Student Chapters

1. Bring together a group of your friends and classmates.
2. You must have at least six chapter members who are USITT national members. Students who are not USITT national members may also belong to the chapter.
3. High schools only need the sponsor to be a national member.
4. Identify a non-student national member who is willing to serve as sponsor and provide the chapter with active leadership and guidance. Many chapters have co‐sponsors (if so, both must be USITT members).
5. Please check with your institution about required guidelines on forming a student organization.
6. Hold elections to determine chapter officers or appoint interim officers. Required officer positions:
7. Chair, Vice‐Chair, Treasurer, and Secretary. The latter two offices can be combined into a Secretary‐Treasurer position.
8. Write By‐laws for the chapter. Sample by‐laws
9. Complete the Student Chapter application online. (See red button above)
10. The National Office and the Membership Committee will review. If all requirements are met, a Charter certificate will be mailed to the chapter sponsor.
11. Congrats, you are a student chapter of USITT!

Interested individuals may also attend a Student Roundtable meeting at the Annual Conference & Stage Expo or at an online meeting to obtain information. Individuals who wish to verify membership may check their account at usitt.org.

If any questions arise, please fill out this form.

Now what? Below is a list of ideas that we have seen other chapters successfully do over the years. In addition to this list we review ideas at the annual Student Roundtable.

Development:

• Resume workshops
• Master classes
• Attending conference with a group
• Registering a team in the Skills Challenge
• Providing students with information from national and sections
• Hosting events and monthly meetings
• Young designers forum, tech expo, and design expo support
• Create leadership opportunity to become an officer of a student organization
• Host workshops such as rigging, mask making, historic painting processes.
• Hold a tech skill competition
  • Challenge a local school
• Work with your school’s alumni association to connect for local opportunities for tours, workshops, guest artists, ect.
• Volunteer to help after a natural disaster or for community projects in your area
• Working with another department in the school for a workshop. Example would be taking a mold casting workshop with the Art Department.
• Working with a local gear rental house to demo new and exciting gear the college may not have yet.
  • In some cases they will lend out this gear for a discount or even free for limited days.

Fun:

• Pizza parties
• Movie nights
• Talent show (partnering with other campus groups)
• Drag show (partnering with other campus groups)
• Pumpkin carving design challenge
• Theater venue tours
• Local or touring shows backstage tours

Fundraising:

• Selling merch to students, faculty, and staff (be sure you have permission on any logos being used, such as your university's or USITT's)
• Offering clothing alteration services to community and school
• Requiring dues from students
• Yard sale by gathering donations from fellow students, staff, and faculty
• Haunted house
• Do a online donation drive with your schools fundraising department
• Work with your school’s alumni association to raise donations

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1. Charters run for one year — October to October.
2. Plan activities for the year — a mix of service to the department/profession, fundraisers to support attendance at the Annual Conference and social events works well for many chapters.
3. Follow through on your plans and have fun!
4. In spring, elect next year’s officers and send the President's contact information to the VP‐MSC.
5. In fall, re‐check for six current USITT members, plan a new year of activities, and submit a Charter Renewal form.
6. There should be enough interested students to sustain the chapter beyond any one academic year.
7. Review your goals and don’t be afraid to change them. When looking at other chapters for advice keep in mind that each chapter is at a different place in their development and some goals may not make the most sense for your chapter.

Succession Planning advice

• Consider cross training on tasks between the officers
• Have a first year rep officer who is elected in the Fall. This sets up a person to be a future officer.
• Hold a meeting between the new officers and the past officers after elections to help pass along the knowledge.
• Check in with your advisor they will be willing or able to continue their support for your chapter in the upcoming term.
• Document the process of your events. What works, what did you learn to avoid next time, what were the costs and needs.
  • Who did you contact for the venue, talent, vendor, etc.
    • How did that relationship and communication work?
  • Keep track of plans, drawings, inventories
  • Who did you contact for resources
  • Did you use name tags to identify leaders for the event
  • What forms did you fill out?
  • Finances/money storage
    • Document how you pay for things?
  • Signage/logo/branding guidelines archive
  • Document your marketing process
    • What worked and what you feel didn’t have an impact
  • What is your school's policy on serving/selling food?
  • What platforms did you use for an online event?
    • What worked, login information, “how to” for users
  • Even if you don’t plan to do the same exact event, there is always cross over value.
  • Post event review and document your discussion.
• Have a shared cloud or server file system that your advisor has admin privileges on
  • Many schools provide file space as part of being a club
  • Have a backup of your files
• Social media: Make sure you document your passwords and transfer ownerships to the new officers, and ensure your advisor has admin as well
• Reassess goals of the chapter at the beginning of each year. Don’t be afraid to change the format of what and how your chapter runs.

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• Identify a non-student national member who is willing to serve as sponsor and provide the chapter with active leadership and guidance. Many chapters have co‐sponsors (if so, both must be USITT members).
  • Please check with your institution about required guidelines on forming a student organization.
• We encourage you to have a co-sponsor for the student chapter whose schedule is offset as best as possible to yours. Often this means a staff and a faculty member share the workload.
• Make sure you are attending the officer and general meetings of the chapter
• Be supportive and go to events. Encourage your colleagues to come as well.
• family:Arial">To ensure the chapter is following the institution’s policies
• The chapter finances are properly handled and tracked
• Conduit to opportunities that USITT’s offers year around
• Help guide your students to know about and apply to the awards and programs USITT offers
• You are encouraged to become a part of USITT!

Those teaching or studying at an educational institution may consider organizing a USITT Student Chapter. Before starting a chapter at a university, college, or junior college, it is important for the faculty or staff member who plans to sponsor it and the students who will be involved to give serious consideration to the proposed chapter’s future.

Prospective student chapter members need to determine what value the chapter will provide for members. Activities should assist in expanding members' experience and education. Ideas include workshops led by visiting professionals, inter‐chapter sharing, and group trips to both local and national conferences. The networking and social activities that accompany such events provide further benefits.

Most chapters adopt service and education as important goals. This allows the chapter to serve as a recruiting device for the institution — certainly a reason for existence — but it may function as a service group as well. In addition to holding workshops on campus, the chapter could travel to high schools or other colleges and universities to sponsor workshops or service days. Chapter members may assist the institution being visited by installing a sound system, building scenery, hanging lighting, or similar activities. Activities should be included in the chapter's annual report to USITT, and are, in essence, the glue that holds the student chapter together.

How to start a Student Chapter (College/University):

• Identify a faculty member who is willing to serve as sponsor and provide the chapter with active leadership and guidance. This person must be a USITT member. Many chapters have co‐sponsors (if so, both must be USITT members).
• Identify prospective members. There should be enough interested students to sustain the chapter beyond any one academic year. You must have at least six chapter members who are USITT student members. Students who are not USITT members may also belong to the chapter.
• Hold elections to determine chapter officers or appoint interim officers. Required officer positions:
  • Chair, Vice‐Chair, Treasurer, and Secretary. The latter two offices can be combined into a Secretary‐Treasurer position.
• Write By‐laws for the chapter. Sample by‐laws are available from the VP Members, Sections & Chapters (VP‐ MSC)
• Plan activities for the year — a mix of service to the department/profession, fundraisers to support attendance at the Annual Conference and social events works well for many chapters. (Don’t forget to practice for Tech Olympics!)
• Download and complete the Student Chapter application
• Send your completed application (make sure all USITT memberships are current) and By‐laws to the USITT
• Office and the VP‐MSC (contact information provided in the application).
• If all requirements are met, a Charter certificate will be mailed to the chapter sponsor. Charters run for one year — October to October.
• Follow through on your plans and have fun!
• In spring, elect next year’s officers and send President’s contact information to the VP‐MSC.
• In fall, re‐check for six current USITT members, plan a new year of activities, and submit a Charter Renewal form.

USITT Student Chapter (High School) information

Those teaching or studying at an educational institution may consider organizing a USITT Student Chapter. Before starting a chapter at a high school, it is important for the faculty or staff member who plans to sponsor it and the students who will be involved to give serious consideration to the proposed chapter’s future.

Prospective student chapter members need to determine what value the chapter will provide for members. Activities should assist in expanding members' experience and education. Ideas include workshops led by visiting professionals, inter‐chapter sharing, and group trips to both local and national conferences. The networking and social activities that accompany such events provide further benefits.

How to start a Student Chapter (High School):

• Identify a faculty/staff member who is willing to serve as a sponsor and provide the chapter with active leadership and guidance. This person must be a USITT member. Many chapters have co‐sponsors (if so, both must be USITT members).
• Identify prospective members. There should be enough interested students to sustain the chapter beyond any one academic year. Students do not need to be USITT members.
• Hold elections to determine chapter officers or appoint interim officers. Required officer positions are:
  • Chair, Vice‐Chair, Treasurer, and Secretary. The latter two offices can be combined into a Secretary‐Treasurer position.
• Write By‐laws for the chapter. Sample by‐laws are available on‐line
• Plan activities for the year — a mix of service to the department/profession, fundraisers to support attendance at the Annual Conference and social events works well for many chapters. (Don’t forget to practice for Tech Olympics!)
• Download and complete the Student Chapter application
• Send your completed application and By‐laws to the USITT Office and the VP‐MSC (contact
• information provided in the application).
• If all requirements are met, a Charter certificate will be mailed to the chapter sponsor. Charters run
• for one year — October to October.
• Follow through on your plans and have fun!
• In the spring, elect next year’s officers and send the President’s contact information to the VP‐MSC.
• In the fall, plan a new year of activities and submit a Charter Renewal form.

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