REGULAR SCHEDULING
The Department of Public Services, through its Facility Reservations unit, has been designated as the campus department with responsibility for the reservation of university space and facilities for all non-academic or non-credit activities. By policy, all requests for the use of university facilities for non-academic or non-credit activities must be submitted to Facility Reservations for processing.
The Facility Reservation Process
Facility requests should be made to Facility Reservations through the R25 event scheduling system, not directly to building managers as this confuses the process and creates additional work. It is recommended that all requests be submitted to Facility Reservations at least seven (7) business days prior to the date of the event.
Before submitting your request, first view the university's R25 WebViewer which provides a real time display of all of the credit courses and nonacademic events that have been scheduled into campus facilities. The WebViewer will enable you to see which facilities might be available for your event, and to determine if there are other events that might compete for audiences or campus support services. Then, to reserve campus space through the department's Facility Reservations Office, complete the online Facility Request Form by clicking on the My Requests link at the top of the WebViewer page.
When facility requests are received by Facility Reservations, they are forwarded through R25 to the appropriate building manager for review and approval/denial. By agreement with the deans, building managers are to reply to Facility Reservations within 48 hours of receiving a facility request. The building manager will evaluate each request, taking into consideration the following:
1. Availability of space for date(s) requested
2. Suitability of the event for the requested location
3. Number of persons expected to attend the event
4. Presence of alcohol
5. Duration of the event
Once reviewed, the building manager will approve or deny the request online through R25, noting any special instructions that may apply to the use of the facility. Upon receipt, Facility Reservations will notify the event coordinator online through R25 that the request for space has been confirmed or denied. Because requests require review by a building manager, please allow at least five (5) business days for processing.
If you have service-related needs such as A/V, food, housing, moving, and/or security, please indicate your intent to secure such services on the R25 request form. Facility Reservations will forward this information to the appropriate service offices to give them advanced notice of your needs. You will still be responsible for making specific arrangements directly with the service units, and you will be responsible for notifying the service units if there are any changes to the original request. These offices require a minimum notice of five business days.
In the event the facility you requested is not available, Facility Reservations will assist you in finding another location. If you have not heard from Facility Reservations within five business days of submitting your request, you may call the reservation office to verify receipt of your request and to determine its status.
Please understand that your request is not deemed approved until you receive official confirmation from Facility Reservations. Do not announce or promote your activity until you know that the space you are requesting has been approved and your event has been booked into R25.
Priority Order for Reserving Facilities
Events are booked per the following space access priority order:
1. GCSU academic credit programs
2. GCSU programmatic functions (Continuing Education courses, camps, and conferences, Athletic Department events, student activities, etc.)
3. GCSU student organization activities
4. Public service/governmental events
5. GCSU personal use events
6. Non-GCSU events
If two or more facility requests are received at the same time, the above priority list is used to determine which events receive top priority for the requested facilities. Once requests are received and confirmed, they will not be canceled to accommodate requests submitted at a later date, even though those requests might have a higher priority. In other words, the priority list is not to be used as a tool for "bumping" activities which have been previously confirmed and scheduled. This highlights the critical need for planning events and requesting facilities well in advance.
Co-sponsorship of Events by Campus Departments and Student Organizations
Rental fees are not charged for official university events or co-sponsored events.
An official university event is defined as an event coordinated by an official GCSU unit, organization, or group as recognized in the official structure of the university. The event must be directly associated with the university responsibilities and mission of the requesting entity. Examples of official university events would be college/departmental meetings, graduation, convocation, Continuing Education classes, athletic competitions and practices, intramurals, the Department of Music and the Department of Theatre rehearsals and performances, etc.
A co-sponsored event is defined as an event in which the external sponsor is directly associated with an official GCSU sponsoring unit, organization, or group as recognized in the official structure of the university. The event must be directly associated with the university responsibilities and mission of the GCSU requesting entity. (By itself, the presence or involvement of GCSU students in an event is not sufficient to justify co-sponsorship of an external event.) Examples of legitimate co-sponsored events would be high school one-act play competitions co-sponsored by the the Department of Theatre and Allied Arts performances co-sponsored by the GCSU Arts Unlimited Committee.
Examples of situations in which a legitimate claim of co-sponsorship may not be justified include:
- A student organization that "co-sponsors" an event for a local business because one of the organization's students works at the business
- A campus department that "co-sponsors" meetings of a civic organization simply because several GCSU employees are members of the civic organization
- A campus department that "co-sponsors" a local pageant which has no apparent or substantial connection to the mission of the department
- A campus department that justifies co-sponsoring an external event by noting that GCSU students are being paid to work the event
University departments and student organizations are not to use co-sponsorship simply as a means of providing free access to GCSU facilities to external entities. The Department of Public Services has been charged with responsibility for monitoring claims of co-sponsorship and will deny claims which do not have a reasonable connection with the responsibilities and mission of the GCSU requesting entity. Appeals of denied co-sponsorship claims may be made to the Associate Vice President for Extended University who, along with the Vice President of Administrative Services & Campus Operations, will make a final determination.
Fees and Services
With certain exceptions detailed below, rental fees are charged for all uses of campus facilities by external entities. While official university and GCSU-sponsored events are exempt from rental fees, all facility users including campus units and student organizations may be charged for the actual direct expenses incurred in support of their events. Such charges could include overtime for custodians, electricians, Public Safety officers, and other supervisory personnel, as well as purchases in support of events. Some of these charges are detailed below.
- Security: The use of GCSU Public Safety personnel is required at all functions where alcohol is being consumed and at all other functions as deemed necessary by the GCSU Director of Public Safety. For alcohol functions it is recommended that there be a minimum of one (1) officer per 75 participants. Public Safety officers shall be retained at the current hourly rate detailed in the Campus Fee Schedule. For external events, these charges will be in addition to all applicable rental fees.
- Support Services Personnel: Events requiring the services of GCSU custodians and/or electrical/HVAC technicians beyond the normal work day shall retain these services at the current hourly rate detailed in the Campus Fee Schedule. External events requiring these services during normal working hours will be charged the hourly rate (plus FICA/FICA Med) of the employee(s) providing the services. For external events, these fees will be in addition to all applicable rental fees.
- Supervisory Fees: Hourly supervisory fees may be charged for use of facilities prior to and following the normal operating schedule.
- Damage/Clean-Up: Any cost for clean up and/or repairs beyond that of normal use and wear shall be the responsibility of the user. All fees assessed for damages and/or clean-up shall be made payable to Georgia College & State University.
- Media Equipment and Support: Media equipment including portable sound systems, overhead projectors, video/data projection units, televisions, videocassette recorders, and amplified podiums is available through Audio Visual Support Services at prevailing usage rates.
Reductions and Waivers of Rental Fees
Local and state governmental agencies or non-profit organizations shall be considered eligible for the reduced GCSU faculty/staff usage rates. Requests to be considered for this rate should be made in writing to the Department of Public Services.
Rental fees may be completely waived for local and state governmental agencies or non-profit organizations provided the events and organizations meet applicable criteria and follow the procedural guidelines as outlined below. Sponsors of these events will still be responsible for all service-related costs surrounding their scheduled activity including costs associated with set-up, clean-up, supervision, media, and security.
To be considered for a complete waiver of rental fees:
1. The event sponsor must process a facility request through R25, providing complete information including dates, times, locations, sponsor contact information, event equipment and set-up needs, etc.
2. The purpose of the event must positively impact the university or broader community or be a fund-raising event for a charity.
3. Individuals and for-profit businesses must not profit from the free use of campus facilities for the event. (Fees may be charged to cover actual direct expenses of the event, but should not produce a profit for individuals or for-profit businesses.)
Following is the procedure for requesting a waiver of rental fees:
1. Before a waiver can be considered, a facility request form must be processed through the R25 event scheduling system.
2. Requests to waive event facilitation fees must be made to the Department of Public Services in writing (e-mail requests are acceptable), stating the purpose for the event and the rationale for the rental fee waiver.
3. All requests will be reviewed and approved/denied by the Associate Vice President for Extended University.
4. Even if rental fees are waived, event organizers must meet with Public Services staff to determine if there will be service-related costs surrounding their scheduled activity including costs associated with set-up, clean-up, supervision, media, and security.
The Old Governor's Mansion is not available for fund-raising activities.
Insurance Requirements
Non-GCSU sponsored events which are considered major events due to their purpose, program/event format, potential size of their audience, number of participants, or the area(s) they are scheduled to use may be required to show verification of insurance as follows:
Personal Injury/Bodily Harm $1,000,000 Liability
Damage to Property $ 500,000 Liability
Proof of insurance must be verified prior to confirmation of space.
Food Services/Catering
By contract, food and beverage service for all university-sponsored functions such as banquets, private parties, receptions, refreshment service, conferences, or other special events must be provided exclusively by Sodexo Campus Services. For more information on the specifics of the catering contract, contact Auxiliary Services at 445-1976.
Facility Use During Holidays
When the campus is closed and few support staff are present, there may be issues related to maintenance and custodial support, heating or cooling buildings, and opening, closing, or supervising facilities. For those reasons, the university strongly discourages the use of campus facilities for non-academic events during holidays and other periods in which the campus is closed.
Facilities will not be available for external (non-GCSU sponsored) events during periods in which the campus is closed.
Organizers of co-sponsored events should have strong justification for why their events should occur while the campus is closed. Organizers of approved co-sponsored events may be required to pay for utilities if utilities are normally off during the time period of the events, and will be required to pay for any university support staff brought back from annual or holiday leave to support the events.