The Institute of Politics (IOP) will permit only students and other Harvard affiliates to attend its study groups and will hold the study groups in the Houses this year, as part of a series of changes intended to draw more undergraduates to the programs.

Starting this semester, only those who are affiliated with Harvard as students, officers, staff members or faculty members or those with valid IDs from other colleges or universities will be allowed to participate in the IOP's seminars on topics from terrorism to bioethics.

Study group organizers also hope to draw more undergraduates this year by hosting the seminars in upperclass Houses instead of at the IOP. They said the groups will also cover a broader array of topics.

Ben Dobbs, study groups and internships coordinator at the IOP, said he hoped the changes would bring more undergraduates to the IOP.

"We feel that the new policy will give students the best opportunity to interact with the fellows and get the most out of the program," he said.

Other IOP events--including ARCO Forum speeches and IOP fellows' office hours--will remain open to all community members.

"The teaching fellows will still be accessible to the community," said Robert F. McCarthy '02, chair of the IOP's study groups committee.

He said that the committee sought the input of student organizations this year in choosing fellows and study group topics--catering to the interests of groups such as the Prisoner Advocacy Group and the Catholic Students Association.