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Who Offers IAP Activities

Planning an IAP Activity

Individual / Group Activity Sponsorship

Appropriateness and Standards

Safety and Liability

Rooms and AV Equipment

How to Post IAP Activity

Also see the following pages:

Using the Posting Form for Non-credit Activities

Role of IAP Coordinator / Administrator

Dates to Remember

Funding an Activity

Reserving Rooms / AV Equipment

Post / Revise Your IAP Activity)

ORGANIZING NON-CREDIT ACTIVITIES

The information below is provided for IAP activity organizers and includes details on organizer "eligibility," IAP activity sponsorship, appropriateness and standards for IAP offerings, safety and liability, reserving rooms and equipment, and activity posting instructions.

NOTE: If you wish to bypass this information and begin using the IAP posting system, go to the Post/Revise Your IAP Activity or Subject page.

Who Offers IAP Activities?

Only members of the MIT community (i.e. faculty, students, and staff) are eligible to offer not-for-academic-credit activities.
While most activities are sponsored by academic and administrative departments, laboratories, centers, and student groups, members of the MIT community can always individually sponsor activities.
Individuals designated as the authorized representative of a student or other group may submit activities sponsored by that group. Only members of the MIT community may serve in this role. For a list of current authorized representatives, go to the IAP Sponsoring Groups and Authorized Users page.
If someone outside the MIT community wishes to offer an activity during IAP, that person must find an MIT-affiliated individual (i.e. faculty, staff, or student), academic department, or administrative office to act as the sponsor of the activity.
MIT alumni are welcome to offer activities, but must also be sponsored by an individual, department or group located on campus.

Planning an IAP Activity

Activity planners should consider the following:

Designing programs that promote student-faculty interaction.
Creating activities aimed at freshmen.
Provide faculty and others with opportunities to try new teaching methods and learning formats that may improve the regular academic program.
Develop more Institute-wide activities to create a sense of community at MIT.

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Activity Sponsorship

An IAP activity sponsor is fully responsible for the activity and ensures that it meets MIT guidelines for activities. Every IAP activity has a MIT sponsor. While many activity sponsors are MIT academic and administrative departments, sponsors may also be an individual or a group (see Group Sponsorship, below). Activity sponsors (or sponsor representatives) should be able to answer questions about the activity, and plan to attend it.

The sponsor (the individual sponsor or a representative on behalf of the sponsor group) is responsible for reserving the room or location. For more information, go to the Reserving Rooms/AV Equipment page.

Group Sponsorship

Although a non-MIT individual or group may be invited by a sponsor to lead an activity, such a group cannot be the primary sponsor. Non-departmental groups must be recognized by the Institute as follows:

Undergraduate and graduate student groups must be recognized by the Association of Student Activities (ASA).
Faculty groups must be recognized by the Provost
Staff and employee groups by the Vice President of Human Resources.

Groups may not be organized on an ad-hoc basis merely for IAP.

Appropriateness of Activities

IAP activities are for members of the MIT community (i.e. students, faculty, staff, and alums).
Profit-making or promotional events for a private enterprise are not appropriate IAP activities.
Off-campus advertising, e.g. newspaper listings in the Boston Globe, or posting notices outside the MIT campus, are also inappropriate.
All postings to the IAP 2004 listing of subjects and activities are reviewed for appropriateness by the IAP Office before appearing in the on-line guide.

Standards for Activities

Inclusion of a non-credit activity in the IAP Guide does not imply MIT endorsement.
Responsibility for a non-credit activity lies with the sponsoring MIT individual or group.
All activities are required to meet safety, health, legal and general regulations governing the use of MIT facilities.
The online MIT Bulletin lists policies concerning credit, tuition, food, housing, veterans' benefits, special students, and student exchanges. They should be reviewed by students and faculty involved in activities.

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Safety and Liability

Institute Guidelines for health, safety, and legal regulations, as well as policies for the use of MIT facilities, must be met for all activities. The MIT Environment, Health, and Safety Office (EHS Office) must be consulted if your subject or activity involves any of the following:

high voltage
pressure vessels
ballistics
aircraft
large balloon
structures
use of hazardous materials, equipment, or machinery
explosives
open flames
hazardous wastes
public art displays or performances
building, tower, or bridge construction on MIT property
anything that might endanger life, limb, sight, or hearing of participants or bystanders.

For more information on safety, go to the MIT Safety Office web site.

Reserving Rooms and Audio-Visual Equipment

Activity organizers are responsible for scheduling and reserving rooms for their offerings; naming a location on the IAP on-line activity posting form does NOT reserve the room. Organizers also assume responsibility for ordering audio-visual equipment when needed.

For detailed information on reserving rooms and renting AV equipment for IAP activities, go to the Room Reservation / Audio-Visual Information page.

Posting an IAP Activity

NOTICE: MIT is closed from December 25, 2003 to January 5, 2004 (first day of IAP). Activity and subject descriptions posted during that period will not be reviewed and placed on line until January 5th. As MIT community members peruse IAP listings during November and December, organizers are encouraged to submit listings prior to December 24.

Before you attempt to post an activity on behalf of a department or group, you must obtain posting authorization from the IAP office. To determine if you already have posting authority, please check the IAP Sponsoring Groups and Authorized Users list. If you are not the authorized IAP Administrator or have questions about submitting activities, please contact iap-www@mit.edu.

IAP '04 non-credit activities must be submitted and posted electronically. In order to post activities, you must first have your personal certificate. If you don't have a certificate, you may obtain one by going to the MIT WebSIS - Student Information System. Note that you must first have a MIT username with password (generally this is your MIT Kerberos ID)
Before you attempt to post an activity, see Access to IAP Non-Credit Activity Postings (above).
For detailed information on using the electronic IAP activity posting system, including how to post a new activity, rollover an activity from a prior year, and develop a "series" posting, go to the Using the IAP Posting Form for Non-credit Activities page.
Once you have prepared your activity description electronically you may submit it for review. When your activity has been approved, it will automatically be posted in this IAP '04 On-line Guide. If posted by the IAP print deadline (October 31), it will also be published in the print version of the IAP Guide.

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