Campus Policies

Advisor

All registered student organizations are required to have a full time faculty or staff member serve as an official advisor to their organization. This role must be included on the organization’s EmConnect roster. Exact duties of the advisor may differ from organization to organization. We expect student organizations to confirm an  advisor's commitment at the beginning of every semester and to communicate with their advisor regularly on the management and planning of their organization.

Failure to have a full time faculty or staff advisor will result in your organization being classified as Independent, and access to organization funds will be frozen and reservation of certain spaces on campus will be limited until a new advisor is found. Organizations will have a 30 day grace period to find a new advisor once SEAL has been notified.

Please note: The responsibility of finding a new advisor lies with the organization. 

Independent Organizations

Emerson College does not endorse the views or activities of any independent student organization and requires that independent student organizations remain in compliance with the Code of Community Standards.

Membership in an Independent student organization and participation in its activities are voluntary and all risks of personal injury, property damage, or other losses that occur incidental to membership or participation in activities are assumed solely by the individual member(s) and other participant(s).

Independent student organizations are not official components of the College. Independent student organizations are permitted to have external affiliations and may be part of an incorporated external organization. Any off-campus activities of Independent student organizations are the sole responsibility of the organization, officers, and members and are not sanctioned by Emerson College.

Please refer to the Independent Orgs Policy for more information which can be found on EmConnect. 

EmConnect Management

EmConnect is the official place of record for all student organizations. To maintain registration status with the college, all student organizations must update their roster at the beginning of each semester. Failure to update positions (and remove former members) may result in probation or loss of registration status for your organization, which will result in a loss of funding. 

All SGA funded organizations must manage their finances through their EmConnect account including submitting all financial requests.

Membership Removal

SEAL must ensure all students have the right and access to participate in educational activities across campus. As such, a student organization does not have the right to remove another student from participation in their club or organization. Membership removal must be connected to sanctions provided by the Office of Community Standards or the Office of Equal Opportunity.

Leadership removal can occur if an organization leader is found to be unable to perform their respective duties, as outlined within the organization constitution. To initiate a formal removal of a leadership position, a student organization must notify and receive approval from SEAL.

If an organization needs to report a violation of the Code of Community Standards, you may do so via Share a Concern -www.emerson.edu/shareaconcern. If you wish to report conduct prohibited by the college’s policy against Sexual Violence, Harassment, and Discrimination, including but not limited to sexual harassment, sexual assault, stalking, and relationship violence, please do so via email at oeo [at] emerson.edu (oeo[at]emerson[dot]edu).

Individual members who have been impacted by Sexual Violence, Assessment, and Discrimination are encouraged to talk to the staff in the Office of Equal Opportunity for assistance and support.

On-Campus Events and Reserving Campus Spaces

SEAL works closely with many departments on campus in supporting students and student organizations in their events. All on-campus events hosted by a student organization require endorsement from their advisor, and logistical coordination and communication with the managing department of the space.

All community members may utilize Spacebook to access, view, and reserve specific locations on campus. Spacebook is accessible through any standard internet browser at https://spacebook.emerson.edu

Organizations are required to reserve spaces under their organization name, and not as an individual student.

Spaces on campus may have their own guidelines or policies for reserving or utilizing the spaces. Please contact the managing department of that space for specifics. Cancellations should be made in advance online or by contacting the managing department. All college policies must be complied with at all times within the spaces.

Individuals and/or organizations reserving the room may be held responsible for any damages to equipment or physical spaces while utilizing the space. Fines may be levied for cleaning or damages if applicable. 

Failure to abide by the space guidelines may result in a policy violation and limit on future bookings.

Off-Campus Events

Events held off-campus using, or implying, the Emerson College name, utilizing the Emerson College accounting system and SGA allocated funds, or off-campus events publicized on campus are subject to all College policies and procedures as events held on campus. In addition, to utilize an off-campus facility, students must arrange for a contract between the facility and the College. The Director of Student Engagement and Leadership is the College designee authorized to enter into contractual agreements with an off campus facility on behalf of the student organization. Advisors and students are not permitted to sign contracts.

Non-Academic Student Travel

Any student organization who wishes to travel for a sanctioned organization event/trip needs SEAL approval. Approval may only be granted after details of the trip are submitted via the Trip Registration form (located on the myEmerson Housing & Student Life Page). This form must be completed at least 10 business days before the trip occurs for domestic travel. Students who wish to travel internationally must contact the Office of Student Engagement and Experience at least three months prior to travel.

Organizations are required to use this form if student organization funds are utilized to pay for travel expenditures, whether through reimbursement or pre-purchased, including but not limited to: charter services; ride sharing; ground or public transportation; airfare; rental vehicles; and hotel accommodations, etc. 

Staff/Faculty chaperone(s) may be required, pending trip details. Staff/Faculty chaperone(s) and trip participants are responsible for the safety and security of the properties rented for any travel. All students must sign a liability waiver before going on the trip. 

In order to participate in a trip, all student participants must be in good disciplinary standing with the college. 

In case of an emergency, SEAL and ECPD will have a record of your trip details and a list of all participants and their emergency contacts. 

Obtaining Rights

Organizations or individuals wishing to put on a production are ALWAYS required to obtain the rights/license for copyrighted works, including for theatrical productions and film or media screenings. Any organization or student(s) who do not obtain the rights for any theatrical performance or film screening could lose the privilege of hosting film screenings or theatrical performances as determined by the Student Engagement and Leadership office. Loss of privileges could include: loss of access to org financial spending, inability to book on and off campus spaces, etc.

Films can only be screened without obtaining the rights if they are for educational purposes within an academic class (i.e. professors showing films in a classroom). Organizations cannot forgo obtaining rights by stating the screening is for an educational purpose.

Any publicized screening in a public venue (which includes all non-academic spaces on campus, except for personal spaces within the residence halls) requires rights.

All rights must be purchased by the SEAL office. Students and organization advisors are NOT authorized to purchase/sign contracts for film rights on behalf of the College. 

Film Productions

SEAL works closely with the Department of Visual & Media Arts to support students and student organizations in their film productions. All film productions, whether in a student organization or an academic project, are required to register to abide by the Visual and Media Arts Student Production and Safety Policies. As part of our policy, all film shoots must be submitted via the VMA Portal, located on the VMA Student Production and Safety Guidelines. 

The VMA Portal allows students to submit projects, safety forms, insurance forms, location permits, minors guidelines, contracts, locations, and other necessary documents which are required for approval by the VMA Safety Director and respective space managers.

Fundraising

Individual students are not permitted to use Emerson resources or facilities to raise funds for themselves or personal projects. 

Registered organizations may only participate in fundraising activities, including ticket or other sales and collecting donations, that abide by the fundraising policy which can be found on EmConnect.

Personally made food items are prohibited for fundraising.

All funds raised by student organizations must be deposited via SEAL. Organizations may not use an individual’s Venmo or CashApp to raise funds.

Students enrolled in the Business Studies and Entrepreneurial Studies E3 programs are exempted during academic events, such as the E3 Expo, with approval from the Director of Student Engagement and Leadership, as well as faculty members.

Contracts

For events, performers, rights, outside services (e.g. art work, video/music editing), or venues, a contract must be reviewed and signed by the Director of Student Engagement and Leadership. Advisors and students are not permitted to sign contracts.

If your event or program requires a contract, please contact the Director of Student Engagement and Leadership at least six weeks prior to the event.

Physical Poster Posting Policy

Individual students can request approval for postings related to academic approved projects only.

All posters by student organizations must be reviewed and approved through Campus Life for posting. All hard-copy postings must have an official SEAL Approval Stamp. We do not accept any digital submissions for physical postings.

All posters must include an Emerson College email address and name of sponsoring student organization clearly listed on the poster for approval.

Posters will not be approved if they imply an event where underage students may be served alcohol or for non-College events.

Posters may be placed on bulletin boards found within campus buildings using tacks only. No posters may be placed on walls, in elevators, stairwells, fire escapes, doors, windows, bathroom stalls, mirrors, fences, light posts, or trees, or attached to surfaces with staples, tapes, or other adhesives. Failure to comply will result in your poster being removed, potential loss of posting privileges, student organization registration, and potential referral to Community Standards. 

All postings should be taken down within 3 weeks after posting.

Please refer to the Campus Posting Policy for more information as well as locations of bulletin boards.