Seniors — entire upper-fifth of the engineering class is eligible.
Juniors — entire upper-eighth of the engineering class is eligible.

Bylaw VI, Sec. 6.02, describes in detail how to determine who is in the top fifth and eighth of their respective classes. The initial list of the two groups will probably include absent co-op students, transfer students, and true sophomores or others who are not taking regular junior engineering courses but have enough credit hours to be misclassified as juniors by your institution.

The procedures followed by your chapter should be clearly defined in your own chapter bylaws, which must list all eligible engineering curricula at your institution. For example, transfer students are typically ineligible until the third election after they transfer to your school (Const. Art. VIII, Sec. 2 (l) and (m)). Until the proper time, either (A) do not include them on the list of eligible students or else (B) leave them on and reject them on the Report of Election under Rejection Code C (candidate is not technically qualified because of transfer-student rule . . .).

True sophomores and all others who are not taking junior engineering courses should be removed from the list of eligible juniors. True engineering juniors should be removed from the list of eligible seniors; their relative grade standing will determine whether or not they can be added to the list of eligible juniors.

Postponed electees must be listed on reports only if they remain academically eligible. These eligible persons may be initiated at the next regular election without reelection.

Weighted Grades and Grades of Condition or Failure

The use of weighted grade-point averages to emphasize grades earned beyond the first year of the college curriculum is permitted. (B-VI, 6.02(d).) This plan weighs all grades in the freshman year "one;" all sophomore grades, "two;" etc. If one student's grades are weighted to provide an advantage, then all grades in that class must be weighted for fairness to all candidates.

No student should be unduly penalized for having received grades of condition, failure, or the equivalent. Those who still have conditions or failures on record are credited with no points and are charged with the number of hours for the subject(s). (See C-VIII, 2(n).) The important thing is that a candidate now possesses a scholastic record which places him or her in the upper fifth or eighth of the class.

Graduate students are eligible for election to membership under the provisions of C-VIII, Sec. 3. Eligible candidates must have completed 50% of all degree requirements and must stand in the top fifth of the graduate class or, if such class standing information is not available, a faculty member must certify that the graduate work is of the quality expected of a member of the Association, as stated in C-VIII, 3(1). The eligibility of a graduate student is thus based solely on documented graduate work in engineering at your institution. His or her Tau Beta Pi class, engraved on the key and engrossed on the certificate, is the year in which the student will receive the graduate degree.

An alumnus candidate is defined to be a person who holds an engineering degree and who was or would have been eligible for election to Tau Beta Pi as an undergraduate or graduate student under one of the provisions of C-VIII, 2 or 3. An eminent-engineer candidate is defined to be a practicing engineer who has achieved distinction by professional attainments and who may hold many degrees or, rarely, none at all.

Eligibility for an alumnus candidate is based upon his or her scholastic performance as an undergraduate or graduate student; eligibility rules for alumnus candidates are given in C-VIII, 4 and 5. Eligibility for an eminent-engineer candidate is based upon his or her professional attainments over a period of at least ten years; eligibility rules for eminent-engineer candidates are given in C-VIII, 6. A candidate may be eligible as an alumnus or as an eminent engineer, depending upon the engineering degrees earned and the schools attended.

Both alumnus and eminent-engineer candidates must meet the general requirements set forth in C-VIII, 7. The information called for in C-VIII, 7(c), must be provided before the election of any such candidate can be approved by headquarters. "Complete proofs," as requested in C-VIII, 7(c), must include a list of colleges which the candidate has attended, the degrees earned, and the years in which they were granted, evidence that the candidate was eligible as an undergraduate or graduate student (for a candidate to be elected under C-VIII, 4 or 5), an outline of his or her professional record, and written approval of the chapter's Advisory Board to elect him or her. This information may be sent to the national headquarters on the special reports to be used for these candidates (which are unavailable on-line).

To avoid embarrassment to the chapter and to the candidate, the chapter should ask for a judgment of a candidate's technical eligibility from headquarters before electing him or her. Complete files of chapter reports since 1935 are maintained at headquarters and may contain data of importance, if there were a chapter at the college when and from which the candidate received an engineering degree.

The outline below is to aid you in determining under which Sections of Constitution Article VIII a candidate is eligible.

a. If the candidate were in the top fifth of his or her undergraduate or graduate engineering class (or top quarter for 1941 graduations and earlier):

(l) At a school which did not have a chapter of Tau Beta Pi when he or she attended:

(a) Candidate is eligible under C-VIII, 4(a)(1), if he or she graduated from your college. Eligibility is based upon either undergraduate or graduate scholarship.

(b) Candidate is eligible under C-VIII, 5(a)(1), if he or she graduated from another college. Eligibility is based upon either undergraduate or graduate scholarship.

(2) At a school which had a chapter when he or she attended:

(a) Candidate is eligible under C-VIII, 4(a)(2), 4(a)(3), 4(a)(4) or 4(a)(5), if he or she graduated from your college. Eligibility is based upon either undergraduate or graduate scholarship.

(b) Candidate is eligible under C-VIII, 5(a)(2), 5(a)(3), 5(a)(4), or 5(a)(5), if he or she graduated from another Tau Beta Pi chapter's institution. Eligibility is based upon either undergraduate or graduate scholarship. A release is required from the "home chapter" per Sec. 5(b).

b. If the candidate holds an undergraduate engineering degree from any recognized engineering school but was not in the upper fifth of the graduating class (upper quarter, 1941 graduations and earlier), he or she is now eligible under C-VIII, 6(a), if at least 10 years have passed since receiving an undergraduate engineering degree. Eligibility is based upon attainments as a practicing engineer.

c. If the candidate received an engineering graduate degree from a school which had a chapter of Tau Beta Pi and if he or she were eligible as a graduate student under the provisions of C-VIII, 3:

(l) Candidate is eligible under C-VIII, 4, if he or she received his or her graduate degree from your school. Eligibility is based upon graduate scholarship.

(2) Candidate is eligible under C-VIII, 5, if he or she received his or her graduate degree from another Tau Beta Pi chapter's institution. Eligibility is based upon graduate scholarship. A release is required from the "home chapter" per Sec. 5(b).

The eminent engineer eligibility provisions are to be used for candidates who do not qualify under any other Section of C-VIII because they were not scholastically eligible for membership as undergraduates or graduates and/or their rank in class can not be determined.

a. Candidate is eligible under C-VIII, Sec. 6(a), if he or she earned a degree from a recognized engineering college more than 10 years ago; or if he or she earned a non-engineering degree more than 10 years ago, has since earned a graduate degree in engineering, and has achieved distinction in the field of engineering. Eligibility is based upon attainments as a practicing engineer; he or she is the type of professional person all undergraduates should strive to emulate. (See page B-9 and C-VIII, Sec. 7(a) and (b).)

b. Candidate is eligible under C-VIII, Sec. 6(b), if he or she does not hold a college degree of any kind or holds a degree in a non-engineering field but has had at least 15 years experience as a practicing engineer. Candidate must also fulfill the provisions of Sec. 7(a) and (b).

c. All elections under C-VIII, Sec. 6(a) or (b) must comply with the provisions of Sec. 7(c). It is most advisable to contact headquarters concerning the eminent engineer's technical eligibility for membership before the candidate is made aware of being considered for Tau Beta Pi election.

NOTE:The Tau Beta Pi class for a candidate elected under C-VIII, 4, 5, or 6(a), is the year of graduation with his or her first engineering degree. The Tau Beta Pi class for a candidate elected under C-VIII, 6(b), is the year of receipt of the undergraduate degree, or, if the candidate holds no degree of any kind, the class is the year of initiation into Tau Beta Pi.

The Executive Council developed in 1988 a set of interpretive guidelines to aid in evaluating an individual's "eminence" as engineer. Any candidate being considered for membership under these criteria should have achieved senior-level distinction in advance of his or her peers.

Five categories were defined as being important measures of qualifications, and they are listed below. Candidates would be expected to excel in at least one of the first two areas or to have an above-average mix in a combination of all of them.

1. Demonstrated evidence of creative and/or scholarly work:

- Active in research, design, or multifaceted, large-scale engineering management
- Publications in recognized refereed journals
- Textbooks and monographs
- Invited lectures at conferences and symposia
- Citations by others of research results
- Patents
- Innovative designs or engineering management schemes

2. Excellence in the workplace:

- Development of methodology/techniques
- Recognition by peers with appropriate awards
- Major projects/processes/products
- Attainment of accomplishments common to senior status

3. Leadership/active in professional/technical organizations and/or honor societies:

- Emphasis on sustained activities
- Officer, director, or key committee person

4. Consultant:

- Serve industry, government, and academia

5. Community service/leadership:

- Church and civic organizations
- Citizen boards and committees

Additional information on this subject can be found on pages B-7 and B-8 and in C-VIII, Sec. 6 and 7.