UW Tacoma has many great organizations, and is always open to more! If you have an idea for a new club, follow the steps below to make the leap from friend group to Registered Student Organization.

How to Register an Organization

Step 1: Research 

Review the current list of Registered Student Organizations to make sure your idea isn't already being fulfilled by another group. Read through the RSO Policies & Resources to gain an understanding of what it means to lead a student organization and the resources at UW Tacoma for student clubs. RSO leadership is a large and sometimes complex responsibility, and understanding the policies and resources in place will give you a sense of what will be involved.

Step 2: Founding membership 

Collect four (4) currently enrolled UW Tacoma students who are willing to serve as founding officers for your group. The RSO Registration form will require the use of the officer titles "president," "vice president," "secretary," and "treasurer," but you can change these once your RSO's DubNet page has been established.

Step 3: Advisors

Find at least one UW Tacoma faculty or staff member willing to serve as your advisor. If you have trouble finding an advisor, write to uwtclubs@uw.edu, and a staff member will attempt to find an advisor through the campus email announcement service. Advisors are available to provide RSO officers with advice, and must be present at RSO events that take place on campus space after business hours and on weekend. The advisor will need to fill out an advisor agreement with the Center for Student Involvement.

Step 4: Constitution 

Every RSO needs a constitution that is available to its members and on file with the Center for Student Involvement. Prospective groups will be required to submit their constitution on the New RSO Registration Form. 

An RSO's constitution should, at minimum, declare the purpose and mission of the club, establish membership requirements, describe officer positions and their responsibilities, establish an election process, and establish a process for amending the constitution. 

The specific content of an RSO's constitution is largely up to the founding officers, but the university requires two statements in the membership requirements section of the constitution:

  • Statement of membership: "The majority membership of [RSO Name] will consist of currently enrolled UW Tacoma students. Currently enrolled UW Tacoma students are the only members who will have voting privileges in RSO elections and other club business, and are the only members who can serve as officers."
  • A nondiscrimination clause: "Membership will not be restricted on the basis of race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, or status as Disabled Veteran, or Vietnam era veteran.”

A sample constitution can be found below:

Step 5: The Registration Form

Log into DubNet and complete the New RSO Registration Form (Link navigates to a directory of clubs, with a button for the form at the top of the page). You will receive a response to your submission within 3-5 business days of the form being submitted. The form will ask for a logo and mission statement, but only the information in Steps 2-4 will need to be finalized for your registration to be approved; you may use a placeholder logo on submission and change it later.

When you submit the names of your founding officers, you will link to their DubNet profiles and they will be sent an email asking them to confirm their officership. Please make sure that all officers respond and confirm their officership, as registration cannot be approved until the member/officer minimum has been met.

Step 6: Orientations and information sessions 

Every new RSO must complete an orientation to access resources for their group. Club Camp is the annual day-long orientation for club officers, covering all the basic information for operating an RSO. Club Camp takes place in mid-September every year, and the Center for Student Involvement asks that every RSO send two officers to Club Camp to represent their group. A new RSO's registration does not need to be complete for officers to attend Club Camp, which is open to all.

For groups that form later in the school year, the Center for Student Involvement offers alternative RSO Orientation sessions. Please write uwtclubs@uw.edu for more information. 

Once all the steps above are complete, your organization has access to all of the services and funding sources that the Registered Student Organization program offers.

Organization Ideas

Not every new RSO needs to start from scratch. Reach out to uwtclubs@uw.edu to determine if there is an inactive club that fulfilled the same mission. Many of these organizations have existing constitutions and may have a faculty/staff advisor who remains interested in the club's mission. Let our office know if you'd like to learn more.