Starting an Organization

• All materials to start a new organization are submitted within the same process and can be completed by following the instructions below:
  1. Log in to OrgCentral
  2. Navigate to the tab “Organizations” at the top of the page
  3. On the left, click “Register an Organization
  4. Scroll down below “Re-Register Existing” click “Register a New Organization”
  5. If you do not see “Register a New Organization”, the recognition process is not open. Please refer to the timeline above for when it will open.
  6. If you are seeking to start a recreational sport, please email us at StudentOrg@psu.edu prior to starting your application. There are restrictions on the level of sport that can be recognized as a student organization, and a separate process for Competitive Sports Teams that you can learn about by emailing clubsports@psu.edu
• After the New Recognized Student Organization Request has been submitted, the Office of Student Leadership & Involvement will contact you for a New Organization Meeting.

All organizations must have at least 10 University Park students, including a President, Treasurer & Event Planner. The President and Treasurer may not be the same student. The Event Planner can also be the President or Treasurer.  Only 1 student may be listed in a role at a time. We do not permit Co-Officers for these positions.

• *If you are submitting for a Physical Activity/Dance RSO, you will also need to identify a student Safety Officer and Instructor.

OrgCentral will need the abc123@psu.edu of each member on the roster. OrgCentral does not accept Penn State alias emails or email addresses from other email clients.

Organizations are required to have a full-time faculty or staff member that works at Penn State University Park. The Advisor Approval Form will be submitted in OrgCentral on the "Officer & Advisor Information" page. The advisor’s supervisor’s signature is required on the form to be accepted.

All organizations are required to have a constitution on file. Please use this sample constitution to review the required language that all constitutions must include. Newly forming organizations that have a national constitution must still include the requirements found in the sample constitution. The constitution will be uploaded into OrgCentral in the Constitution and Roster section.

New Student Organizations will be required to enroll and complete Mandatory Officer Training. Once your organization is officially recognized, you will be sent a welcome message that will contain the requirements and instructions to enroll in the training. 

​​​​​Newly forming organizations that choose their category as Dance or Physical Activity are required to have additional materials on file with the Office of Student Leadership and Involvement. These additional materials must be completed by the end of the New Student Organization Recognition Timeline stated above. All Dance and Physical Activity Organizations must:

• Always retain a safety officer(s) (must be students)
• Always retain an instructor(s) (must be students)
  • Safety Officer(s) and Instructor(s) must maintain Adult CPR/AED and Standard First Aid certifications from the American Red Cross, American Heart Association, or Emergency Care and Safety Institute
• Submit the following forms annually to the Office of Student Activities through OrgCentral:
  • Instructor Form
  • Safety Officer Form
  • Participation Agreement Form - anyone participating in organization activities or on the organization roster in OrgCentral must complete this form

Please reach out to the Office of Student Leadership and Involvement at studentorg@psu.edu with any questions regarding the requirements above.

Organizations associated with a National Organization are required to provide documentation affirming their recognition from the National Office. This documentation should be on official letterhead with a signature from the appropriate National Office member. This document will be uploaded in OrgCentral when completing the process above.

Organizations looking to use a trademarked name/word(s) must provide documentation that the name/word(s) can be used by the organization at Penn State. This typically will come from the company that owns the trademark. Documentation affirming the name/word(s) can be used will be uploaded in OrgCentral when completing the process above.

No, a Professor Emeritus cannot serve as the primary advisor. The primary advisor must be a full-time Faculty or Staff member at Penn State University Park. A Professor Emeritus may be a co-advisor, but all organizations must have at least one full-time faculty or staff members as their primary advisor.

Only non-exempt staff will need a supervisor's signature. Your Advisor will know their status and if they need that or not. Otherwise, you can leave that signature line blank.

You can always view the comments to why your submission was denied. To view those comments:

1. Log in to OrgCentral
2. Click on your initial (or photo) in the upper right corner 
3. Click “Submissions” 
4. Under “My Submissions”, navigate to “Organization Registrations” 
5. Find the registration and click the “eye” icon to the right of the submission 
6. Here you should be able to see why the submission was denied
7. To re-submit with updates, please review the FAQ “My application was denied. How do I fix it?”

If your registration was denied, you can fix it without completely having to re-do the work you have already done. To access the denied re-registration process, you can do it one of two ways:

• Via Email 
  1. Click on the “View Registration Submission” button at the bottom of the denied email you received 
  2. Here you can navigate to the different areas you may need to update 
  3. Make sure to click “Submit” so it is received by the office 
• Via OrgCentral 
  1. Log in to OrgCentral
  2. Click on your initial (or photo) in the upper right corner 
  3. Click “Submissions” 
  4. Under “My Submissions”, navigate to “Organization Registrations” 
  5. Find the registration and click the “eye” icon to the right of the submission 
  6. Here you can navigate to the different areas you may need to update 
  7. Make sure to click “Submit” so it is received by the office 

If you aren’t sure if you submitted your registration/application, you can check by: 

1. Log in to OrgCentral
2. Click on your initials (or photo) in the upper right corner 
3. Click “Submissions” 
4. Under “My Submissions”, navigate to “Organization Registrations” 
5. Here you can see all your submissions. If you submitted it, it will say either “Pending”, “Approved”, or “Denied”. If it wasn’t submitted, it will say “In Progress” 
6. To submit, click on the “eye” icon to the right of the submission. Here, you can click “Submit” 

New student organizations are not recognized student organizations until they have 10 members plus their advisor accept their invitations for the roster. When all members have accepted their invitation, we will move your organization to Active status, and you will receive a welcome email. If members are having issues accepting their invitations, please review the FAQ “How do my members accept their invitations?”

After re-registration, invitations are sent to all members and the advisor of your organization. They must accept their invitation to complete the New Student Organization Process and to be shown on the roster. Officers and members can either check their PSU email for the invitation or log in to OrgCental and “Pending Invitations” can be seen under “My Membership” on their home page.

All new organizations are Frozen until all materials have been approved and members have accepted their invitations. Being Frozen does not affect the ability to complete any aspect of the New Student Organization Process in OrgCentral.

All organizations, including new recognized student organizations, must complete the re-registration process each April.