INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUBMITTING MEMBERSHIP RECORDS BY MAIL
(using official membership slips)
Since 1923, Phi Eta Sigma chapters have inducted new members
and reported the names of those new members to the national office using
paper records (membership slips). Phi Eta Sigma has official membership
slips on file for over 800,000 members. In January 2003, the Phi
Eta Sigma national office began accepting membership records electronically
from chapters that chose to submit their memberships by this method.
Each chapter is asked to examine its procedure for recruiting
new members and recording membership information. If you normally
use a computer to record and manage your local chapter membership files,
you would probably benefit greatly by using the electronic option.
Detailed instructions for this electronic method are provided on this web
site at the page entitled “Instructions for Submitting Membership Records
Online.” If your chapter does not currently use computer technology
to record memberships and does not wish to change methods, you still
have the option to use official Phi Eta Sigma membership slips and submit
your orders by mail as you always have. In order to prevent duplications
or omissions, we ask that your chapter make a choice as to which method
you will use to submit all membership records—mail or online.
Please do not send some orders online and others by mail. Much confusion
can be avoided if each chapter will use only one method exclusively.
If your chapter chooses to continue using the traditional
method of submitting membership records by mail, please follow the
“Pathways” steps listed below:
PREPARE for your induction by sending invitations
to students who are
eligible to be recognized with membership in Phi Eta
Sigma. Many chapters include both sections of the official Phi Eta
Sigma membership slip with the invitation and request the student to legibly
complete both sections and return them to the local chapter by the deadline
date they select. Use only official membership slips. The national
office provides the slips at no charge in whatever quantity you request.
*Please do not photocopy slips or fax lists of members to the national
office. We can only record membership information from official membership
slips.
In the letter of invitation, be sure to inform students
as to the date and location of the induction ceremony and invite their
parents and other loved ones. Set a reasonable deadline for students
to respond with their registrations and induction fees, allowing a few
days for organizing your membership order and another three weeks for certificate
preparation and shipping.
Separate the local chapter portion (left side) of the
slip from the national office portion. Retain the left side for your
chapter files. Sort and arrange the national office slips alphabetically.
You may wish to place slips for honorary members on top of the stack. Count
the slips to verify the number of new members to be inducted.
TELL us on an order form who you are and exactly
what you want
in each order. A blank order form accompanies each
of our chapter adviser newsletter mailings and is sent with each order
we ship to you. Please use the order form to indicate the
number of student or honorary memberships you are submitting and the quantity
of keys or tie tacs desired for them. Be sure to include the name
of the chapter (school name), the date of induction, and the
chapter
adviser’s signature. If you do not have an order form on hand,
a printable form is available on the Chapter Advisers page of the national
web site www.phietasigma.org.
HURRY! Send your membership order to
the national office at
least three weeks prior to the induction
ceremony. Send in the completed order form, along with the alphabetized
membership slips (national office portion), three weeks ahead to
allow processing and shipping time. We do not require payment with
your order, since we extend credit to all chapters. But if you prefer,
you may also include with your order a chapter or school check for the
total amount of the order. DO NOT send personal checks
from students or their parents.
WATCH for your prepared membership certificates
and jewelry to arrive.
Check the enclosed invoice to ensure that all items listed
are included
in the package. Be aware that, along with the certificates
in each
shipment, jewelry may be packaged in an enclosed envelope
or plastic
wrapper for protection. After receiving and checking
your order,
organize the certificates and jewelry for distribution
at the induction
ceremony. Each order will include a list of chapter
members whose
certificates are included in that shipment. Please
keep this list for your
chapter records. We suggest that you keep all your
lists in a binder for
easy reference.
ADDITIONAL memberships/late orders may be sent
by the same
method as your initial order. Please be sure that
the late slips are properly completed and alphabetized and that
you also indicate jewelry and membership requirements on an order form
for these slips as you did for the initial order. Don’t forget to
give the induction date again. You should alert these students
that their certificates and jewelry might not arrive in time for the induction
ceremony, so inform them of how and where they may receive those items
at a later date.
*If you anticipate having several late additions,
please consider sending them in as a group rather than sending one slip
at a time. It is both time-consuming and costly for the chapter adviser
and the national office to process and mail materials for late memberships
individually.
YIKES! A damaged or incorrect certificate!
Need a replacement?
When ordering replacement certificates, please give us
the name of the member as it should appear on the certificate and indicate
if this is a correction or change from the original certificate (provide
both the original and corrected spellings if applicable). Also include
the school name and the exact date of induction if known, or at least an
approximate date. Please DO NOT send another membership
slip when requesting a replacement certificate. A brief memo or e-mail
message providing the necessary information will be sufficient for placing
the order.
SUPPLIES, such as membership pads and “Q&A”
brochures, may
be requested any time by mail (using an order
form),
by phone, by fax, by e-mail, or by going to our on-line
order
form on the Chapter Advisers page of our web site
www.phietasigma.org.
We will be pleased to send you a
new chapter adviser manual or induction ceremony brochure
whenever your copy needs to be replaced. The induction
ceremony brochure is intended as a guideline for your
chapter’s ceremony. Feel free to make copies of
the script
printed in the brochure to personalize for your chapter
officers
to use in the ceremony. All of these items are
provided at no
cost to the chapter anytime you request them. Other
merchandise for sale is listed with prices on the order
form.
*When you place an on-line order for merchandise or
supplies,
you should receive an e-mail confirmation within 24
hours
that your order was received. If you do not
receive
confirmation, please phone the national office right
away.
**With each merchandise order shipped, we send an invoice
showing charges
for the items listed and any payment made on that transaction.
If your chapter’s account had a balance prior to that transaction, we will
also send you a statement of account, which lists transactions for the
current fiscal year. The remaining balance to be paid is shown under
“Amount Due” in the bottom right corner of the statement (or on the invoice
if there was no previous balance). Credit balances are shown in parentheses
on the statement or invoice and may be applied to your chapter’s next purchase.
Please feel free to call the national office if you have questions about
your account.
For over seventy-five years the Phi Eta Sigma National
Honor Society has been the beneficiary of an excellent working relationship
with its chapters. From a modest beginning in 1923 to the largest
undergraduate honor society in America today, we must all agree that our
shared vision forms a unique bond for success.
