Filing the Chapter Annual Report

The Chapter Annual Report is available for completion online at www.ptk.org each March. The report mainly consists of yes or no blocks to be checked and should only take a few minutes to complete. The deadline for completing the Annual Report online is in May of each year. Statistics gathered from the Chapter Annual Report provide valuable information to Headquarters on how services to chapters and advisors may be improved.

All chapters are required to file a Chapter Annual Report, whether they have been active during the year or not. According to the Phi Theta Kappa Constitution, chapters not filing a report by the stated deadline are placed on probation until the report is received. If the chapter has not filed a Chapter Annual Report within one month of the deadline, the president of the college will be notified of the probationary status of the chapter. A chapter on probation is in jeopardy of having its charter revoked and cannot 1) enter awards competitions, 2) run candidates for office, nor 3) attend conventions.

Reporting New Members to Headquarters

Chapters must report new members annually, at a minimum, to be considered active. However, most chapters induct new members two or more times per year.

College Duties

Often, the chapter advisor may need to perform additional local duties specific to the college. Examples include filing organization report forms, official travel requests and chaperoning any trips taken by the group. Many colleges have additional rules regarding organizational finances. On some campuses, all expenditures must be approved by the advisor, and the advisor may take some role in maintaining reports of the chapter bank account, requisition of chapter funds from a student activities account, etc. Check with your supervising dean or college president to determine what additional requirements will be expected.

Build a Solid Team

Once the student officer team is in place for your chapter, the organization should be set up in such a way that it will run itself, only requiring occasional approval of projects and input from the advisor in addition to the minimum duties listed above. At this point, the students should be doing the work. The advisor should guide the chapter president in setting up additional committees to assist the advisor with various tasks, such as reporting new members, induction ceremony preparations, etc. Advisors should not hesitate on delegating tasks to their officer teams, as students will learn valuable skills by completing tasks themselves.

When to Pick Up the Pieces

Occasionally when large mistakes are about to be made, the advisor may need to step in and take a stronger hand in the chapter’s operation. Some examples of these situations may include cases in which the students are advocating violation of Headquarters or college policies, where financial integrity of the chapter is at risk, or where internal conflict may be damaging the working order and reputation of the chapter. At these points, advisor intervention may become necessary to save the chapter from long-lasting damage. Exercising the advisor veto power is one effective method of intervention, and rarely, requesting a chapter officer’s resignation may be necessary.

As students are still learning leadership skills, often conflicts within the chapter may need the skills of the advisor as a more experienced mediator in order to resolve the problems at hand. For the most part, chapter officers should be allowed to perform their duties and make mistakes along the way, learning to resolve them on their own. Allow the chapter president to be the leader of the group, but not to put the entire group in jeopardy. Occasionally, a one-on-one conference with the chapter president may be helpful. Many advisors have found that checking up on the chapter’s progress regularly and having timelines for major tasks will help the chapter avoid major emergencies.

Advisor Veto Power

The following policy statement is designed to address situations involving the question of who has the final authority in deciding issues that will affect the future of the chapter. This statement gives college administrators, chapter members and chapter advisors a better understanding of the proper channels to follow when a decision is not mutually agreed upon by the chapter advisor and voting members:

Because the charter of a chapter is granted to an institution, that institution’s top administrator – the college president or campus CEO – has the final authority on deciding an issue upon which the advisor and members cannot agree, as long as that decision is in compliance with the Phi Theta Kappa Constitution and Policies.

Example: If a chapter votes in favor of an issue that the advisor feels is not in the best interest of the chapter, the advisor, as an agent of the college, may veto the vote. If the chapter’s voting members want to challenge that veto, they may present the issue to the college administrator charged with overseeing the local Phi Theta Kappa chapter. This individual is usually the Dean of Students or Vice President of Academic Affairs. If this administrator rules in favor of the advisor, the members may appeal this decision to the college president or campus CEO. Likewise, if the administrator rules in favor of the members, the advisor may appeal this decision to the college president or campus CEO.