Orientation and Student Involvement (OSI) offers a wide variety of resources to support student organizations including: space reservations, supplies, and staff. Answers to many of the questions you might have as an organization leader can be found in the RSO Manual. Additional resources can be found below:
RSOs are eligible to reserve space on campus for events, meetings and event promotion. Up to two people per organization can access the Virtual Event Management System (VEMS). To request access, the organization's president must fill out the VEMS Request Form and both representatives must complete the Student Orgs VEMS Training before getting approved. Once access has been granted, the members will be able to reserve space on campus using their CNU credentials on the VEMS website.
OSI also allows organizations to reserve the Brainstorming Space, OSI Conference Room, and Student Lounge by email. You can check availability of those spaces on the OSI Space Calendar.
RSOs host many campus events for the student body. It is the responsibility of the organizations at Christopher Newport to follow the policies for event planning, found in the RSO Manual and Student Handbook. The Student Programming Calendar is a great way to see what events are being held on campus. Our office is able to provide support for organizations as they are planning events, booking spaces, and marketing events. Additional event planning resources can also be found in the RSO Training Resources.
RSOs are able to request a financial account through CNU or may set up an off-campus bank account. More information on the guidelines for both can be found on the RSO Financial Forms Drive.
SGA Small Grant Fund
RSOs are eligible to receive funding through small grants from Student Government Association (SGA) for any events, activities, and student-led programs and initiatives that will contribute to the quality of campus life at CNU. Once approved for funding, the applicant will receive the funding with an award letter accompanied by instructions and a designated OSI staff member that will be of assistance throughout the process of the specific program or event. Another form of funding from SGA is their limited financial funding for off-campus conferences. More information on the requirements of this type of funding can be found in the RSO Manual and requests can be made through the SGA Small Grant Application and the SGA Conference Funding Request Forms on Captains Connect.
Members and advisors of student organizations with a new member process, initiation, and/or big/little process are required by state and federal law to complete hazing prevention training. All students who wish to join an organization required to complete the training must attend PNM Hazing Prevention training prior to joining. All current members must complete the Current Member training by the end of the semester after they join, or before participating in any recruitment activities, whichever comes first. Each training must be completed one time, not annually.
Organizations are required to keep track of the completion of Hazing Prevention training in their official OSI roster. Organization leaders can confirm completion of PNM training here and Current Member training here. Advisors will receive an email from OSI providing information about completing the Advisor Hazing Prevention training.
There are various ways to promote your events and organization, including posting flyers on approved bulletin boards around campus, in the Campus Announcements, and by posting on Captains Connect. Campus announcements emailed to all students every Monday and Thursday. There are bulletin boards in both the DSU and Freeman, please check the campus posting policies before posting anything on them. Captains Connect is a great way to broadcast your event/organization.
In addition to these options, we also offer the following in our office suite: copier/printer, large rolls of banner paper, die-cut machine with stencils, paper cutter and a button machine.
Within the OSI there are several rooms dedicated to storage for RSOs. This storage is by request only and is first-come first-served. You can request storage space for your organization through this form.
A variety of digital training resources are available to student org leaders in the RSO Training Resources folder. Topics range from Finances & Fundraisers to Leadership Transitions.