How to Create a Group

Alumni may have already created groups or discussions that have similar appeal to yours, or there may even be an official group addressing the same need.

Explore Stanford GSB discussions and groups to be sure that one does not already exist. Begin by browsing by topic. You may also do specific keyword searches of groups and discussions, and explore Stanford groups.

All users of the site, including group administrators and members, are bound by our Terms of Use. Please review them and make special note of Section 4, Rules for Online Conduct, and section 7, Online Alumni Communities.

In addition, groups may not:

• Start or invest in any commercial enterprise.
• Endorse an issue, cause, or candidate.
• Engage in Stanford GSB or Stanford-related fundraising. Please contact the Development Office if you wish to establish a group related to fundraising.

Tell People Who You Are

Make sure your alumni profile is up-to-date, including your photo.

Invite Stanford GSB Alumni and/or Students to Join

Even if your group is public, alumni and/or students may not know about it until you tell them. Use our advanced directory search to search by interests/skills, industries, expertise, ethnicity, etc. to find alumni with a possible interest in your group. Alumni Relations staff may also be able to help.

Start Conversations

On your group discussion board and blog, add topics and comments that group members can chime in on. Encourage others to do the same.

For Semi-Private Groups: Approve Membership Requests Promptly

Monitor your group membership request frequently. Consider adding additional group administrators to help you out. Semi-private groups might be set up by invitation only.

Blocking Members

Members can only be blocked from the group for violating the Terms of Use.

Removing Posts

Alumni may flag discussion posts, blog posts, comments, albums, and images as inappropriate. They can only be removed for violating the Terms of Use.

Choose Your Group’s Name

Guidelines for Naming

Select a name that closely reflects the purpose of your group, so that interested alumni can find the group easily. If you get an error message saying your name is taken, there is a good chance there is a group that meets your needs. Go to Groups and search for it.

To distinguish between alumni-created groups and official Stanford clubs and organizations, we have a few naming rules: If “Stanford” is part of the group name, you must also include the word “Alumni” — as in “Stanford Alumni Quilters.”The words “association,” “chapter,” “club,” “fund,” “official,” “CYA” and “Cardinal Young Alumni” may not be used.

We suggest you also include “GSB” in your group name to differentiate from other Stanford University groups.

Short Names Can Not Be Changed

You cannot change your group’s “short name” once saved. This short name will be part of your discussion board’s email address: shortname@discussions.stanford.edu.

We recommend you include “gsb” in your short name.

Upload an Image

Choose an image that represents your group. It will display on the group’s home page.

The Block S, Block S with Tree, Stanford University Seal, Stanford Alumni Association, and Stanford GSB logos are copyrighted and may not be used.

Write a Description for Your Group

Your description must clearly define the purpose of your group and who can join.

Add a Spotlight (Optional)

Use the Spotlight feature whenever you want to highlight something prominently on the group’s main page.

Decide Whether Your Group Should Be Public, Private, or Semi-Private

You CANNOT CHANGE IT after your group is active and showing to alumni, so please make your selection carefully.

• A Stanford GSB public group is open to all Stanford GSB alumni/students, and new members join without your involvement.
• A Stanford GSB semi-private group requires you or another group administrator to approve each new member. It may be open to all Stanford GSB alumni/students or only to those who meet certain objective criteria that you set. You may not exclude alumni who meet the criteria. (For example, if you start a group for alumni who attended a Stanford GSB study trip, you must allow anyone who attended to join.) Alumni can see contact information and a brief description of each group, but they can’t see the rest of the group’s web content without joining.
• A Stanford GSB private group is by invitation only, from you or another group administrator. Alumni who are not members of the group will not see references to it on the website. A private group can be a good choice for highly personal subjects (e.g., certain medical conditions), but most people who would benefit from it won’t know about it, and there may be duplicate groups on the same topic.

Add Features

You have the option to enable any or all group features under “Group Modules:” photo gallery, documents, polling, blog, or additional web pages.

Agree to the Terms of Use

Before saving your group as pending or “Make Live” you must check the box indicating you have read the “Terms of Use.”

Save Your Group as Pending or Ready to Launch

You can save your group as pending if you still want to add information and make changes before the group becomes visible to other alumni. Select “Create Group” when you’re ready to go “live.”

Get Started