Registration 101

SOLI defines “Primary Contact” as the person in your organization who:

• Receives weekly SOLI Spotlight emails and shares pertinent information with your group.
• Fills out important forms (including the Registration application and sign-up form for the Student Organization Fair).
• Receives important communication from our office and benefit providers, and is responsible for responding in a timely fashion.
• Serves as the Accessibility Contact for the organization.
  • This means that if a student contacts them to ask about reasonable accommodations, the Primary Contact will work with the student to get them what they need to participate in the organization or event.
• Is in a leadership position within your organization (must meet all eligibility criteria). This person does not necessarily need to be the President.

Primary Contact Compliance Agreement: The primary contact person for each organization agrees to inform others in their organization about university policies affecting them and agrees to comply with these policies; including the Registered Student Organization Code of Conduct and other policies and procedures as found in this Guide. The primary contact person further agrees that their organization complies with university rules prohibiting unlawful discrimination and will maintain all other eligibility requirements for registration. And, lastly, the primary contact person attests that they have read their organization’s completed registration form, and, to the best of their knowledge, the information on the registration form is complete and accurate.

Primary Contact FERPA Guideline: Primary contacts must NOT have a FERPA shade with the Office of the Registrar, because all Primary Contacts must be public within the Wisconsin Involvement Network (WIN). If you do have a FERPA shade, you must choose a different student to serve in that role or remove the FERPA shade by contacting the Office of the Registrar.

RSOs must have a minimum of four contacts. In addition to the Primary Contact, they must also have a Second/Financial Contact (who is authorized to represent the RSO in financial matters), a Third Contact, and a Fourth Contact.

All four contacts (primary included) must be at least half time UW-Madison students:

• Undergraduates: enrolled in at least 6 credits.
  • Exception: Student who are enrolled in a co-op (cooperative education program) for the semester/year can have fewer credits.
• Graduate Students: enrolled in at least 4 credits.
  • Exception: Graduate students can have 3 credits if working on a dissertation or thesis.

Organizations, via their primary contact, must:

• Provide the Office for Student Organizations, Leadership & Involvement (SOLI) with information required on the application form.
• Develop the constitution, bylaws, or operating procedures for the group and submit this document on WIN.
  • For the 2025-2026 registration cycle, All RSOs are required to re-submit their constitution and bylaws.
• Complete the online RSO Orientation, RSO Alcohol Training, and RSO Anti-Hazing Training on Canvas.
• Abide by financial and all other regulations specified in this Student Organization Resource & Policy Guide (Financial Regulations of Registered Student Organizations are listed below).

University policy, as well as federal and state laws, prohibits discrimination by RSOs against students at the university.

Regent 30-6 Policy on Recognition of Student Organizations states: “Student organizations that select their members or officers on the basis of commitment to a set of beliefs (e.g., religious or political beliefs) may limit membership, officer positions, or participation in the organization to students who affirm that they support the organization’s goals and agree with its beliefs, so long as no student is excluded from membership, officer positions, or participation on the basis of his or her race, color, creed other than commitment to the beliefs of the organization, religion, national origin, disability, ancestry, age, sexual orientation, pregnancy, marital status or parental status, or, unless exempt under Title IX, sex.”

RSOs can hold closed meetings for the purpose of peer counseling sessions or for other purposes if attendance is limited to a pre-established list of members. If such a meeting is publicized, it must be clearly labeled as a membership meeting.

Every RSO at UW-Madison is governed by standards and regulations developed by SOLI. These regulations are designed to protect the best interests of the student members of the RSOs.

As a condition of registration, each student organization (RSO) is required to:

• Provide SOLI with a student contact person who is authorized to represent the RSO in their financial matters (Second/Financial Contact).
• Maintain accurate and complete financial records of all receipts and expenditures and make these records available to any member of the organization upon request.
• Make all financial records available for examination no later than 15 days after receiving a written request from the SOLI or the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards. Such requests shall be made only in order to: (a) ensure public access to information regarding the generation of revenue using university facilities or (b) investigate allegations that RSO funds have been misappropriated or misused.

Should the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards or SOLI learn that a student organization is not abiding by these regulations, the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards may open a conduct investigation into that RSO.