BE Board:Undergraduate Transition

For current website see begradboard.mit.edu

Intro With the introduction and evolution of the undergraduate major in BE (Course 20), a new segment of students are entering into the BE community. These students need to be integrated into the current department culture and allowed to build an independent organization to represent their interests and concerns to the department. However, as the first two classes have no formal structure underwhich to build such an organization, it is the proposal of the BE Graduate Board to provide the initial infrastructure for a minimum of twelve months (through spring 2008). Specifically, the plan is as follows: Contact current sophmore and junior classes to determine interest and possible preliminary representatives Initial planning meeting with interested undergraduates and current BE Graduate Board Members to determine priorities and current needs Plan initial kickoff event (early May, financed by Doug independent of Grad Student Board Funds) Produce a plan (budget, representative positions, and election timeline) for the coming fall 2007 The goal is to jump start the formation of the undergraduate society/board within our current framework. Depending on undergraduate interest and anticipating an incoming class of comparable numbers to the current sophmore class, the undergraduate population should be of sufficient size by fall 2008 to allow for an independence (this part of the timeline is malleable). There will more than likely always be a link between the undergraduate and graduate organizations to faciltate events such as IM sports, and academic seminars (ISS). However, it is important to realize the undergraduate and graduate organizations are designed for distinct populations of students with divergent interests. At this time, it is not recommended to combine graduate and undergraduate interests into a solitary organization, which might fail to have adequate breadth to serve both communities. Please add your comments to any of the sections below or create your own sections. General Comments and Concerns Proposed Joint Events or Initiatives Undergraduate Interest or Alternative Ideas