Co-Sponsorship Guidelines and Facility Use

Atwood Memorial Center receives its entire operational funding from student activity fees and generated revenue. Registered student organizations will not be charged rental fees for events they sponsor. Co-sponsorship of events that are fundraisers for organizations will not incur rental charges if the group receives compensation equal to or greater than what a non-student group would have been charged.

Student organizations and university departments that co-sponsor a reservation with an off-campus organization must:

• Be the primary reservation contact before, during, and after the event;
• Make the reservations and serve as the main contact for event planning;
• Have a student member, St. Cloud State University organization advisor, or university staff contact representing the group present at the event;
• Be financially responsible for all bills and invoices.

The reservation must align with the mission and purpose of the student organization or university department. Advertising and promotional materials must clearly display the name of the organization(s) or university department.

Student organizations and university departments shall not use their access to campus, space, and services to "front" for a non-university group or commercial vendor to avoid or reduce expenses or to provide access to campus for those entities.

Student organizations and university departments are prohibited from reserving space for events in which they are not directly involved.

Groups not adhering to this policy will receive a warning after the first infraction. Upon a second infraction, they will lose access to reserving space in Atwood Memorial Center for the remainder of the academic year and will be charged for the reservation space at the public rate.

Why Does Atwood Charge Departments for Facility Rentals?

Atwood Memorial Center is fully funded by student activity fees and generated revenue. No tuition or state tax dollars are used for the facility's operations. The bonds that initially funded the facility specifically restrict certain academic uses.

Students recognize that their center serves the entire campus better when it is a welcoming gathering place. As such, they created a governing board that includes faculty and staff and established policies to encourage the use of the center for departmental functions. In a typical year, about half of the center's usage is for departmental meetings.

While students have agreed to subsidize some faculty and staff usage, they require the Atwood Administration to collect facility use charges when departments invite off-campus participants, charge fees for participation, or when outside funding is involved in an event.

Although many of these events with off-campus participants benefit the university, students must decide whether their fees should subsidize these events instead of using general university funds. For more information on how this policy might apply to your specific event, please refer to the policy below.

Co-Sponsorship Policy Explanation

Atwood Facilities

Atwood Memorial Center receives its operational funding solely from student activity fees and generated revenue. Recognized student organizations will not be charged rental fees for events they sponsor. Organization representatives are expected to organize and assist with the events they co-sponsor.

Fees will be waived for university department meetings or events directly related to university business. University-sponsored events through admissions, aimed at attracting potential students to the campus, will also not incur room rental fees. Fees are also waived for armed forces recruiting events.

Campus groups will receive a 50% discount on room rental rates for events co-sponsored with a non-campus group. For a complete list of rental policies and usage fees, refer to the Academic Facility Rental page.