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Baseline

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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 Subordinate Bodies, University-Affiliated Organizations, Student Working Groups, Limited Affiliation 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 both membership recruitment and retention that a club has throughout the year
  • Increase the amount of programming and events that a club provides to the larger university community
  • Increase the amount of service engagement that a club 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

Baseline Minimum Standards

Meeting Requirements: Clubs will be required to hold at least one meeting per month. This meeting should be promoted and advertised to the entire roster for the club. This should be a general membership meeting, not an officer meeting. The agenda for the meeting should be set by officers and sent, in advance, to the members of the group. The nature of the meeting should be focused on club business such as upcoming events/rehearsals, officer elections, discussion of opportunities to collaborate with other groups, etc. Based on the academic calendar, the club should meet at least 3 times in the fall (September, October, and November) and 4 times in the spring (January, February, March, and April). Submit Monthly Meeting Minutes (optional template) or Meeting Agenda for Verification via EngageXU to Student Involvement.

Faculty/Staff Engagement: Club officers and/or general members should meet with faculty/staff advisors at least once per month. This meeting 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. Based on the academic calendar, these meetings should occur at least 7 times throughout the academic year (September, October, November, January, February, March, and April). Submit Monthly Agenda/Minutes (optional template) for Advisor Meetings via EngageXU to Student Involvement for Verification

Membership Recruitment & Retention: Clubs will be required to create a recruitment and retention plan for the Fall and Spring semester, detailing the steps the group is taking to both recruit new and retain new and existing members within the organization. Submit Your Membership Recruitment & Retention Plan via EngageXU.  

Programs & Events: Clubs will be required to hold at least 3 events per semester, 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.) The club will be required to report on these events during Mid Year and Year End Reporting to Student Involvement for verification of this requirement.

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 club 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 during Mid Year and Year End Reporting to Student Involvement for verification of this requirement. 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 more than 85% of the funding allocated from SGA during the Club Budget Allocation process. Clubs will now be required to spend 85% or more of the 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 85% - 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 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.