When registering, the president will add officers and assign their positions. They should also be able to add advisors. Once roles have been assigned, they should have access to the admin dashboard. If you have any trouble, please contact studentinvolvement@ucmerced.edu for administrative access or stop by our office in Granite 163.
CatLife is a digital solution that is provided by a company called Presence. Presence provides technical assistance/support in a couple of ways.
If you have questions about the system, your CatLife account (such as something related to your student organization information, posting your organization events, etc.) go to the Help section to search one of the articles that may provide the answers to your questions You may also access the complete library of helpful articles at (learn.presence.io)
Students, faculty, staff with admin user access of CatLife can also access LIVE CHAT support by clicking on the blue square in the bottom right corner. Presence experts are available to assist you from 8:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. (EST) Monday through Friday. *This is only seen via when you are in the admin dashboard of CatLife*
NOTE: Please do not submit an IT Help Ticket for help on how to use the CatLife platform. They are not able to assist with questions about the platform.
Deactivating an organization that is no longer active
Help with setting up a profile for a Campus Department that is not currently in CatLife
Changing the setting on a student organization page so that students cannot join the organization automatically but have to go through a selection process.
All events must be approved by a CatLife campus administrator. As we get adjusted to this platform, your event requests may take from 3-7 business days to review. If all of the information needed is complete on the form, you could receive a confirmation that your event is approved within 3 business days.
The event will then show up on the Events section of CatLife and also will appear on UC Merced Events Page.
Remember to use ASTRA and EMS, if any rooms or spaces are needed for your event.
You will need to submit an Expenditure Request on CatLife.
Please log into CatLife with your UC Merced credentials. Once logged in, go to your “Admin Dashboard”. Here are some helpful screenshots for finding how to access the Expenditure Request Form.
Any further questions regarding spending your club funds, please email osifrontdesk@ucmerced.edu, request to set up a zoom call or stop by our office at Granite Pass 166. Our business hours are Monday - Friday from 8 AM - 6 PM.
Under the finance tab of your CatLife page (see above for reference), your organization account total should appear. Here is an example of what it looks like if there is NO budget there.
If you believe your club or organization should have funds in their account, please reach out to Connie McBride, cmcbride3@ucmerced.edu.
A “campus administrator” of CatLife (approved UC Merced staff member) can turn off the feature that allows for open membership to your organization.
Please send an email to studentinvolvement@ucmerced.edu with the message below: Close roster for [name of your organization]. I am the [organization officer]
Organization members, (with the exception of officers), are viewable only to the organization membership and are not visible to others outside the organization. Your privacy is important.
Send an email to studentinvolvement@ucmerced.edu along with your name (first, last), your role with the organization, and the name of the organization.
You must first complete a form to get a Campus Department profile set up in CatLife. Complete the form found here and send any follow up questions to studentinvolvement@ucmerced.edu. As we are transitioning to this new platform, we will need around 3 business days to review your request. Once your department profile is set up, you will be sent information on “How to Enter Events.”
Reporting service hours to Catlife is important because it captures the total service hours completed by your organization and it helps us identify the great work our UC Merced scholars are engaging in. The process takes less than 5 minutes.
Here is a step-by-step tutorial on how to report your hours on Catlife:
You can visit the Community Engagement Center’s Youtube channel to watch the video
Please be aware that even though philanthropy is important and impactful, we will only be approving direct service hours. If you need a refresher on what counts as philanthropy versus what is direct service, you can click here.
For any additional questions, please reach out to the Community Engagement Center at communityservice@ucmerced.edu or visit us at KL 190.
Ask a professor or staff member that you know or have a connection with if they’d be willing to be an advisor for your org. If you are having trouble finding an advisor, please contact clubsandorgs@ucmerced.edu or stop by our office at Granite 163.
On-campus staff, faculty, and graduate students can serve as an advisor.
You can post flyers in various locations on campus. Certain locations require permission from other staff/departments. Flyers require a stamp of approval in Granite 166 and must be removed the day after the event occurs. You can find the locations here.
Events or activities involving minors must be reviewed by both OSI and Risk Management. To work with minors, please contact Hayley Montoya (hmontoya2@ucmerced.edu) and cc Cindi Zimmerman (czimmerman3@ucmerced.edu)
Videos of the training will be uploaded on our site soon. Officers can watch the video followed by a quiz to verify participation. All trainings must be completed by the end of the semester for the club to be considered active.
A tabling request must be submitted on Catlife. Please submit a request 5-7 days before the planned date. For tabling guidelines, take a look at this flyer.
Clubs and Organizations can table at various locations throughout the campus. Some popular sites to consider are: Scholars Lane, Academic Walk, University Plaza and Pavilion Lawn. For more tabling locations, tips and tricks, take a look at our pamphlet.
Students handling food are required to complete a Food Safety Training on the UC Learning Center site. This training must be completed every three years.
For more information regarding Food Safety, Food Policies and other information, please visit UC Merced Food Safety site.
Food vendors must be on the UC Approved list to be brought onto campus. They must also have a Environmental Health permit in their residing county and must have a Food Safety Training certificate for all employees that will be handling food.
