Start a Student Organization

Find Members & an Advisor

You need to have at least 10 currently enrolled students at Winona State who will be active members of this new student organization.

Make sure to have a list of students with first and last names spelled correctly. You may also want to include their Winona State email. 

You must have a Winona State faculty or staff member to serve as your university advisor. You can have another advisor from the Winona community in addition to your university advisor. 

Your selected advisor must fill out and sign an advisor agreement (PDF) that will be emailed to them once you have submitted your new student organziation request. 

Your advisor must complete this process within 1 week of filling out the student organization proposal form for Student Senate to review your request.

Establish a Constitution

A constitution outlines the rules and policies that guide your student organization’s operations. Use the sample student org club constitution (PDF) as a template. 

Please label your constitution as “___ Club Constitution 20xx (year submitted).” 

Here are some tips for writing the constitution: 

• Ensure that you include all required language as outlined in the sample constitution template (PDF)
• Add additional information to make this document one that properly reflects how your student organization operates
• Make sure several people review it and that it is approved by student organization members

You must review your constitution each year to make sure it is still an accurate reflection of how your student organization operates. Then, update it with the annual student organization registration process. 

Get Approval

First, fill out the New Club/Organization Proposal Form. You will need to have 10 members, a constitution, and your student organization advisor established before you start the online form. 

The ASO Director will receive an email with this information and review it to make sure all required material is included in the roster and constitution.

The ASO Director will bring the proposed new student organization to the Judicial Committee in Student Senate. The Constitution and roster will be reviewed by the Judicial Committee members.

If approved by the Judicial Committee, the student organization will be put on the consent agenda for the next Student Senate meeting. If not approved, the ASO Director will reach out to the primary contact and take the necessary actions. 

If approved by the Student Senate body in the consent agenda, the student organization will be approved manually by the ASO Director, and you should receive an email the following day. 

Finalize Details & Get Started

Upon Senate approval, the student organizationwill be added to the WSU Student Organization List. 

You may need to finish filling out additional information in the Student Organization Directory to finalize your new student organization.

After Student Senate has approved your proposal, your student organization will be able to reserve rooms on campus and apply for funding.