President and Board Selection Criteria

Additional screening by the Full-Time MBA Program Office is required for anyone interested in running for president of a student organization. In the spring, the Full-Time MBA Program Office will request a list of all students interested in running for president of your student organization.  Requirements include, but are not limited to:

  • A minimum overall 3.0 GPA
  • No serious Honor Code violations
  • Must be a student in the Full-Time MBA Program (this is not synonymous with being a "full-time student")
  • Must take MBA classes at USC in both Fall and Spring of their leadership term. Students applying for the MBA International Exchange Program (IEP) or planning to take a semester "off" (Leave of Absence) should not apply for any club president roles.

The Full-Time MBA Program Office will return the list of eligible students to the current club president and will contact any students who are ineligible to run.

All other board positions, elections, and selection criteria should be outlined in your club constitution.

Co-Presidents

Student organizations may appoint "co-presidents". In order for a co-presidency to work well, co-presidents should have clear definitions of roles and responsibilities.

President of Two (or more) Organizations

Serving as president of more than one organization is not permitted. Despite best intentions, this situation leads to the student's inability to fulfill all of his or her commitments (academic, career related, community, personal, etc). Successful leadership of any of Marshall student organization requires the full attention of the president. When attention is split neither organization gets the attention it needs.

Building the Board

Once elected as club president, it's important to begin the process of building the board immediately so that you can create your Strategic Plan and delegate the administrative transition items to the appropriate board members (i.e., delegate the finance transition checklist to your new VP of Finance).

Determine which VP positions you need and update any necessary position descriptions to outline the scope of responsibilities you expect each board member to fulfill. Required key officers include:

  • Finance
  • Technology
  • Marketing/Communication
  • Events (should have VPs of specific events)

Be transparent in the board selection process and understand that 2-3 board position commitments per VP is realistic.

Recommended Board Size

*Diversity and Affinity organizations will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

**Active members are defined as dues paying members who attend at least two events per year. The number of active members will be smaller than the organization's total membership.