The road to establishing an ARCA student chapter.

If you or your program is considering developing an ARCA chapter, the following insights may be of interest. The process is relatively straight forward but there are a couple of things to consider. I think the biggest is to develop a vision of what you want to
accomplish as well as the role and function of your organization. Developing a mission statement, constitution and by-laws will add structure and direction. Feel free to reference the UI-ARCA constitution as a template.

Our biggest task was navigating university policy re. becoming recognized as a student organization. We chose to register with the university to not only to become instrumental in the academic community but more practically, to access supplemental funding for conferences, bringing in guest speakers, and to help with general operating costs (office supplies etc.).

As a first step, identify the appropriate offices on campus and consult with them about the process. You may also want to identify other organizations on campus and talk with them about their experiences accessing funding and becoming organized. This is also a great way to develop cross-disciplinary, inter-organizational relationships. Be aware that different institutions have their own unique protocol for student organizations; my advice is to become intimate about how your institution’s reads.

Once these two steps are out of the way, contact Dr. Mark Stebnicki, student task
force coordinator for ARCA, to register as a student affiliate. Ask for information about current benefits to student members, up-coming events, and about your organizations role and function as an affiliate. You may be asked to draft a “letter to the ARCA Executive Board” (link to ui-arca letter) requesting recognition as an affiliate and to provide a copy of your organization’s constitution/by-laws. Also, contact other, pre-established, ARCA student affiliates for information and guidance as you progress.