INDEPENDENT vs.
UNIVERSITY ORGANIZATIONS
At Cornell University, student organizations register with the Student Activities Office as either Independent or University. Below is a description of each.
Independent organizations are primarily those organizations
that have a volunteer advisor whose university job description, if any, does
not require service as an advisor. Advisors work with organizations on their
own time. Each independent organization must complete the Agreement for a Contracted
Independent Organization Form and a CIO Addendum/Statement of Officers' Compliance.
When entering into legally binding agreements/contracts, independent organizations are not permitted to represent themselves as a unit or an agent of Cornell University for any purpose. The independent organization is not authorized to commit Cornell University contractually and therefore, the agreement/document dos not contain the commitment of, and is not in any manner binding upon or enforceable against, Cornell University. Contractual agreements for independent organizations must be signed and negotiated by student member of the independent organization.
In addition to the privileges available to all organizations, independent organizations
are eligible to use the Cornell University name in their organization name for
publicity, uniforms, or other purposes, according to university guidelines regarding
the use of the Cornell name and logo, and subject to approval through the Office
of Community Relations and/or Student Activities Office. However, when entering
into legally binding, contractual agreements, an organization that uses the
Cornell name in its organization name must use the university name in a locational
sense. For example, "Cornell Rugby Football Club" should be "Rugby Football
Club at Cornell." Student members of independent organizations will qualify
for Club Insurance coverage through the payment of the Student Activity fee.
A university organization is affiliated with a university department or unit,
and that department or unit acknowledges the organization as part of its activities
and has assigned an employee or graduate student to advise and oversee the organization's
activities. University organizations sponsor activities that fully relate to
the education, research, and community-service mission of the university and
to the goals or objectives of the university department or unit to which they
are affiliated. The department or unit may, but is not required to, provide
office space, a university account administered by the department or unit, a
financial allocation and/or faculty, staff, or other administrative support.
The membership of university organizations may comprise only currently registered
Cornell University students or faculty or staff members. Nonmembers of the Cornell
community may be considered volunteers to the organization but not as members.
Volunteers must be approved by the Department of Risk Management and Insurance.
When entering into legally binding agreements/contracts, university organizations are required to have a university official review and sign off on the document. Students may not sign agreements/contracts for university organizations.