The IAP guide is moving to a dynamic and interactive on-line format for this year's Independent Activities Period from January 4-29. The theme for IAP '99 is "By, For, and About the MIT Community."
For the first time, students wishing to sign up for credit courses in IAP will preregister on WebSIS. In addition, activity organizers will submit credit courses and noncredit activities electronically on forms accessible through the IAP '99 web site. Participants can view activity information that's updated daily and print a copy of all events that occur on a given day. The site will also have a search engine.
"It's going to make participation in IAP a lot more convenient for the MIT community," said IAP administrator Donna Friedman.
IAP provides a unique opportunity for all members of the MIT community to organize, sponsor and participate in an eclectic array of activities, including how-to sessions, forums, lecture series, films, tours, recitals and contests. Past IAP activities have ranged from credit activities such as Chemistry Laboratory Techniques and Autonomous Robot Design Competition to noncredit activities such as the ATS Mahjong Tournament and Beginning Glassblowing.
Any MIT affiliate can create an activity, independently or together with his or her department, club or living group. Some funding is available, especially for student-run activities which lack other sources of support.
Faculty, staff and students will be able to post their non-credit activities on the web site. How-to-post instructions and the forms needed will be available on the IAP site.
Required in order to post activities via the web page is an MIT personal certificate. Those who need to obtain a personal certificate can follow a link from the IAP web page. They will need to have an MIT username with password and their MIT ID number (the number which appears on their MIT card).
Students who want to participate in credit subjects during IAP will preregister on WebSIS at the same time as they preregister for spring semester.
Since all activities on the IAP web site will be updated regularly, there is no longer a need for the static printed "preview" IAP Guide. "The electronic site will serve as the preview by about mid-November and will grow into a complete and current 'Final Guide' as information and activities are added," said Ms. Friedman.
The guide for IAP '99 will be available as a printed booklet in early December. Deadlines for IAP activities related to this publication date will be publicized later in October.
IAP '99 is being organized by the Academic Resources Center of the Office of the Dean for Students and Undergraduate Education (ODSUE). Anyone who would like more information about listing an IAP activity may contact Ms. Friedman at friedman@ mit.edu or x3-9762.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on October 7, 1998.
