Student Organizations FAQs

When you first enter your group, this notification should appear. Select "Group Re-Recognition" to complete the form.

When you fill out a form or survey on Embark, it is always linked to your personal Embark account, not to a group. You won't be able to find a draft or submitted form through your group's Embark page.

To find the surveys you have filled out, navigate to the home page and select "My Surveys/Forms" in the left-hand navigation bar.

You will receive a confirmation email from Embark once your Re-Recognition form is approved.

Approval means that your org may now freely use Embark, host meetings, and join the Involvement Fair.

Please visit our Annual Recognition Process page for the most updated information on the Re-Recognition process.

Everyone in a group will be prompted to sign the Anti-Hazing waiver once they log into that group for the first time. It is the org Board's responsibility to ensure that the roster is kept up to date, and to communicate to all members that they must log into Embark and sign the waiver when prompted.

To plan an event, you must first:

1. Reserve the space the event will take place (if the space is located on campus) through the Event Management System (EMS) and then,
2. Submit an Event Registration Form (ERF) on Embark. The ERF is how the Office of Student Involvement reviews and approves student-run events.

Before completing these steps, it is important to discuss with the members of your org the following questions:

• What are the goals of the event?
• How does this event align with our organization’s mission?
• Who do we plan to market our event to?
• How many people do we expect to attend this event?
• What student organizations or departments might be interested in co-sponsoring this event?
• How much will it cost someone to attend this event?
• Will we have food and/or alcohol at our event?
• Will we be using a service that requires a signed contract from the Office of Student Involvement?
• Will attendees need to sign waivers to participate?
• Will we be showing a movie or a show?

To register an event, you must submit an Event Registration Form (ERF) to the Office of Student Involvement. ERFs for in-person events should be submitted at least 14 days in advance. You are not required to submit an ERF for an in-person meeting, fire pit event, or off-campus trip. However, you may want to if you want your gathering to be publicized on the Embark and MHC events calendars.

If your event features a guest speaker or performer, you must notify the Office of Student Involvement at least 15-20 days before your event for an initial meeting. This meeting can take place before you submit an ERF.

In your Embark group, select “Create” then select “Event.” You will then be prompted to fill out the ERF. Please review the Embark Event Creation Guide for more information.

Make sure that you pressed “Submit” at the end of your ERF and not just “Save.” You will receive an email confirmation of your ERF submission if it has been properly submitted.

The Office of Student Involvement must approve your ERF before your event will appear in Embark. Please allow the office 48 business hours to review ERFs.

The primary event planner of the org, or a member who has an overall understanding of the event, is the best person to submit an ERF.

Your EMS reservation code is the six digit reservation number in the confirmation email that you received from EMS after you requested to reserve the space of your event. If you have not yet requested to reserve the space, submit a Campus Space Request Form on EMS.

If your group is not appearing in EMS, it may be because your group is new and Event Services has not submitted your group into EMS yet. If you’re trying to reserve something in EMS and your group has not appeared yet, please contact Event Services at eventservices@mtholyoke.edu.

To find your Campus Account Number, please contact the SGA Business Office at sga-bookkeeper@mtholyoke.edu.

Many spaces on campus can be reserved through the EMS, including tabling, meeting rooms, classrooms, auditoriums, residence hall common rooms, and outdoor locations. To request to reserve a space on campus, submit a Campus Space Request Form on EMS.

If you are planning an outdoor event, you must reserve an indoor rain location for the same day as your outdoor event or set a rain date (postpone your event to take place on another date outdoors). When choosing how long to request a space for, include some time for setup and cleanup if needed.

If your event requires bringing a guest to campus and paying them for their services, this will require a contract. A contract is a written agreement that holds all parties involved accountable. If you want to bring a guest to campus for your event, you must notify the Office of Student Involvement at least 15-20 business days before the date of your event. To ensure that your org has sufficient funds to bring a guest speaker or performer to campus, your org’s authorized signer must check your org’s funding in Embark. You will be required to meet with Student Involvement staff in order to bring a guest to campus for your event. Prior to your event, please review and send the Contractors and Invited Guests Brief to the guest of your event. You must also submit the Student Hire/Payment Request Form.

Only staff in the Office of Student Involvement can sign contracts. Contracts cannot be signed by students.

To fund your event, you can either use group funds already in your org’s account from past fundraisers or you can submit a budget request to SGA Ways & Means through Embark. Please visit our Funding page for detailed instructions on submitting a budget request.

The authorized signer of your org must be the person to submit a budget request to Ways & Means. Ways & Means has budget request deadlines every month. Please review the deadlines in the 2023-2024 Ways & Means Funding Guidelines.

In order to apply for monthly funding, your org’s authorized signer must complete the Ways & Means training. The training can be completed at any time throughout the academic year. For more detailed information on funding, please review the Ways & Means Funding Guidelines.

Your org’s spending limits will depend on the amount of funding that Ways & Means approves or the balance of your group funds.

You can share the cost of an event with another org or department through co-sponsorship. You can also shop around and explore the things you need for your event at varying price points, such as catering, supplies, etc.

Please refer to our Embark Ticketing, Fundraising & Payments guide.

Your org will be billed for any campus services or items provided by Facilities, Willits, the Print & Copy Center, and Campus Safety, including event setup, furniture delivery, catering, and event cleanup. The Business Office will send you campus bills via email and deduct bills from your org’s account automatically. To get a quote about the cost of campus services and which services can be provided by Mount Holyoke College, please contact Event Services at eventservices@mtholyoke.edu. We encourage you to request the prices of campus services so your org can make the most informed decisions about spending.

You are expected to clean up the space after your event ends, including taking out garbage, cleaning up major spills, and turning off lights.

You need a food license if you plan to:

• Have an off-campus caterer (including food trucks/carts) prepare and serve food at your event

• Rent a cotton candy machine, popcorn machine, etc. to use at your event

You do not need a food license to bring store-bought food or already-prepared catering to campus for your event. You must notify the Office of Student Involvement 30 days in advance of your event if your event requires a food license. Please review this list of common allergens when considering the food you will serve at your event. Please review the Campus Food for Students and Student Groups Policy for more information on serving food at your event.

Alcohol at events must be provided through Dining Services or Willits. You must follow the Alcohol Policy outlined on page 33 of the Recognized Student Organization Handbook. If you would like to have alcohol served at your event, you must notify Event Services at least 30 days in advance. Please contact Event Services at eventservices@mtholyoke.edu.

If you are planning a large-scale show or performance, such as J-show, AC Day, or Korea Night, you likely will need to plan rehearsals in advance leading up to the event. To coordinate rehearsals and other logistical and technical details, please contact Tim Dietrick at tdietric@mtholyoke.edu.

Most films require a fee to obtain the public screening rights. Check with Student Involvement if you need a public screening license. For more information, please review the Film Leasing Policy.

Please review the Accessible Event Planning guide for best practices on planning and hosting accessible events.

To request that your event is recorded, please submit the LITS Videography Request Form.

Here are some ideas on how to advertise your event:

• Hang flyers on bulletin boards around campus (before doing this, please review the Blanchard Hall Poster Policy and the Poster Policy for Residence Halls). Large quantities of flyers and posters can be printed by the Mail and Copy Center. To order bulk flyer/poster printing, please submit the Mail and Copy Center Service Request Form

• Sign out chalk from the Information Desk in the Community Center and write on campus sidewalks
• Create and submit a digital sign to be shown on the digital displays in the Community Center. Submit the Digital Signage Submission Form
• Submit content to be posted on the Division of Student Life social media channels
• Post about your event to your group’s social media channels
• Email all of your members on Embark
• Reserve a table through EMS and talk to students who pass through high-traffic areas, such as outside the Dining Commons
• Submit your event to Newsflush, a monthly newsletter that is posted in restroom stalls in buildings across campus. Sign up to have your event included in the Newsflush through SGA at sga@mtholyoke.edu
• Ask other event organizers if they will give a shout out about your upcoming event during their event

We encourage you to discuss the following reflection questions with the members of your org:

• Did we accomplish our goals with this event?
• What went well with this event?
• If we did this event again, how could we improve it?
• What lessons did we learn from planning this event that we could apply to future events?
• How was the event experience for the students who attended the event? For our co-sponsors? For our volunteers? Ask them!
• How many students came to our event? What factors affected attendance? What factors could we control (time, location) or not control (weather)?
• How well did we stick to our budget? Did we underestimate or overestimate how much this event would cost?

The SGA Business Office provides banking operations, account oversight, and training to student orgs. The Business Office uses Embark to:

• Request payments and reimbursements
• Process transfers
• Make deposits
• Process credit card orders
• Process campus bill payments

To find your Campus Account Number, please contact the SGA Business Office at sga-bookkeeper@mtholyoke.edu.

An authorized signer is an officer in your org who is responsible for submitting budget requests, reimbursements, and accessing your group funds through the Business Office.

Your org must have 2 authorized signers who are tagged as officers of your org in Embark. The officers who become authorized signers must be the treasurer and the chair or co-chair of your org.

To become an authorized signer, you must complete the SGA Business Office training in Embark and pass the quiz with a score of 100%. You can take the quiz as many times as needed until you receive a score of 100%. The training can be completed at any time throughout the academic year. Once you have passed the quiz, the Business Office will receive notification and will issue you an authorized signer tag. The tag is not automatically issued and may take up to 2 business days to process. Please note that authorized signers also need to complete the SGA Ways & Means training and quiz in order to be able to apply for funding.

The authorized signer of your org must be the person to request payment for contracts. Event planners must communicate with the authorized signer in order to process payments.

In order for contracts to be paid, they must first be signed by a staff member in the Office of Student Involvement and the guest speaker/performer. The authorized signer can submit invoices directly through Embark. Only the authorized signer of your org can submit payment requests in your group in Embark.

You must give an itemized receipt showing proof of payment or an invoice to the authorized signer of your org. Your authorized signer must then submit a payment request in Embark. Only authorized signers can submit payment requests in your group in Embark.

This is not a service that the Business Office provides. You are allowed to use cash at your event but your org must obtain the cash independently. If you are using cash at your event, you must check out a cash box from the Office of Student Involvement. If your event involves ticket sales, we encourage you to sell presale tickets online through PayPal on Embark.

To begin planning a fundraiser for your org, please submit the RSO Fundraising Registration Form in Embark. The form must be submitted at least 7 days before the start date of your fundraiser.

No, orgs cannot use crowdfunding platforms such as GoFundMe for fundraising and sales. Instead, groups should use the PayPal feature in Embark. Please visit the Funding page for more information.

To plan a meeting, you must first:

1. Reserve the space where the event will take place (if the space is located on campus) through the Event Management System (EMS) at least 3 days before the meeting date and then,
2. If you want to advertise your meeting on Embark, submit an Event Registration Form (ERF) on Embark.

You can reserve meeting spaces and hold meetings even if your org is not yet Recognized.

Please review this guide on how to send emails through Embark.

Org members are able to vote in officer elections through Embark. Please review this guide on how to run an election for your org in Embark.

Please follow the steps outlined on the Student Org Transition Checklist. Groups should complete elections and officer transition for the next academic year before the Registration Form opens in April of the current academic year. It is vital that you add your new officers to your Embark group’s Registration Form so that you receive essential information about Re-Recognition, training, funding, the Involvement Fair, and more.

The new treasurer or chair of your org must complete the SGA Business Office training in Embark and pass the quiz with a score of 100% in order to become an authorized signer. You can take the quiz as many times as needed until you receive a score of 100%. The training can be completed at any time throughout the academic year. Once you have passed the quiz, the Business Office will receive notification and will issue you an authorized signer tag. The tag is not automatically issued and may take up to 2 business days to process. Please note that authorized signers also need to complete the SGA Ways & Means training and quiz in order to be able to apply for funding.

Beginning in Fall 2023, every org is required to have an advisor. An advisor is someone who understands the mission and work of the group and can provide direct advice, support and resources. As a staff or faculty member, your advisor can help guide your org following campus policy and procedure and act as a student advocate. Advisors do not run their student organization, but serve to guide student organization members through the process of effectively operating as an organization, and may share ideas and insight, and provide resources and a different perspective. Please review this guide for more information on how to find an advisor. If you need help finding an advisor, contact the Office of Student Involvement.

Your org’s constitution should be saved in your Embark group (select Files > Uploaded Attachments). If it is not there, please contact Jaime DeCaro at jdecaro@mtholyoke.edu for assistance.

Please visit our Travel for Student Organizations page for the most updated information on group travel.

All overnight travel or travel 50 miles or more outside of the 5 College Consortium area must be approved by the Office of Student Involvement prior to any recognized student group confirming travel, making reservations, or paying any costs. Please visit our Travel for Student Organizations page for the most updated information on group travel.

You must submit itemized receipts showing proof of payment to the authorized signer of your org. Please write your name & student ID number at the top of each receipt and keep all receipts together. At the end of travel, submit all receipts to the authorized signer of your group. Only the authorized signer can submit payment requests for your group in Embark. If your receipt is not itemized or does not show proof of payment, you will not be reimbursed.

Mount Holyoke College owns a small fleet of vans and sedans which are available for student org use. Any Recognized Student Organization that wishes to drive a van or sedan must be approved. Groups wishing to reserve vehicles can call 413-538-2012 during office hours or submitting a request via this Google form. For more information, please contact Fleet Services.