Purpose
To give guidance to students on the process for having Heersink School of Medicine branded merchandise approved, created, and sold.
Office or person responsible for implementing
Medical Student Services, Office of Student Life
Applies to
All Heersink School of Medicine students participating in school of medicine activities, including those on voluntary and involuntary leaves of absence. All Heersink School of Medicine student organizations, student advisory groups, and student government.
Note: These guidelines will be understood to apply to any student group or initiative that represents the Heersink School of Medicine either implicitly or explicitly.
Rationale
Students and student organizations are encouraged to create and order Heersink School of Medicine branded merchandise which represents and/or communicates pride in their group to the Heersink School of Medicine student body and larger SOM population.
UAB and the Heersink School of Medicine have strict guidelines for branded merchandise, which much be adhered to by all schools and students.
Details
Creation and approval of merchandise:
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All merchandise must comply with UAB Branding guidelines. A full listing of the guidelines can be found here: https://www.uab.edu/toolkit/uab-brand.
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Designs must be approved by the Heersink School of Medicine and the UAB Marketing Office.
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Students should send designs to the Office of Student Life. Student Life will work with the Heersink School of Medicine Communications Office and the UAB Marketing Office to get the necessary approvals.
- Note: This process can take 1-2 weeks to complete.
Purchasing merchandise to give to students (not sold):
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All approved merchandise must be purchased from a UAB approved vendor. This includes merchandise given to students and merchandise sold to students. The list of approved vendors can be found here: https://www.uab.edu/toolkit/promo-apparel/order-promotional-items/ordering-process-and-vendors.
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The Office of Student Life can advise students on vendors that are easier to work with.
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A vendor quote for the merchandise will be sent to the student. The student will forward the quote to the Office of Student Life. The Office of Student Life will complete the purchase.
Purchasing merchandise to sell to students (not given away):
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All approved merchandise must be purchased from a UAB approved vendor. This includes merchandise given to students and merchandise sold to students. The list of approved vendors can be found here https://www.uab.edu/toolkit/promo-apparel/order-promotional-items/ordering-process-and-vendors.
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The Office of Student Life can advise on vendors that are easier to work with.
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All merchandise must be sold via the Student Senate website. Students may not use personal accounts to sell merchandise, nor may they use personal finance apps such as Venmo to collect payments.
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It is the student’s responsibility to contact the Student Senate Communications Team to have the items placed on the website for sales.
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Once the timeframe for sales has ended, the Senate Treasurer(s) will contact the vendor for payment.
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Students may wish to refer to "Guidelines for student fundraisers” for additional information on selling merchandise for the purposes of raising money for the organization or philanthropy initiative(s).
Additional Information
Students and/or student groups who are found giving away or selling merchandise that has not gone through the appropriate processes listed above, will be directed to stop the activity immediately and return money or items collected to that point.
Students may not go through the approval process on their own, without consulting the Office of Student Life.
Created: March 2018
Implemented: March 2018
Reviewed and updated: February 2026