Officials will implement an updated student organizations advising system effective fall 2026, two years after officials first introduced the current model, a University spokesperson confirmed.
Pathways, the Office of Student Life’s advising system for student organizations, will now place groups into one of six categories — yellow, silver, orange, blue, red and green — named after Metro lines and further differentiated by organizational activity, funding needs and operational requirements. The Office of Student Life first implemented the system in fall 2024, originally featuring four lines, though the changes, including the addition of the yellow line in the upcoming fall semester, will offer tailored resources and support to more clearly differentiate criteria for student organizations pathways, according to officials.
Officials announced the changes to student organization leaders at the beginning of May through the Org Help’s newsletter obtained by The Hatchet, outlining revised funding limits, advisor requirements and space booking access depending on an organization’s pathway designation.
The newsletter states the revisions followed months of “review, benchmarking and listening sessions” with students, staff and faculty to reevaluate how officials support student organizations and distribute resources across groups. The changes also come after the University paused the formation of new student organizations for the 2025-26 academic year to improve support systems for GW’s pre-existing slate of student groups and reform the application process for new groups.
Under the updated pathways system, officials will categorize organizations with greater specificity based on factors like operational complexity, event activity, travel needs, funding usage and space reservations to tailor oversight and advising requirements. Officials said in the newsletter organizations with more limited operational needs will face fewer administrative requirements under the yellow, silver and orange lines, like reduced advising obligations, training requirements or event oversight procedures, while organizations with larger budgets or specialized activities under the red and blue lines will receive greater oversight and support.
A University spokesperson said officials created the new yellow pathway specifically for organizations with “limited operational needs,” like those that do not manage finances through the Student Government Association and only require small meeting rooms.
“This ensures that even smaller, low-activity groups have a recognized space within the university community without unnecessary administrative requirements,” the spokesperson said in an email.
In the newsletter, officials said all organizations will be able to apply to change pathways once per semester through the Office of Student Life, including an appeal period following the release of initial assignments in the next few weeks. The newsletter states officials are still finalizing “financial data” from the 2025-26 academic year before making official pathway determinations over the summer.
The revised model also changes how the office matches organizations with advisors. Under the current system, the Office of Student Life manages all advisor assignments, but the updated structure introduces a hybrid advising process that allows organizations under certain pathways to select their own advisors.
The spokesperson said officials identified challenges with the previous model, including “role confusion,” “duplicative responsibilities” and disconnects between organizations’ missions and an advisor’s expertise.
“This change is designed to empower student leaders, leverage faculty and staff expertise and ensure our resources are aligned with organizational needs,” the spokesperson said.
Under the updated model, officials will now require organizations classified under the orange pathway to identify an advisor through a mutual agreement process where student organization leaders and a faculty or staff member formally establish an advising partnership by Oct. 1, 2026. The newsletter states the Division for Student Affairs is developing a directory of interested faculty and staff members to help organizations that are unable to secure advisors independently.
The spokesperson said organizations classified under the blue or red pathway — those with “high-level activity” or “specialized operations” like club sports, fraternities and sororities — will continue to receive advisors assigned by the DSA to support “safe, efficient and effective operations.” The spokesperson said those organizations may also work with additional faculty or staff mentors under the revised model in addition to the assigned advisor. The newsletter states organizations under the yellow or silver pathway can choose to work with advisors, but are not required to do so.
Sophomore Eric Gitson, GW College Democrats’ incoming president, said the organization currently falls under the blue pathway, which he hopes will continue in the following year due to the organization’s sufficient funding and the positive relationship with their current advisor the designation provides them.
He also said he wants more communication from the University regarding the changes to pathways, pointing to Org Help’s newsletter — which he said just contained a chart providing “a couple basics” — as the only communication about the changes. He said he is unsure of how the GW College Democrats would be affected by the new system and thinks other student organization leaders may feel the same.
“I think when you’re going to make a change, it’s good to understand why this change is necessary, what the change is going to accomplish and then how our org is going to be affected,” Gitson said. “I don’t feel like that’s been communicated by the administration.”
Freshman Levi Lauer, the vice president of GW Club Running — an organization classified under the red pathway — said the organization typically receives informational updates from officials in the Club Sports Program, but has noticed a “lag” in receiving information about the impact of the pathway changes on club sports teams specifically.
“I think, personally, it would be helpful if we got a specific email from our advisor or from the person who leads each line, detailing a little bit more specifics for each organization and what will change,” Lauer said.
