Carnegie Mellon University
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Student Org Resources Frequently Asked Questions

If you do not find an answer to your specific question here, please email the Office of Student Leadership, Involvement, and Civic Engagement (SLICE) or call 412-268-8704.

Explore the FAQs

Organization Management

Visit Organization Space Access & Management and have your Space Access Administrator fill out the space access request form on TartanConnect. Once the form is submitted, access will be granted within 48 business hours.
We recommend that you first make sure your organization's webpage on TartanConnect is fully updated with your current leadership’s contact information for students who search TartanConnect and want to contact your organization. Each organization is also invited to participate in THE FAIR, the second Wednesday of each semester.
Organizations may request an organization email address and shared google drive from Computing Services.
Stop by the SLICE front desk or email SLICE for your organization’s copy code, or if your organization is in need of a code. Please let us know if the printer ever runs out of paper and/or ink.
The SLICE Office manages two mini-vans which can be used by student organizations and departments to fulfill their mission for only the cost of gasoline. Learn more about how to reserve a SLICE van.
You can find guidelines for how to use the Carnegie Mellon trademark on the University's branding website. Any merchandise that contains the official Carnegie Mellon logo (wordmark, plaid, Scotty dog, etc.) needs to be approved by Jay Marano from the Trademark Licensing Office via email.
Congratulations! First, make sure your contact information and leadership position are updated on TartanConnect, so you get all SLICE communications. Then, make sure you’re registered for the next REACH: Resources, Education, and Campus How-Tos session and check out the Starting the Year Off Right website for some helpful information. If you still have questions, set up a meeting with SLICE.
Complete a Meet with SLICE request to schedule an appointment.

Event Management

As per the Policy on the Protection of Children, programs and events involving minors must submit a registration form at least 30 days in advance with Child Protections Operations and all individuals interacting with minors must complete Act 153 background certifications every 60 months.

Reserve a large outdoor space on CMU's campus, such as The Triangles near the Cut and The Fence, East West Walkway, Legacy Plaza, Merson Courtyard, The Mall, and CFA Lawn by completing the Outdoor Event Request Form.

Step 1: After completing this form, you will receive a tentative space hold confirmation from the Cohon University Center (ucres@andrew.cmu.edu) or the Tepper Building Operations Team (tprbldg@andrew.cmu.edu).
Note: If your requested space is not available on your requested date, you will work with the Cohon University Center/Tepper Building Operations Team to find a suitable date, space, and time before moving forward in the approval process.

Step 2: Students - You will need to schedule an Event Support Meeting with SLICE for initial approval surrounding event logistics.
Staff & Faculty - you will not need to meet with SLICE, but the option will be there for you if needed.

Step 3: After your Event Support Meeting with SLICE, your form will be approved & would be sent over to CMU Campus Partners for any additional information you would need to have for this event to run smoothly and safely. Please plan to respond to these questions as quickly as possible so as not to delay the approval of your overall reservation.

Step 4: Once the CMU Campus Partners approve your event request, your reservation is not final until you receive the 25Live confirmation from University Center Scheduling/Tepper Building Operations Team.

If you have any questions about the physical reservation, email ucres@andrew.cmu.edu or tprbldg@andrew.cmu.edu. 

If your supplier sends you a contract to sign, please do not sign it. Set up a meeting with SLICE to review the agreement and consider what you agree with and what you would like to negotiate. SLICE will walk you through the steps while working with the University Contracts Office and obtaining financial paperwork for the supplier, which typically takes around 6 weeks to complete. Read more about the SLICE speaker/performer process.

Student Government maintains several bulletin boards around campus managed by the Graffiti and Poster Policy Administrator, where student organizations can display posters. Locations can be found listed in the Graffiti and Poster Policy.  Please note:

  • Posters are not permitted to be on doors, walls, and/or windows.
  • Chalking is only permitted on sidewalks and not permitted in areas that are not directly exposed to rainfall, including covered sidewalks and vertical portions of outdoor stairs.
  • No spray chalk should be used. 
If your organization is providing food, you must follow the Cohon Center’s Food Safety Policy, completing the steps at least two days in advance. Steps include a food safety quiz and a food event registration form.
Step 1: All banners and posters must be approved by the SLICE Office before hanging. Banners across Doherty Archway must be a MAXIMUM of 22 feet long X 30 inches in height.
Step 2: Student organizations must submit a work order to FMS for banner installation. There will be a fee through FMS - work orders will need an organization's oracle string from the organization's authorized signer. 
Step 3: After submitting installation work order, submit the take-down order. Banners must be taken down either 48 hours after an event has passed OR 30 days from initial installation.
Note: Student organizations may leave banners at the 1st Floor SLICE Office for banner pick-up from FMS. Please note this on your work order.
In order to host a public viewing of a movie, you must obtain a Public Performance License. If you need help to contact the major firms who handle the licenses to movie showings, please contact AB Films for assistance.
If you reserved space in an academic building and it is more than two weeks into the semester, email esrooms@andrew.cmu.edu. For reservations in the Cohon University Center, email ucres@andrew.cmu.edu. 

2021-2022 Academic Year

For the 2021-22 academic year, please refer to the COVID-19 Guidelines for Students Orgs webpage for any questions related to event management.

Financial Management

Venmo cannot be connected to a CMU bank account and thus has to route through a personal bank account. This violates the Student Government Fiscal Policy and introduces a lot of risk to the person who collects the money and to the student organization if that person does not make the deposit. An alternative to using Venmo is CashNet or CarnegieMellonTickets
  • A Donation is a contribution where the donor does not receive anything in return. Donations can be processed online.
  • Sponsorship is a contribution that meets one or more of the following criteria:
    • $5,000 or greater sponsorship amount;
    • Has a sponsorship agreement;
    • Has substantial benefit(s) to the sponsor;
    • Advertisement is offered to the sponsor.
In order to receive a sponsorship, please connect with SLICE’s Finance Team to go over the potential tax implications, as well as determining how your sponsorship will be recorded. To set up a meeting, you can please email the SLICE Finance Team. They will help you determine your next steps based on how much you wish to raise and who your target sponsors are.
If you are listed as a President, Co-President, Authorized Signer, or Budget Tracker Administrator on the roster of your organization’s TartanConnect webpage, you will be able to navigate to the Finance section of your page once you are in “Manage” mode. From here you can navigate to the historical budget requests for your organization, as well as the list of accounts that hold individual transactions.
In order to reallocate funds in your current budget, you will need to request a line item change by completing the JFC Budget Reallocation form.
JFC allocations and gift account funds cannot be donated to an external organization. If your student organization is interested in making a donation to an external organization, please email a payment request form to the SLICE Finance Team. SLICE will research your student organizations' account balance to see how much is available to donate and to help you process the payment.
TartanConnect is updated weekly with transactions that have officially been debited or credited to your accounts. Since this system is not live, and some payments take a few weeks to process, please wait to email about a missing transaction until 4 weeks after you submitted paperwork to SLICE. At that time, you can email the SLICE Finance Team and we can check on the status of your transaction. If you see a transaction that you think might be incorrect, please email us. We will work with you to get more information and to remove the charge if it does not belong to your organization.
Reimbursement requests should be submitted through this form.   Please provide a complete justification, receipts, and any required back-up documentation (i.e. contracts, proofs of design).

  • It can take up to 30 days to receive expense reimbursement. This is due to the approval process within SLICE, as well as the processing and approval time needed in Accounts Payable.

  • If a student has a position in Workday, they are still required to submit a direct deposit form because Oracle is a separate system where expense reimbursements are processed.

  • Students who wish to receive reimbursement via direct deposit should complete the direct deposit form and email it to the SLICE Finance Team.

  • Please email the SLICE Finance Team to see if a supplier is currently in Oracle. Please include the full vendor name.
  • It takes 2-4 weeks to establish a new supplier in Oracle, because the information, including tax and banking information, needs to be verified.

  • University Contracts is required to review and approve all contracts for services being performed on Carnegie Mellon University property. There are other unique situations that may require University Contracts approval as well.

  • A contract is required for services to ensure that both parties are aware and agree to the terms and conditions of the service provider. All on-campus services require the approval of the University Contracts Office to ensure that the University and our students are protected.
There is an application process every year for student organizations who are interested in participating in crowdfunding. Please visit the Annual Giving webpage for more information and how to apply.
The University’s preferred travel agency allow greater customer service, including ease of booking, assistance with any cancellations and additional support in the event of an emergency. Please visit the Travel section of our website to learn more about Concur.
Cash prizes and gift cards of any amount are considered taxable income. Non-cash prizes and gifts valued at more than $75 are also taxable. Tax forms are required for tax reporting purposes.