RSO Annual Registration

RSOs are required to submit an RSO Annual Registration Form for each academic year when RSO activity resumes. The fall registration period runs from August 15 through October 15. RSOs that do not submit within the fall registration period will cease to be recognized until they complete their requirements. This means that the group may not reserve facilities, make purchases, or utilize the benefits and privileges held by RSOs. For groups that are dormant in the fall, the spring registration period runs from January 15 through March 15. The RSO Annual Registration Form should not be submitted until the RSO has elected officers. The RSO is not officially active for the current academic year until this form is completed. If there is a change of officers mid-year, an RSO advisor or officer may re-submit this form with the updated information or may email maritza.deljesus@lonestar.edu or cynthia.deleonguerrero@lonestar.edu, noting what has changed.

Advisors

Advisors are critical to the success of RSOs. Advisors bring continuity, help students to navigate college processes, assist student leaders in decision making, and serve as advocates and champions for RSOs. Each RSO must have at least one advisor. Per LSC policy, “…advisor means a person who (1) serves in an advisory capacity to a student organization and its members, (2) has aged at least 21 years, (3) is not a student at the College, and (4) is the College’s full-time employee or a part-time employee expressly authorized by a college president to serve in the appointed, volunteer capacity (LSC Policy Manual VI.13.02(c)). If students in the RSO are not able to find an LSC-CyFair employee willing to serve as an advisor, one will be temporarily appointed through the RSO Group Advisor Program until a permanent advisor can be found. RSOs assigned an advisor through the Group Advisor Program should continue looking for a permanent advisor. Serving as an RSO advisor may count toward institutional service for full time faculty; for all other employees, it is a purely voluntary position. Student Life appreciates the passion and dedication shown by so many RSO advisors…it is truly a labor of love!

RSO Advisor Agreement Form

The RSO Advisor Agreement Form should be submitted August 15 through October 15 for RSOs that register in the fall semester, or January 15 through March 15 for RSOs that don’t register until the spring semester. The form includes an agreement to follow the college’s non-discrimination and hazing policies and outlines basic expectations for RSO advisors. If there is a mid-year change of advisor or a new RSO is approved mid-year, this form must be submitted by the new advisor(s) immediately.

RSO Officer Agreement Form

The RSO Officer Agreement Form should be submitted August 15 through October 15 for RSOs that register in the fall semester, or January 15 through March 15 for RSOs that don’t register until the spring semester. The form includes an agreement to follow the college’s non-discrimination and hazing policies and outlines basic expectations for RSO student leaders. If there is a mid-year change of officers or a new RSO is approved mid-year, this form must be submitted by the new officer(s) immediately.

RSO Membership Roster Form

The RSO Membership Roster Form is due October 15 for the fall semester and March 15 for the spring semester. Active RSOs must submit this form each semester. The form should be submitted after September 15 for fall and February 15 for spring. Late submission of the form will result in the RSO Fund 14- account being frozen and RSO events being paused until the form is completed. In order to complete the form, it is important that someone within your RSO track membership. You will need to know your active members, with their LSC student ID numbers. A standard form is required and is available on the RSO Forms and Resources page.

Student Life is frequently asked how to determine whether someone should be included on the RSO roster. There is no hard-set rule, but as a guideline you can use is the rule of 5, meaning, during the semester has the individual:

• Attended 5 meetings
• Attended and participated in 5 events
• Served your RSO for 5 or more hours

The RSO Membership Roster Form is important for Student Life to track student engagement in activities at the college. Rosters are used as evidence that each active RSO has at least 2 members. We also use this information to calculate average GPAs for the Grade Cup, which is presented at the Student Excellence Awards every April to RSOs with at least 10 members and an average GPA of 3.0 or greater.

Risk Management Training

The State of Texas requires all colleges to provide annual risk management training for student organizations. Per state code and LSC policy, training consists of 3 parts:

• Advisor Training – This is required to be completed every year that the advisor serves. At least one advisor for each RSO must complete the training annually. Training is completed “at-will” in D2L. Passing grade will be 80% or greater to complete this element of the requirements.
• Officer Training – This is completed every year that the student serves in a leadership position and is available to be completed “at-will” in D2L. The law requires the following 4 officers (or similar positions) to attend: President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer. If there are 4 or fewer officers in your RSO, all of the officers must complete the training. Passing grade will be 80% or greater to complete this element of the requirements.
• Member Briefing – After advisors and officers have been trained, they are required to provide briefing for members, discussing the program’s contents and where members can find the training materials. It does not need to be the full training that advisors and officers receive. There is a Risk Management Member Briefing Video available on the RSO Forms & Resources website, which can be used for your member briefing, however use of this video is not required. Alternatively, you can find the Risk Management for RSOs Slide Show, also found on the same web page.
• RSO Risk Management Training Compliance Form - Once the previous 3 training components of Risk Management Training have been completed, an officer or advisor from the RSO must submit this form. 

All parts of Risk Management Training must be completed by October 31. Late submission of the Risk Management Completion Form will result in the RSO Fund 14- account being frozen until completed, and the RSO will not be permitted to host events. RSOs that register in the spring registration period must complete this requirement no later than March 31, or budgets will be frozen and no events may be hosted by the RSO until completed.

Student Government Association General Assembly Meetings

RSOs are expected to attend the SGA General Assembly meetings, which are hosted by the Student Government Association (SGA). Failure to attend a meeting may result in a $50 reduction of funds. There is one meeting per month, in September, October, November, February, March, and April. Meetings dates, times, and locations are listed on the SGA web page. SGA officers will conduct an RSO roll call at the beginning and end of each meeting. A representative must be present at both roll call in and roll call out to be counted as fully present. A student may only represent one RSO at a General Assembly meeting, and that individual will only carry one vote.

RSO advisors may occasionally attend, but not as a student representative. Advisors should remember that SGA is a student-led organization, so employees should keep their input to a minimum. SGA and General Assembly meeting minutes are posted on the SGA website. Links to minutes for past meetings are also listed on the page.

Involvement Fair

Ongoing recruitment of new members is critical to all RSOs. Student Life assists in this process by hosting the Involvement Fair at the beginning of every fall and spring semester, for 2 days each semester. RSOs are expected to attend. There is no pre-registration for this event. Your RSO will only submit a Logistics Request Form for this event if you need something purchased to support your RSO at Involvement Fair. 

Student leaders should consider the best way to recruit new students by making their RSO exciting and interesting for other students. Sitting behind a table waiting for other students to approach you is not a good way to recruit. Get up and talk to people and consider creating a fun and interactive activity at your table! A representative from the RSO must check out a Studnet Life tablecloth and any other requested equipment from Student Life and return it each day of Involvement Fair.

PURCHASING PROCESSES

Purchasing

Purchasing items for RSOs can be a challenge. There are special requirements and/or procedures for some typical RSO expenditures, including: food purchases, promotional items, travel-related expenses, office supplies, printing, and other purchasing types. After-the-fact is not the time to contact Student Life for assistance, as it is often too late. RSOs may submit a Student Life Logistics Request Form for most purchases. Please note that this form must be submitted at least 10 business days in advance for most purchases, but for some items purchases, such as promotional items, much more lead time will be needed. You should submit Logistics Request Forms as soon as you are aware of the purchase. Do not wait until 10 business days before you need something to submit the form. Business days are Monday-Friday when LSC offices are open for normal business operations. Winter break, spring break, and holidays are not counted as business days.

The Student Life team will do its best to make the exact purchases listed in Logistics Requests Forms, however, there may be times when we have to use a different vendor to streamline our purchasing. We will always look for options where delivery to the College is provided. If there is a delivery charge, that cost will be paid by the RSO's budget. Student Life personnel will not go out into the community to make RSO purchases or to pick up items. If pick-up is required, the RSO is responsible for that transportation. 

Paying out-of-pocket for RSO expenses is strongly discouraged, as there is no guarantee that you will receive reimbursement for any unauthorized purchases made. Planning ahead and working through the process with the Logistics Request Form is the proper procedure for RSO purchases. 

Tax Exemption

As a non-profit organization, LSC is exempt from paying Texas state sales tax. Every effort must be made to ensure that Texas state sales taxes are not paid when making purchases for RSOs (and departments). LSC tax exemption may only be used for LSC purchases. Any use of the tax exemption for personal use or for another organization or individual is a violation of the law and would be dealt with seriously. When paying for hotel rooms in the state of Texas, you will need to use the hotel tax exemption form. You can get the Sales Tax Exemption Form or the Hotel Sales Tax Exemption Form from Student Life.

One Card & Declining Balance Card

A limited number of employees hold a One Card (college credit card) for procurement and purchasing. RSO Advisors who have a One Card may make purchases on behalf of their RSO, being careful to code all RSO expenses to the proper budget number. It is strongly recommended that you consult with Student Life prior to making any RSO purchases, even if you have a One Card or work with another non-Student Life employee who holds a card. Remember from your One Card training that if an expense is deemed to be unauthorized or outside of LSC policy/procedure, it is the responsibility of the card holder to repay the expense to the College, and there could potentially be other penalties.  

When traveling with an RSO, the advisor may submit an application for a declining balance card to Business Services. The application have an approved TR1 Travel Authorization Form attached, and the advisor must show proof that they have submitted a Travel & Expense Authorization (TEA) in iStar. Declining Balance Card applications must be submitted at least one month before the travel is to occur. 

Reimbursement for Out-of-Pocket Expenses

Whenever possible, an LSC One Card or a Requisition should be used to make purchases. However, given the nature of RSOs, we realize that this is not always possible or practical. Student leaders who make out-of-pocket purchases will need to bring their receipt(s) to the Specialist III or Manager of Student Leadership & Activities, who will process it for reimbursement. RSO advisors who pay out-of-pocket will need to submit an Expense Report in iStar for reimbursement. However, if the RSO funds are frozen or if the RSO does not have funds in their account, no reimbursement will be paid out. 

Every effort should be made by the student to secure tax exemption when making the purchase, as tax will not be reimbursed. Be mindful that if purchasing processes are not followed, reimbursement may not be possible (e.g. if you purchase an office supply at a store other than Staples, you may not be reimbursed, as it does not comply with purchasing processes). For your own protection, it is strongly recommended that your RSO plan ahead and use the Logistics Request Form instead of paying out-of-pocket.

Gift Card Purchases

In accordance with LSC Procedures, RSOs are not allowed to purchase gift cards using Fund 14 money. If an RSO has available funds in their Fund 50 account, they may use that money to purchase gift cards.

Prizes

Sometimes RSOs offer prizes as incentives to attend events or to complete surveys. As a general guideline, the dollar value for any individual prize that will be purchased using an RSO's Fund 14 money is set at a maximum of $50. When awarding prizes purchased with Fund 14 money, it is important to establish procedures to ensure that they are not veiled gifts to club officers or members. When a prize is awarded by an RSO, it should never go to an officer, nor to any individual who was involved in the planning or running of the event associated with the prize.

Promotional Items

LSC uses an approved vendor for all promotional items purchasing (t-shirts, pens, trophies, or anything that has the college name and/or log imprinted). RSOs planning to purchase promotional items must complete the Student Life Logistics Request Form. If you need designs/artwork for promotional items, you must also submit a Student Life Graphic Design Request Form. If your RSO is submitting artwork created by a club member, remember that, due to copyright infringement and graphics quality, it is not acceptable to download images from the internet for use in promotional items designs. This work is best left to professionals.

You should anticipate that any purchase of promotional items will take at least one month to complete. Some items will take even longer. Remember to plan time for your graphic design work to be completed as well. Student Life personnel has several time-consuming steps that we must take to complete promotional items purchasing. Please be patient while we work through the process!

Promotional items are intended to use to help market your organization. Therefore, purchases at the end of the spring are not effective. Therefore, the last day to submit a Logistics Request Form for promotional items is March 31. However, if there are swept RSO funds after the May 15 RSO spending deadline, your RSO may request a promotional items purchase at that time, for use in the next academic year. 

Office Supplies

All office supplies must be purchased through our approved vendor, Staples Advantage. To place orders online, submit the Student Life Logistics Request Form.

Technology Purchases

Technology purchases must be made through the Office of Technology Services (OTS). This includes everything from computers, to iPad covers, to software. RSOs must submit the Student Life Logistics Request Form for any and all technology-related purchases. 

Printing

Most printing for RSOs is done at the printshop on campus. RSO leaders and/or advisors can fill out a Student Life Logistics Request Form for printshop jobs or jobs that will be sent off-site to print. For smaller jobs printing black/white copies, RSOs may print in the Office of Student Life (SC 202). The Student Life staff can log them in so that copies are charged to the RSO account. For printing projects that are sent off-site, a much greater lead time is required, as there are several time-consuming steps in the process that must be completed. 

Contracts

Whenever external contractors or other vendors are brought to campus for an event, a contract is required, even if the contractor or vendor is not being paid. RSOs must work through Student Life to navigate the process of getting a contract created and executed using the process established by the LSC Office of General Counsel (OGC). An RSO may not bind the college to any agreement on its own. If Student Life is not involved in the contracting process, an RSO may not utilize an OGC contract and the RSO advisor is responsible for execution of the contract. When working through Student Life using OGC contracts, all paperwork will need to be completed and signed weeks in advance. If the vendor is not already set up in the system, it will take some time to get them ready for payment. Please visit with Student Life personnel for assistance with this process. LSC policy requires extra steps when bringing speakers to campus, click here for additional information about bringing speakers to campus.