Section 1:
Standards for Student Organizations

Maintaining Charter Status

In order to maintain an organization’s charter status as an active student organization, student organizations must complete the requirements outlined in this section. Failure to comply with these requirements will result in the organization being placed on a semester-long Probationary Period. During this period, the organization must bring themselves back to the standards outlined in this section. Failure to do so by the end of the Probationary Period may result in an organization’s charter status being revoked. 

Membership Requirements

All student organizations must maintain a minimum of 5 members (including organization officers). All members must be currently enrolled students at the Law School.

Membership to recognized student organizations must be open to all currently enrolled students of the Law School.

Organizations must have an Executive Board or Leadership Committee. The Board must consist of, at least, a highest ranking officer (e.g., a President) and a Finance Officer.

Organizations must have a Finance Officer. The name of this position can vary between organizations (e.g., Treasurer, Secretary, etc.) but this person will be responsible for maintaining the organization’s budget, financial transactions, and assisting in reconciliation processes. The Finance Officer must be a currently enrolled student at the Law School.

Organizations must have an advisor. Advisors must be current and full-time Wake Forest University School of Law faculty or staff members. Multiple organizations may share the same advisor. It is the responsibility of the individual organization to determine the responsibilities and involvement of the advisor. 

Training Requirements

Every year the Office of Student Affairs will host a Student Organization Officer Training Retreat to teach student organization officers on important policies and procedures for the upcoming year. Each organization must send at least 1 officer to the Retreat. Officers must attend this retreat even if they have attended a past retreat. 

After the Student Organization Officer Training Retreat, the Office of Student Affairs will upload retreat training materials to the Link. Officers who were not able to attend the retreat should the materials and the information covered at the retreat with the representatives who attended. It is the responsibility of those who attended the retreat to ensure that all relevant policies and procedures are communicated to the full student organization Executive Board.

Additional training may be required for various officers depending on particular responsibilities in an organization. 

Activity Requirements

Student organizations must attend and participate in the annual Student Organization Involvement Fair hosted by the Office of Student Affairs at the beginning of every academic year. During the Involvement Fair, organizations will have a chance to talk to students about their mission and recruit new members. It is the responsibility of the organization to decorate a table. Depending on SBA approval, organizations may be given a budget to buy decorations and/or giveaways for their table. 

Each organization must host at least one meeting each semester. Each organization must also hold at least one event during the academic year. 

The Link Maintenance & Officer Reporting Standards

An organization’s Link page should be kept up to date and include current information about the leadership and activities of the organization. This includes, but is not limited to, 

• Adding new members to the organization’s roster

• Removing old members from the organization’s roster

• Assigning leadership positions to current organization officers

• Adding your advisor to the organization’s roster

• Uploading the organization’s By-Laws or Constitution after amendments are made

• Updating the Primary Contact for your organization

Governing Documents Requirements

All organizations must have a set of governing documents, which usually consists of a Constitution and a set of By-Laws. Governing documents must be well-structured and should have a clearly written mission, purpose, and operating procedures.

All organizations must include a statement affirming adherence to the Wake Forest University School of Law Non-Discrimination and Equality of Opportunity statement in their governing documents:

“This organization abides by the Wake Forest University School of Law Non-Discrimination and Equality of Opportunity Statement:

Wake Forest University School of Law prohibits the use of admission policies or other actions to preclude admission of applicants or retention of students on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, religion, national origin, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, disability, genetic information, or military status. 

Wake Forest University School of Law will foster and maintain equality of opportunity for students, faculty, and staff, without discrimination or segregation on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, religion, national origin, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, disability, genetic information, or military status.”

Annual Re-Registration

Student organizations must complete Re-Registration each academic year. Re-Registration will open by the end of February and will close on the last day of class. Re-Registration should be completed after an organization has hosted their elections but before an organization has transitioned power to the next board.

Re-Registration should be completed by the outgoing highest ranking officer. For most organizations, this will be the outgoing President. If your organization has 2 highest ranking officers, choose 1 person to submit the form. 

Re-Registration must be completed by an outgoing officer as Re-Registration focuses on your organization’s experiences over the past academic year. A copy of the organization’s Re-Registration will be sent to the incoming highest ranking officer(s) and should be used as a tool to ensure successful transition between leadership boards.

Though the highest-ranking officer is responsible for completing Re-Registration, we recommend talking through the questions with your outgoing leadership team. Completing Re-Registration together can allow for a more comprehensive reflection and will give you the opportunity to include viewpoints from each section of the organization. 

We require that you submit Re-Registration before your organization has transitioned power to enable you to use the information collected during the process to guide your organization’s transition. If you forward a copy of the Re-Registration to the incoming board members, the incoming board members will have an opportunity to read through it and ask any questions they may have. You can also use Re-Registration to guide any one-on-one meetings that your outgoing and incoming officers have. 

What is included in Re-Registration?

Re-Registration is made up of 6 sections.

Section 1: Update Profile - A screen will appear allowing you to edit your organization’s homepage. This is the same screen that appears when you use the “About” organization tool on The Link. Use this section to remove any old links, remove any references to past dates or events, update contact information, and update your organization’s description.

Section 2: Upload Governing Documents - Upload the newest version of your organization’s Governing Documents. This should include any amendments that were made during the past year.

Section 3: Engagement Reporting - This section will ask you questions about how many members your organization had, how many events you held, what attendance was like at events, and how you recruited members. Incoming board members can use this information when planning their recruitment strategy and events for the upcoming year. The Office of Student Affairs will also use this section when planning future Student Organization Involvement Fairs and will forward anonymous feedback given on the Ad-Hoc funding process to the Student Bar Association. 

Section 4: Roster - A screen will appear allowing you to edit your organization’s roster. This is the same screen that appears when you use the “Roster” organization tool on The Link. Use this section to update officer positions. Please note that if you remove an officer’s position on this screen, they will lose any permissions or access they had to your Link page. If they will still need access to complete the remainder of their term, consider making a new position called Outgoing [Insert Officer Title Here] with the permissions they need. This way you can give the incoming board access while still allowing the outgoing board to complete their roles. You must register someone as the Finance Officer before you can continue. 

Section 5: Transition Guide - The Transition Guide is the longest section of Re-Registration and will ask you for all of the information needed to run your organization. This will include questions on meeting structure, important contacts, organizational goals, threats to your organization’s long-term success, annual events, organizational finances, and record keeping. The purpose of this section is to preserve the organization and ensure that no institutional knowledge is lost during the transition. Not only will the Transition Guide help the incoming board members learn the basics of your organization, it will also ensure successful transition for years to come as future incoming board members can review all of the past Transition Guides and learn how to successfully accomplish their roles and lead the organization. The more detailed you are in this section, the more context future board members will have when planning their goals for the year. 

Why Should You Complete Re-Registration?

Re-Registration is a key step to ensuring that your organization lasts. Completing Re-Registration will give the incoming board members the instructions they need to complete their roles. It will also preserve all of the lessons your board has learned so future boards can continue to build and expand upon the knowledge you formed, instead of having to learn the same lessons again. In this way, completing Re-Registration expands the impact that your board had on the organization as a whole past your term as leaders. 

How to Complete Re-Registration

To access Re-Registration, go to your organization’s homepage and select “Manage Organization.” Then click “Re-Register this Organization.” The Link will then walk you through each section of Re-Registration. 

How Should the Incoming Board Use Re-Registration?

The incoming highest ranking officer(s) should review the Re-Registration submission over the summer. If your organization has a shared Google Drive, you should make a folder for Re-Registrations and upload a copy of the Re-Registration so future boards can see all of the past Re-Registrations. Over the summer (or during your transition if you receive a copy early), read through the Re-Registrations and review all of the feedback and reflections contained within. Forward sections of the Re-Registration to the other incoming officers so they can review the feedback as well (you can forward the entire Re-Registration but please note that there may be usernames or passwords listed in the Re-Registration that only specific officers should have access to). 

Depending on availability, meet with your incoming board over the summer or at the beginning of the year. Use this meeting to go over the Re-Registration submission and create your goals for the upcoming year. Think about the difficulties that the past board faced and brainstorm ways to address these difficulties in the upcoming year. Think about the success the past board had and why they succeeded. Was there a specific strategy they mentioned was helpful? Were there certain methods they used? Consider whether you want to implement these same strategies and methods that the past board found helpful. 

Finally, use the Re-Registration submission to contextualize your positions. How do you fit within the organization as a whole? What areas of the organization can you have a positive impact on? What successes do you want to write about in a year when it is your turn to complete Re-Registration?

Code of Conduct

Organizations are expected to uphold the School of Law’s driving mission and core values. Student organization officers are responsible for the programs of their individual organizations and must ensure that all activities are conducted in accordance with the University’s regulations and the law school’s Honor Code, Code of Conduct, and policies governing student organizations. 

Organized groups, including student organizations recognized by the Wake Forest School of Law, are subject to the same standards as individual members of the Wake Forest School of Law community. The commission of any offense contained in the Code of Conduct by such a group or its members acting in concert, or the failure of such a group to exercise preventive measures relative to violations of the Code by its members will constitute a group offense that may be sanctioned in addition to sanctions imposed for offenses by individual students.

The School of Law Student Code of Conduct can be found within the Student Handbook, which is linked below.