What is the individual membership fee? The lifetime national membership fee is $35.00 as of January 1, 2010. Each new member will receive an enamel lapel pin with his or her membership. Individual chapters often collect additional money from each initiate to use for their own chapter programs. The initiation fee is the only payment members ever make to the national office of the honor society; there are no annual dues.
How should the fee be paid? The national office requires that the initiation fees for the whole group of new chapter members be sent in the form of one single check or money order, never multiple individual checks. The single check may be drawn on a university account, a chapter account, or the Chapter Advisor's personal account. A money order is far preferable to this last option.
It sometimes happens that a student decides to accept membership in a chapter too late to be included on the original list sent to the national office, or his/her name was inadvertently left off the original list. The national office will of course accommodate these latecomers. Their names must still be sent in on a Membership Certificate Request Form signed by the chapter advisor, and their membership fees paid by money order, university or chapter check, or chapter advisor check.
How long does it take to get membership certificates from the national office? The short answer is two to three weeks.
If the names of new initiates are sent in on a Membership/Merchandise Order Form, accompanied by appropriate payment, and the form is completely and legibly filled out (INCLUDING THE CRUCIAL INITIATION DATE!), the chapter should have the certificates back two weeks from the date the National Office receives the request. If any information -- such as the initiation date -- is missing from the form, or something on the form is illegible, or the money is wrong, turnaround will be longer since the national office will have to get in touch with the chapter before certificates can be printed. Remember, the national office mails the certificates to the chapter office and not to individual members.
Click here for the Membership/Merchandise Order Form, or visit the "Forms" section of this website.
Can I fax the form or e-mail the names to get the printing process started, and send payment later? Short answer: NO. Long answer: The national office will not put a request in the processing queue until it is complete, and that means complete with payment of fees. There's no point in sending the names without the payment.
Can I pay by credit card? The national office does not have any credit card contracts. If this changes, chapters will be notified immediately.
What can I do to expedite the return of membership certificates? The national office prints and mails the certificates as fast as possible and always in the order in which the requests are received. The only stage of the process which can be expedited is the shipping. Chapters may send their forms to the national office by any fast delivery service they choose and, if necessary, may enclose prepaid self-addressed FedEx labels for the certificates' return journey. Please don't do this unless you really feel it's necessary, however, and remember that enclosing a FedEx return label has no bearing on your request's place in the printing queue.
How do I order jewelry, mugs, and banners? Pi Sigma Alpha jewelry (gold pins, keys, tie tacks, necklaces), coffee mugs, and podium banners may all be ordered on the same form. Graduation medallions, honor cords, and extra enamel lapel pins must be ordered by the chapters on the Membership/Merchandise Order Form along with memberships. Be sure to fill out the form completely. Jewelry and mug orders are forwarded by the national office to the manufacturers who then ship the merchandise directly to you. Jewelry orders take 4-6 weeks to fill; mugs about 10 days. The national office fills orders for banners, medallions, honor cords, and enamel lapel pins directly from its stock, and shipping is fairly prompt.
NOTE: The National Office cannot accept individual members' orders for medallions and honor cords. These items MUST be ordered by the Chapter Advisor, on the same form as memberships. See the form for details.
Individual members may still order jewelry -- gold pins, keys, tie tacks and necklaces -- after they have been duly initiated into their chapters and their names have been entered in the national membership data base at the national office.
Must I write separate checks for memberships and merchandise? We prefer to handle as few checks as possible. The order form makes it easy to figure out what the check is meant to cover (10 memberships + 10 medallions + one banner = $515 for instance), and the national office is glad to have combination payments.
How long does it take to get medallions or honor cords? Even though the national office typically ships medallions and cords within a week of receiving the prepaid order, we urge Chapter Advisors to plan ahead so students may be sure to have these things in time for graduation.
Chapter Advisors, please consider ordering a few extra medallions and/or honor cordsfrom the national office in advance, and retailing them to your members as needed.
Can I join Pi Sigma Alpha on my own? Membership in the honor society is possible only for students currently enrolled in political science programs in departments where chapters are located, who meet the specific academic eligibility criteria. Their eligibility must be verified by the chapter advisor, and their names sent to the national office on an official form. Individuals cannot join on their own.
Can I get on the mailing list for Pi Sigma Alpha Newsletter? The national office does not maintain a mailing list of individual members. As of the Spring 2008 issue, the Newsletter is published only electronically and is accessible to all at www.psanews.org.
My questions still aren't answered! Then by all means please e-mail the national office at office@pisigmaalpha.org with your questions. Be sure to indicate the name of your chapter in your email, and provide a mailing address if something needs to be sent to you. We'll answer as quickly as possible!
