The Alpha Chapter of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln holds two elections a year - a Spring Election for students who are candidates for graduation with a baccalaureate (B.A., B.S., etc.) degree in May, and a Fall election for students who have been graduated in August with a baccalaureate degree or are candidates for graduation with a baccalaureate degree in December.
Students in the College of Arts and Sciences are considered automatically. Students from other colleges who have fulfilled the requirements for an Arts and Sciences degree, have applied for graduation, and otherwise meet the requirements below may be nominated by the dean of the college or by an active member of the chapter.
Requirements
- Have no fewer than 64 averaged semester-hours of credit for course work (excluding pass/no pass courses) taken at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and recorded in the office of the Registrar at the time of consideration, provided that a student who has participated in a foreign exchange program formally recognized by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln may count any credit hours earned from such programs toward the 64 hours.
- Have a total of credit hours in dropped courses no greater than 10 % of the credit hours credited on the records of the Registrar. Courses dropped because of sickness or other exigency, when this can be ascertained, shall not be counted in the total of dropped courses.
- Have a total of credit hours recorded as Incomplete (without change to another grade) no greater than 10% of the credit hours credited on the records of the Registrar, exclusive of senior honors courses (399H).
- Have a total of credit hours recorded as Pass no greater than 20% of the hours credited on the records of the Registrar. Exception will be made for courses offered only as Pass/Fail and for credits earned in a UN-L sponsored program of study in an institution from which grade records are not obtained (e.g., the Study Abroad programs).
- Not have made use of academic bankruptcy.
- Have a weighted average (GPA) of not less than that specified by action at the business meeting for election.
Notes
When a student has 80 or more averaged credit hours at UNL, the GPA from those hours will be sufficient for consideration. However, when a student has fewer than 80 UNL averaged credit hours and has transferred credits on record, the GPA of which is below the student's grade point average at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the membership selection committee shall use the overall GPA (transferred credits and UN-L credits) to determine compliance with the minimum-GPA rule for consideration.
Persons who take their final undergraduate year in a professional graduate college may not apply courses taken in the professional school toward the 64-hour requirement.
The total number of students elected to membership in any academic year on the basis of undergraduate scholarship from the College of Arts and Sciences shall be not fewer than 5% nor more than 10% of all students in the College who are eligible for election . The GPA is chosen for each election to maintain the 5% to 10% level for the academic year and varies accordingly.
New members pay a one-time fee for membership, most of which goes to the national office and provides lifelong membership benefits.
