Rule 50202: Student Organizations

1.  Title

Student Organizations 

2.  Rule and Regulation

Sec. 1  Registration Procedures.   An organization in which membership is limited to students (recognizing that faculty and staff may also be members) of an institution may become a registered student organization at that institution by complying with the registration procedures established by the chief student affairs officer or his or her designee.

Sec. 2  Advisors.   The chief student affairs officer, with the approval of the president of an institution, may establish regulations requiring faculty or staff advisers for registered student organizations.

Sec. 3  Limitation on Representations.   A registered student organization may state that its membership is composed of students, or of students, faculty, and/or staff, of an institution, but it shall not suggest or imply that it is acting with the authority or as an agency of that institution. A student organization shall not use the name of an institution or the name of The University of Texas System as a part of the name of the organization, and it shall neither display the seal of either an institution or the U. T. System in connection with any activity of the organization nor use such seal or seals as a part of any letterhead, sign, banner, pamphlet, or other printed material that bears the name of the organization.

Sec. 4  Eligibility.   The chief student affairs officer, with the approval of the president of an institution, may issue regulations governing the eligibility of students for participation in organized activities. 

Sec. 5  Disciplinary Action.   Any student organization is subject to disciplinary action or revocation of registration as a student organization for violation of a rule or regulation of the U. T. System and/or of the institution at which the organization is registered.

Sec. 6  Coordination of Registration.   The president of each institution of the System shall require and enforce the following:

6.1  List of Officers and Members.   As a condition to being a registered student organization or group during a semester, every registered student organization or group shall furnish to the appropriate institutional officer at the beginning of each such semester a complete list of officers or other members of the organization or group who are authorized to speak for or represent the organization or group in its relations with the institution and who are authorized to receive for the organization or group official notices, directives, or information from the institution. Each such list shall be kept current and accurate throughout the semester by the organization or group, and it shall be conclusively presumed that the officers or members whose names are on the list most recently filed by the organization or group are authorized to speak for and represent the organization or group in its relations with the institution and are authorized to receive for the organization or group official notices, directives, or information from the institution.

6.2  Restrictions on Membership.   No registered student organization or group may have any person as a member who is not either a student or a member of the faculty or staff of the institution. Except pursuant to the provisions of the Regents’ Rules and Regulations, Rule 80106, no organization or group, whether registered or not, may use any facility of any institution of the System if it has as a member any person who is not either a student or a member of the faculty or staff of the institution.

6.3  Statement as to Make-up of Members.   At the beginning of each semester, each registered student organization or group must file with the appropriate institutional officer a written statement that the organization or group does not, and will not during the semester, have as a member any person who is not either a student or a member of the faculty or staff of the institution. If an organization or group fails or refuses to file the required statement, or if the Dean of Students determines that the statement is or has become false, the Dean of Students, after providing notice, shall begin disciplinary proceedings. The Dean or Hearing Officer may cancel the registered status of the organization or group or impose other appropriate penalties. 

6.4  Debts to the Institution.   No organization or group, whether registered or not, may use the facilities of any institution as long as it owes a monetary debt to the institution and the debt is considered delinquent by the crediting institutional agency.

Sec. 7  Limit on Registration.   Any institution may require student organizations or groups to sign an agreement to comply with institutional rules and may refuse to register any organization that refuses to sign such an agreement.

Sec. 8  Application for Re-registration.   A registered student organization whose registered status has been cancelled by the Dean of Students pursuant to Section 6.3 above or Rule 80103, Section 3 of the Regents’ Rules and Regulations may apply for re-registration not less than six months following the date of such cancellation.

3.  Definitions

Chief Student Affairs Officer – The administrative officer or officers directly responsible for student affairs at each institution. 

Dean or Dean of Students – Refers to the administrative officer or officers responsible for the administration of the disciplinary process at each institution.

Hearing Officer – An individual selected in accordance with procedures adopted by the institution to hear disciplinary charges, make findings of fact, and, upon a finding of guilt, imposes an appropriate sanction(s).

Student – The following persons shall be considered students for purposes of these policies and regulations:

1.  A person currently enrolled at an institution of the System.

2.  A person accepted for admission or readmission to an institution of the System.

3.  A person who has been enrolled at an institution of the System in a prior semester or summer session and is eligible to continue enrollment in the semester or summer session that immediately follows.

4.  A person who engaged in prohibited conduct at a time when he or she met the criteria of 1, 2, and 3 immediately above.

4.  Relevant Federal and State Statutes 

None 

5.  Relevant System Policies, Procedures, and Forms 

None 

6.  Who Should Know 

Administrators 
Dean of Students 
Chief Student Affairs Officer 
Students 

7.  System Administration Office(s) Responsible for Rule 

Office of Academic Affairs 
Office of Health Affairs 

8.  Dates Approved or Amended 

Regents’ Rules Revision History 

9.  Contact Information 

Questions or comments regarding this Rule should be directed to: 
•  bor@utsystem.edu