Student Involvement

Baseline

Baseline logo

 

Student Organizations are vital to campus life, culture and the overall experience that most students have while at Xavier. The purpose of this program is to set a minimum level of expectations (or baselines) by which Student Organizations should meet (and exceed) in order to remain active and funded at Xavier. 

Participating Organizations

Clubs will be required to participate in the Baseline program. This does not apply to Councils, Department-Sponsored Organizations, Student Departments, Limited Affiliation Groups, Conditional Status Groups, or Club Sports.

Baseline Objectives

The following are a list of objectives for the Baseline program:

  • Increase the amount of times that a Club meets over the course of each semester
  • Increase the amount of interaction that a Club has with their faculty/staff advisor
  • Increase the amount of programming and events that a Club provides to the larger university community
  • Increase the amount of service engagement that a cCub has with the larger community
  • Increase the overall usage of the Student Activity Fee, along with SORF and fundraising efforts
  • Increase the amount of ongoing communication that a Club has with the Office of Student Involvement, Gallagher Student Center, and Commuter Services

Defining Club Tiers

Student Clubs are further designated a tier by the Office of Student Involvement. Tiers are determined based on the average level of funding the Club has received from the Student Activity Fee over the three most recent allocations. Each tier determines the process that the Club will go through in the next funding cycle to request and receive funding from the fee.Depending on the assigned tier, Clubs have different expectations related to training obligations and reporting Baseline for meetings and programming.

Toward the end of spring semester, a Student Organization registration audit will occur where tiers are evaluated and reassigned. New tiers may be assigned, based on the funding allocated from the Student Government Association as well as the group’s performance during the academic year.

Tier 1 Clubs ($11,000+ average annual funding)

Baseline Requirements

  • 5 general body meetings per semester*
  • 5 advisor/officer meetings per semester
  • 6 programs/events per semester* (1 program should be a fall Week of Welcome event)
  • 1 service event per year*

Funding Allocations

  • Clubs are required to submit a detailed Student Club Budget Allocation Request annually and will meet with the SGA Student Organizations Committee (SOC) to pitch their request and answer related questions. Clubs will be scored against a rubric to determine their allocation for the upcoming year. SOC will consult with both SGA Executives and SGA Advisors to determine and finalize proposed club allocations. Final proposed allocations are presented to the Student Senate for discussion and vote.
  • Clubs are expected to fundraise additional dollars to supplement funding; this does not include fundraising through dues collection or SORF requests.

Training Expectations

  • 2 officers should attend the annual Student Organization Workshops held during the fall
  • President and Treasurer should attend the annual Student Organization Academy
  • Treasurer should attend Club Budget Workshops
  • Outgoing and incoming Presidents should participate in Student Organization Officer Transition Workshops
  • Organization is expected to invest in leadership education for younger members by sending at least two first-year or sophomore students to the Emerging Leaders Retreat

Tier 2 Clubs ($2,500-11,000 average annual funding)

Baseline Requirements

  • 4 general body meetings per semester*
  • 4 advisor/officer meetings per semester
  • 4 programs/events per semester*
  • 1 service event per year*

Funding Allocations

  • Clubs are required to submit a detailed Student Club Budget Allocation Request annually and will meet with the SGA Student Organizations Committee (SOC) to pitch their request and answer related questions. Clubs will be scored against a rubric to determine their allocation for the upcoming year. Final proposed allocations are presenting to the Student Senate for discussion and vote.
  • Tier 2 Clubs are expected to fundraise additional dollars to supplement funding; this does not include fundraising through dues collection or SORF requests.

Training Expectations

  • 2 officers should attend the annual Student Organization Workshops held during the fall
  • President and Treasurer should attend the annual Student Organization Academy
  • Treasurer should attend Club Budget Workshops
  • Outgoing and incoming Presidents should participate in Student Organization Officer Transition Workshops

Tier 3 Clubs ($300-2,500 average annual funding)

Baseline Requirements

  • 3 general body meetings per semester*
  • 3 advisor/officer meetings per semester
  • 3 programs/events per semester*
  • 1 service event per year*

Funding Allocations

  • Clubs are required to submit a detailed Student Club Budget Allocation Request annually. The SGA Student Organizations Committee (SOC) will review the request and send any relevant follow-up questions to the club. Clubs will be scored against a rubric to determine their allocation for the upcoming year. Final proposed allocations are presenting to the Student Senate for discussion and vote.

Training Expectations

  • 2 officers should attend the annual Student Organization Workshops held during the fall
  • President and Treasurer should attend the annual Student Organization Academy
  • Treasurer should attend Club Budget Workshops
  • Outgoing and incoming Presidents are encouraged to participate in Student Organization Officer Transition Workshops

Tier 4 Clubs (under $300 average annual funding)

Baseline Requirements

  • 3 general body meetings per semester*
  • 2 advisor/officer meetings per semester
  • 2 programs/events per semester*
    • Activities are generally lower risk
    • Organization does not travel (overnight or more than 35 miles from campus)
  • 1 service event per year*

Funding Allocations

  • Clubs that are up-to-date on Baseline reporting are eligible to request up to $300 without submitting a detailed request. Eligible Clubs in this tier requesting up to $300 will be awarded their allocation automatically for the following year.

Training Expectations

  • 2 officers should attend the annual Student Organization Workshops held during the fall
  • President and Treasurer should attend the annual Student Organization Academy

*These requirements need to be submitted and approved through EngageXU and also have event attendance uploaded accurately.

Baseline Minimum Standards

Meeting Requirements: Clubs will be required to hold a certain amount of meetings per semester, based on tier designation. These meetings should be promoted and advertised to the entire roster for the Club. These should be general membership meetings, not officer meetings. The agendas for the meetings should be set by officers and sent, in advance, to the members of the group. The nature of the meetings should be focused on club business such as upcoming events/rehearsals, officer elections, discussion of opportunities to collaborate with other groups, etc. These meetings should be submitted a minimum of 14 days in advance via EngageXU.

Faculty/Staff Engagement: Club officers and/or general members should meet with faculty/staff advisors a certain amount of times per semester depending on tier designation. These meetings should be scheduled in advance with your advisor and can either be the officers meeting with the advisor or the advisor attending and participating in a general membership meeting – either will satisfy the requirement. Submit Monthly Agenda/Minutes (optional template) for Advisor Meetings via EngageXU to Student Involvement for Verification. Advisors also need to fill out the Advisor Agreement Form in order to be officially recognized as the organization's acting advisor.

Programs & Events: Clubs will be required to hold a certain amount of programs/events per semester depending on tier designation, outside of a regular club meeting. These events can include fundraisers or trips that have been approved via the Fundraising Permit Form or Student Domestic Travel Form. They can also involve events taking place on campus that are exclusively for the members of the group or open to the broader campus community. For example, Spanish Club could host a movie night for its members or could host a cultural celebration open to members as well as anyone on campus. But, for example, inviting a guest speaker to a Club meeting does not satisfy this requirement. These events can be promoted and advertised through a variety of methods (email announcements, group chats, social media, printed flyers, professor announcements in class, etc.). These meetings should be submitted a minimum of 14 days in advance via EngageXU.

Service Engagement: Being integral to who we are as a Jesuit Catholic institution, Clubs will be required to participate in one service activity per year, as a Club. This requirement can be satisfied if the group identifies their own site where service can be contributed or it can met by the membership of the club volunteering to participate in an already existing service opportunity (such as Community Action Day). The cCub should show effort to encourage their members to participate and should set a goal for 80% of the entire membership to engage in service. For this first year, service can also include a philanthropic fundraising event where the club hosts a fundraising activity to generate funds for a charitable organization beyond Xavier. The Club will be required to report on these events on EngageXU. Additional documentation from a service site may be needed for verification of this requirement. 

Student Activity Fee Usage: Each year, Clubs are evaluated by Student Government as to whether or not the organization has spent sufficient funding allocated from SGA during the Club Budget Allocation process. Clubs are expected to spend the sum of funds allocated from SGA during the fiscal year toward Club activities, events, and approved travel. Groups are also encouraged to look to SORF or to fundraise as a way of bringing in additional funding to support programs and events. Any donations or dollars raised through fundraising are not evaluated as part of the SGA rubric. That is solely based on what SGA has allocated for the Club to spend during this fiscal year. This requirement is based on the activity fee being collected from current Xavier students with the intention that the current student body receive the benefits from their fee and not carry over money from year to year that goes unspent.

Baseline Compliance
Clubs will be evaluated at the end of each semester as outlined above. If a Club does not meet a Baseline Minimum Standard, the Club will be notified and will have their charter listed in a probationary status. The Club will have until the end of the following semester to meet all requirements in order to return to a normal, active status. During probation, the club may be asked to meet with OSI-GSC-CS staff members to discuss their progress and to work toward meeting the minimums. The goal is to coach the group back into active status. However, if an organization does not meet the minimum requirements after two consecutive semesters, the organization will lose their Club status and recognition from the university, forfeiting their ability to promote, reserve space, access to funding, email account, EngageXU page, etc.

Overview of Program

Baseline is not a punitive program. It is not intended to reduce the number of Clubs or opportunities that exist for students. It is meant to enhance the offerings and the potential that all organizations have when it comes to engage students and creating dynamic, co-curricular experiences. Being a leader of a Club is an obligation but also an opportunity. It allows a student to really affect and change another’s experience while at Xavier. The program is meant to make everyone have a better experience by setting a number of really attainable, baseline expectations – ones that many organizations are already meeting and exceeding. Think of Baseline as an opportunity for Magis in action – doing more, while also doing better 

Appeals Process
Clubs reserve the right to file an appeal of a probationary or inactive status decision. To appeal these statuses, please contact the Office of Student Involvement at (513) 745-3004 or xuinvolvement@xavier.edu.