STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS & ACTIVITIES

Registered student organizations (RSO's) at Northwestern refer to their constitution for how to make decisions, define roles and responsibilities, explain their history, and more. Each constitution also includes standard language required and provided by Campus Life including impeachment proceedings, how to handle the dissolution of an organization, and campus standards. RSO's must have their active constitution published on their 'Cats on Campus group page, allowing prospective and current members alike to have access to this information.

Here is SOA's 2026-27 Constitution Writing Guide: SOA PDF

Here is FSL's 2026-27 Constitution Writing Guide: FSL PDF

Campus Life have made the creation of, amending of, and general maintenance of a constitution simple as of 2026 with the adoption of an online form. A group officer will respond to prompts for the constitution sections where the group has autonomy. The Campus Life required sections are imported in, and a finished PDF is provided to the group. Completion of this form is part of the Annual Requirements to ensure the constitution is updated as needed; access to this form can be found through "PHASE 1" of the 2026-27 annual registration process.

 

Tips for Holding a Constitution Review Meeting

• Bring all stakeholders together, including organization advisor
• Start by creating/reviewing mission statement that describes the purpose of the group, along with a list of activities that will accomplish the purpose.
• Define the composition your membership and the requirements for admission into the group
• Write officer descriptions in third person using position titles instead of pronouns, i.e., "The President will."
• Keep the document in an editable digital format (.doc), a permanent digital format (.pdf), and in print