Charter, Constitution & Strategic Plan

Every student organization should have a club charter (similar to a mission statement) and club constitution (bylaws that outline the purpose of the club, membership requirements, board member positions and election process, etc.).

Charter

Your student organization's charter should be shared with you by the previous president. If you cannot locate your student organization charter, you should check with the previous leadership team to determine if one exists. If no charter exists, you should work with your current board to create one. Please email a copy of your charter to the Full-Time MBA Program Office, so that we may keep it on file for future student leaders.

Constitution

A student organization constitution is required as part of the process for USC student organization recognition. Your organization's previous leadership team should have your constitution on file. Please review it and update it as appropriate. Once your constitution is updated, please email a copy to the Full-Time MBA Program Office so that we may keep it on file for future student leaders.

If you cannot locate your student organization's constitution, please check with the Full-Time MBA Program Office to see if one is on file for you to use. If not, you will need to draft a new one. Tips on how to write a constitution, can be found in the RSO Resource Guide or by contacting stuacts@usc.edu. Once you have written your constitution, please email a copy to the Full-Time MBA Program Office so that we may keep it on file for future student leaders.

Strategic Plan

The Strategic Plan is a document that defines which strategies the club will pursue to achieve its mission and what actions the board will take to support those strategies. Creating a comprehensive Strategic Plan is essential to successful club leadership, so do not skimp on this part of the planning process. A thorough Strategic Plan provides a roadmap for the year and will keep club initiatives focused and organized. This document will be shared and reviewed with all your club advisors before summer break. It should also be revisited at the end of the fall semester to determine how the club is performing.

To create your Strategic Plan, please review the Marshall Club Strategic Plan Format Guide provided by GCS.

Your student organization's strategic plan must include the following:

• student organization's mission and purpose
• main goals and objectives for the year
• tactics/events (specify the audience for each event, as well as who is responsible)
• calendar with specific events, project check point and deadlines noted
• budget forecast (include membership dues, sponsorship, GSG funding, and all expenses)