SP&E's Guide on How to Start a Student Organization
We're here to help you with one of the most rewarding experiences a Bentley student can do -- Start your own student organization!
Explore, Engage and Empower. SP&E's mantra lives vicariously through over one hundred student organizations on campus. All these student organizations bring out the best of what Bentley can offer. From Bentley Investment Group to Ski and Snowboard Club and everything in between, Bentley student organizations bring to life the unique passions the Bentley community that may not be able to be expressed through academics.
Creating your own student organization can help change your and many others Bentley experience. You bring to campus something you're really interested in, and are able to share it with the rest of campus. So here at SP&E, we decided to lay out the process for anyone interested in starting their very own organization.
The first thing to do would be to contact the Association of Bentley Activities (ABA) in order to initiate the recognition process. ABA works closely with prospective orgs to help form the following requirements a new organization needs:
Structure [Constitution, Budget, Mission & Vision]
Membership List consisting of a minimum of a President, Vice President, and Treasurer; in addition to a
Continuity Plan which details how the organization will continue as senior members graduate
Letter of Intent from a Faculty/Staff Advisor
A Demonstrated Need on Campus for the Proposed Organization
We thought it would be fun to hear from Bentley’s newest organizations and share what they thought about the process!
Rock Climbing Club:
Both founders Jake O’Keefe and myself found the process really rewarding. We got to see through a vision we had based off of our passion for climbing and wanted to make a lasting difference on campus. We are super excited to share our love for the sport with Bentley by giving people who already were climbers a way to improve and meet new people with similar passions, but also to help get new people involved in such an exciting sport. Rock climbing is super chill and has routes that can be sent by people with a bunch of different skill levels—from novice to extreme. This accessibility and great group environment made Jake and I so dedicated to bringing the club on campus and we are really excited with the growth in members we’ve had and are looking forward to even more in the future.
-Luc Batawi (President of The Rock Climbing Club)
Health and Fitness Club:
With this being our first full semester as an official club, we are very excited to be part of the Bentley community as the Health and Fitness Club. Starting this organization was a very challenging yet fulfilling process and required a big commitment from everyone in the new organization. Our mission is to provide a positive growth environment for Bentley University students interested in their personal health and fitness. Through the various club programs, we will allow students of all fitness levels to connect with each other. As a whole, the club will work towards educating the entire Bentley University community on the importance of maintaining personal health and fitness for both their college years and beyond, and aims to provide students with the resources to succeed.
Think something is missing from the current offerings? Come to ABA and present your ideas, the more creative the better!
If you’re truly dedicated to the success of your new organization, there is a good chance it will be approved.
ABA has a rigorous recognition process during which they test student organizations on how sustainable they are as well as how big of a need on campus there is for such as organization- so come prepared!
Don’t be intimidated, they help you throughout the entire process and are available to answer any questions you might have.