Tier-I and Tier-II organizations (see 1.3) at the University of Connecticut are fully independent entities. These organizations receive advising support and access to certain University facilities and services in exchange for meeting certain “registration” requirements. The University of Connecticut assumes no responsibility for the activities of these organizations or their members, including coverage of insurance and liability for their activities.

As part of our general advising and support approach, students are encouraged to meet with Student Activities staff for advice and suggestions on addressing student organizational issues. Please see appendix A for a listing of campus staff.

RSOs encompass a diverse array of purposes, each presenting unique levels of risk, individual needs, and financial responsibilities. To ensure optimal support for these organizations, a well-defined three-tier categorization system has been devised. This system catalysts continuous growth by providing tailored training programs that address the distinct needs of RSOs.

 Tier-I Organizations:

Tier-I Student Organizations provide an opportunity for students to lead a group that is simple in nature. These RSOs have low-risk activities, are not eligible for funding support, and do not have events or participate in high-risk activities. Tier-I RSOs are permitted meeting space requests on campus and utilize Student Activities staff for general advisement. Tier-I organizations currently exist at Storrs Campus, Stamford Campus, Hartford Campus, and Waterbury Campus.

Tier-II Organizations:

Tier-II Student Organizations are typically more complex in nature. These organizations may have meetings, participate in activities on and off campus, host or attend events or competitions, are eligible to receive funding support, and require a larger degree of structure and advisement. Tier-II organizations currently exist at Storrs Campus, Stamford Campus, Hartford Campus, Waterbury Campus, and Avery Point Campus.

Tier-III Organizations (Student Fee-Funded Organizations):

Tier-III Student Organizations are established by the University and are managed daily by students with oversight from the University. Tier-III organizations are supported by student fees with high visibility on campus, high accountability to a large constituency of students, moderate- to high-risk activities, regular interaction with university staff, and reliance on the University for funding, financial support, facilities, and event planning support. Tier-III organizations currently exist at Storrs Campus, Stamford Campus, Hartford Campus, Waterbury Campus, and Avery Point Campus.

Registering a NEW Student Organization.  Any full-time undergraduate or graduate student at the University can establish a new organization on campus, provided its purpose and goals are distinct from one of the 700+ existing organizations. Student Activities staff review the application submitted and assess the organization's purpose, category, tier, and registration requirements. Additionally, all new RSO applicants are required to meet with Student Activities staff at their primary campus to explain the unique qualities of their proposed RSO and its potential to enrich the UConn community. Please refer to appendix A for a list of primary campus student activities staff.

If approved, the new organization will be able to move on to acquire ‘Active’ status.

To get started, please visit our New Organization Resource and Application link on https://solid.uconn.edu/student-org-management/.

Primary Campus Designation. At the time of registration/re-registration all RSOs must designate a ‘Primary Campus’ and then meet and adhere to all registration requirements, policies and procedures outlined by their primary campus Student Affairs/Activities office. Unless otherwise noted in this document the following requirements, policies, and procedures are applicable to all University of Connecticut RSOs regardless of their Primary Campus designation.

Acquiring ACTIVE Status. Once a student organization has been approved to register, the group will have a series of SOLID training and requirements to successfully complete based on their designated Tier in order to acquire Active Status.

• Tier I- SOLID Trainings: President, Secondary Officer
• Tier II- SOLID Trainings: President, VP, Treasurer, Secretary; Constitution, Faculty/Staff Advisor

For more information on SOLID Training requirements, see Chapter 2.1.

Constitutions. Tier-II student organizations are required to maintain an up-to-date constitution on file in their primary campus’ Student Activities Office and on UConntact. If your organization’s constitution is two (2) years or older, you will need to review, revise, and resubmit it to Student Activities staff. For guidance on constitution requirements and development, please visit solid.uconn.edu. Updated Constitutions can be submitted on UConntact under the ‘Forms’ button.

Annual Re-Registration. Student organization registrations are valid for one academic year and expire at the end of each academic year. Therefore, all student organizations are required to complete the re-registration process, annually, through UConntact (See Section 3.1), which involves submitting new officer information. It is crucial to adhere to the set deadline for re-registration, as failure to do so will result in the organization being disbanded. Late re-registrations will not be accepted until the new academic year.

Affiliating With a ‘Parent’ Organization. Student organizations may choose to be affiliated with a local/state/national organization, such as a charity, faith community, political party, or fraternity/sorority. In these instances, the student organization constitution must state the name and nature of the affiliation. Students are encouraged to consult with the parent organization for potential sample constitutions that they can use as a model.

The student organization must obtain, in writing, a statement of support from the parent organization that the UConn chapter has permission to use the name and represent the parent organization. Parent organizations acknowledge that control of the student organization resides with the UConn Students, and all operating decisions are made by the students.

New Greek Lettered Organizations (Storrs Campus ONLY). The Department of Student Activities and Center for Fraternity and Sorority Development (CFSD) work collaboratively to register Social Greek-Lettered Organizations. Due to the nature of these organizations, all applications for Social Greek-Lettered Organizations must be processed and accepted into CFSD before seeking registration with the Department of Student Activities. If an organization is not accepted into CFSD, Student Activities will not register an organization at the University of Connecticut. Any social-Greek lettered student organizations that are not registered with Student Activities are disassociated with the University of Connecticut and may not present themselves as associated in any means.

New Club Sports Organizations (Storrs Campus ONLY). Any athletic student organization that wishes to become affiliated as a University Club Sport and receive support from the Club Sports office within Student Recreation must apply following the guidelines outlined on the Competitive Sports webpage https://recreation.uconn.edu/competitive-sports/club-sports/.  No organization will be listed as a Club Sport not previously approved by the Club Sports office.

All Tiers of student organizations are required to always maintain an accurate and up-to-date roster of UConn students through UConntact.

• Storrs and Stamford campus RSOs must maintain at least 8 primary campus student members.
• RSOs listing either Avery Point, Hartford, or Waterbury as their primary campus are required to maintain a minimum of 3 student members from that campus.

It's important to recognize that the specifics of membership can differ based on your organization's values, constitution, and bylaws. Below is a general overview of the responsibilities and privileges that members may have within your RSO:

• Active Participation: Members of RSO’s should have the privilege to engage actively in the organization's events and activities. This encompasses attending meetings, sharing viewpoints, and contributing to decision-making processes.
• Participation in Voting: Student organizations may grant members the authority to participate in voting on crucial matters such as officer elections, budget approval, and policy decisions. This empowers members to influence the organization's direction.
• Leadership Opportunities: Members have the chance to seek leadership roles within the RSO. They can run for positions like president, vice-president, treasurer, secretary, or committee chairs, based on the organization's structure.
• Inclusion and Non-Discrimination: Members are entitled to fair and respectful treatment. Discrimination or harassment based on attributes such as race, gender, religion, nationality, or sexual orientation is prohibited (University Policy against discrimination, harassment and related interpersonal violence).
• Access to Information: Members may request access to information related to an RSO’s activities, and decision-making processes. This transparency enables informed participation.
• Due Process: Members are entitled to due process and fair treatment when involved in conflicts or disputes within their organization. 
  • To be clear, RSOs or their advisors are not investigative bodies or entities and may not interfere with disputes being handled or reviewed by University offices.
  • Organization members are strongly encouraged to be given the opportunity to present their experience, perspectives, be heard, and appeal decisions through established and written procedures within the organization’s constitution.
  • Organizations are strongly encouraged to include detailed procedures/policies regarding internal member disputes.
    • Potential violations of The Student Code of Conduct or matters related to potential Title IX, sexual misconduct, etc. must be investigated by the respective University Office/Staff.  Organization members/leaders are strongly encouraged to contact a staff member in Student Organization Support if there are questions and/or concerns about a potential incident.

Should you have questions or concerns, do not hesitate to contact a Student Organization Support staff member for assistance.