COSO Termly Updates

Welcome to Fall Term, 2024!

Happy Fall Term! 

COSO has several important updates to share with your organization.

Funding Proposals: All funding proposals must be submitted through Dartmouth Groups. Proposals are due Mondays at noon for the Wednesday meeting. For detailed instructions on how to do this, please visit the COSO website. Please review COSO funding guidelines before submitting a proposal. If approved, visit the Treasurer's Corner for information on how to access these funds.

Meeting Schedule: COSO will meet on the following Wednesdays this term: 9/18, 9/25, 10/2, 10/9, 10/16, 10/23, 11/6, and 11/13. There will be NO COSO MEETING ON Wednesday, October 30th. Please plan accordingly. COSO does not meet during reading period, finals, or interim.

Big Policy Meeting/Student Organization Training: The Big Policy Meeting will be on Wednesday, September 18th @ 5:30pm in Collis Common Ground. All organizations in attendance will receive $100 in discretionary funds. The training will include an overview of how COSO works, funding guidelines and procedures, and information about how to access and use funds. COSO recommends that all organization Presidents and Treasurers attend the meeting. There is no make-up date or online option.  

Term Budgets: Term budgets are due Friday, September 27 @ noon via Dartmouth Groups using the regular budget proposal form. (Please be sure to check "term budget," which can be found as an option in the form)  Term Budgets are only for recurring events that have been funded by COSO in the past. (No new events can be submitted as a term budget) Please visit the COSO website for detailed instructions on how to submit a term budget. In your term budget, please be sure to include detailed information about your event, including date, time, location, speaker names, topic of discussion, and itemized food budget. If any of this information is missing, you will most likely not get funded. In addition, if you are planning a large/costly event, you will most likely come in to meet with the COSO board. Please note: Term budgets are not required. 

COSO/Dartmouth Policies: Please review COSO group related policies by visiting the COSO website. Please review the "Participation in Student Organizations Policy," which can be found on the Policies section of the COSO website. 

COSO Guideline Updates for 2024-2025 Academic Year: Please see below for new/update guidelines for this academic year. All COSO Funding Guidelines can be found on the COSO website. Please review before submitting a proposal. 

  • Groups are required to maintain an inventory of all organization items. For template, visit COSO website
  • Only clubs classified as "culture-specific" may request funds for social events. Social events must be directly correlated to the culture of your club.
  • Food Guidelines 
    • Culture-Specific & Issue Awareness Groups: Three (2 Meals, 1 Snack) regularly scheduled events with food per term.
    • Recreational, Pre-Professional, Service & Philanthropy, Performance Groups: Three (1 Meal, 2 Snack) regularly scheduled events with food per term.
  • Costumes/make-up: $60/person per year. The purpose of the costume should be to enhance the performance and should not be something that you wear outside of performances. No group names can be printed on costumes. COSO expects that costumes be kept as the property of the organization and not given to specific individuals.  Tracking spreadsheet must be uploaded as part of funding proposal. 

Event Registration in Dartmouth Groups: All events must be submitted and confirmed via Dartmouth Groups. For more information, please visit: https://students.dartmouth.edu/coso/plan-event/event-registration 

Dartmouth Groups Office Hours: Beginning on Wednesday, September 18, and throughout the fall term, visit office hours on Wednesday between 1:30 pm and2:30pm in the Collis 211. If you have any questions about Dartmouth Groups, please email DartmouthGroups@dartmouth.edu

Treasurers Corner Drop-In Hours: If you have questions about all things finances or need assistance to work through budgetary issues, please stop by Collis 211G between 10am-12pm on Tuesdays. Diane Nadeau and Sophia Qian can also be reached at Collis.Center.Treasurers.Corner@dartmouth.edu to answer your questions as well. You can also visit the Treasurer's Corner here.

Budget Reports: Each week, on Sunday and Thursday, your organization email account will receive a financial report via email that summarizes activity, income, expenses, and balance in your COSO account. More information on Financial Reports can be found here. If your group is not receiving these reports, please email the Collis.Center.Treasurers.Corner@Dartmouth.edu

Chart String Change: All groups have an account string, also known as chart string. It is made up of six segments for a total of 25 digits. This structure assists in the consistent posting and reporting of your financial transactions. The third segment is called "funding" and you may recall this value as 368000. Beginning with fall term, this value has changed. The new value is 286082. (Example, 20.394.286082.xxxxxx.0000.xxxx) The fourth segment, represented by the xxxxxx is your group's unique number. If you have any questions, please email the Collis.Center.Treasurers.Corner@Dartmouth.edu.

Travel for Student Organizations: Please review the travel policy for COSO groups. ALL travel must be reported prior to departure via the travel contact form. Failure to do so could result in loss of group privileges and/or reimbursement for group travel expenses. There are also additional requirements on the Global Dartmouth website

Merchandise and Trademarks: If you're planning to purchase and/or sell something that will display the word Dartmouth, or other trade names or trademarks of the College, you must use an Approved Licensed Vendor. Before placing any orders, email COSO@Dartmouth.edu with your design. 

Duo: If you haven't already, you will need to set up DUO 2-Factor Authentication in order to log into your organization's email. For more information on this, please visit: https://students.dartmouth.edu/coso/organizations/managing-organization/email-duo

Advising: Each COSO group has been assigned an advisor from Student Involvement for additional support and resources. 

  • Publications: Jim Broutzos
  • Issue Awareness: Josh Rivard
  • Culture-Specific: Natalie Kittikul
  • Recreational: Josh Rivard
  • Academic Competition: Anna Hall
  • Service & Philanthropy: Natalie Kittikul
  • Performance: David Pack
  • Pre-Professional: Anna Hall

Update Officer Positions in Dartmouth Groups: Be sure to update your officer positions in Dartmouth Groups. (A President and Treasurer are required, but you can also add additional positions) Directions: On your group page, under dashboard, select officers. Then, select the position title from the drop-down menu next to the officer name.

Welcome Weeks Events: Looking to promote your student organization to 28s? Have an audition, open meeting, workshop, or social event planned for September? Want to stand out and promote your events outside of all the listserv emails? Make an event on Dartmouth Groups and tag "Weeks of Welcome." Tagging "Weeks of Welcome" will help any Dartmouth student, but especially 28s, know of new membership opportunities and introductory student organization events.

Annual Renewal: Each fall, COSO groups are asked to complete an annual renewal to remain "active" for the upcoming year. Please look for a separate email coming soon with instructions and information. It is critical that you complete the renewal by the deadline.

If you have questions about any of the information in this email, please email COSO@dartmouth.edu

Have a great fall term!
COSO