Student Groups

Get your group started:

• Faculty advisor agreement (108 K)

Group discount for 20 or more students

• Student group discount (1 MB)

AIGA encourages the formation of student groups at colleges and universities and is committed to developing these groups as a way of encouraging students to take the first step in demonstrating a commitment to their professional interest and assisting them in understanding the profession. The goal of the student groups is to get the student involved in the local design community, create a community of their own and help them build leadership skills that will be valuable as they move into the professional world.

Requirements for AIGA student groups

These requirements reflect our experience of the past several years of what makes a successful group. Adhering to them will help ensure that the group runs smoothly and enables students to get the most out of their AIGA membership.

• Each student group must have a faculty advisor, who must sign a formal agreement in order to activate the group. The faculty advisor is the liaison between the students and AIGA and is responsible for the formation and maintenance of the student group. In return for the extra work required of the faculty advisor to run a successful group, AIGA provides the advisor with a complimentary professional-level membership for taking on the responsibility of starting and running the student group.
• Each group must have at least 10 students with active AIGA memberships at all times.
• The faculty advisor must sign and return the student group agreement to start or continue a group. Signed agreements are due once a year to renew.
• The faculty advisor is required to maintain a roster of who is in the group; a current listing of the students affiliated with the group may be viewed by logging into the advisor’s AIGA profile at www.aiga.org/profile.
• The faculty advisor must encourage students to keep their contact information updated (e.g., change of address, e-mail, graduation date, major) by logging in to their own profiles at www.aiga.org/profile.
• The faculty advisor is required to submit a year-end report outlining the group’s activities throughout the year. The reports are due by July 1. Read the 2006 reports.
• The faculty advisor assumes accountability for programming funds collected and spent.

Resources for students and faculty advisors

Student groups have several resources at their disposal to help them run meetings, create programming and locate resources.

• Each local AIGA chapter board should have a chapter education chairperson who is responsible for the relationship between AIGA and its student members. The chapter education chair should be in contact will the faculty advisor of all student groups within the chapter and will be notified when new groups are formed. A list of chapter education chairs may be found at www.aiga.org/chapter-education-chairs.
• A student groups resource book has been developed to document best practices. The resource book contains separate sections for chapter education chairs, faculty advisors and student leaders.
• Students should feel free to contact the national student group coordinator with any questions about the student groups, funding, resources or supplies. Call 212 710 3130 or send email to students at aiga dot org.
• Student groups have been formed on more than 200 campuses across the U.S. A list of groups may be found at www.aiga.org/student-groups-by-school.

Relationship between AIGA chapters and student groups

When a student group at a university is located within 100 miles of an AIGA chapter, it automatically becomes affiliated with that chapter. The faculty advisor should be recognized as an asset of the chapter, assisting in involving the students in AIGA and in programming for their own interests, in distributing materials and in keeping student records (particularly addresses) current. The student advisors within a chapter should work together to combine assets and create programming that will involve more students and build a strong community.

AIGA feels strongly that student groups should, as much as possible, be involved in programming their own events. This activity provides an opportunity for training future chapter officers and instills a sense of responsibility towards the organization. Chapters receive a $20 per student dues reimbursement. We encourage the chapter to develop a mechanism for granting each student group a portion or all of those funds for programming activities on campus.

If the student group at a university is located farther than 100 miles from an existing AIGA chapter it will be considered independent of any chapter. The $20 of each student’s dues will be reimbursed directly to the student group to assist in developing programming activities on the campus. To receive these funds, the faculty advisor must provide a federal tax ID number (usually readily available from university administration). The group will receive reimbursements on a quarterly basis, consisting of $20 per each student joining or renewing in that quarter.

Renewing student groups

A new agreement must be signed and returned to AIGA each year, to confirm that the student group will continue, and to renew the faculty advisor’s complimentary membership. Failure to return a signed agreement will cause the student group to be deactivated.

Number of student groups per campus

AIGA will recognize one (and only one) faculty advisor per campus. Full-time faculty members are encouraged to take advantage of the special AIGA educator rate. See www.aiga.org/membership-educator for more information.