For other honor society initiates, their membership certificates are quickly followed by their diploma...leaving little time for them to reap the benefits of membership as active members. Phi Theta Kappa realizes the value in recognizing high-achieving students early in their two-year college career while they still have time to take advantage of the full benefits of membership.

For the majority of Phi Theta Kappa chapters, students become eligible for membership after completing a minimum of 12 credit hours of associate degree course work with the required cumulative grade point average. However, through the Society's Provisional Membership Program, students can be introduced to Phi Theta Kappa and its programs while they are waiting to meet full eligibility requirements.

According to the Society's International Constitution, "a provisional member of Phi Theta Kappa shall be a student who, in the opinion of the local chapter, has shown an active interest in the affairs of the Society and who serves the Society in some special capacity, but who does not meet the full requirements for active membership in the Society. A provisional member shall not have the right to vote, hold office, or to represent the chapter at meetings of the Society."

In addition, provisional members may not wear the Golden Key lapel pin; however, they may wear a chapter pin denoting the Greek letters of Phi Theta Kappa.

Why Wait?

The Phi Theta Kappa chapter at Jefferson State Community College in Birmingham, Alabama, has implemented a Provisional Membership Program to tap high school honor students as future members of their chapter. The strategy of their Provisional Membership Program is to identify new students attending the college on an academic scholarship at the beginning of the fall semester. These scholarship recipients are honored with a special breakfast sponsored jointly by the college president and the Phi Theta Kappa chapter.

In addition to being honored by the college president, the students are extended an invitation by the chapter advisor and chapter president to become provisional members of Phi Theta Kappa. Most of the students who accept the invitation, go on to become full active members once they have completed 12 credit hours with the required GPA.

Both the chapter and the students benefit from a Provisional Membership Program. It allows the chapter to identify and nurture the talents of outstanding community college students, while giving students the opportunity to get involved with the chapter early in their community college experience.

"These first semester provisional members have brought a great deal of enthusiasm to our chapter," says chapter advisor Dr. Janice Roberts. "The students benefit by belonging to a group that helps them make the transition to college, and the chapter benefits from their participation as well as from early access to potential chapter leaders."

Just Ask!

Commonly-Asked Membership Eligibility Questions

Q. Can a high school student who is taking college credit be a member of Phi Theta Kappa?

A. Yes. A high school student enrolled at a two-year college who achieves at least 12 credit hours of associate degree course work and the required cumulative GPA is eligible for membership in Phi Theta Kappa.

Q. Can a community college student who has already earned a bachelor's degree be a member of Phi Theta Kappa?

A. Yes. A student with a bachelor's degree who is enrolled at the community college is eligible for membership if that student completes at least 12 hours of associate degree course work with the required cumulative GPA at the two-year college they are presently attending.

Q. Can a part-time student be eligible for membership in Phi Theta Kappa?

A. Part-time students may be eligible if they have accumulated over two or more academic terms the number of hours used by their institution to designate full-time status (usually 12 credit hours on a semester system). The decision to declare part-time students eligible is an option of the local chapter and/or college and should be addressed in each chapter's bylaws. Phi Theta Kappa strongly encourages the eligibility of part-time students, and currently more than 80 percent of all chapters do offer part-time students the privilege to be inducted.