Successful Membership Acceptance Techniques:
If At First You Don't Succeed... Try, Try Again!
Pinnacle Scholarship Award-winning chapters have found that persistence pays off when it comes to increasing your chapter's membership acceptance rate. See how these chapters offered the benefits of Society membership to more students at their college.
Give Induction a Second Chance
Sometimes even when chapters plan carefully and work hard toward
inducting new members, challenges arise. However, leaders of the
Phi Theta Kappa chapter at Jefferson State Community
College - South Campus in Alabama found that in their case,
success was born of adversity.
"A mailing snafu meant that our invitation letters arrived at the homes of prospective members the day before orientation! While we still had a great response, some people didn't even open the letters until orientation was over," explained Dr. Liesl Ward, chapter advisor.
So, chapter officers engaged in some creative problem-solving and decided to hold a less formal 'second chance' induction so that no potential members would be left behind. The "second chance" induction was so successful that the chapter adopted it as an annual policy-even if postal disasters are averted.
"Because of the "second chance" we were able to induct an additional 50 members!" said Tricia Martin, the chapter's Vice President of Scholarship. "This has had an exceptional effect on our chapter as far as welcoming new members, many of whom are interested in being part of the officer team, and it has also given us a reputation for a willingness to work with students to overcome adverse situations. It has been a very positive thing for our chapter!"
Good Membership Orientations Deserve an Encore
Chapter officers at Columbus State Community College in Ohio
also feel regularly-scheduled and as-needed inductions and numerous
orientation sessions contributed to their Pinnacle Platinum Award.
Chapter President David Kerr, who also serves as Columbus District Representative for the Ohio Region, said the chapter schedules three formal inductions throughout the year, but is also flexible enough to schedule other informal ones to accommodate membership needs.
"We held several new member orientations which seemed key to our recruiting efforts, culminating in our fall induction which was truly a success because of the teamwork of our officers and advisor," said Mary Beth Cligrow, Chapter Secretary and President-Elect.
Kerr said the chapter sent 3,200 invitations to membership, with 800 people attending three different standing-room-only orientation sessions.
"We had a huge response - of those who attended the orientation sessions, 80-85% accepted membership," Kerr said. "If you are enthusiastic and sincere about the benefits of being involved with Phi Theta Kappa, they will pick up on it."
Be Willing to Wait for Membership Fees
These days nearly every business offers a flexible payment plan,
and allowing potential eligible members to pay fees on a schedule rather
than all at once may cause less stress (and refusals) than requiring the
total amount all at once.
"We hold both induction ceremonies several months after invitation. Cost of membership fees is a factor since our district is not affluent," said Cherie Westfall, advisor of the Waubonsee Community College chapter in Illinois. "We found more students take advantage of the membership invitation if they are allowed two to three months to pay, so we offer a time payment plan."
Chapters should also try to make some arrangements for students who may not be able to afford all of the membership fees.
Elea Uhl, chapter advisor at Northeast Iowa Community College, said her college's foundation feels that Phi Theta Kappa membership is one of the most important resources for students in which they can invest, so they pay all but $11 of each eligible member's International, regional and chapter fees.
While all chapters may not have resources such as these available, numerous chapters have been able to find faculty or community sponsors for eligible students in need of assistance. Some chapters use their Pinnacle Program cash awards to set up membership scholarship funds for eligible students unable to pay fees.
Like these chapters, your chapter may find that when it comes to increasing membership, patience really is a virtue! See more ideas for increasing membership acceptance and reaching your chapter's Pinnacle Program goals at www.ptk.org/pinnacle.
