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Starting & Managing Student Organizations

Student organizations provide a wonderful venue to explore a variety of student interests and needs. Dawn Roberts (droberts@som.umaryland.edu) in the Office of Student affairs is the primary OSA liaison for student groups, and you should contact her as you begin planning a new organization and at the beginning of each academic year for existing organizations. She will assist you in accessing the group profiles in MedScope to complete updates.

The following are requirements for starting a new student organization or annually for existing organizations:

  1. Define or review the mission of the organization. Prepare or revise a descriptive paragraph for addition to MedScope.

  2. Discuss possible faculty advisors with OSA, and then invite one or more approved members of the faculty to serve as mentors or advisors to the organization. Each group must have at least one faculty member that has agreed to serve as advisor. This person provides guidance to the organization in planning meetings and events and will sign off on the group's Annual Report to OSA. They must attend at least one meeting of the organization each year. The faculty member's continued participation must be confirmed annually.

  3. At inception and annually the group must elect officers, and one student must be identified as the online group profile owner.

  4. The online group profile owner must update the MedScope site with the description, the advisor name, member list, officers and external affiliations at the beginning of the academic year. This student must also update the group profile with all events and activities throughout the academic year. For new groups, email medscope@meded.umaryland.edu for access to a new profile.

  5. To be an official organization, the group must have a minimum of three student members and hold at least one annual meeting.

  6. The organization must disclose any external affiliations.

  7. Speak with the president or treasurer of Student Council about guidelines for requesting Student Council funds.

  8. Set up a bank account for the organization. The M&T Bank in University Hospital is not only convenient but is accustomed to working with student organizations and Dawn Roberts can provide you with a letter to officially open or re-open the account in the groups name. The account must have at least two signators in order to protect the interests of the membership. The signators must be updated annually.

  9. Student organization funds may not be used as donations to other organizations or individuals. They are intended to help defray expenses of the group. Strict accounting of any funds received from the Student Council is required.

  10. The group must provide an Annual Report to OSA which has been approved and signed off on by their faculty advisor. This report should contain a listing of the group's officers and members, activities for the year, and an accounting of all funds received from the Student Council. This report must be received in OSA by May 1. Failure to provide this report or accurate accounting of the funds may result in withholding future funding for the group and the inability of the officers to be recognized for their work with the group by the school. It is suggested that you use medscope to complete the report since the majority of the information requested is there.

  11. Become familiar with policies and guidelines for reserving space, scheduling events, announcing activities, etc:

Detailed information on the various organizations can be obtained from MedScope (http://medweb1.umaryland.edu/medscope.net/activities/default.aspx). 

Last Revision:August 25, 2009