|
Objectives:
BETA ALPHA PSI is a national scholastic
and professional fraternity for Financial Information students
and professionals. The primary objective of the fraternity is
to encourage and give recognition to scholastic and
professional excellence in the business information field.
This includes promoting the study and practice of accounting
and information systems; providing opportunities for
self-development, service and association among members and
practicing professionals, and encouraging a sense of ethical,
social, and public responsibility.
Beta Alpha Psi was founded in 1919. By 2002 there were nearly
238 chapters on college and university campuses with over
200,000 members initiated since the fraternity's formation.
Return to Top
Membership:
Membership in Beta Alpha Psi includes those persons of good
moral character who have achieved scholastic and/or
professional excellence in the field of accounting or computer
information systems, who have been initiated according to the
ritual, and who remain in good standing.
Minimum scholastic requirements for membership are set forth
in the national by-laws. Undergraduate student initiates must
have at least a 3.0 (A=4.0) average or the equivalent in
accounting or computer information systems and be in the top
35% in general scholarship of their college or school of
business or equivalent academic unit. Graduate student
initiates must have been accepted and matriculated into a
master’s degree level program. Individual chapters may
establish higher admission criteria.
Return to Top
Organization:
Beta Alpha Psi is governed by a constitution and bylaws.
The governing body is the Board of Directors. The Board
consists of eleven financial information professionals or
professors of Accounting, Finance or Information Systems, the
chairman of the National Advisory Forum, and two alumni
representatives. The alumni representatives are chosen from
recent graduates who were active in Beta Alpha Psi chapters.
A NATIONAL ADVISORY
FORUM is comprised of prominent professionals who are
active in professional service and consulting firms, industry,
and government. The members serve three-year terms. The Forum
provides the Board of Directors external advice and assistance
in both regular operations and special projects of the
fraternity.
THE INTERNATIONAL
CHAPTER is comprised of all Faculty Advisors, student
presidents, and past and present officers of Beta Alpha Psi.
This body holds an annual meeting and banquet in August and
provides advice and assistance to the Board of Directors.
A LOCAL CHAPTER
is comprised of student and faculty members at each school.
Student officers guide the chapter's operations and
activities, supervised by the Faculty Advisors.
Beta Alpha Psi is a tax-exempt organization under Section
501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Contributions to Beta
Alpha Psi and its local chapters are deductible.
Return to Top
Participation:
The Board establishes a program for chapter activities to
serve as a guide and an incentive for chapter competition. The
goal of chapter activities is to involve all members fully in
chapter affairs. SUCCESSFUL CHAPTER OPERATION REQUIRES
PARTICIPATION BY EVERY MEMBER IN ATTENDING MEETINGS, SERVING
ON COMMITTEES, PARTICIPATING IN ACTIVITIES, AND STRIVING FOR
ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE.
All chapters are evaluated annually on their service to
members, campus, community, and profession. Superior chapters
are recognized each year at the fraternity's national meeting.
Chapter activities are divided into categories according to:
plan of activities and budget, initiations, professional
programs, involvement in campus and professional activities,
community service, and annual audit and year-end report.
Activities include speeches and panel discussions by students,
faculty and professionals; field trips; business meetings; and
a wide variety of professional, social, and service
activities.
Employers of accounting and computer information students are
totally familiar with Beta Alpha Psi and its activities. It is
understood that Beta Alpha Psi represents excellence and that
its activities are designed to supplement a student's
education.
The activities of student members include:
-- Attendance at chapter
meetings, socials, and recruiting events,
-- Participation in a national student seminar or graduate
case seminar,
-- Attendance at regional meetings,
-- Preparation of manuscripts for graduate or undergraduate
competition,
-- Development of essays and chapter notes for the Newsletter,
and
-- Attendance and participation at the annual meeting.
Return to Top
|
