Tau Beta Pi believes that a person worthy of membership must exhibit two qualities — distinguished scholarship and exemplary character. It is also fundamental in Tau Beta Pi that membership is gained by invitation of the chapter, not by application of the candidate. While the determination of distinguished scholarship is sometimes difficult under today's conditions, it is assumed here that a list of the scholastically eligible candidates has been secured, checked, and verified under Tau Beta Pi's rules. (See Section I-A). The vital task for the chapter is to judge the character of the eligible candidates before electing them and formally offering them membership. Tau Beta Pi believes that character measurement is best done by one's peers; and so the task of measuring character and voting on candidates for election is restricted to the active student members of a chapter. Faculty and other alumni may be invited to contribute to the character-measurement and election processes, and in some cases such input may be most desirable (as in get-acquainted meetings and departmental interviews and caucuses), but the final decision on offering membership is at the discretion of the student members.

This means that the student members must know the eligible candidates personally, or they must devise a procedure by which they may obtain enough information about the unknown candidates to cast intelligent votes on them.

Two approaches have been used. The first is based on the belief that a candidate's character should be evaluated without his or her knowledge. Chapters using this approach have relied on the opinions of those chapter members who know a particular candidate and can testify to his or her character. In small schools this procedure has long worked satisfactorily.

In large schools, or in commuter schools, some eligible candidates are unknown to any chapter member, and other means of character evaluation are called for. This leads to the second approach which consists of obtaining information directly from the candidate. Chapters using this method hold receptions or smokers to which candidates are invited, or they invite candidates to submit written resumes of their extracurricular activities, or they conduct interviews of the candidates.

Care must be taken not to place a candidate in the role of supplicant because each scholastically eligible candidate has earned the right to consideration for membership. It is the chapter's responsibility to measure the candidate's character, not the candidate's responsibility to plead his or her worthiness.

Statements on the evaluation of character with sample character-evaluation procedures are presented in this section. These sample procedures are designed to fit chapters of varying size — small, medium, and large — because the 1977 Convention Committee on Election Procedures and Character Measurement found that size of chapter (or, rather, number of eligible candidates) is probably the most important factor in the choice of a proper election procedure.

Sample Procedures

Six basic unit procedures are described by examples below. While some chapters may use only one unit, other chapters may find it desirable to use a combination of one or more units. Chapters are not restricted to using these procedures and may design others specific to the chapter's needs. All procedures (including those enumerated here) must he approved by the Executive Council before being put to use in the chapter. The exact procedure that your chapter uses, once approved, must be included in your chapter's bylaws (see Bylaw VI, Sec. 6.03) to ensure that future chapter officers will conduct elections properly. Sample bylaw wordings are presented in Section VII. Any changes in your chapter's approved procedures should be approved by the Executive Council and reflected in revisions to your chapter bylaws.

Application:Small chapters

Summary:Candidates are discussed at a pre-election meeting. Faculty recommendations are secured, and active members investigate unfamiliar candidates.

Procedure:

a. Secure faculty recommendations on candidates. Generally a list is sent to faculty members with a request that candidates who lack exemplary character be identified. Another approach is to ask candidates to secure recommendations from their professors.

b. Hold a pre-election meeting. A list of candidates is given to the active membership. At this meeting, there shall be an informal discussion of the eligible students.

c. Chapter members conduct individual investigations on those candidates who are not well known. There are several methods of learning about unknown candidates. The candidate could be interviewed or faculty members can be consulted.

Assessment:

a. This method generally works best for small chapters at small schools where most students know each other. Many chapters have combined this procedure with others, particularly the project or activity participation procedure.

b. Many chapters find it difficult to secure faculty recommendations because of the faculty's unwillingness to cooperate; however, this can provide an excellent opportunity to gain faculty input and generate their interest in chapter operations.

Application:Small chapters

Summary:The scholastically eligible candidates are invited to a mixer, "non-smoker," "smoker," or get-acquainted meeting along with the chapter and alumnus members so that members get to know the candidates.   Character evaluations are made by the members based on the impressions obtained at the meeting.

Procedure:

a. Invitation letters are sent out to each scholastically eligible candidate. The letter congratulates the candidate on his or her academic performance, invites the candidate to the get-acquainted meeting, and gives a general overview of the purpose and activities of Tau Beta Pi. A good idea is to enclose the introductory brochure for additional information.

b. Hold a get-acquainted meeting. At the meeting, give out information about Tau Beta Pi both on a national and local level. Then the formal part of the meeting is ended, and the candidates are encouraged to socialize with the chapter members. They should meet and talk to as many members as possible. Members should be instructed to learn as much as possible about the candidates and to answer any questions the candidates may have about the Association. Refreshments are generally served at the meeting.

c. Evaluate candidates. The members are asked to evaluate either in written form or by group discussion the candidates they met at the meeting.

Assessment:

a. This procedure is rarely used alone. It is frequently combined with the resume and interview procedures.

b. At the meeting, it is sometimes desirable to break up into departmental groups where the candidates may know or at least have seen most of the members in the group.

c. Scheduling the meeting at a time when everyone can attend is difficult or impossible, especially in large chapters.

d. Small chapters have also found this to be a useful part of their evaluation process.

Application:Medium and large chapters

Summary:Scholastically eligible candidates are asked to participate in a personal interview with active chapter members and sometimes faculty advisors. Interviewers make recommendations on candidates to the active chapter members. Character evaluations are made based on the recommendations of the interviewers.

Procedure:

a. Appoint an interview committee of active chapter members. The number of committee members depends on the size of the chapter and the number of candidates to be interviewed; committees generally have from two-to-five active members and sometimes include a faculty advisor. More than one group of interviewers can be selected when there is a large number of candidates.

b. Invite all candidates to attend a personal interview. This can be accomplished in any number of ways. Candidates can be sent letters with assigned times for interviews or with a list of available interview times and a request that they turn in their preference to the interview committee. Some chapters prefer to hold a smoker with actives and candidates and have the candidates sign up at that time for an interview. Other chapters require candidates to complete resumes or biographical data sheets and return them to the interview committee, at which time candidates sign up for interviews.

c. Conduct interviews. The length of time per interview depends on the number of interviewers and the number of candidates; interviews can last from 10-30 minutes. Some chapters have candidates complete resumes prior to interviews, which provide the interviewers a basis for questions. Other chapters use an interviewer question sheet (with a list of questions that should be asked of candidates), which is given to all interviewers prior to interviews.

While many chapters will have a particular committee interview only one candidate at a time, some chapters prefer to conduct interviews with small groups of candidates, e.g., three or four at a time.

d. Evaluate candidates. The members of the interview committees are asked to submit evaluations of the candidates in either written form or by oral presentations at the election meeting.

Assessment:

a . This procedure is generally not used alone. It is frequently combined with the resume and/or get-acquainted meeting procedure. Sometimes the interview committee is set up according to academic department, which is similar to the departmental caucus procedure.

b. lt is difficult to arrange interview times so that meeting is convenient for all concerned. While evening or weekend interview times are undesirable, they may be necessary to avoid class conflicts.

c. Conducting interviews sometimes gives Tau Beta Pi a snobbish reputation. The interviews should be somewhat informal, and extreme care must be taken to avoid placing the candidates in the role of supplicant.

d. While interviewing is probably the most difficult character-measurement procedure to employ, it is probably the best means of evaluating character.

Application:Medium or large chapters

Summary:Meetings are held by department (caucus). Department caucus considers all candidates from the department and formulates a recommendation on each candidate for chapter consideration. Investigations are conducted for candidates who may not be well-known by the caucus, as necessary. Character evaluations are made based on the recommendations of the caucus.

Procedure:

a. Organize departmental caucus. The caucus may consist of all of the members in the departments or in larger departments a representative group of members from that department is chosen. Sometimes it is necessary to combine two or more departments into one caucus. Each caucus should be headed by a chairperson and secretary.

b. Consider candidates. Each department caucus considers all candidates from the department(s) represented in the caucus. The caucus should conduct an investigation of all candidates who are not well-known by members of the caucus.

c. Evaluate candidates. The members of the caucus will vote on each of the candidates in their department(s). This caucus recommendation is used by the chapter at the election meeting.

Assessment:

a. This procedure can work well in medium-size chapters where each department is relatively small. In larger chapters this procedure is sometimes combined with the resume and/or get-acquainted meeting procedure.

b. Departmental caucus is an excellent way to organize a candidate interview procedure.

c. There is sometimes a tendency for candidates to be recommended simply because they are known by the caucus and not because of any qualities (good or bad) that they may possess.

d. The caucus format provides an excellent opportunity for faculty-alumnus member input.

Application:Medium and large chapters

Summary:The scholastically eligible candidates are invited to submit a resume of their non-academic activities and interests. The membership committee reviews all resumes and formulates a recommendation on each candidate for chapter consideration.

Procedure:

a. Letters are sent out to each scholastically eligible candidate. The letter congratulates the candidate on his or her academic performance, invites the candidate to complete a resume form, and provides a general overview of the purpose and activities of Tau Beta Pi. It is also a good idea to enclose the introductory brochure for additional information.

b. The membership committee will review all of the resumes and formulate a recommendation on each of the candidates based on the resumes.

c. The chapter evaluation of the candidates is based on the membership committee's recommendation and any personal knowledge members may have of the candidates.

Assessment:

a. This procedure is very easily incorporated as a part of any of the other procedures, or it can work well alone.

b. The resume form, if thoughtfully planned, can be an excellent source of information about the candidate.

c . In place of or in addition to the resume, some chapters require the candidates to write an essay on some pertinent topic in furtherance of Tau Beta Pi's "liberal culture" objective. (Bylaw VII, Section 7.01)

d. The resume itself can be used to weed out candidates whose interest is minimal.

e. Small chapters also find this procedure effective.

Application:Any size chapter

Summary:Character is evaluated based on a candidate's participation or lack of participation in a required project or activity. Duties can range from participation in a chapter project, service on a committee, or polishing a Bent, to completing an electee exam.

Procedure:

a. Make project or activity assignments. There are a number of ways to accomplish this task. Some chapters prefer not to give candidates a choice of activities and will simply inform them by mail or at a meeting of the requirements. Other chapters give their candidates a choice of a variety of projects or tasks to perform. This also can be done by mail or at a meeting. The chapter can send a project sign-up sheet along with their letter of invitation and request that it be returned to the person in charge of candidates. The assignments can then be made by mail or at a meeting.

b. Monitor candidates' project activity. This can also be done in a number of ways depending on the type of activity assigned. Participation in chapter projects or on committees can be monitored by the project coordinator or committee chairperson who is generally an active member and/or by requiring the candidate to submit a report of work completed. Other types of electee activities are easier to monitor. Writing essays, taking exams, polishing Bents, or collecting signatures are all activities that are easily monitored by their final products.

c. Evaluation of candidates. Committee or project chairpersons are asked to evaluate candidates in written form or by an oral presentation at the election meeting. For other types of activities, a committee should be appointed to make evaluations based on the candidate's finished product.

Assessment:

a. This method of character evaluation is rarely used by itself, but is frequently used in conjunction with any of the other procedures.

b. Many chapters choose to elect candidates based on some other procedure, then require the electees to perform duties. This serves as a good check on the initial evaluation.

c. There is generally more cooperation on the part of candidates if the activities are meaningful and if they have a choice of projects.

d. This procedure provides good manpower for completing chapter projects.