DOC Leadership

How to Become a DOC Leader

So, you'd like to become a DOC Leader and be a part of the rich history and tradition of the Dartmouth Outing Club?!?

All trips and activities in the Dartmouth Outing Club are planned, organized, and led by Dartmouth students. In order to ensure that DOC leaders are capable of dealing with the many unpredictable situations which may occur on an outdoor trip, the Club requires that all members become proficient in appropriate skills before leading trips.

Read below for information and steps towards leadership. Depending on what kind of trips you want to lead and what sub-club of the DOC you want to lead for, the specific steps you will need to take may be different. Sign up for a trip on Trailhead, our dedicated DOC trip platform, and learn what you are interested in. Then get involved in one of the DOC sub-clubs. Each sub-club has an officer whose role is to assist new members in their training to become a new leader. You can be a leader in multiple sub-clubs or just one.

Keep in mind that leadership in the DOC is different and slightly separate from leadership in the First-Year Trips program, and we'd love to have you do both! If you've completed the training and led a First-Year Trip, you are eligible to lead close-to-campus trips for the DOC as a Local Leader. Any additional sub-club leadership will require more training and mentorship.

DOC Leader Requirements

Every leader in the Dartmouth Outing Club must complete the following requirements: Medical Training, Outdoor Programs Office Leadership Online Course and In-person Seminar, Outdoor Skills Training, and Logistics Training. These requirements do not have to be satisfied in any particular order. A termly schedule of seminar offerings can be viewed here.

Each club has its own leadership program which fulfills the Outdoor Skills, and Logistics parts of the DOC Leader Requirements, and also have other requirements necessary in addition to the DOC Leader Requirements before their leaders can lead trips in those clubs. For more information, read through the policies.

First Aid and CPR

Every DOC leader must have current First Aid and CPR certification. Wilderness First Aid training is preferred, and is required for some activities, and equivalent or higher certs will also be accepted.

Wilderness First Aid and CPR classes are offered at least once per term at Dartmouth. Red Cross First Aid and CPR classes may also be offered (not a Wilderness First Aid class). There is a fee for these classes, but some financial assistance may be available from the DOC.

Club Specific Requirements

Basic/Level 1 Trips

In order to facilitate access to the club's resources and activities, no leadership seminars or training is required to organize non-technical trips. Because the individual organizing the trip will still be representing the club, the Chair(s) must approve both the trip and the organizer. This approval should take into account the organizer's ability to manage group dynamics and logistics and to properly represent the club's values and aims.

If the trip involves driving, any drivers must be approved through the normal process. The type of trips covered by this exemption are meant to be ones where minimal risk is involved. They are frontcountry, non-technical activities, such as might be run by any other student organization.

Examples of such trips might include, but are not limited to:

Apple Picking
Contradancing
Lodge Dinner
Rides to remote facilities/events (climbing gyms, movies, D Acres, festivals, state fairs, etc)
Short nature walks, as distinct from hikes (Balch Hill, Mink Brook, Pine Park, etc. If in doubt, ask club advisor) - criteria: good cell coverage, very easy terrain, short distances, not more than .5 mile from road access.

Local Leaders

Local leaders can lead certain categories of simple trips.

Level 1/Basic trips as above
Beginner Hikes
Beginner snowshoe trips/winter hikes
Beginner XC ski trips
Flatwater paddling on the CT river

Beginner trips as above are defined as being low mileage (6 miles or less for spring-summer-fall hiking or XC skiing, 4 miles or less for snowshoeing or winter hiking); below tree-line; no more than 35 minutes driving from campus and no more than an hour's travel away from the trailhead.

Learn More about Becoming a Local Leader

Leader Resources

Driver Certification

Officers

The Officers consist of the President, Vice-President(s), Treasurer, Secretary, Stewardship Chair, and Alumni Relations Representative. The Officers usually meet every week to plan club-wide activities, discuss policy, and more.

Student Directorate

The DOC Student Directorate consists of the DOC Officers, and the heads of the member clubs. The Directorate is responsible for club-wide policies and activities. The Student Directorate meets weekly.

Becoming a Leader

The DOC and OPO offer extensive training for students interested in becoming outdoor leaders. Each club has specific requirements, but all of them require successful completion of the Outdoor Programs Office Leadership Seminar.

Upcoming OPO Seminar Schedule

The seminar covers the basics of risk management, group facilitation, conflict resolution, and mental health to help leaders become familiar with assessing hazards, mitigating risk, be welcoming and inclusive as leaders, and learn strategies and theories to ensure that every participant has a positive experience on trips and at activities hosted by the DOC.
Logistics and Outdoor Skills trainings are a big part of becoming a leader and are an integral part of each club's training process.
Know the skills and policies in the Leader Handbook.
To learn more about becoming a DOC leader, read the policies on this page.

Vision

The vision of the Dartmouth Outing Club was outlined in a student-authored document released in the summer of 2008. The document was signed and supported by the directorate and each club head of the DOC, and articulates the current student vision for the program.

The Dartmouth Outing Club is student driven. This goes beyond having students simply lead the activities of the DOC. Instead, students are ultimately responsible for every step in the planning, execution, and success of each activity. Specifically, the students set the goals, arrange logistics, determine the qualification level for participation, and make pertinent decisions in the field. Students are also responsible for member club budgets, elections, and even the core structure of the club. This stands in contrast to activities that are student run, where the ultimate responsibility lies with a college employee. The extent to which the DOC is truly student driven makes it unique, and these ideals are what we cherish most in the club.

The DOC chooses to create leaders through a peer review process. This is a key aspect that sets us apart from similar groups and is crucial because certifications alone do not make a safe leader. Students must prove to their peers that they can be trusted with responsibility for others' safety. Peer review of potential leaders is a self-checking system that couples subjective review of an individual's judgment in the field with objective assessment of technical skills. This practice requires all members to take ownership of the club, benefiting both the club and the individual's experience.

The DOC is an independent organization. Students work closely with the College's Outdoor Programs Office for logistics, support, and mentorship. OPO also acts as a liaison between, and advocate for, students and administrators. The OPO staff is able to communicate on equal footing with faculty and administrators. Additionally, OPO deals with such club business as memberships, vehicles, finances, and PE classes. Finally, OPO retains an institutional memory beyond the scope of an undergraduate career. This allows ideas and traditions to endure as student energy waxes and wanes. It should be clear that OPO does not run the DOC; it facilitates the DOC's endeavors. The DOC's trust in OPO depends upon student involvement in OPO's affairs, including budgeting and hiring.

The DOC provides an opportunity for experiential learning to the entire student body. The breadth of trips the DOC offers - from students, for students - ranges from whitewater kayaking to winter trekking, cabin respites, rock climbing, and beyond. Students with no outdoor experience prior to matriculation can graduate competent and confident leading their peers in the outdoors, fostered all the way by their peers. The DOC strives to provide students a sense of place beyond campus. As stated in its constitution, the DOC furthers "the educational objectives of Dartmouth College and its principle of community, by stimulating an appreciation of nature and environmental stewardship... and above all, the development of such personal traits as initiative, integrity, tolerance, self-reliance, and leadership." These qualities remain as integral to the DOC's vision as they were at the club's founding in 1909.

The DOC is active and expansive. Students completed construction of Harris Cabin, the single largest student construction in the DOC history. The DOC also built a timber-framed sugarhouse, a shelter at Velvet Rocks, and a solar greenhouse - all student-driven projects. The clubs of the DOC planned and executed four spring break trips: climbing in Nevada, kayaking in North Carolina, trekking in the Gila Range, and hiking in the Canyonlands of Utah. All told, ninety students participated, and interest exceeded the spots available. The DOC also funded international expeditions to six continents including trips to the Himalaya, Zambezi, Patagonia, and beyond. Closer to home, clubs have taken hundreds of students out on beginner trips in all activities, and seen membership increase to approximately 1,500 undergraduates.