New Student Organization Requirements

Students hoping to create a new student organization must submit an application to both the Student Life Committee and the Office of Student Engagement for review and to attend a hearing. 

Process for Creating a New Student Organization

  • A student interested in starting a new student organization should fill out the New Student Organization Application found on KCon. 

  • The Office of Student Engagement, alongside the Student Life Committee, will contact the student who submitted the application for the potential new organization and schedule a meeting to discuss:

    • The reasoning for starting a new organization

    • Proposed plan for how the organization will operate  

    • Going over the timeline for earning recognition as a registered student organization.  

  • The following items must be submitted on the application before meeting with the Student Life Committee of Student Council will be offered, which includes: 

    • Constitution/bylaws 

    • Mission statement, anti-hazing statement and Title IX statement 

    • Responsibilities of officers 

    • Space needs

    • Identifying advisor (if applicable) 

    • Plan for sustainable and long-term operation of the organization

    • Draft an operating budget

    • Compiling a potential membership list 

After meeting with Student Engagement and the Student Life Committee, the proposed organization will then present their plan to the entire Student Life Committee. The Student Life Committee will then make a recommendation for the prospective new student organization to move forward to the Student Council following the hearing process, or provide feedback for the group on any requested changes to their application. If the prospective new student organization is recommended to present to Student Council, they will then vote to approve or deny the student organization application. 

After receiving formal recognition from the Student Council, the group is free to operate as a registered student organization. At this point, the organization shall follow all necessary policies and processes for managing a registered student organization at Kenyon.

Note: Kenyon College does not recognize returning or new organizations that have exclusive access to a private property or off campus space or who plan to operate in an off campus location. Organizations reported to be in violation of this policy will be placed into inactive status until an investigation is concluded.