Viterbi Affiliation Criteria

Viterbi Admission & Student Engagement will review each organization’s application to determine if they will be granted Viterbi affiliation. To be Viterbi-affiliated, student organizations must:

• Be a USC Recognized Student Organization (RSO) for the current academic year.

• Demonstrate a clear connection and benefit to Viterbi students and/or the field of engineering.

• Not replicate the purpose of an existing Viterbi-affiliated organization.

• Have a majority (50% + 1) of members be engineering students.

Responsibilities

In order to remain a Viterbi-affiliated student organization, the following criteria must be met during the academic year:

• Follow regulations and rules for student organizations established by USC and Viterbi.

• Submit an annual report during spring semester (April 1).

• Attend all Viterbi Presidents Council (VPC) meetings.

• Participation the VPC Retreat, held in the beginning of the fall semester.

• Coordinate, co-sponsor, or participate in an event or program during E-Week.

• Participate in Viterbi-wide student organization fairs.

Benefits

The benefits of being a Viterbi-affiliated student organization include:

• Opportunity to apply for additional funding from Viterbi Admission & Student Engagement via the Viterbi Funding Board and the Student Organization Support fund.

• Ability to submit nominations for outstanding student organization/design team and have the opportunity to attend the Viterbi Undergraduate Awards.

Get Connected!

Viterbi Admission & Student Engagement hosts the Get Connected! Fair for new Viterbi students to meet and learn more about the Viterbi-affiliated student organizations. Each Viterbi-affiliated student organization is required to participate in the Fall (August) and Spring (January) Get Connected! Fairs.

VPC Retreat & Monthly Meetings

Viterbi-affiliated student organizations are required to attend the VPC Retreat (Fall) and monthly VPC Meetings.

• VPC Retreat: September 10, 2023

• VPC Meetings: October 12, 2023; November 1, 2023; February; March; April

National Engineers Week

Viterbi-affiliated student organizations are required to host their own event during National Engineers Week or participate in one of the Klein Institute for Undergraduate Engineering Life's (KIUEL) schedule of programs.

• National Engineers Week: February 18 - 24, 2024

Recommendations & Best Practices

• PLAN AHEAD. The deadlines are always sooner than you think they are.

• Review ALL guidelines, policies, procedures, and requirements for the funding sources you are applying to.

• Prepare and submit funding applications as soon as possible.

• SUBMIT EVERYTHING ON TIME. Pay close attention to dates and deadlines. Late applications are not considered. Late post event reports are not processed.

• Diversify your funding strategy. DO NOT rely on one source to fund your events. Strategize based on what sources fund.

• Pay close attention to the supporting documents you need to submit. If you don’t know what something is or what you need – ask!

• Create an estimated budget for the entire academic year. This will allow you to plan ahead and avoid missing funding application deadlines.

• Review your budget regularly and make adjustments as needed.

Policies

• Funding is never guaranteed. No student organization is entitled to funding by virtue of being recognized. Please do not assume your organization will get funding.

• Organizations may not sign any contracts or agreements (including venue, catering, or speaker agreements). All agreements must be signed by authorized university personnel. Any agreements that contain an unauthorized student signature cannot be funded under any circumstances.

Funding Sources

Viterbi School of Engineering

• Viterbi Funding Board (VFB)
• Viterbi Conference & Research (VCR)
• Design & Competition (DC)
• Gift Account*

*Gift account includes sponsorships & donations. This is unique for each student organization.

Campus-Wide

• Undergraduate Student Government
• Graduate Student Government

Report Guidelines & Criteria

Annual Reports should cover the organization’s activity from March 15, 2023 through the present.

Reports must be submitted by Friday, March 8, 2024, 11:59pm in PDF format with the file name “orgname_Annual Report_2024".

Link: https://airtable.com/appY03WCP8oDVBwg3/pag0kdfSrOaPI7FwL/form

Reports submitted by the deadline will be considered the for the Viterbi Outstanding Student Organization Award and Best Design Team Award.

Reports submitted after the above deadline will not be considered for the Viterbi Outstanding Student Organization Award or the Best Design Team Award.

Organizations that fail to submit a report by TBD will be restricted from accessing funds from the Viterbi Funding Board for the 2023-2024 academic year.

Outstanding Student Organization/Design Team Award Criteria

The below guidelines for report submission will enhance the judges’ ability to fairly and equitably judge the quality of the reports submitted. They will consider the following when judging these reports for the Outstanding Student Organization/Design Team Award:

• Overall quality and variety of programs to enhance student life.

• Involvement by percentage of group members.

• Involvement of total number of engineering students including percentage of women engineering students on e-board.

• Clarity and quality of report and adherence to report guidelines.

Report Sections

1. Cover Page
2. Table of Contents
3. Organization Overview
4. Organizational Goals
5. Report of Activities
6. Transition Plan
7. Donor Solicitation Information
8. Appendix (Optional)

More info: LINK