Student Organization Database FAQs

There are three primary steps: 

1. Enter your proposed organization information in the Student Organization Database (SODB). For more details on starting a new club log in to the SODB and review the training called “How to Create a New Org”. 

2. Meet with Student Activities Center Staff to discuss your idea for your organization.

3. Meet with Student Organization Recognition Board (SORB) to get official approval. This group meets once or twice per month in the fall and spring, so it may take several weeks. The board meets less frequently during academic breaks, such as summer and winter break.

Anyone currently listed in the database as president, treasurer, or adviser can update the information for a student organization by going to the Student Organization Database (SODB). From there, they will need to login and select the "Profile" tab. The organizations they are affiliated with will be listed, and they should select the one they wish to update. They can then update any organization information,  make any officer changes they need to make, or grant admin permissions to any officers.

Adding members can be done in the roster section of the Student Organization Database (SODB). Select the club you would like to add a member to, then select roster. Select the option "Add Member" near the bottom of the list of current members. The new member can acknowledge by logging in and going to their profile. They will see a notification towards the bottom of their screen asking them to acknowledge their membership in your organization.

Officer changes are made in the officers section of the database. If the new officer is not listed yet on the roster you will need to add them first (see above question on how to add members). When adding an officer, click the “Add Officer” button near the bottom of the list of current officers. Select the member and the position. The new officer will receive a notification on their profile to acknowledge their position in the organization.

Any time there is a change in president, treasurer, or adviser in the Student Organization Database (SODB) a new compliance agreement form is required. The president, treasurer, and adviser will need to login to the SODB to "electronically sign" the form. The Compliance Agreement section of your organization can be found by clicking on "Profile" and then selecting your organization. The Checklist will appear showing the Compliance Agreement. Click this section and find the blue "Sign Compliance Agreement" link. This leads to the newest form to read and digitally sign. Note - you will continue to receive reminders once per week for four weeks until each of the president, treasurer, and adviser sign the agreement. If this is not completed, your organization will lose recognition.

Our system does not allow more than one treasurer to be entered at a time because policy only allows one treasurer per organization. The president or adviser will have to make that change, as the treasurer will not be able to add another treasurer while they are still in the system and will not have authorization to add a new treasurer once they are removed.

Any time there is a change in president, treasurer, or adviser in the Student Organization Database (SODB) a new compliance agreement form is required. The president, treasurer, and adviser will need to login to the SODB to "electronically sign" the form. The Compliance Agreement section of your organization can be found by clicking on "Profile" and then selecting your organization. The Checklist will appear showing the Compliance Agreement. Click this section and find the blue "Sign Compliance Agreement" link. This leads to the newest form to read and digitally sign. Note - you will continue to receive reminders once per week for four weeks until each of the president, treasurer, and adviser sign the agreement. If this is not completed, your organization will lose recognition.

An automated message is sent any time one of the three required positions (president, treasurer, or adviser) is vacant in the Student Organization Database (SODB). Organizations have 7 days to fill the position and update the SODB. After that, your group will have 4 weeks to complete the compliance agreement form.

This means that for some reason, your organization is not in compliance. The most common reasons include not turning in a current compliance agreement form, your president has not completed the President’s Training, you do not have an approved constitution, or there is a president, treasurer, or adviser missing from the Student Organization Database (SODB). If you are not in good standing, you have a certain amount of time to make necessary changes while still being able to function as a recognized organization. If, however, the action is not completed by the deadline, your organization will not be considered recognized by the university, and you will lose benefits such as being able to reserve rooms, access to your club funds, eligibility for ClubFest, use of university trademarks and more.

The president, treasurer, and adviser have the authority to update who has access to update the website. Only officers are allowed to have access to update the website. The president, treasurer, or adviser would need to login to the Student Organization Database (SODB) and select the organization they would like to update. From there they should select “officers” where they will see a list of the current officers in the system. There they can add or remove the people they would like to have access the website by checking the last box next to that person’s name and position (under the website column). The person making the updates must remember to select “update permissions” in order for this change to officially be made.

It is important to add content to your website because it is the first thing that the general public will see when they search your organization. You want to give as much accurate information as possible on your website to minimize confusion.

You can send emails by going to your organizations website. Only an officer who has access to manage the website will be able to send emails to your roster. When viewing your website there will be an announcements tab on the left side of the screen. When you select that tab you will see a list of all current announcements that have been created for your organization. Towards the right of the announcement you will see an option to email, edit, or delete. When you select email you will have the option to email the announcement to your subscribers, members, or officers.

When this button is clicked you’ll be able to subscribe to a student organization’s announcements. At some point you’ll be able to subscribe to their calendar as well. This feature isn’t ready yet.

By clicking on this button you can request to join a specific student organization. The organization officers will receive a request from you which they have to accept for you to join. Then you’ll get added to their roster and start receiving notices from them.

Yes, the Presidents’ Training is an annual training, occurring each fall. At the start of the school year all presidents on record in the Student Organization Database (SODB) will be notified of the expectation.

The Student Organization Recognition Board (SORB) takes several things into consideration. First, is the proposed organization a duplicate or is there already a similar group? New organizations should search the Student Organization Database(SODB) to ensure there isn't already a similar group. SORB also considers the benefit of the organization to the university and the justification of the use of resources for the organization. There may be other things, but these are the most common things the recognition board takes into consideration when reviewing new groups.

Certain organizations as deemed by the university are required to have all members fill out the participation agreement. This can also be requested by the organization’s officers by contacting the Office of Risk Management at orm@iastate.edu.

An officer who has admin permission must first add the individual as the membership chair in the officer section of the Student Organization Database (SODB). Once they have been added as an officer you can check the membership box next to that person’s name in the officer section of the SODB.