Frequently Asked Questions

Every undergraduate student at Buffalo State pays an activity fee of $100 per semester along with their tuition and other fees. (Part-time students pay a pro-rated, per credit hour amount.) This money is released to the United Students Government to pay for student-sponsored organizations, events, and services.

The fee is mandatory by referendum - every other year. The collection of the fee as well as how it is budgeted and disbursed are all covered by SUNY Guidelines.

The STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS whose events and activities are funded by USG through the activity fee. The student government operations and the benefits listed in the SERVICES section are funded through the fee as well.

The USG Treasurer and the Budget Committee (consisting of the Vice Treasurer and a number of USG Senators and advised by the USG Business Manager) assemble the annual budget every spring for the following school year. The proposed budget is voted on by the USG Senate in April. The budget must then be approved by the Buffalo State administration before funds are released. All individual expenditures during the year are approved by the Treasurer and a college designee. The SUNY Research Foundation at Buffalo State acts as the fiscal agent overseeing USG's business transactions.

Take the stairs in the southeast corner of the Campbell Student Union lobby to the basement (the Pit). Go past the vending machines towards the entrance of the Student Organization Resource Center and continue down the hallway to the left. Make a right at the end of the hallway, then go through the door on the left. The USG Administrative Office (105 E) is the first room you will see, and our Administrative Assistant Cindy Sciolino will help direct you further!

Always stop in 105 E to speak with our Administrative Assistant before you venture down the hallway, but she can help direct you to:

• USG Business Office (USG Business Manager and Accounts Payable): 105 F
• USG AVPs, Speaker Pro, and Rules and Regulations Chair: 105 G
• USG Top 3 Office (President, EVP, Treasurer): 105 H

Note: It's always a good idea to send an email to individual(s) you need to meet with before you come down to the USG offices, just in case they may be in a meeting or unavailable at the time you'd like to speak with them. If so, feel free to schedule an appointment for a later date/time!

USG officers are required to spend set numbers of hours per week in their respective USG Offices. You can visit USG in person or call 716-878-6701 to ask for the current hours of the officer you'd like to contact, and make an appointment to meet with that officer if you wish!

Simply put: Yes, so we know who you are.
The process confirms the group is active and puts the names and contact information of a group's officers, members, and advisors on record with the university, USG, and SLE. Without a current registration on file, students claiming to represent a student group can be denied access campus rooms and facilities for events as well as the ability to spend their budget with USG.

Organization Registration, currently opens in April and must be completed by mid-September. Any specific question about org registration, contact SLE.

Congratulations on your new position!

The first thing you should do is let us know who you are. Have your group file a new Organization Registration Form. Registration will assure that USG and other campus offices will know that you officially represent your club. Next, read Article IX of the USG Constitution (it's on this website in the USG Constitution section). The basic responsibilities are lined out there. They boil down to:

Make sure you maintain communication with USG. Someone in your group should be responsible for checking the group's mailbox in the USG office on a regular and frequent basis. Important memos and correspondence for your club will be there and they should be passed on to the members of the group who need to know about them. Meeting notices, budget issues, and other business you will have to address will all be communicated that way.

Make sure your group is represented at all mandatory meetings. See Article VI of the USG Constitution for info on Organization Representatives. There are two mandatory meetings per semester for the clubs. In addition there is a treasurers' training meeting in September and a Budget Request Meeting in February that should not be missed

Register your activities. All of your meetings, activities and events should be posted on Bengal Connect by using the CREATE EVENT form in your page's management section. This lets USG (and the rest of the campus) know that you are an active group and is used by USG in evaluating your activity. If what you are doing is important to you then it is important to USG, so make sure we know about it. Attendance is also important; become familiar with the Event Pass and Check-In App so that the attendance at your events is properly recorded.

Don't be afraid to ask questions or ask for help from USG. If you are a president or vice president and have questions you can ask the USG President, the AVP for Organization Relations or other AVPs for help. If you are a treasurer or have budget related questions, the USG Treasurer and the USG Business Office Staff are here to help.

The basic organizing is up to you. You'll need a well-defined purpose and the required number of members and a track record of events and activities to show your viability as a student group on campus.

For further information on this see the Becoming a USG Organization section on this website.

No; being recognized by the university is NOT the same as being recognized by USG and vice-versa:

• USG Recognition requires that the organization is already registered by the Student Leadership & Engagement Office, applications for USG recognition are reviewed by the USG Rules and Regulations Committee, and then the approval of the USG Senate. 
• USG member groups are re-recognized by USG once every three years and are notified by the Rules Chair in September if they are up for re-recognition that year.

If your group is currently recognized by USG (see the two questions above) then you can qualify for funds from the Academic Assembly line. This is money specifically set aside for recognized organizations which don't have budgets of their own. You must apply for funds for a specific individual event or activity. The form, instructions, and guidelines for applying are all available at the USG Business Office. If your group is NOT recognized by USG the funds will not be available to you until you go through the recognition procedure.
Additional sources of funding for on-campus events are the Grant Allocation Committee; Equity and Campus Diversity Grant and the Faculty Student Association Founders Fund. These are event-based grants with individual application procedures.

The Media Sign (on the Campbell Student Union wall facing the Butler Library) was purchased by USG and is managed through the USG Business Office. Its purpose is to advertise on-campus events to students. All decisions on messages that appear on the sign are at the discretion of the USG Business Manager.

For USG Organizations, the opportunity to advertise on the Media Sign is part of the event registration process through Bengal Connect. Other requests must use the process explained below. 

All requests must be e-mailed to usgmedia@buffalostate.edu one week prior to the appearance of the message on the sign. Make sure to include the following information in your e-mail:
    •    Name of the organization sponsoring event
    •    Event name and a brief description
    •    Date & Time
    •    Location
    •    Admission cost and ticket availability if applicable
    •    Attach event flyer to email
    •    Time frame when you want your message to run (NO GUARANTEES)
Hand written requests will not be accepted.

Tables, rooms, and display cases in the Student Union must be reserved online through the Campbell Student Union. 
To reserve space in places on campus other than the Student Union must be reserved online through the Events Management Office, Cleveland Hall 319.