Benefits of Having an ASL Chapter

ASL membership brings the camaraderie and prestige of America's only chapter-based honor society for nontraditional students. The benefits of membership include:

Procedures for Establishing a Chapter

For Instructions and sample forms, click here

Alpha Sigma Lambda does not compete with, but serves as a reservoir for, senior honor societies.

Q: Our institution would like to start an ASL chapter. Is it possible to have a chapter on behalf of individual departments or would the University as a whole need to join? Would we be eligible to join given that we don't have a centralized continuing education unit?

A: An institution is eligible for membership even though it may not have a centralized continuing education unit. As well, an entire institution does not have to join in order to establish a chapter there.

When writing your constitution, you would need to indicate in Article I, exactly which departments will be eligible to choose members.  You need not mention any departments which will not be eligible.  This will be the basis for your membership.  Then, you will appoint two representatives to be in charge of the chapter for all the departments.  We need a chapter councilor and a secondary contact person who is also an employee---faculty, staff, or administration who will be available should we be unable to contact the Chapter Councilor for information.  Additional departments could be added as needed by a simple amendment written to your constitution which would be in effect at that time.

A dean or member of his/her faculty usually starts a chapter of Alpha Sigma Lambda. A small group of carefully selected faculty and/or staff members may serve as part of the organizing committee.

Ruthie FlowersThis committee may draft the local constitution and by-laws for submission to the National Office. Individual chapters of Alpha Sigma Lambda prepare their local constitutions and by-laws based on the minimum requirements stated in the ASL National Constitution. It is necessary that membership requirements align closely with the national constitution.

A completed copy of the application form and a draft or the chapter's constitution may be faxed to 217-581-6697 for review by the National Executive Director. Online forms should be submitted as an email attachment to alsiglam@www.eiu.edu.

Upon completion of any suggested changes to the application materials, online forms should be submitted by email to alsiglam@www.eiu.edu. When sending printed forms, include three copies of the program catalogs with the application form and constitution.

Immedialy after the forms have been submitted (email or postal mail), a a non-refundable fee of $250 must be submitted to the National Office. This fee may be paid by check, purchase order or online by credit card.

The men and women who were members of the organizing committee and, by invitation, the chancellor or president and one or two high ranking academic officials in the university, are generally inducted as charter members of the chapter at the same time as the first group of students are inducted. Thereafter, the National Counsilor and inducted administrative/faculty/staff charter members will conduct the initiation ceremonies for all new student and honorary members.

Since only 24 semester hours (36 quarter credit hours) are required for membership, students elected to the society can meet on a somewhat regular basis before earning a degree.

It is also acceptable for chapters to form and operate strictly as an honorary without electing officers or holding meetings. In these chapters, an annual induction is held and the Chapter Counsilor serves and the only member of the chapter's executive board.

Alpha Sigma Lambda regalia and other merchandise can be obtained from the National Office Manager and is available online at the ASL Online Store.

Alpha Sigma Lambda National Honor Society

School of Continuing Education
Eastern Illinois University
600 Lincoln Avenue
Charleston, Illinois 61920
Telephone 217.581.7106
Fax 217.581.6697
alsiglam@www.eiu.edu