What does it take to start a chapter? 

How does the process get started?

• Contact ESA HQ to let us know you're interested. We will get you the information and materials you need to get started talking up ESA with friends and spreading the word on campus.
• Check out the process for forming a new CLUB at your school. Contact the student activities office (the governing group for CLUBS, not Greeks -- ESA is a service CLUB on campuses). Many times your school has a website for students that explains requirements and general information for starting a new club. ESA HQ will need this information to help you meet the requirements specific to your campus.
• Start talking about ESA with friends and classmates, word of mouth is the fastest way to get things going. Activities to form a new chapter on a campus (tabling, info meetings etc) may begin as soon as the first student joins ESA there. Once you've contacted ESA HQ about starting a chapter, you will be granted provisional status and may begin organizing events and doing volunteer work while you work through the rest of the process.

What's Next? Complete the ESA and University Requirements:

• The university requirements generally include submitting a constitution (ESA has a sample one for you), filling out a form that asks for the names and contact information for your officers and faculty advisor, and attending a new club orientation).
• Start thinking about who you'd like for a faculty advisor. ESA HQ can help with this.
• When you have obtained the requirements list, share it with ESA HQ so we can help as much as we can.
• If your activities office would like to speak with ESA HQ about your proposed new chapter, we'd be happy to help and answer their questions. Feel free to have the student activities staff call our membership director at (970) 223-2824, or e-mail anytime.

To earn your full chapter charter, you will need to…

1. Provide the name and contact information for your faculty advisor.
2. Provide proof of completion of the new club procedure on your campus and your status as a recognized student organization (their confirmation e-mail is fine).
3. Have 20 members with ESA member numbers assigned.

• For most chapters, completing this process (including the time to get university approval) usually takes 4-8 weeks, and is a little dependent upon the process for YOUR school.
• Remember that you may be recognized as a campus student organization before you get your full ESA chapter charter depending upon university requirements, this is just fine.
• Once you have university recognition, you may participate in campus events like the student organizations fair and freshmen orientation, and post on the student orgs event calendar etc, so it pays to get these steps knocked out asap. Permission to participate in these types of activities make it pretty easy to help you get more new members quickly!