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GUIDELINES FOR NON-FRATERNAL STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS

A. MEMBERSHIP

1. Membership in registered student organizations shall be open to all students of The University of Alabama, without regard to race, religion, sex, disability, or national origin, except in cases of designated fraternal organizations exempted by federal law from Title IX regulations concerning discrimination on the basis of sex.

2. Registered student organizations must inform the University community of organizational membership criteria and selection processes, including membership application deadlines. Organizations should attempt outreach efforts to groups that are typically under-represented in student organizations.

a. Selection criteria must be relevant to the goals and objectives of the organization. Organizations with selection criteria adversely impacting a particular segment of the University community must eliminate that criteria or demonstrate adequately the relationship between selection criteria and organizational goals and objectives .

b. CCSO, in conjunction with the Office of the Dean of Students, reserves the right to work with registered student organizations to enhance inclusiveness and to determine alternatives to arbitrary criteria limiting membership and encouraging irrelevant exclusivity.

B. FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY

1. Registered student organizations must maintain all funds allocated from University-controlled sources in a University account and must spend these monies in accordance with current University of Alabama financial policies and procedures. Student organizations losing registered status also forfeit student fee allocations.

2. Registered organizations maintaining an account outside the University must keep accurate records of funding sources and disbursements, including the amount of income and expenditures, the means of generating funds and approving expenditures, and the purposes of expenditures. Student organizations must keep receipts for monies expended and must issue receipts for monies collected.

3. Members of registered student organizations have the right to know how organizational funds are collected and disbursed. Additionally, sources and amounts of organizational revenues and the objectives and amounts of organizational expenditures are public knowledge.

4. Organizational monies should be dispersed by use of checks rather than cash. All checks must include the signature of the adviser and one [1] officer, preferably the president or treasurer.

C. ORGANIZATION OFFICERS

1. The primary officers of a registered student organization (president, vice-president, secretary, treasurer, or the equivalent) must be currently enrolled students at the University of Alabama .

2. Officers of student organizations must be in good disciplinary standing with the University of Alabama and must maintain a minimum cumulative 2.00 grade point average for undergraduates and a 3.00 grade point average for graduates to hold office. The responsibility of verifying grade-point averages rests ultimately with the organization and organization adviser(s).

D. ORGANIZATION ADVISERS

1. In concert with the academic and educational mission and policies of The University of Alabama, advisers of registered student organizations should share insights and directions with student leaders to ensure student organizations promote organizational objectives and enhance the meaningfulness of organizational membership.

2. Primary responsibilities of the organizational adviser include:

a. Overseeing all financial transactions and receiving all bank statements :

b. Ensuring that officers have a minimum cumulative 2.00 grade-point average and 3.00 grade point average for graduate students and that primary officers are currently enrolled University of Alabama students;

c. Providing consultation concerning membership selection procedures and responsibilities, conducting an initial overview of membership outcomes, and reviewing profiles of newly selected members;

d. Reviewing and signing organizational registration documents and Annual Reports;

e. Performing other duties deemed appropriate by the organization and outlined in the organizational constitution and by-laws.

3. Registered student organizations have the right to select a new adviser at anytime according to procedures outlined in the organizational constitution and by-laws.

STANDARDS FOR SOCIAL FRATERNAL ORGANIZATIONS

Preamble: The University of Alabama continues to affirm that Greek-letter social organizations are important and integral parts of the University community. The University provides formal recognition to Greek-letter organizations that have either achieved or are demonstrating satisfactory progress towards meeting a set of standards and expectations developed to assure the quality of Greek life at the University of Alabama . These standards and expectations form the core of the University's Greek Self-Assessment Program, which adapts the concept and the processes of academic program accreditation to provide for self-evaluation and planning to occur in each Greek chapter on campus.

I. CHAPTER IDENTITY, VITALITY AND MEMBERSHIP

The original, distinctive purposes and positive traditions of a Greek-letter organization should invigorate the fundamental meaning, purpose, and direction of such an organization. In order to maintain the long-term vitality of the organization, the chapter must ensure that its purpose, tradition, rituals, and procedures are understood, practiced and accepted by all members. The strength of any Greek-letter organization is derived from its members. The skills, abilities, aptitudes, and attitudes of each member define the levels of attainment possible for the chapter in leadership, scholarship, social awareness and involvement, and career preparation. These qualities of individual members also are indicative of the way the chapter maintains its traditions and passes them on to future generations.

II. SCHOLARSHIP

The fundamental reason for enrolling in a university is to acquire the educational foundation necessary to function effectively as a citizen. The University of Alabama serves to advance the intellectual and social conditions of all the people of the state through quality programs of research, instruction, and service. To nurture academic excellence within the campus community, chapters must actively intervene in the scholarly pursuits of members, create environments conducive to academic success, make use of University programs and services designed to enhance success, and offer educational programs both to members maintaining acceptable academic standing and to members confronting academic distress. The academic progress of all chapter members considered collectively indicates the relative strength and vitality of the chapter itself.

III. CITIZENSHIP AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Just as a Greek-letter organization maintains a range of obligations to its members it also maintains similar obligations to The University of Alabama and the broader community in which it resides. Such participation complements and supplements each chapter's pursuit of its central purpose and contributes significantly to both its identity and vitality. Among the basic purposes of a Greek-letter organization is the constant development of its members in the areas of social awareness and community involvement and the exercise of socially responsible behavior. The chapter demonstrates its commitment to the mission of the University by

1. Achieving a chapter environment where students of different races, ethnic origins, and religions are welcomed and included;

2. Stressing social activities which are conducive to dignified interaction between the sexes;

3. Imparting among members an awareness of the detrimental effects of substance abuse; and

4. Participating in philanthropic projects, activities, and other community services.

IV. CHAPTER MANAGEMENT

The organization and administration of a Greek-letter organization, including arrangements made for housing members, have both direct and indirect effects on the vitality of the chapter. An optimal living environment for all members is achieved through sound fiscal management and efficient administration of chapter business functions, from property management to food services to a properly functioning house corporation. It assures chapter members and their parents that personal safety and health needs are being addressed satisfactorily.

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