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Five Steps to Starting or Renewing a Club

1. Schedule a meeting with the Office of Student Engagement. 

• ​​​​​​CWI students interested in starting a new club or renewing an existing club should schedule a meeting to receive guidance throughout the activation process.
• It is recommended a new club do this in the early stages.

2. Identify required club officers (President, Treasurer, Secretary) and advisor roles.

• Officer eligibility:
  • Must have a semester AND cumulative GPA of 2.0 or greater.
  • Enrolled in at least one (1) credit at CWI.
  • Must be in good conduct standing with CWI.
• Advisor eligibility:
  • Club advisors must be employed directly by CWI.

3. Complete the Club Registration Form.

• This form must be completed by a student in an officer role in the club.
• New and returning club registrations are only required once an academic year.
  • Clubs recognized in the Fall semester remain recognized through the end of the academic year (through summer term in July).
  • For a club to remain active throughout the summer term, they must have been recognized the spring term prior and the officers must be enrolled in at least one (1) credit over summer or the upcoming fall semester.
• Club open enrollment deadlines:
  • Fall 2025 – Sunday, Sept. 21 
  • Spring 2026 – Sunday, Feb. 15 
  • Clubs that were active in the previous academic year are considered active through the end of fall open enrollment on a contingency basis. During that time, clubs that have funds available will be allowed to request purchases for recruitment and outreach efforts.
    • Clubs will not be able to plan for events or submit requests that occur following the end date of the open enrollment period if they have not completed the steps for activation during the current academic year. 

4. ASCWI Club Recognition

• Clubs are recognized annually by ASCWI. 
• ASCWI will have a standing action item on their agendas for at least the first five (5) weeks of each semester that includes club recognition.
• Each new and returning club must present on their organization to ASCWI. The presentation should not exceed five (5) minutes and allow for up to five (5) minutes of questions.
• ASCWI requires written documentation of the following questions as part of the presentation: 
  • Is your club new or a renewal of a previously existing club?
  • What is the club’s purpose and goal for CWI students? 
  • What activities do you plan to hold, and how will your club benefit the student body?
  • How will you promote your club to the student body and recruit new members? 
  • What are your plans for maintaining club stability through the next two semesters and remain active in the long term?
  • How does your club define and enforce active membership? What are your club members collective interests and goals?
  • What officers' positions make up your club leadership, and what requirements do you have in place to run for an officer position in your club?
  • What are your club's plans of action to handle conflict within your club and address challenges that impact your club goals?
  • What are your club's financial goals and what are your strategies to reach them responsibly?
  • How will you measure the success of your club? What does a successful semester and year look like for your club? 
• Following each presentation, ASCWI will ask questions, discuss, and then vote on a club’s renewal or first-time recognition.
  • This will also include a requirement that the club officers and advisors complete their required club training within 10 business days. If they are not able to complete it within the allotted time, the club is able to request an extension by emailing ASCWI at ascwi@cwi.edu within two (2) business days of the club’s training deadline. ASCWI will respond to the club’s email about the next steps to have the extension approved.   

5. Complete Mandatory Club Officer & Advisor Training

• Clubs that have been recognized formally by ASCWI will be added to the required online training course and will be notified when all individuals have been added. Clubs who have not had officers and advisors complete the training are not able to request funds, spend funds, reserve spaces, or hold official events as a club.
• Training Requirement:
  • Within 10 business days from approved recognition status, club officers and advisor(s) are required to complete the mandatory online training.
  • Clubs unable to complete the training by the established/communicated deadline will need to submit an extension request to ASCWI prior to the deadline.
  • Failure to complete and/or request an extension may result in a review of recognition at the discretion of ASCWI.

Required Tasks for Recognized Clubs

Purpose

This section outlines the steps clubs must take to maintain an active status, how to get your club's information on the CWI website, and how to request funding. It also details the ongoing requirements for staying active, such as meeting monthly and sending a representative to mandatory Student Leadership Circle meetings.

Once clubs have received recognition status and completed their required online training, club officers are required to complete the following administrative tasks:

Request Club Funds from ASCWI

Once your club is recognized, you can apply for funding to support your activities. New clubs start with a balance of $0, while returning clubs may have funds remaining from the previous years. For more information on your club’s current balance, email clubs@cwi.edu. 

• To request funds: 
  • Draft a Plan: Outline how you intend to use the funds.
  • Gather Estimates & Quotes:  Collect official estimates or quotes for all planned expenses.
  • Submit a Funding Request to ASCWI: The Associated Students of Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵÍø (ASCWI) will review your request, schedule a hearing, and vote on whether or not to allocate the funds.

Request Club Web Page & Email Creation

Once recognized, all clubs are required to submit a Club Web Request Form to (1) request a new or update an existing club web page, and (2) request a creation for a general club email address.

• Club Web Page Request
  • The following information is needed for creating/updating a club web page:
    • Club description 
    • How to connect: How students can get involved or connected with the club (i.e.,  general club email, club meeting information, interest form, etc.) 
    • Officer information: Names, Positions, Profile Photos (125x125 pixel) 
• Club Web Page Images
  • All images must include documentation of artist permission to use the images for club use.
    • Header: 880x200 pixels minimum
    • Logo: 100x100 pixels minimum 
• Club General Email Address 
  • The Office of Student Engagement will assist in the facilitation and creation of a general club email account. Each club is required to have a general club email which all currently listed officers and advisors will have access to. All clubs emails will have a @cwi.edu domain. Within the Club Web Request Form, clubs should indicate their top 2 options for the email address handle. (For example, “chessclub@cwi.edu or puzzleclub@cwi.edu”)

Reserve Club Meeting Space & Time

Clubs are required to have their meetings times and locations publicly available to the campus community through the College's event calendar.

• Request a space and post to the events calendar through .
• For assistance with this, contact clubs@cwi.edu. 

Establish or Gain Access to a Club Social Media Page

Facebook pages will be established through the Office of Student Engagement through the following steps:

• Determine who will oversee the management of the page and which officers will have access. 
• Coordinate a time to have the officer who manages social media and the advisor to meet with Student Engagement by emailing clubs@cwi.edu. Be sure you have your passwords to your Facebook and access to your club email mailbox prior to the meeting.
• Coordinate with Student Engagement for establishing alternative social media pages.

Privileges

Recognized student clubs enjoy the following privileges: 

• Use of the name of the College in the club title (guidelines apply).
• Use of college facilities such as meeting rooms, event space, bulletin boards, and digital display advertising.
• Requests for funding from the Associated Students of Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵÍø (ASCWI).
• Use of the Business Office for banking services.
• Assistance from the Office of Student Engagement.
• Inclusion in the online directory of student clubs.
• Maintenance of a web page attached to the College’s website (guidelines apply).

Clubs may be established within the College for any legal purpose. Clubs focus may be religious, political, educational, economic, or social. 

As a general rule, membership in a recognized college organization must be open to all students. Additionally, a student may not be denied the rights of access to and participation in any college-sponsored or college-approved activity because of race, age, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, veteran status, or disability. 

Membership for Academic Organizations

Clubs that are academically focused, such as those related to specific majors or fields of study, must still be open to all students unless they are governed by a national organization with specific membership requirements.

For example, a club for business students cannot limit its membership solely to students in the business program. Any student who wishes to join must be allowed to do so. The only exception would be if the club is a chapter of a national association (like the Student Nurses Association) or an honor society that has specific GPA or course requirements. In these cases, the club must adhere to the membership guidelines set forth by its national affiliation.

Club Types

Purpose

Club types include academic, competitive, cultural, honors, general interest, and spiritual. 

 All student clubs are classified, or grouped, based on several criteria including their: 

• Function for the student body.
• Relationship with a department or office and/or the student government association.
• Access to various college resources.
• Level of risk posed from their activities to the College.

Each group that is classified as a club is then assigned a club type by Student Engagement based on their mission statement. Club types include academic, competitive, cultural, honors, general interest, and spiritual. 

Open Enrollment

Purpose

The timeframes each semester that clubs can be formed and renewed.

This period of time is considered a temporary/grace period. During this time student clubs may have limited student club privileges while they complete the annual registration process in order to recruit officers and/or members. Student clubs failing to complete the open enrollment registration process should do so the following semester. If a student club is able to demonstrate reasonable progress, ASCWI may grant extensions to the deadline at its discretion. 

Fall 2025

• Opens: Monday, Aug. 18
• Closes: Sunday, Sept. 21

Spring 2026

• Opens: Monday, Dec. 1
• Closes: Sunday, Feb. 15

Clubs that were active in the previous academic year are considered active through the end of the current fall open enrollment period on a contingency basis. Clubs with funds available will be allowed to request purchases for recruitment and outreach efforts to be supported. Clubs will not be able to plan for events that occur following the open enrollment period if they have not completed the steps for activation for the current academic year.

Summer 

• New and returning club registrations are only required once an academic year.
• Clubs recognized in the fall semester remain recognized through the remainder of the end of the academic year (through summer term in July).
• For a club to remain active of summer, they must have been recognized the spring term prior and the officers must be enrolled in at least one (1) credit over summer or the upcoming fall semester.