Student Organizations

Student organizations who plan to serve this semester, have been reviewed and approved to serve, are encouraged to become van certified and reserve a CSC or Hop Van(s). Learn more about the van reservation process on the JHU Transportation website.

In addition, eligible CSC groups who have funding can consider using the Lyft Program. Learn more about the Lyft Program and Lyft Transportation Request process here.

The New Student Org On-Ramp assists students in creating a sustainable CSC-affiliated organization that will live beyond their time at JHU.

Upon successful completion of this On-Ramp program, prospective student organizations should have full university approval to launch as a recognized student organization next semester, including access to Hopkins Groups. On Ramp sessions will include the following components:

• Creation of mission, vision, values
• Definition of short and long-term goals
• Identification of success measurements
• Executive Board Development
• Sustainability planning (i.e., fundraising and development)
• Established relationship with a local community partner
• JHU Document Prep and Approval for LEED Registration and CSC Risk Management

We also encourage you to join a current CSC student group or Log into Hopkins Engage to view community identified projects and opportunities. If you are have a project or activity that you are interested in supporting and need funding, please contact volunteer@jhu.edu to speak with a staff member.

A student group may choose not to be active during AY21-22 due to current extenuating circumstances. This decision will not impact recognized CSC group status or future re-registration. CERAC may also advise a temporary discontinuation in service if group projects and activities are not viable or in accordance to community partner interest during COVID-19.

It’s the sole responsibility of students to ensure that expenses are permissible under university guidelines, and that funds are spent within approved budget lines. Contact your CSC staff advisor for assistance if needed. Students should maintain a monthly record of expenditures to facilitate monthly comparison/reconciliation of group financial reports, and report any discrepancies to CSC staff advisor.

Student group leaders should be familiar with their group account number (Funded Program/Internal Order (Budget Number)/Cost Center number). Internal Order/Budget Numbers are the most important number as this is where all group balances and expenditures will remain. All budget and fund numbers are required to facilitate certain transactions. To access the group’s account number on Hopkins Groups, go to the money tab of the student group’s dashboard in Hopkins Groups. Account balances are visible as well.

This academic year student groups were awarded an annual allocation. Any groups that needs additional funding to complete a virtual or in-person service activity should apply for a CSC Supplemental Grant Request from their Hopkins Groups organization profile . A group who is serving should only apply for a grant if their community partner has been approved.

Funding requests are limited and will be determined by specific activity or project proposal in consultation with the Civic Engagement Recognition and Allocations Commission throughout the year and on a rolling basis.

Commissioners will be responsible for (1) supporting student groups, (2) allocating funding, (3) recognizing productive and ethical service. The Commission consists of student commissioners and CSC staff members.

Requests will be evaluated and awarded based on the proposal submitted and community identified need. Funding will not be allocated to student groups, projects, or activities for marketing giveaways, food, travel, or honoraria. To apply for a Supplemental Grant, log into your student organization’s page on Hopkins Groups > click “Money” (left side navigation)> Budgeting > Create Budget Request > CSC Supplemental Grant Request

How to make a Grant Request in Hopkins Groups

We encourage you to touch base with your ARC commissioner to have them review and provide feedback on the grant prior to it’s submission . This process could take approximately 10-14 days, so please plan accordingly.

Center for Social Concern student groups may hold fundraising campaigns to benefit nonprofit organizations but encourage our student groups to consider whether alternative methods of serving a community partner might be more beneficial.

Approval Process

1. The charity/organization must be approved by the CSC before proceeding with the fundraiser. We are unable to donate to international organizations unless they have a domestic partner who can receive the donation.
2. Paperwork to get the charity/organization into the JHU vendor system (for payment purposes) must be completed before the event/fundraiser.
3. Alternatively, we strongly encourage you to work with your community partner and the Center for Social Concern to leverage Hopkins Engage and affiliate with the CSC and your student group. Fundraising can be done directly through their organization’s GivePulse page.

What do we do with our money?

All fundraiser cash and checks will need to be coordinated with and taken to the Center for Social Concern for deposit within 3-5 business days. As a reminder, student groups are not allowed to use Venmo, PayPal, Kickstarter, or similar platforms to conduct group business, including collecting donations for fundraisers. Please contact your CERAC Commissioner prior to fundraising money to ensure we can receive deposit funds in a timely matter.

The University also supports the engagement of Local, Small, Minority, Women-Owned, HUBZone, and Veteran-Owned Businesses/vendors. These actions are an appropriate extension of the University’s fundamental policy of Equal Opportunity. The list of Local, Small, Minority, Women-Owned, HUBZone, and Veteran-Owned Businesses can be found here. The System enables department staff to purchase products directly on behalf of student organizations and charge group accounts. We believe that students should not have to incur a financial burden to participate fully in their organization and, therefore, should not pay out of pocket. The CSC will NOT BE reimbursing students as ALL purchases need to be made through the CSC. Groups are required to plan in advance to purchase supplies and goods.

All purchase requests should be submitted via the Purchase Order Request form on Hopkins Groups.

In order for purchases to be approved, student groups must:

• have had their community partner approved via the Community Partner Service Request.
• have a budget and ample funding to cover their expenses (all student groups budgets are visible in Hopkins Groups and students are responsible to track their expenses and not exceed their budget).
• must be made in advance (14 business days)

If you have questions about purchases or reimbursements, please contact your staff advisor or volunteer@jhu.edu.

Students who are virtually working with minors and/or serving in person, need to complete training, documentation, and follow the steps below.

Training & Criminal Screening Request

1. To access the Mylearning training, do the following:
2. Login to my.jh.edu
3. Select “Education” on the left-hand navigation bar, select Mylearning
4. Search for “Training on the Safety of Children in University Programs”
5. After completing the training, save the certificate
6. To submit the completion certificate (current academic year), complete the survey on Hopkins Engage and upload your certificate of completion.
   • Before completing the survey, you will need to know the following:
     • Name of CSC Program or Student Organization
     • Name of your Community Partner
     • If you will be serving minors virtually or in-person
7. The CSC will review and provide the next steps for completing a background check or fingerprinting request. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to get in touch with volunteer@jhu.edu.
8. Once the criminal screen is complete, the survey status in Hopkins Engage will be updated “Approved.”
   • CSC staff and student leaders will see the AY23 work w/minors tags in Hopkins Engage under user management. Read the FAQ below about Hopkins Engage Tags: Approved to work with minors .

If you are not working minors but require a criminal screening per community partner request, do the following:

1. Complete the survey on Hopkins Engage.
   • Before completing the survey, you will need to know the following:
     • Name of CSC Program or Student Organization
     • Name of your Community Partner
2. The CSC will review and provide the next steps for completing a background check or fingerprinting request. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to get in touch with volunteer@jhu.edu.
3. Once the criminal screen is complete, the survey status will be updated “Approved.”
   • CSC staff and student leaders will see the AY23 work w/minors tags in Hopkins Engage under user management. Read the FAQ below about Hopkins Engage Tags: Approved to work with minors .

Student leaders identified in Hopkins Engage CSC Student Organizations have administrative access to view their members’ tags and see their status. If you have questions about this process, contact your ARC Commissioner or attend Hopkins Engage Open Office Hours on Tuesdays (1-2pm EST). An explanation of Hopkins Engage tags are below.

AY23 Work w/Minors

The “AY23 Work w/Minors” is a tag used in Hopkins Engage for the CSC Program and Student Organization participants/members. This tag indicates that the student has completed requirements per the JHU Policy and necessary criminal screening completed by a community partner and cleared to work with minors during the AY22.

AY23 Work w/Minors (Fingerprinting)

The “AY23 Work w/Minors (Fingerprinting)” is a tag used in Hopkins Engage for the Center for Social Concern Program and Student Organization participants/members. This tag indicates that the student has completed requirements per the JHU Policy and necessary criminal screening completed by the CSC and can work with minors during the AY23.

AY23 Work w/Minors (Background Check)

The “AY23 Work w/Minors (Background Check)” is a tag used in Hopkins Engage for the Center for Social Concern Program and Student Organization participants/members. This tag indicates that the student has completed requirements per the JHU Policy and necessary criminal screening completed by the CSC and can work with minors during the AY23.

Child Safety Training

No, you only need to complete your training and background checks/fingerprinting one time per year. Also, in Hopkins Engage, you will see this completion in your MyActivity> Surveys > Status = Complete

Hopkins Engage

Yes, you should complete the survey on Hopkins Engage for every organization you are working with minors and upload your Child Safety Training certificate of completion.

Yes, this is an annual requirement of the CSC.

Those students who are working with children under 18 years of age are required to complete JHU’s online child safety training prior to service. The training discusses your responsibilities of working with children. It will also provide best practices when working with children, describe the different types of child abuse, and JHU’s process of reporting suspected abuse or neglect of a child. This training is completed in Path Training. See FAQ above for additional information to access the training.

Reporting Process

If you need to report suspected abuse or neglect of a child, you need to report it internally to the Office of the General Counsel and externally to Baltimore Child Protective Services within 48 hours of the incident. The Center for Social Concern can assist you with this process. For your reference, both offices contact information is listed below.

Office of the General Counsel
3400 N. Charles Street
Garland 113
Baltimore, MD 21218-2688
Phone: (410) 516-8128
generalcounsel@jhu.edu

Baltimore Child Protective Services
1525 N. Calvert Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21202
Phone: (410) 361-2235 (24 hours)
Fax: (443) 423-7003 or 443-423-7002
After hours fax: (443) 423-5950

All background checks completed by the CSC will be useful for five years. JHU Partners with Universal Background Screening, Inc., you will receive an email from eforms@universalbackground.com. Please click the link they provide and complete all required questions as soon as possible.

No, the CSC will be covering the expense of background cost fees for CSC student organizations.

Enter “NA” for this question.

Enter your visa/passport number in place of SS#.

No, all background checks completed will be good for five years. However, you will need to complete (MyLearning) Training on the Safety of Children in University Programs every year.

Email volunteer@jhu.edu and provide contact information of the community partner and description of service being provided this academic year. Please copy your ARC Commissioner on this communication. The CSC will work with the community partner regarding JHU policies.