Chapter advisers can provide valuable assistance to Phi Eta Sigma members seeking scholarships. A portion of the national membership fee of $20 goes to the Founders Fund, a trust set up in honor of the founders and distinguished members of the Society. Income from this fund is used to grant one or more endowed scholarships of up to $10,000 for the first year of graduate or professional study, thirty-two undergraduate endowed scholarships of up to $5,000, and up to seventy-five undergraduate $1,000 awards.

The $10,000 Scholar-Leader Award named in honor of the founder and First Grand President of Phi Eta "Sigma, Thomas Arkle Clark, was approved by delegates attending the 2004 National Convention and Leadership Workshops and will be awarded for the first time for use in the 2006-07 academic year.

This award will be presented to the member who, in the judgment of our Scholarship Committee, best exemplifies the ideals of Phi Eta Sigma and will be chosen from those scholarship applicants, both graduate and undergraduate, who indicate that they would like to be considered for this recognition.

This being another major Phi Eta Sigma award initiative and in keeping with our tradition, Society chapter leadership is a major requirement.

Scholarship applications for students seeking undergraduate scholarships are made available only through chapter advisers. Applicants must be members of Phi Eta Sigma; those applying for undergraduate scholarships or awards must be nominated by their chapters.

In order for each chapter to take maximum advantage of the scholarship opportunities provided by Phi Eta Sigma, chapter advisers should follow the suggestions listed below:
 

In the annual January mailing from the national office, each chapter adviser will find a copy of the Phi Eta Sigma scholarship application form with instructions printed on the back.  Notify student members of the availability of Phi Eta Sigma scholarships and encourage active members with excellent academic records to apply.
 

Make a copy of the application form with instructions for each student member who wishes to apply.   Inform each applicant of the local chapter deadline (allowing enough time for review and selection of the best application).  Please note that space is provided for the local deadline to be added in the upper left-hand corner of the form.

Each issue of the Forum magazine contains an overview of the Phi Eta Sigma scholarship program, including photos and biographical sketches of the recipients from the previous year.  Chapter advisers should encourage applicants to review this material to help them in preparing their own scholarship applications.

As members turn in their scholarship applications, review each application packet for completeness of all pertinent information requested on the form (student’s signature, permanent home address, etc.), and ensure that all questions have been answered completely.  Additional pages for responses may be attached if necessary.  A complete application packet consists of:
 

Each chapter adviser and/or chapter scholarship evaluation committee should review the scholarship applications that have been submitted.  Evaluation criteria are set forth in Statute VII of the Constitution and Laws of Phi Eta Sigma (also provided on the “Scholarships” page of this web site and printed in the Forum magazine).  Other criteria may be added if necessary to assist in the chapter’s evaluation process.
 

Each chapter may submit to the national office one undergraduate scholarship application; in addition, chapters that inducted 150 or more members in the previous academic year may submit two undergraduate applications, and chapters that inducted 300 or more members in the previous year may submit a total of three undergraduate scholarship applications.  There is no limit on the number of graduate scholarship applications submitted to the national office from each chapter.  The adviser should verify the student’s grade point average and sign the first page of each application. The chapter adviser’s signature is required on all undergraduate applications.  The adviser should then forward to the scholarship committee secretary (at the Phi Eta Sigma national office) the applications and supporting documents of those selected to represent the chapter in the national scholarship competition.  The package must be postmarked no later than March 1.

The evaluation process requires approximately six to eight weeks after the March 1 deadline (usually completed in late April).  When evaluation of the applications is complete and recipients are selected, the national office will mail a letter of notice to each chapter adviser whose chapter nominee(s) was/were selected for a national scholarship or award.  Each recipient will be mailed a letter of notice at his/her home address as provided on the scholarship application.  Alternates and non-recipients will also be notified of their status by mail.
 

Chapter advisers who receive notice of scholarships or awards for their chapter members should notify the student recipients locally.  Please follow up by making sure that the student received his/her letter from the national office and that the student responds with a letter of acceptance to the national office by the deadline date given in the notification letter.  The national office will acknowledge receipt of the student’s acceptance letter by e-mail if the student provides an address in the letter.  If the student did not receive his/her notification letter or if there are any other questions about the scholarship or award, please call or e-mail the national office right away.

Publicize the scholarship or award wherever possible to bring recognition to your Phi Eta Sigma chapter and to the student recipient.  Prepare a news release for campus publications, for local community news from the university, and for the student’s hometown newspaper.  Recognize the student at a chapter meeting, using this opportunity to promote academic excellence in other members and to encourage them to apply for a Phi Eta Sigma scholarship in the future.  If possible, have the student featured at other university functions where scholarship recipients are honored before their peers and the faculty.
 

If the scholarship recipient from your chapter informs you of a change of address, remind the recipient to advise the Phi Eta Sigma national office of the correct address for receiving his/her scholarship check, which will be mailed on or about August 15.  The checks for all scholarship and award recipients, along with a letter and a certificate of recognition, are sent by U.S. mail.  Please remind the recipient to watch for this mailing and check with the student sometime in late August to make sure that the check was received.  If there is a problem, be sure to contact the national office promptly.

Finally, enjoy the satisfaction that you, as a Phi Eta Sigma chapter adviser, have helped bring recognition and financial reward to a hard-working, highly deserving student from your university and chapter.  Watch for the recipient to be featured in the scholarship section of the next issue of the Forum magazine and share copies of the magazine with the active and incoming members of your chapter; then get ready to do it all over again the next spring so that some other outstanding member of your chapter may benefit from the Phi Eta Sigma Founders Fund Scholarship Program.