Definitions

1. Student Organization

    A student organization is a group of five or more eligible students who have formed around a defined mission or purpose and who have been officially recognized by Student Activities and Leadership Programs or Campus Recreation.

2. Service Organization

    Student Service Organizations defining characteristic is providing services to others that are professional in nature. They fit into the same set of requirements that all student groups have with a few notes:

        *Their reporting hierarchy tends to follow a business-like model.    

        *They tend to be responsible for generating much more revenue than a typical student organization.

        *They tend to have hourly employees.

         *Student service groups are very visible both on- and off-campus due to the nature of the service that they provide. Oftentimes, student service groups are perceived by the community-at-large to be a part of the institution in the same way that a department would be.  

        *The university often takes on additional liability concerns given the nature of the work that student service groups perform.

3. Affiliation

    A group who is a student-chapter of a larger regional or national organization may apply to be affiliated with Portland State University. Affiliation is a way to formalize a relationship between a student-run chapter of a larger organization and Portland State University while recognizing the role of the larger organization and in determining how the group functions, the mission, and purpose. Affiliated student chapters have fewer rights and responsibilities as a recognized student organization and may have a faculty, alumni, or community advisor with a more directive and engaged role. Affiliated student chapters are not funded through state dollars. 

4. Eligible Student Leader

    A student leader in the organization, for the purposes of this policy, is someone who has been hired or voted in and has decision making, community building, and administrative responsibilities in the organization. They are eligible if they are an undergraduate student completing six credits and maintain a 2.0 GPA per erm or a graduate student completing five credits maintaining a 3.0 GPA per term. Eligible student leaders must be in good standing with Portland State University (2.0 cumulative PSU GPA for undergraduates and a 3.0 cumulative PSU GPA for graduates). A person who is staff or faculty at Portland State, not including student staff, as defined by Human Resources, is not eligible to be a student leader.

5. Active member

    Current Portland State students who meet the criteria set out in the organization constitution. If no criteria is set, than an active member is one that the organization identifies as someone who regularly attends meeting and events.