Tau Beta Pi

The Engineering Honor Society

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Scholastic Eligibility

For undergraduate students, the upper one-eighth of juniors and one-fifth of seniors in engineering disciplines specified in your chapter bylaws are eligible. If you are unsure of which disciplines are listed, you may find your chapter bylaws on the collegiate officer's page. Alternatively, if you open the Membership Reports tab on the online reports system, click on "Eligibility" and then "Eligible Criteria" for a list of eligible engineering majors. Please note that all undergraduates must be ranked together; a student may place in the top fraction of their own major, but if they are not in the top fraction of all engineering majors, they are not eligible. If you feel that one or more of the majors at your school is not included in this list of eligible majors, make sure you reach out to your adviser and district director(s) to work on submitting the program to Convention and its Program Review Committee.

For graduate students, if a class ranking of graduate students is available, then the upper one-fifth of graduate students are eligible if they have completed at least half of the requirements of the degree they are currently working toward, including research requirements. For example, a master's student is usually eligible if they place in the top one-fifth and have been working on their master's degree for at least a year, and PhD students are usually eligible if they place in the top one-fifth and have been working on their PhD for 2-3 years (or 1-2 years after they receive their master's degree). If and only if a class ranking of graduate students is unavailable, then instead of class rank, a letter of recommendation from the graduate students' primary academic advisor may be used for scholastic eligibility. Be aware that separate paperwork is required for graduate students.

Chapters are allowed to put into place more stringent scholastic requirements than those above if they wish. For example, some chapters require juniors to have completed a specific class (or at least one at the junior level) to ensure that no underclassmen who have enough credits to be listed as a junior or senior are admitted early. Transfer students are typically ineligible until the third election after they transfer to your school.

Postponed electees from one semester must be listed on the Report of Election the following semester even if they are not listed on the Report of Eligibility due to falling outside the academic requirements in the following semester. These eligible candidates may be initiated at the next regular election without re-election. Postponed electees who do not appear on the list of eligible students must have been approved by the chapter's Advisory Board the prior semester before HQ adds them to the Report of Election. For more on required reports, see Membership Reports.

Obtaining the Eligibility List

How to Get the Eligibility List

Where and how chapters get the eligibility list varies, but most chapters get the list from either the dean's office, the registrar, or another person within the school of engineering. If you are unsure of who to contact to obtain the list, we recommend the following:

  • Ask your chapter advisors. More likely than not, they should be aware of how the chapter gets the list.
  • Commonly a faculty adviser will be needed to access these class rankings.
  • If you have their contact information, reach out to past years' presidents to ask how they obtained the list.
  • If you have a chapter email account, check if that account has been used in the past to contact someone about getting the list.
  • If all else fails, ask your District Directors for help.

When you reach out to the appropriate office to request the list, make sure that they are fully aware of the exact scholastic requirements for your chapter. Also be clear of what you are asking for in return - names, majors, contact information, etc., but not GPA for those eligible.

When to Get the Eligibility List

In short, obtain the list as soon as you possibly can in a term. Any delay in getting the list delays the entire initiation process. Be aware that some universities can take weeks to create the list for you. It is always better to start earlier rather than later. Remember, student admission is required for inclusion on this eligibility list. Depending on your academic calendar, this could be list available even before the first week of classes.

Note: Some chapters have to wait up to a few weeks for the drop deadline to pass before they are allowed to request the list.

Completing the Eligibility Report

Within five weeks of the semesters' beginning, the Eligibility Report is due. If you need an extension you may send a request to asking for an extension, but you must do so before the deadline.

The Eligibility Report is found on the online reports system under Membership Reports. There are two methods you can use to fill out the report - manual input of all eligible members or using the spreadsheet template. Manual input is fairly straightforward but can take some time. You can download the spreadsheet from the eligibility menu. Especially for larger schools, this can really help cut down the time spent on the report. Just make sure that you follow all rules on the second tab of the spreadsheet. Once you complete the spreadsheet, you email it to the address listed on the spreadsheet. After at least one business day, TBP HQ will input the information into your eligibility report online, and you can then finish and submit the report (double-check that the info from the spreadsheet was uploaded correctly).

There are three common errors in the Eligibility Report that you should be aware of:

  1. If you use the spreadsheet version, you're not done once the spreadsheet has been sent in. Once they input the info into your online report, you must go back into the online reports system and submit it. This takes at least one business day, so keep that in mind (if you send in the spreadsheet the night the report is due, you won't be able to submit the report in time because they won't input the info until the next business day). Many chapters don't realize that the spreadsheet isn't the actual report; it's just a method to make the report easier on you. (Note: they will not send a notification when the spreadsheet info has been input. You must log in and check to see when it's been done.)
  2. As with all other reports, if you need an extension, you must ask for the extension before the deadline has passed. If you are struggling to get the officer team together or other potential issues, it's best to reach out to HQ staff ahead of time with an updated estimated completion date.
  3. If you are initiating any graduate students, alumni, or eminent engineers, there is a separate process for the Report of Eligibility that has to be completed at least two weeks before you hold your initiate election. Note that there is additional documentation required to prove their eligibility.

Remember - if you make an error on your eligibility report and end up initiating someone who was not listed on the report (or was included on the report but was not actually eligible), it will count as an unapproved initiation, even if they were actually eligible. That will result in fines for the chapter.

Issues with FERPA

Some chapters have significant issues getting their eligibility list due to their university's interpretation of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). These interpretations can vary wildly - some chapters are able to obtain full contact information, including phone numbers and physical addresses for eligible students, while other chapters are not even allowed a list of names of eligible students. Here's what we recommend.

First, try to set up a meeting with the relevant office to explain exactly what you're requesting and why it is necessary. Sometimes it's possible to change their mind. If not, see what exactly they have a problem with supplying you with. Some will provide the names of those eligible but not their contact information (which you then will have to find through the university's directory, if one exists). Others might not be willing to provide you with anything about specific students, but they can at least tell you the GPA range of those eligible and how many students are in each group (seniors, eligible seniors, juniors, eligible juniors).

If they do not provide the list of names (or if they do but you aren't able to get the students' contact information), usually the university will at least send out the invitation letter on your behalf if you provide them with it. If they aren't willing to send the letter on your behalf, ask for the GPA range of those eligible. Post flyers asking students with GPA's in those ranges to contact the chapter. Post this information where students can see it! Consider class visits and other means to advertise it further and show that it isn't some kind of scam. Ask students for proof of GPA when they contact you to ensure you are only admitting eligible students.

For cases in which you cannot obtain the list of names, immediately inform of the situation. You will only be able to complete the eligibility report with the names of students who you know are eligible, but it is possible.