
- Important information related to student groups and event planning, as well as important policies can be found here on the ODUS website and Blueprint.
How to set up email, Listservs and websites
- Group Email Account
All student organizations are required to have a Princeton email account. This group email address will serve as the primary method of communication from ODUS and other University offices, and is also listed on the ODUS web directory of student organizations. New groups will sign up for their group email address during their initial meeting with ODUS using the OIT access request form.
- Lost Email Passwords
If you need to have your group email reset please contact Jeanette DeGuire or Joe Ramirez. - Listservs
Group email lists, known as Listservs, can also be created for your student organization to facilitate group communication with the OIT access request form. Please keep in mind that the Listserv name must be different than your group netID. Once you have created your Listserv, you can make changes and updates using the List Owner Dashboard at https://lists.princeton.edu/. - Websites
All Princeton netIDs, including student organization netIDs, are given free web server space. To publish your web pages, map your group H: drive and save web pages to the public_html folder contained within.
- Blogs
Princeton also hosts a free blogging service. To create a blog page for your group, send a request to blogs@princeton.edu. For more information, visit http://blogs.princeton.edu.
- Web and Email Questions
If you have questions, be sure to call the OIT HelpDesk at 8-HELP. They are available 24/7. If you need ODUS to verify your information for OIT, please contact Jeanette DeGuire or call 8-5750.
