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Highlights from the 2012 New Member Surveys
It has become a summer tradition at the BGS Central Office to invite recent inductees into the Society to come to St. Louis and serve as Beta Gamma Sigma interns. This summer marked the fifth year of this program and the Central Office was able to bring in an additional intern for a total of three interns, the most the office has ever hired. The three BGS students who took part in the internship opportunity were Anqi Fang (Ball State University), Jillian Cox (University of Central Missouri), and Truc Trinh
(University of North Carolina Greensboro).
All three interns provided the Society with perspectives we don't always get--those of current college students. In addition to their own thoughts and opinions, which were valuable on their own, Anqi, Jillian, and Truc were able to survey current college students and recent inductees.
Each intern established a different focus group of members for the surveys. 761 juniors (12.5% of all recently-inducted juniors), 593 seniors (10% of all recently-inducted seniors) and 1,293 graduate students (14.4% of all recently-inducted graduate students) comprised the focus groups.
The surveys provided an invaluable amount of insight into the Society, and we thought it would be useful to our collegiate chapters to share some of that information, particularly the insights and perspectives regarding the invitation induction process. This is all very useful information, and we encourage you to use it to your chapter's advantage going forth.
This is all very useful information, and we encourage you to use it to your chapter's advantage going forth.
| Awareness of the Society |
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In the past three years, students’ awareness of the Society has steadily increased. However, a significant 68% of all focus group participants said they were not aware of the Society before they were invited to join. |
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As brand new members, over half (60%) of participants believe they have a good understanding of the value of their membership in the Society.
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| The Value of Membership |
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Students receive so many invitations for honor societies that it is hard for them to see the differences between each one. Emphasizing professionalism, exclusivity, and formality during the invitation process is a good way for BGS to differentiate itself from other honorary organizations. |
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| Reasons for Accepting Membership |
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The top three reasons for accepting membership which were selected by juniors and seniors are “the honor and prestige,” “the recognition for my hard work,” “to put on my resume.” |
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Invitation Process |
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Most members were invited to join through traditional mail and email, which students are indifferent to when it comes to making the process a positive experience. |
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Tapping ceremonies evoke the most positive reactions to the invitation process, especially since students find the opinion of their professors valuable, yet less than one third of students at any level are invited this way.
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| Benefits of Membership |
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Students are most likely to identify themselves as BGS members on resumes and interviews as well as take advantage of the various discount offers. |
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| Graduate Education |
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The majority of BGS members plan to pursue a graduate degree, mainly an MBA. However, there are students interested in other degrees. |
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The biggest concern for members upon completing their education remains finding a job. |
2012 Chapter Advisor Survey
We are very grateful for the 137 advisors who took time to add their great insight to our 2012 Chapter Advisor survey, which our Director for Collegiate & Alumni Operations, Amber Nicholson and intern Truc Trinh administered in July. Here are some of the interesting finds from the survey:
-Almost half of advisors surveyed have been in the role for 2-5 years. Twenty percent have served six to ten years, and 20% less than one year. The rest are our veterans, serving 11+ years!
-Among the various BGS tasks, advisors most enjoy inviting qualifying students (66%) and working with BGS students (58%).
-Eighty-two percent found the Online Ordering System (OOS) and its complement handbook most convenient and 70% found the assistance from the Central Office staff to be supportive.
-Almost half of BGS advisors feel pressed for time in completing BGS tasks and/or pressured by budget limitations.
-Two-thirds of advisors pay attention to most issues of the B-Mail or read each regularly.
-In addition to induction ceremonies, about one-third of chapters host a BGS event during the year (most often, guest speakers or networking events).
-One-third of those surveyed said they were planning a special event or activity as part of the 2012-2013 BGS Centennial Celebration—Thank you!
A BIG thank-you to all of our BGS Chapter Advisors! We appreciate the hard work and efforts to recognize your top scholars and to have a BGS presence on your campus. BGS could not be as successful without your continued support!
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Beta Gamma Sigma, Inc. © 2012