March 21 2017

Chapter Spotlight: Western Kentucky University

The Western Kentucky University (WKU) Beta Gamma Sigma chapter collaborated with their Beta Alpha Psi chapter to plan for a visit from BGS Board of Governor member Alfonzo Alexander. They intentionally scheduled it to be the culmination of the BGS tapping week, and are using it as an opportunity to promote the BGS Ethical Leadership Certification Program to BGS members.

They also had a table setup outside the auditorium to hand out information about BGS, to collect paperwork from those tapped, and to answer questions about the BGS Ethical Leadership Certification Program.

2016-2017 Chapter Year in Review Survey Sent

The link for the 2016-2017 Chapter Year in Review Survey has been emailed to each Chapter Advisor. (The link may be forwarded to other chapter contacts if necessary.) This brief electronic survey will help the Global Headquarters staff determine chapter eligibility for honors status within our Collegiate Chapter Honor Roll program.

This Chapter Honor Roll program focuses on rewarding chapters for acceptance rates and engagement activities. Throughout the year, chapters can earn points for a variety of activities and achievements. Click the link above for more information on the program, honors categories, and point-earning opportunities. For any questions, please contact your Chapter Manager.

To qualify for the recognition program, chapters must complete the survey by July 7, 2017. After that date, the survey will close so results can be calculated by BGS staff. Answers may be edited by chapters until the survey closes.

Free Webinar about Beta Gamma Sigma Programs

Join us on Tuesday, April 4^th at 2pm (Central Time) to discuss various BGS programs we offer throughout the academic year. This is our final webinar in our 30-Minute BGS Basics Refresher Series for spring 2017. These programs are great opportunities to promote your BGS chapter and better engage your members. Register for the webinar.

Student Officer Onboarding Webinar

We will be having Webinars for your student Officers in April 5, 15, and 25th. We will discuss their experience, what was beneficial to them, how could the experience be better, and what needs to be implemented in the program. We will also discuss transitioning from being a student officer and onboarding the next group of officers. There will be a short survey, sent sometime in April, that the student officers will need to fill out.

Ethical Leadership Certification Program – Spring Discount!

In December, Beta Gamma Sigma initiated a partnership with The NASBA Center for the Public Trust to launch our new Ethical Leadership Certification Program (ELCP). Numerous chapters and individuals have registered for the ELCP, attesting that our chapters and future business leaders regard ethical leadership as a top priority.

As a reminder, the ELCP is a fully online course intended for students who want to refine their ethical leadership skills. This program provides students with a broad understanding of the wide range of ethical challenges in the workplace. It also helps to prepare them to handle those challenges with confidence when they arise.

On Monday, March 13, we began offering a 10% discount off the price of the program. Students and chapters are eligible to register at the discounted price of 44.99 USD per person. This discount will run for a limited time only.

If you would like to enroll a group of students in the program, you have the option to either pay half or the full registration amount for students or allow students to pay themselves. As an added bonus, when chapter contacts complete the registration form, they will receive teaching aids to spark chapter meeting discussions around the topics covered in the Ethical Leadership Certification Program.

Encourage your students to prepare for the future by registering for this program today!

For more information on the Ethical Leadership Certification Program, please visit https://www.betagammasigma.org/ethical-leadership-certification or contact Denise Cage at dcage@betagammasigma.org.

2017 Global Leadership Summit Sponsorship

Recruit the “best in business” for your 2018 graduate program class at the 2017 Global Leadership Summit! This year’s GLS “Revolutionary Learning” will be November 2-5 in Orlando, Florida.

More than 22 schools joined us as sponsors for last year’s GLS event and introduced nearly 400 students to their graduate programs. The recruiters told us that the GLS was one of the best events they’d done because of the exceptional quality of the students they met.

Do you want the best in business to join your graduate programs? Then, don’t wait; join us for “Revolutionary Learning” at the 2017 Global Leadership Summit! Sponsorship opportunities start at just $1,000. Contact Lakshmi Ramdas Sanjay at lsanjay@betagammasigma.org for more information!

Making Your BGS Invitations Special

Tapping ceremonies make the invitation process extra special for new invitees. In this tradition, BGS faculty or student members, as well as the dean in many cases, will visit business classes to formally present BGS invitations during class time. Faculty members may wear regalia for this ceremony, while other chapters make it a less formal occasion. If your chapter participates in the tapping ceremony, please share your photos! You’ll receive 10 Collegiate Chapter Honor Roll points for hosting a tapping ceremony.

Another way to personally invite your eligible students is to send your own formal letter prior to our automated CMS invitation email. Your letter could explain what BGS is, why the student is eligible for membership, and the benefits of joining. In addition to society information, your personal letter is a great way to advertise the details of your recognition ceremony.

BGS Member Merchandise and Graduation Regalia

Commencement ceremonies are the perfect opportunity to honor your members once more for their academic achievements, while simultaneously providing visibility for your chapter. The best way to visually distinguish members at graduation is to purchase BGS cords, stoles, or medallions for members to wear with their caps and gowns. Academic regalia are available for purchase by the chapter at a volume discount through the CMS supply order form.

*If your chapter chooses to recognize your BGS members at commencement by having them wear regalia, you will receive 5 Honor Roll points (for each commencement per academic year). Be sure to indicate this recognition in the Chapter Year in Review Survey.

Additional BGS commemorative items are available at our online store: www.bgsstore.org. Items purchased using this site must be paid for with a credit card. No invoicing or direct use of chapter funds is available. If members purchase items using the online store, they will be shipped directly to the member.

BGS at ICAM in Houston, TX

The management team from BGS Global Headquarters will be attending AACSB’s International Conference & Annual Meeting in Houston, TX from April 23-25^th. We’d love to meet with as many chapters as possible during the conference to share ideas for increasing engagement, reaching Honors levels through our recognition program, and answer any questions you have. If you or your dean will be attending ICAM and would like to set up a meeting, just send an email with your availability to your Chapter Manager. 

BGS will also have a table in the exhibit hall and will be hosting the conference-wide International Honoree Luncheon. We look forward to seeing you there!

Chapter Management System (CMS) Quick Tip

Don’t forget… reminders to those eligible students are not automatically sent through the CMS. In order to send a reminder message through the CMS to your eligible students, follow the steps below.

1. Go to the ‘Chapter Members’ tab.
2. Change the status dropdown option to ‘Unpaid Potential Members.’
3. Change your ceremony date in the ‘Ceremony From’ field.
4. Select those students you wish to remind.
5. Click ‘Remind’ in the bottom right corner.
6. Click ‘Remind Members’ to send the reminder message.
7. You will see a green success message at the bottom of the page when members have been successfully reminded.

Please keep in mind members must accept membership and pay the fee (if applicable) prior to the certificate batch order generating for the member certificate to be printed and shipped.

Participate in Early Membership Induction

With ceremony dates fast approaching, we want to remind you of Beta Gamma Sigma’s new eligibility requirements, which allow you to induct eligible students earlier. Chapters can invite eligible students to join the Society as soon as the last term of their second year and anytime during their third or fourth years of an undergraduate program. We encourage all chapters to participate in early induction this academic year. For additional information, please view the Membership Eligibility section of our website.

If you’re concerned about how earlier induction might look on your campus, we encourage you to contact your Chapter Manager to discuss the idea further. BGS provides the ability to customize some of the eligibility requirements at the campus level.

Benefits of participating in early induction include the following:

• A larger membership pool allows the chapter to participate in and facilitate more events on campus, making the chapter more visible.
• More students available to promote the chapter and the Society eases the workload for Chapter Officers.
• More students will be able to serve in Student Officer roles.
• Early induction earns your chapter points toward your Collegiate Chapter Honor Roll total.

Start participating in early induction at your next recognition ceremony!

Promote BGS Member Benefits

BGS membership comes with a variety of special benefits like discounts, educational resources, and participation in Society programs. This includes discounts on test prep, fee waivers, and access to exclusive graduate school scholarships. Many of these discounts are available to BGS Chapter Contacts as well. For more information, visit the Member Benefits section of our website.

In addition to the tangible benefits of BGS, our members can participate in society programs such as our Global Leadership Summit, the Master Class Series, and our newest program—the Ethical Leadership Certification Program. For more information about our programs, visit our Member Programs section of our website. Don’t forget to use all of these benefits as a promotional tool when explaining the value of BGS membership!

Making the Recognition Special

The recognition ceremony is a huge moment for students becoming new members, for the chapter graining new leaders, for the organization growing in numbers, and next big thing to come from the “Best and Brightest.” With this being understood, we strongly encourage chapters to invite everyone to celebrate in this moment. Having family members, friends, classmates, and the community there to acknowledge the students will create a long-lasting memory that will stick with all of the attendees. Refreshments are nice, decorations are cool, but to be given this honor with people that matter is more meaningful.

Collegiate Chapter Training Seminar

BGS Global HQ staff recently completed one of two Collegiate Chapter Training Seminar for the spring 2016-2017 academic year. This year, training was held in Dallas, TX and we thank you all who attended, shared insights, and suggestions at the seminar. We also had the opportunity to meet with the Dallas Alumni Chapter and built a great connection with the members of that chapter as they begin to reestablish their presence in Dallas.

As our organization continues to expand and create new initiatives, these trainings are an invaluable way for new officers to become familiar with the Society, but also for tenured officers to come up with more ideas on how to make your chapter more successful. BGS Global HQ recommends that all chapters send a representative to attend a training seminar once every three years, if possible. Because we understand the time and financial commitment it takes to send a representative to these trainings, chapters are rewarded for their participation by receiving five points toward the Collegiate Chapter Honor Roll, per year, for a consecutive three years after attending the seminar. Once again we appreciate all of the attendees and the great discussions we had.

The PhD Project is Looking for Candidates

The PhD Project is a partner organization of BGS and their President is on the BGS Board of Governors. They would like to make sure BGS members know about their program which works with those with – or considering – a doctoral degree in business.

Please let your eligible chapter members know about this opportunity and the opportunity to participate in an exclusive event hosted by The PhD Project.