Tau Beta Pi President's Book - Manual of Chapter Operations
Section B

Section I - Schedule for Elections and Initiations

(2005 Edition - last update 01/24/2005)

• A. Begin work on determination of scholastically eligible juniors and seniors at the earliest possible date. As soon as school opens, appoint the Membership Committee and have it obtain the names of candidates from the dean's or registrar's office (see Bylaw VI, Sec. 6.01, and Part I of this Section). The committee should be composed of members from each engineering department, to minimize the possibility of overlooking anyone. If it is possible, compile the lists of eligible undergraduate candidates for the fall term during the summer — and for the winter or spring term, immediately after the fall term has ended. Note that weighting of grades is permitted — see " Determination of Eligibility." Note the suggested schedule on page B-3.
• B. Immediately after data have been compiled, the corresponding secretary should submit the REPORT OF ELIGIBILITYon-line to national headquarters (seePart VI — Reports to the National Headquarters for preparation of these reports).
• C. Determine which method of measuring exemplary character your chapter uses. Your chapter probably already has an established and approved character-measurement procedure. Tau Beta Pi Bylaw VI, Sections 6.02 and 6.03, require that your procedure be contained in your chapter bylaws.
  If your chapter does not have a procedure for measuring exemplary character, it will be your job to establish one. Part II-B describes several types of procedures which can be used. If one or more of these procedures is not suitable you may devise your own procedure. The procedure you use, however, must be submitted to and approved by the Executive Council. Once your procedure is approved you must include it in your chapter bylaws, and a copy should be included in this Section of the President's Book for easy reference by future chapter officers.
• D. Proceed with your chapter's method of measuring exemplary character.
  (Place a copy of your exemplary-character measurement procedure on a separate sheet behind this page, being sure that reference is made in the procedure to your chapter bylaw provisions on character measurement.)
• E. Receive email acknowledgment of the REPORT OF ELIGIBILITY and judgment of the technical eligibility of graduate students, alumni, and eminent engineers from the national headquarters. Reserve the initiation room.
• F. Hold the election meeting. Your chapter is required to have "an election procedure consistent with its methods of measuring exemplary character." (See Bylaw VI, Sec. 6.03(a)(1)). This procedure, like your chapter's procedure for measuring exemplary character, must be approved by the Executive Council and contained in your chapter's bylaws. Your chapter's established procedure should be placed below.
  (Place a copy of your election procedure on a separate sheet behind this page, being sure that reference is made in the procedure to your chapter bylaw provisions on election.)
• G. Preserve carefully all notes and records concerning each candidate until his or her last time of eligibility for election is passed.
• H. Send a written notice of election to the local address of each elected candidate, and double-check that each is received. The notice should set a time and place for the first meeting of the electees and should provide alternatives for those who may have other commitments at the time of the meeting. To avoid misunderstanding about the nature and purposes of Tau Beta Pi, the chapter may want to include a candidate packet with its letters. These packets, available free of charge from headquarters, consist of an introductory brochure, an electee brochure, a blank brochure for information about the local chapter, and a wallet to hold everything.
  A courteous letter of rejection should be sent to all candidates not elected who were aware they were being considered.
• I. Hold the first meeting of elected candidates at which the president or vice president should:
• 1. Answer any questions the electees may have, state the amount of the initiation fee, and explain what is covered by the fee. Important facts which should be reviewed with each electee are listed on below.
• 2. Ask electees who wish to accept election to do so in writing; if any electees refuse membership, you should ask them to state their reasons for refusing.
• 3. Give a set of electees' materials and a copy of your chapter bylaws to each electee who accepts election. The electee materials are ordered from headquarters by completing the blanks at the bottom of the Report of Eligibility. Page B-23 has more information about these materials.
• 4 . Have each electee — including graduate students, alumni, and eminent engineers — fill out two Catalog Cards — EMPHASIZE TO THE ELECTEES THAT THE CATALOG CARD IS A PERMANENT RECORD. WE MUST HAVE FULL NAMES (NO INITIALS) LEGIBLY PRINTED BY THE ELECTEES THEMSELVES, TO AVOID ERRORS IN SPELLING ON KEYS AND CERTIFICATES AND TO KEEP ACCURATE MEMBERSHIP RECORDS. Under no circumstances should anyone other than the electee fill out the Catalog Cards — others often make mistakes!
• J. Immediately after you have collected the Catalog Cards from the electees who have accepted election, the corresponding secretary should submit the REPORT OF ELECTION and catalog card information on-line and send one set of the paper cards to Headquarters. (See Part VI for preparation of these reports.)
• K. Receive email approval from Headquarters to initiate the electees listed on the REPORT(s) OF ELECTION. DO NOT INITIATE ANYONE WITHOUT SPECIFIC APPROVAL FROM THE HEADQUARTERS STAFF; IF NECESSARY, CALL HEADQUARTERS FOR APPROVAL. (See Bylaw VIII, Sections 8.02 and 8.03.)
• L. Keys and certificates should reach you within four weeks after headquarters receives Catalog Cards and Report of Election. Orders are sent daily to our jeweler and our certificate engrosser. Completed orders are sent directly to you from the vendors.
• M. Hold the initiation.
  The member who directs the initiation ceremony has an important job. Electees are initiated only once, and the ceremony is only as effective as the initiation team makes it. The ritual is designed to impress new members with the seriousness of purpose of Tau Beta Pi and therefore deserves serious preparation.
  Select the initiation team with care. You might ask two or three of your alumnus advisors to serve on the team. Their presence accomplishes two purposes: (1) it brings them into closer contact with the chapter, and (2) it serves to convey the importance of Tau Beta Pi to the new members.
  Distribute the parts well in advance of the initiation and conduct a dress rehearsal before the ceremony, if at all possible. Be sure that everything is ready and that everybody knows exactly what to do before proceeding with the initiation. It can be made very impressive if properly executed — remember that this is the one time to make the proper impression on new members. The ritual should be a meaningful introduction to Tau Beta Pi which unites the new members with those who have gone before them. A haphazard ceremony sets the tone for an apathetic group of new members. Please follow the instructions included with the ritual, rehearse the ceremony, and check all equipment.
  You can have a major positive effect upon the image of Tau Beta Pi by arranging a special program for non-member guests, concurrent with the initiation, in a location near the initiation room. An interested member should be charged with this responsibility. The program might include music, your chapter slide show, and/or the 2002 edition of the Chapter CD or video tape available from Headquarters.
• N. Immediately after the initiation, the corresponding secretary should submit the REPORT OF FINAL ACTION on-line send a photocopy of the Roll Book signatures to Headquarters (see Part VI for preparation of the report). The treasurer should send payment of the national initiation fees and Convention assessments within 10 days.
• O. Receive email acknowledgment of receipt of the REPORT OF FINAL ACTION from Headquarters. Check the acknowledgment letter for agreement with your chapter records.
  Note: Repeat the above procedure at the beginning of the winter or spring term. It is especially important to hold the election and initiation early in that term, to ensure that the new members receive their keys and certificates before leaving school. ALLOW FOUR WEEKS FOR DELIVERY OF KEYS IN THE SPRING.

References:
Membership reports for undergraduates must be completed on-line.
Report of Eligibility — Bylaw VI, Sec. 6.04(a)
Report of Election and Catalog Cards — Bylaw VI, Sec. 6.04(b)
Report of Final Action and photocopy of Roll Book signatures — Bylaw VI, Sec. 6.04(c)
For important facts to review with electees before initiation, see page B-36.
For explanation of national initiation fee, see page C-4.