• Conference applications may be submitted by first year or second year students in good academic and behavioral standing with the university.
• At least one of the applicants must hold a current leadership role in an existing club that will host the conference.

• Completed application, provided by the Conference Committee after initial discussion.
• Petition with 30 signatures of current students who commit to attending the conference upon approval.
• Additional documentation, which may include:
  • Written support for the conference from:
    • Potential speakers/panelist
    • Potential sponsors
    • Potential partner schools or organizations
    • CBS Faculty or Staff  
    • Alumni
  • Testimony or evidence from peer schools relating to the success of similar conferences OR evidence that this conference fills a void in the community or industry at large.
  • Sample agenda.
  • A list of other successful club events.

• Potential Fall Conferences (for following year)
  • Applications must be submitted three weeks before the end of the fall semester.
  • Conference Committee hearings will be held in the final three weeks of the fall semester or within the first two weeks of spring.
• Potential Spring Conferences (for following year)
  • Applications must be submitted three weeks before the end of Block A.

Conference Committee hearings will be held in the first three weeks of Block B.

• Prospective conference leadership must register their interest to create a conference with the Student Office of Student Affairs (OSA) via e-mail.
  • The OSA Conference Advisor will meet with the applicants to describe the process and timeline, provide advice on the application, and consult on the probability of conference approval.
    • In cases where the OSA Conference Advisor determines the low probability of club approval, the advisor will work with the applicants to determine alternative means (e.g., working with existing conference) to achieve the goals of the prospective conference.
  • The OSA Conference Advisor will brief the OSA and the Conference Committee on the prospective conference.
  • OSA Veto Process:
    • If OSA in conjunction with Columbia University General Counsel, and other relevant partners determines there is a legal, reputational or other objective risk to the University posed by the conference, the committee reserves the right in this portion of the process to issue a veto to the conference.
    • If a veto is issued, the OSA Conference Advisor will meet with the applicants to explain the basis for the decision and provide remediation steps to enable the applicants to achieve their goals through other means.

Barring a veto, applicants will have an additional two weeks to submit a completed club application to the Conference Committee.

• • Conference applicants will be scheduled to attend a Conference Committee meeting to provide testimony in support of the conference.
  • Following the testimony, members of the Conference Committee will have the opportunity to ask questions to the conference applicants.
  • The Conference Committee will engage in discussion of the presented conference.
  • Following the prospective club presentation(s), the OSA Conference Advisor will conduct a vote of the Conference Committee.
    • A majority vote is required for conference approval.    
  • The OSA Advisor will communicate the result of the vote to the conference applicants.
    • Approved conferences: Connect new conference leadership with the Office of Student Affairs to begin planning the event.

Non-Approved clubs: Direct leaders to additional resources (e.g., other clubs) for support in executing desired events and programming

• Probationary Period
  • The conference will be able to charge a restricted and non-refundable ticket price (<$40) for the first year.
  • The conference will inform its leaders that it is in probationary status and that the conference will be evaluated at the end of the conference in the following areas:
    • Accomplishment of activities as outlined in application.
    • Amount raised in sponsorships and ticket sales.
    • Attendance at the conference.
    • Qualitative feedback from attendees.
• Evaluative Period (if required)
  • If the first term assessment of the club indicates underperformance against the outlined areas noted in the Probationary Period section above:
    • Club leadership will be given one more year to address the noted deficiencies.
    • At the end of the second conference, the conference will be measured against existing metrics used for evaluation in addition to the ability of the conference to fix noted deficiencies.
• Final Evaluation
  • Based on the club’s performance and results of the probationary period, the Conference Committee will vote on whether to take the conference out of the probationary period and confirm the conference.
  • Confirmation should be based on a report and recommendation by OSA Conference Advisor and the Office of Student Affairs.
    • Confirmed conference: The conference will continue to exist and operate as normal, with fewer restrictions on ticket prices.

 Unconfirmed conferences: The conference will be unable to continue into the next academic year and recommendations will be made for additional resources.