Identify a chapter contact person
You need someone who takes ownership of the session! This person is in charge of organizing the session and will follow up on all details relating to session setup. This person is the liaison between the students and Headquarters and your facilitator. At some chapters, this role is the job description of a specific officer; at others, the president takes on the role.
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Select a module
Please review the Curriculum for details on the modules offered.
A chapter may begin with any module other than Advanced People Skills, which must follow Basic People Skills. Chapters typically cycle through modules before repeating any; if you are unsure what your chapter has held in the recent past, please contact Headquarters for that information. Headquarters or any facilitator may also help you select a module if you are unsure of what to hold.
Effective Presentation Skills is unique – each participant must be willing to speak in front of the group. Keep this in mind and share with students if you choose to host this module.
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Decide when to hold your session
Most sessions are held on Saturdays, unless your chapter is fortunate enough to have a facilitator living in the area. Weeknight and Sunday sessions are possible, though, so if you are unable to hold a Saturday session, please contact Headquarters as soon as possible to schedule those sessions.
Keep in mind conflicting events, such as football games, school breaks, or professional exam dates, when deciding on a session date.
In general, contact the National Office at least 4-6 weeks before the desired date for the session; if possible, schedule your session at the beginning of the school year. It may be possible to set up a session with less notice, so if the only date that works for your chapter is less than 6 weeks away, contact Headquarters as soon as possible!
Depending on the time of your session, your chapter may opt to serve breakfast, lunch, or snacks. Though a free lunch is an incentive for students to attend the session, your chapter may charge a nominal fee to sponsor lunch. Once people sign-up and pay this fee, they are more inclined to attend. The session itself must be free to the students, however.
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Request a facilitator through Headquarters
Please request a facilitator through the National Office by filling out a session request form with your requested session and dates. Do not schedule a session directly with the facilitator; if you have a facilitator in mind, include the facilitator’s name when making your request. Processing the request through Headquarters will help us better use our facilitator resources to keep our costs down while maintaining better records of our activities.
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Find and reserve a room with the required resources
Engineering Futures sessions are very interactive discussions and not lectures! For that reason, the chapter should reserve a room in which the tables and chairs may be moved around, rather than a lecture hall. The suggested room layout is an arc of chairs in a single row facing the screen or board. A visual is provided here. Please discuss the specific room layout with your facilitator prior to your session.
General equipment required for sessions:
Publicize the session and have students sign up
You may invite any student to attend your session. This may include only your initiates, your entire TBP member base, students from other student groups, or even your engineering college. You may also invite science and math students. This may be counted as a chapter project – a “service” to other students and a way to introduce Tau Beta Pi to freshmen and sophomores.
TBP requests that your chapter has 15-25 students attend each session. Have students sign up early to get an estimate of attendance. On average, half the number of people who commit to attend a session actually show up, so get as many people as possible to sign-up. If you believe your chapter may have difficulty getting enough people at the session, consider broadening the invitee list. You may even invite nearby chapters to attend your session!
Publicize the session at meetings, by posters and fliers, or through advertisements in college newspapers and magazines. Advance work here will pay off – enthusiasm is contagious! Let someone who has attended talk about what they learned. Publicize specifics of what the participants will learn – your facilitator can help explain the content. Have a calling campaign before the Engineering Futures sessions to remind those who signed up to come. Have professors and/or chapter advisors make announcements during their classes to encourage attendance and even encourage them to attend and get a first-hand look at Engineering Futures.
Feel free to use the standard posters or create your own to publicize your Engineering Futures session.
Your facilitator or Headquarters would be glad to answer any questions you may have regarding your session or the program.
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