IF your business program is accredited by one of the following Regional Accrediting Associations, AND is a 4-year institution, then your school is automatically eligible for a charter of Sigma Beta Delta:

• The Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools
• The New England Association of Schools and Colleges
• The North Central Association of Colleges and Schools
• The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
• The Western Association of Schools and Colleges
• The Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities.

Sigma Beta Delta also serves graduate students in business, management and administration; students in Master’s and Ph.D. programs.

IF your business program is accredited by ACBSP, the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs, AND is a 4-year institution, then your school is automatically eligible for a charter of Delta Mu Delta.

IF your business program is accredited by AACSB, the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of  Business, AND is a 4-year institution, then your school is automatically eligible for a charter of Beta Gamma Sigma.

Note: If your school is a two-year institution, contact Kappa Beta Delta.

To see if there is already a Sigma Beta Delta chapter at your school, check under: ‘Chapter Listing’ on the home page.

If there is currently no chapter, speak to your Department Chair of Business and the Dean of your business program.  Once approval is gained to begin a chapter, have a supportive business faculty contact the Central Office to obtain further information on petitioning to install a chapter.

Inductees are brought into Sigma Beta Delta membership through an induction ceremony under the guidance and authorization of the chapter faculty advisor.

Members cannot be inducted by the Sigma Beta Delta Central Office.

The faculty advisor will need to prepare invitation packets (can be ordered free from the Central Office,) which consist of a letter of invitation from the SBD President, an informational tri-fold brochure and a personal data card to be completed. You may order chapter stationery from the Central Office for a cost and mail out your own letter of invitation.

Once the eligibility of potential members is determined, the faculty advisor will order the memberships needed by completing and e-mailing the membership order form to sigmabetadelta@umsl.edu

Remember that you have the option of Honorary Memberships.  A chapter may invite two honorary members into the honor society every year. Honorary memberships are typically chosen from outside academia; from the business community, or someone who is very supportive of your chapter that you wish to honor. A specialized membership certificate is used for honoraries. The President, Chancellor, or Provost of your school as well as faculty may be brought in under regular membership.

Submit a chapter supply order form to order cords, stoles, or other regalia. Do not revise the membership order form to include orders of regalia. You need to use the two separate forms previously mentioned.

Submit the table of inductee names by typing the names as you want them to appear inin the certificate template and e-mail to the Central Office: sigmabetadelta@umsl.edu

Orders are processed within 24 hours and are sent UPS Ground Shipping at no cost to the chapter, unless otherwise specified. You may request next day air shipping or two-day air shipping but you will be charged the shipping cost.

Payment of an order is due within thirty days. The Central Office ships out your order within 24 hours on good faith that you will pay within 30 days. Delinquent accounts risk placing your chapter into an inactive status where another order cannot be shipped to you until the chapter’s delinquent balance is paid.

Publicize your chapter with free Sigma Beta Delta posters. Request these by sending a chapter supply order form (available online or can be requested from the Central Office.

Each new member receives a membership certificate, a lapel pin, a decal and a current issue of the Sigma Beta Delta newsletter, “Aspirations.”

Acknowledgement for Federal Employment: Because Sigma Beta Delta is a member of the Association of College Honor Societies, your membership entitles you for entrance at the GS-7 level in numerous professional and technical positions within federal service.

Scholarships, Networking, Social Links, contact through the newsletter, “Aspirations” are some benefits. To see a list of these benefits on being a member, click on “About Us” on the homepage of www.sigmabetadelta.org

And, of course, recognition for your achievements and your potential. Your resumé can list this honor society membership and provide distinction for you.

If possible, give yourself ample time. Start sooner, than later!  If not, orders can be sent quickly using expedited shipping but the shipping costs can be significant.

Give yourself several weeks to receive responses from students. You will always have latecomers to add. Each latecomer(s) requires another order to be completed. It is best to compile the latecomers and order as a group rather than order one after another.

This ceremony can be simple or formal; from a tapping ceremony during school to an evening reception with family and friends invited with refreshments served. It is your choice to plan what you would like to have. During the induction of new members, the chapter faculty officers will read the “Ritual” which explains what Sigma Beta Delta means. Inductees will answer prompted questions as a group and in so doing, become a member of the honor society upon pledging to …”Uphold the principles of Sigma Beta Delta…to pursue wisdom, accept honor, and to aspire to fulfill worthy goals…and to accept my responsibility to support and encourage its purposes….”

Contact your chapter for the logistics of their specific induction ceremony. If you do not know who your chapter advisor/contact is or if you do not have their e-mail address or phone number, contact the SBD Central Office at (314)516-4723 for that information.

No. Upon being inducted as a new member, you pay a one-time membership fee. There are no dues.

Yes. Once you are inducted as a member into Sigma Beta Delta, you are a member for life.

Very rarely. On infrequent and unfortunate occasions, a faculty officer will request a student’s name be removed from the roll for being caught cheating on an exam, for example. These are unusual and sad circumstances.

Yes. Ten annual scholarships or fellowships are currently being offered: Five scholarships in the amount of $1,500 that are named in honor of an integral individual to Sigma Beta Delta and five other scholarships in the amount of $1,000. Honorable mentions in the amount of $250 can also be offered.

Application forms are mailed to your chapter faculty advisor and will be placed on the website as well in February. A student must be nominated by the advisor and must complete an application form, write a one-page essay and provide official transcripts.

A Scholarship/Fellowship Committee selects awardees from the pool of applicants and this list is presented to the Board at their summer board meeting in July. Early August, checks are sent out.

All applicants are notified. Winners are requested to complete a release form and send a non-returnable photo for use in the next “Aspirations” newsletter and for inclusion in the website.

Yes. Every four years a conference is held at which all members of active chapters are invited. There is a theme for the conference with workshops/break-out sessions scheduled as are interesting speakers from the corporate world. Some free time is scheduled for sightseeing or for a scheduled activity. This is a great time to meet other students with whom you share a bond and also provides the opportunity to share ideas and network.

You can access the Sigma Beta Delta store by clicking on “Merchandise” at the top of the website home page at www.sigmabetadelta.org

Your faculty chapter advisor will order honor cords and honor stoles for the new inductees.

NO! UPS will not ship to a post office box. Please provide your complete residential address for shipping.

The PayPal section under Merchandise will automatically calculate and add in your shipping cost so you will immediately know your total cost.

Orders (with the exceptions noted below) are filled within 24 hours of receipt at the SBD Central Office.

Preservation plaques, Commemorative wooden plaques and Church Hill Classics items can take three to four weeks for delivery.

Banner poles are delivered within one week.

Graduation regalia can be ordered from the Sigma Beta Delta web-store.

You can order a replacement certificate through the Merchandise section on the website. You must provide your name (as it was when you were inducted) as well as your school and date of induction (month and year will work.)

You can order a new lapel pin through the website.

This is your call. Schools set up their chapters in both ways. Think of the logistics of determining who is eligible and how you want to induct.  How close are your campuses to each other? Answers to these questions will help you decide if you want one chapter or several.

Again, this is your choice. Some schools set their chapter up to handle both divisions while others keep these two divisions separate….whatever is going to work to the benefit of all involved and be the most efficient in terms of logistics, should help you decide what will work best for your situation.

Approval of documents usually takes several days. Once the conference call is accomplished, you are ready to go; so the quicker the scheduling of the conference call, the quicker your chapter is installed so that you are ready to go and begin inducting members.

Just follow these easy steps……

Step One  (Documents and Fee)

• Complete the Constitution and sign on the last page
• Create a “Letter of Intent” on your school letterhead. (Note: Page 1 of the sample petition can be used as an example.)
• Obtain signatures on Page 2 of the sample petition
• The signature of the highest academic official is required
• At a minimum, have faculty officers of the SBD chapter sign
• Complete the Chapter Officer Form
• A minimum of two officers (faculty) is required; three is desired
• The Chapter Advisor is the contact with the Central Office
• Any officer can be the chapter advisor
• You may also set up a slate of student officers to help
• Include the payment of your charter fee of $250 (check, money order or credit card may be used). This payment covers the cost of sending the chapter banner and having a charter certificate matted, framed and mailed to you.

Step Two  (Approval and Conference Call)

• Mail* the above items into the Central Office and Executive Committee approval will be obtained by the Executive Director.
• The Central Office/Executive Committee Conference Call: The Central Office will initiate and coordinate this phone call and participants will be your SBD chapter officers, the SBD Executive Committee and the Executive Director. Simply provide several dates and times when your faculty officers can be available for a twenty-minute call to induct them as officers so that they can induct new members and informally “installs” your new chapter. You will learn the history of the organization during this call which you can pass on to your audience at the induction ceremonies. This also gives you a chance to meet and converse with members from our Executive Committee of the SBD Board of Directors.

  * This payment covers the cost of sending the chapter banner and having a charter certificate matted, framed and mailed to you.
   
  NOTE->The constitution, sample petition letter and chapter officer form can be e-mailed to you. You still need to mail the signed originals to the Central Office.

The Central Office does not dictate required activities for your chapter, other than an annual meeting. Activity is encouraged within chapters. Some chapters have community outreach projects or fund-raising enterprises for a charity or to fund their own scholarships. While it is hoped that your chapter be more than a resumé-enhancer for your members, this is your choice. You are within your rights to set the chapter up for recognition only. The honor society is currently working on introducing a national project within which chapters may choose to participate.