Writing a Constitution
Registered student organizations (RSO's) at Northwestern refer to their constitution for how to make decisions, define roles and responsibilities, explain their history, and more. Each constitution also includes standard language required and provided by Campus Life including impeachment proceedings, how to handle the dissolution of an organization, and campus standards. RSO's must have their active constitution published on their group page, allowing prospective and current members alike to have access to this information.
Campus Life have made the creation of, amending of, and general maintenance of a constitution simple as of 2026 with the adoption of an online form. A group officer will respond to prompts for the constitution sections where the group has autonomy. The Campus Life required sections are imported in, and a finished PDF is provided to the group. Completion of this form may be part of the Annual Requirements to ensure the constitution is updated as needed.
Tips for Holding a Constitution Review Meeting
- Bring all stakeholders together, including organization advisor
- Start by creating/reviewing mission statement that describes the purpose of the group, along with a list of activities that will accomplish the purpose.
- Define the composition your membership and the requirements for admission into the group
- Write officer descriptions in third person using position titles instead of pronouns, i.e., "The President will."
- Keep the document in an editable digital format (.doc), a permanent digital format (.pdf), and in print