HBS Puts Clubs on Probation

At least four student clubs at the Harvard Business School will likely be placed on probation for the next year, according to representatives of the school's Student Clubs and Careers committee (SCC).

The action comes in the wake of an SCC survey of all Business School students which found that several clubs were not living up to their stated goal and purposes.

The Furopean Clubs and the Ven Club are two of the which will definitely be placed on probation until December 1994, SCC Section Representative Janice King said. Clubs on probation are kept under SCC supervision and disbanded if they do not live up to their stated aims.

Members of the SCC met with all clubs that fared badly in the poll. SCC members either worked with the clubs on developing plans for improvement or considered placing them on probation.

According to King, the SCC has yet to make a decision on a number of clubs.

"We should make a decision by the end of March, after the end of Spring Break," she said.

At the Business School, students pay dues to belong to social and preprofessional organizations. The SCC monitors the clubs to ensure they fulfill their stated objectives.

"The clubs are to serve the purpose for which people pay membership dues," King said in an interview with Business School newspaper The Harbus News. "We are trying to make sure that students get their money's worth."

"The worst thing is for officers to get elected, put their title on their resumes, and then do nothing for the rest of the year," King added.

According to King, social clubs are required to submit a list of their goals and purposes annually to the school's student association and community service coordinator.

Business School students are then allowed access to the clubs' information and can decide whether to pay to officially join a club.

"After paying tuition and living expenses, students don't have a lot of money to waste on clubs that don't meet their expectations," King said.

The presidents of the European and Venture Capital Clubs did not return phone calls yesterday.