Frequently Asked Questions

The Student Organization Portal is the recognition platform and process for student groups for the University of Toronto Mississauga.

Getting SOP recognition, also known as ORGLife, means that UTM recognizes your group as an official group of the university and lets you and your group:

• Use the "University of Toronto/UofT/UTM" name in association with your group and social media
• Access to space bookings (room and tables)
• Discount on campus catering
• CCR Recognition
• CSE Funding Applications.
• UofT Student Group Email 

There are a few steps to prepare and submit for recognition. Take a read through our website to learn about the steps. 

UTM Student Groups are semi-autonomous, which means for the most part, the student executives of the group themselves are responsible for running the group. A constitution is the guiding papers which help guide and orient how the group works, the executive roles, amendments, elections, how to navigate conflict and much more! You can find a template we have built for student groups and our requirements on our Group Constitution support page. 

It takes up to 15 buisness days (Mon-Fri, no weekends or university closure days) for us to review your application. If there are any constitution or group issues, we will reach out to you to resolve them. If there are no issues, your group will be invited to a final recognition meeting where we go over final details, resources, and answer any questions.

After submiitting your SOP page, your primary contact will not be able to access yoru page until after your group has completed the recognition process.

Yes, UTMSU recognition is not the same as SOP/University of Toronto recognition. To get access to the benefits listed above, your group needs to be SOP recognized. SOP recognition is a yearly recognition from July to July and requires yearly renewal as well. 

Yes, SOP recognition goes from July to July and requires yearly renewal. You can learn how to submit for re-recogntiion on our recognition steps web page. 

For new groups, there are no deadlines and new groups can submit for recognition at any time! 

For re-recognizing groups, re-recognition opens every year in May and you can submit your re-recognition application between May to July. If your group loses recognition and a re-recognition application was not submitted before July 31st, please reach out to studentgroups.utm@utoronto.ca. 

Edits to the SOP page can only be made by the Primary Contact that is listed on your SOP page. Your primary contact will need to login with their UTORid via the group leader login button on the SOP website. Once logged in, they can make the edits and submit. If your group is already recognized, the edits will be approved within a few days.

The Primary Contact is usually the executive that is primarily responsibel for the group, which is typically yhe highest ranking group executive (ex. President). The Primary contact has access to the SOP page and all of our UTORid locked resources (Room bookings, table bookings, ORBS, and CSE Fudning Applications) whereas the Administrative Officers only have access to all of the UTORid locked resources. 

Each group is allowed 2 listed Administrative Officers so that up to 3 group executives can accces the resources (1 Primary Contact and 2 Administrative Officers).

Your currently listed Primary Contact is the only person able to make changes to your group's SOP page. 

If there is a newly elected Primary Contact, the previous Primary Contact will need to update your SOP page to provide the new Primary Contact access. 

To add additional/new Administrative Officers, your group's Primary Contact will need to add/change them in your SOP page. 

If you need to switch to a new Primary Contact and your group's previous Primary Contact is unavailable. please email studentgroups.utm@utoronto.ca.

No the provided UTORids and emails of your executives/group leadership are not visible to the public. These are required so that we can provide access to UTORid locked resources. 

The only contact information visible to the public are the ones listed in the group details sectiosn (Phone, Organizational Email, Facebook. Twitter, Instagram, Organization Website). 

CSE offers various types of funding opportunities. All funding opportunities are on an application and reimbursement model and all applications must be submitted prior to your event occuring. 

During the Academic year:

The Ian Orchard Student Initiatives Fund supports SOP-recognized student groups who have inspiring and engaging projects or events that enhance the student experience and foster a sense of community on campus.

The Student Initiatives Fund supports collaborative programming furthering the student experience and community on campus. This fund requires the collaborative involvement of a minimum of 2 SOP-recognized student groups.

All SOP recognized groups are eligible to apply for for $1500 per academic year for each fund, with a max of $750 per event from the Ian Orchard and Student Initiatives Fund. Please note that applications have to be submitted prior to your planned event, otherwise they are not elligible for a funding application. 

We als offer the Black, Indigenous and Person of Color (BIPOC) Student Engagement Fund which offers financial support of up to $1000 per academic year to all SOP recognized student groups to support programming and experiences which support and engage BIPOC students and foster community amongst these groups as well. 

During the Summer:

The CSE Summer Ian Orchard Fund is open for the Summer semester only and supports SOP-recognized student groups who have inspiring and engaging projects or events that enhance the student experience and foster a sense of community on campus. All groups are elligible for $1500 for the summer semester, with a max of $750 per event fror this fund. 

Read more about these on our CSE Funding Page. 

Your group can apply for funding via the CSE Funding Portal found on our CSE Funding Page. 

Please keep in mind that the BIPOC Student Engagement Fund application requires an additional document, which can also be found on the above CSE Funding Page. 

The funding platform is one of the UTORid locked resources. Once your group is fully recognized, you can apply for funding. 

Please keep in mind that your group will need a student group bank account to be able to deposit any reimbursement cheques. Read more about this on our CSE Funding Page. 

All funding applications must be submitted prior to your event occuring. Applications that come in after your event has occurred cannot be reviewed. 

Applications take between 10-15 buisness days (Mon-Fri, no weekends or holiday closure dates) for review. It is recommended to apply as early as possible so you can plan appropriately. You can apply for events months ahead or even in the next semester (submitting for Winter semester during the Fall semester). 

After all your documents are submitted and reviewed, it will take between 4-6 weeks for a cheque to be issued and recieved at UTM to then be distributed to your group.

Please keep in mind that documents that are not submitted appropriately or missing documents will result in a longer wait time for the final reimbursement cheque. PDF document submissions are recommended for all receipt/financial document submission. 

No, unfortunately once you completed your yearly allotment, we are unable to provide more funding. 

Yes! Please make sure to add that detail on your funding application.  

No, all funding applications must be submitted prior to your event. 

You can read more about funding deadlines and requirements on our CSE Funding Page. 

If your group has just been recognized by the university, it may take a couple of business days to get your Primary Contact and Administrative Officers uploaded into the system.

If you are not listed as a Primary Contact or Administrative officer on your group's SOP page, you have not been given access by your group to access the funding application.

If you are listed as a Primary Contact and/or Administrator on your SOP page and your public SOP page shows this but still do not have access, please email studentgroups.utm@utoronto.ca with your UTORid and uoft email.

You will be updated via your funding application portal the status of your reimbursement. Once it is available, the status will change accordingly and you will be notified in the portal and via email that your cheque is available for pickup at the UTM Hello Desk in Davis. 

Reimbursement cheques are issued to your student group and must be deposited into a student group bank account of the same name. Without a student group bank account, you will not be able to deposit the reimbursement cheque.

 For more information on how to get a student group bank account, check out our CSE Funding Page!

No, it does not have an impact. As long as your group has a student group account, you will be able to deposit reimbursement cheques. 

You will need a bank letter from us which you will bring to the bank of your choice to create a student group bank account. Please note that the university does not have any oversight over your student group bank account. 

You can request a new or updated bank letter on our CSE Funding page. 

Bank letters will take 10-15 buisness days (Mon-Fri, no weekends or university closure dates) for review and issue. 

No, you and your group can spend money from personal accounts and the receipts for these purchases will need to be submitted via the funding application. 

For most groups, once their reimbursement cheque is deposited, they can etransfer money out as required. 

All room booking requests are required to be submitted a minimum of 10 buisness days (Mon-Fri, no weekends, no university closure dates) in advance of the requested date. 

We encourage groups to submit room bookings as early as possible. You can submit multiple requests at once and can also submit in advance of the minimum 10 buisness days requirement. 

No, it is not possible to get an exemption for the minimum 10 buisness day in advance requirement. 

Business days are the days of the standard work week (Monday - Friday). Business days exclude weekends and University closure days (ex. Winter break, Presidential day, etc.)

If your group has just been recognized by the university, it may take a couple of business days to get your Primary Contact and Administrative Officers uploaded into the system.

If you are not listed as a Primary Contact or Administrative officer on your group's SOP page, you have not been given access by your group to access the room booking application.

If you are listed as a Primary Contact and/or Administrator on your SOP page and your public SOP page shows this but still do not have access, please email studentgroups.utm@utoronto.ca with your UTORid and uoft email.

No, room bookings are reserved for SOP recognized student groups. Read more about SOP recognition here.

If you wish to book a room as an external visitor, please contact conference services at conf.serv@utoronto.ca.

Many rooms are free to book for student groups, but there are certain exceptions for room bookings. Learn more by looking through our room booking information and guidelines! 

It varies. It is confirmed through conference services during the room booking process, before the room booking is finalized. Please provide as much detail as possible when filling out the room booking request form.   

Only food provided by UTM Catering is permitted to be served on campus. External food is not permitted to be served on campus.

All SOP recognized student groups recieve a 30% discount to catering and catering can be requested via the room booking form. 

No, external food is not permitted on campus. You are more than welcome to host your event off campus and you can even apply for CSE Funding for it!

Yes, external food is not permitted at tabling events, This requirement also includes individually packed items such as chips, chocolate, candy, etc. and common foods given out for charity events (ex. Crispy Kreme donuts). 

Yes, the food rules still apply and no external food is permitted on campus. Charity or donation events where food is given out or sold, such as bake sales, donut donations, etc., are not permitted on campus. 

No, table bookings are reserved for SOP recognized student groups. Read more about SOP recognition here.

You have access to your tables from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm for the day(s) you have it booked! Question about your dates? Check your confirmation email. 

No, you don't have to do anything! When you book a table, the table and 2 chairs will be set up for you at your requested location. 

No, external food is not permitted on campus, which includes tabling events. This requirement also includes individually packed items such as chips, chocolate, candy, etc. and common foods given out for charity events (ex. Crispy Kreme donuts). 

Visit our Table Booking website to see the rest of the guidelines and expectations. 

Take a look on our Starting a Group page for a step by step walkthrough! 

Yes! Staff, faculty, and alumni and other individuals can be apart of your student group but cannot vote and have limited power within your group. You can find the details under ‘II. Composition of Student Groups on the Student Groups Policy website! 

Find a group that you are interested on the SOP page and connect with them through their listed email, social media, or events! 

You can also check out our student group fairs which happen every year during Orientation, October, and January (check out our instagram for more details!) 

The CCR is your Co-Curricular Record.The Co-Curricular Record (CCR) at the University of Toronto is designed to help students find opportunities beyond the classroom and have their skills and experiences captured on an official university document. It can help you:

• Find out how to get involved on campus and track your progress.
• Connect your involvement with your career prospects.
• Build your resume.
• Build your network.
• Be more successful in your studies.
• Get recognized.

Read more about CCR here. 

Yes! Check out the CCR website for steps on how to get your group CCR recognized  

Yes, you can find the deadlines on the CCR website.