Registered Independent Student Organizations (RISO)
Are you interested in joining a RISO or club but don't know where to start? Explore this page to find out more about ways to get involved and be personally connected to our on campus groups.
On this page:
New and Renewal Club Registration for the 2024-2025 academic year is available online as of September 10, 2024. Visit our Get Registered page for forms and information. If you have any questions please contact uhhriso@hawaii.edu. The deadline to register for the 2024-2025 academic year is March 28, 2025. If you would like to get in contact with the 2024-2025 RISOs you can use this contact list to do so.
What is a RISO?
A Registered Independent Student Organization (RISO) is defined as:
"Any group of six or more students currently enrolled at UH Hilo wishing to pursue a common educational, civic, social, cultural or recreational interest."
To become a RISO you will need to register with the campus and renew that registration annually. You can visit our Get Registered page for more information. Please note that the process for registration is campus specific, policies are different for each UH System Campus. If you are a Hawaiʻi CC RISO and you are interested in getting services on the UH Hilo campus, or if you are just interested in developing a UH Hilo chapter of your RISO, you will need to register on the UH Hilo campus as well to receive the benefits and services.
The University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo welcomes a variety of different Registered Independent Student Organizations. UH Hilo is one of the most diverse institutions in the nation which is something that we take great pride in and is reflected in the overall registration of our RISOs. We invite you to take a moment to browse the different clubs and find others with similar interest or start a RISO of your own to make connections with other Vulcans.
RISO Learning Outcomes
Co-curricular learning is integral to students’ total higher education experience. This experiential learning prepares our students for the transition towards independence and self-responsibility. By being a part of a Registered Independent Student Organization (RISO) at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, you will learn and be able to apply the following:
Personal Identity
- Acquire leadership skills that will enable you to interact effectively with others.
- Learn to identify and articulate personal beliefs, ethics and values.
- Develop and identify your own cultural identity while celebrating the diversity of other group members and understand what this diversity brings to the group.
Networking and Community Building
- Develop positive relationships with other students, faculty and staff that support the organization activities.
- Learn to incorporate and advocate for personal beliefs and values in a group setting.
- Create and maintain long lasting personal and professional relationships with students, faculty, staff and other community members.
Applied Learning
- Plan, promote and initiate civic, recreational, social, cultural and academically related activities, programs and services.
- Manage and create the foundations of a structured organization including the creation, revision and observation of a Constitution and By- Laws.
- Ability to manage organizational funds.
- Acquire a basic understanding of various Federal and State laws, banking and tax requirements.
- Ability to make connections between classroom learning and the experiences you have in a RISO to further your understanding of core academic concepts.
- Exhibit the ability to work effectively with those different from themselves.