Of the approximately 60 new University student organizations registered each year, between 15 and 30 of them don’t come back.

And according to one University administrator, these disappearing groups weren’t solely created as resumé padding for their founders.

“Registration is thorough enough for the organization to have to really want it,” said Joshua Podvin, director of the Center for Student Organizations.

Since 2006, the University has seen a rise in the number of student organizations.

The number has grown from 500 to around 640, Podvin said.

Each University group must re-register with CSO every year to retain its student organization status. 

But each year, as many as 15 to 30 of the average 60 new groups fail to re-register.

“Some groups may forget to re-register,” Podvin said, “or some groups may fall into inactivity because of group leaders that graduate.”

He said other groups fail to re-register because, like the Haiti earthquake relief organization Dawgs for Haiti, they are based around a single event and outdated once the event is over.

Although student organizations may face any number of challenges, registration is typically not one of them.

“Registering [a student group] is not super intense,” Podvin said.

New student organizations are expected to write a constitution with a statement of purpose, attend a one-hour registration session and agree to comply with CSO regulations.

After registration, a group is eligible to apply for funds from different departments, committees and clubs.

The Student Government Association is one organization that helps student groups with funding.

Tate Fredrickson, a sophomore from Huntsville, Ala., is one of seven student affairs liaisons in SGA who are sent out to different student organizations to learn about events and hear general concerns.

“We’re trying to reach out more to student groups,” Fredrickson said. “We’re hoping to provide assistance with public relations and promotion.”

The student affairs liaison program began last year.

“We have the potential [to help the struggling student organizations],” Fredrickson said. “SGA is big and established, people will pay attention to it.”