The MIT Sloan School of Management has a strong ecosystem of clubs, i.e. student organizations, which play a critical role in enhancing the academic experience of students and the greater MIT community. Clubs, which seek to bring together students with similar interests and/or needs, serve as networking and learning platforms. These platforms allow students to build their careers, community and networks.
Within the Student Life Office, we oversee student groups at MIT Sloan, including clubs and the Sloan Student Senate. We serve as a general resource and partner to student groups, which involves assisting with coordination of student-planned initiatives and events; liaising with other departments at Sloan, MIT, outside companies, and vendors; monitoring budgets and expenditures; communicating processes and protocols; and upholding Sloan and MIT policies.
Student Life is committed to helping student organizations succeed in achieving their goals this year and in the years to come. Because each group is part of the broader Sloan and MIT environment, there is a good deal of organizational background, guidelines, and many procedures that student leaders need understand in order to be successful. As Sloan student organization advisors, we are a key resource.
Book an appointment with us! Not sure who you should book a meeting with? Email slquestions@mit.edu
Official Sloan Clubs
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Sloan Student Initiatives - Funding by the Sloan Student Life Office
These groups are funded directly by the Student Life Office and serve needs and deliver programming to the entire MIT Sloan Student Body. These groups currently consist of Ask Me Anything, The Yarn, Sloan Events Committee, and Sloan Senate.
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Sloan Affiliate Groups
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What you need to know as club leaders:
The MIT Sloan Student Senate serves as an active representative and advocate of the Sloan graduate student community in order to enhance the student experience. It includes formal representation from the MBA, LGO, MSMS, MFin, MBAn, Sloan Fellows, and EMBA programs. Overseen by Student Life, the Senate works in partnership with the student body and the school's staff, faculty, and alumni. Senators sit on a variety of committees that address an array of areas, among them academics, admissions, careers, and Sloan Experience.
Additionally, the Senate is the umbrella organization for the 80+ Sloan clubs and provides funding. The Senate Clubs Committee coordinates the Senate club funding application and approval process and works on issues that impact clubs.
Student Club Framework
Club Categorization: Sloan clubs are approved and overseen in partnership between the SLO and the Sloan Senate. Functionally, MIT Sloan clubs fall into one of three categories, which are:
All Sloan Student Organizations should maintain bylaws (posted to the 'Constitution' section of your SloanGroups page) that are accessible to all members. Here is a template for Sloan Club Bylaws that contains all of the elements required by Sloan Student Life. You should tailor these bylaws to your club's own needs and review/update them annually. Be sure to maintain consistency with the bylaws requirements.
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When a club does not qualify for official club status for two semesters, they will be placed under probation by Senate. Senate will track probation internally. This may result in a pause in funding and review of a club's sustainability among club leaders, Senate members, and the Student Life Office. The club's status will be reviewed by Senate each semester and the club will be notified of its status by Senate on a semester basis. Once a club does not meet the criteria of an official club for three continuous semesters (e.g., fall, spring, fall), the club will be recognized as dormant and any associated resources will be reallocated to the Sloan Senate, to be disbursed to other clubs as necessary.
MIT Sloan clubs must have a minimum of three officers:
All club offers should be distinct, current MIT Sloan students. A percentage of officers must represent non-MBA Sloan programs.
Clubs that do not complete the club renewal process each spring semester are classified as dormant, effective the fall semester following a missed renewal. Dormant clubs are closed to new memberships. The club's group will be archived following the fall semester. The Sloan Student Life Office will retain the club account/balance and SloanGroups data for dormant clubs. Clubs that remain dormant for three consecutive academic years will have any remaining club funds dissolved into the Sloan Senate, earmarked for reallocation to active clubs that apply for club funding.
If a club goes dormant before the end of membership cycles, club members may request a partial refund of their membership dues (i.e. the difference between a one-year membership and a two-year membership). Refund requests should be sent to slquestions@mit.edu.
Inclusivity
As stated in the Mind & Hand Book:
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is committed to the principle of equal opportunity in education and employment. The Institute does not discriminate against individuals on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, ancestry, or national or ethnic origin in the administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, employment policies, scholarship and loan programs, and other Institute administered programs and activities, but may favor US citizens or residents in admissions and financial aid.*
Student organizations are required to follow set MIT nondiscrimination policies, and may not limit membership, or discriminate along these designated classes.
Anti-Hazing Agreement
Every year, student groups are required to certify to the Institute that they are compliant with Massachusetts law and MIT policy regarding hazing.
In late September, one president or co-president from your group will need to acknowledge the Anti-Hazing Agreement in SloanGroups to reestablish access to their group on the platform. The agreement, once triggered by the Student Life Office, will automatically pop-up when trying to enter SloanGroups.
Club Activities
All official MIT Sloan clubs must demonstrate consistent programming open to all members. All MIT Sloan club events must be posted to SloanGroups (and registered on Atlas if they meet the event registration criteria).
Club kick-off/welcome events may not take place until after ClubFest each fall.
Requests for exceptions may be made for clubs that support industries with early recruitment deadlines. Requests should be submitted to the Student Life Office and the club’s respective Career Development Office liaison early in the planning process to ensure that our teams can assist clubs in reaching all interested students.
Practical Experience Opportunities / Project-Based Activities Organized by clubs
While many students are interested in practical experience opportunities, to learn more about an industry, it is important to understand that these types of opportunities are often not possible for international students due to the restrictions of their U.S. student immigration status. If your organization is interested in connecting students to projects at companies (for profit or not for profit / paid or unpaid), please set- up a time with your club advisor (slquestions@mit.edu) to discuss your ideas before reaching out to companies to organize.
Depending on a student's U.S. immigration status, many international students cannot participate in these activities (regardless if the possible is paid or non-paid) in their current U.S. Immigration Status without securing employment authorization in advance. While the projects may be considered "volunteering" by a host company/organization, the US government may view this as "work/employment" under the student visa status regulations.
For example: If someone at the host organization is performing similar or same activities, and/or the host organization is receiving any form of benefit from that activity, then a student (or anyone else) would not be considered a "volunteer" even if the student does not receive a benefit for performing such activities at that organization. This is why classifying off-campus activities as volunteering is very difficult. Please see more information on employment and volunteering from the MIT International Students Office (ISO): https://iso.mit.edu/employment/
International students are strongly advised to consult with their ISO Advisor before pursuing any activity off-campus (which is any activity that is not done at MIT, for MIT, or paid by MIT) to confirm if off-campus employment authorization is required for that activity and if you meet eligibility requirements for the authorization.
