Requirements
Requirements for establishing new chapters are guided by the Bylaws of the Rho Chi Society.
Chapters may be established at universities, schools, or colleges which are members of the
American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) and have professional curricular
programs which are fully accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmaceutical Education
(ACPE) or the Canadian Council for the Accreditation of Pharmacy Programs.
At least five professional students enrolled in a school or college of pharmacy who are eligible
for election to membership in the Society must be among those who petition that a Rho Chi
chapter be established. The petition for establishing a new chapter is sent to the National
Office of the Society and once reviewed and found complete, will be referred to members of the
Society’s Executive Council for their consideration. Approval of the petition by a majority vote of
the Executive Council refers the petition to active Rho Chi chapters for their consideration.
An affirmative vote of three-fourths of active chapters is required to grant a charter for a new
Rho Chi chapter. Once the petition is approved, plans are made for installation of the chapter
and induction of new members.
Charter members in a new chapter may consist of professional and graduate students
currently enrolled in the school or college of pharmacy, those students who have graduated
within one year of the time the charter is granted, and members of the teaching staff of that
institution who are eligible for membership in the Society at the time the charter is granted.
Charter members must meet the minimum requirements for eligibility in accord with the Bylaws
of the Society. No professional or graduate student or faculty member is eligible as a charter
member if already elected to membership in another chapter of the Society. Alumni of the
school or college who are beyond one year of their graduation are not eligible for charter
membership, but, if eligible, may be elected as associate members.
The Petition: (Submission Deadline – October 1)
A petition to establish a new Rho Chi chapter should include the following:
- A brief history of the university, if any, of which the school or college of pharmacy is a part.
This history should include the date of founding, growth, present enrollment, recognition by
accrediting agencies, physical facilities, and similar descriptive information. - A brief history of the school or college of pharmacy including: the date of its founding and
subsequent growth (e.g., past, present and projected enrollment; type and record of
degrees awarded; development of facilities (including descriptions of present classroom,
laboratory, clinical, and library facilities; development of practice experiences), recognition
by accrediting agencies, and similar descriptive information. - A description of school or college of pharmacy curricula including, as applicable:
- descriptions or explanation of the school or college admission requirements;
- course titles, credit hours, and brief course descriptions; describe the relationships among courses, e.g., list all courses by semester/quarter/etc.
- a detailed description of the system of evaluation of professional and graduate students including:
- grading system for professional didactic coursework (e.g., A = 4.0 grade points; B= 3.0 grade points, etc.; Pass/Fail).
- practice experience/evaluation/grading (e.g., letter grades, Pass/Fail, other) and how those grades are incorporated (or not) into overall student standing.
- grading system for graduate students (e.g., H,P,L, if so, H = 4.0 grade points; P = 3.0 grade points; L – 2.0 grade points for purposes of determining eligibility)
- a description of how eligibility of petitioners was determined and for future members will be determined; if only “pass/fail” grading is employed, how eligibility will be determined.
- A list of other honor societies at the institution (i.e., university and/or school of college) with the date of installation of the local chapter of each. This list should include only those honor societies as defined by the Association of College Honor Societies (achsnatl.org) or by respective professional academic programs and not those of recognition or service societies.
- A list of the names of each member of the faculty of the school or college of pharmacy of
the rank of full-time instructor or higher identifying his or her title or position on the faculty,
academic degrees with dates and granting institution, and a brief description (e.g., one
paragraph) of their area(s) of expertise and academic interests. (Practice experience of
faculty should not be included.) - A list of the names of professional or graduate students and members of the faculty, if any,
who are members of the Rho Chi Society, giving the school or college, chapter and date of
initiation for each member. - A list of all petitioners to establish the Rho Chi chapter, grouped as:
- eligible professional, students identifying for each: the anticipated date of graduation, the fraction of total semester hours (credits; credit hours) completed,
- eligible graduate students, identifying for each: the anticipated date of graduation, the fraction of total semester hours (credits; credit hours) completed, and the overall scholastic average (e.g., grade point average or equivalent);
- eligible faculty members.
- A letter from the petitioners requesting that a Rho Chi chapter be established and bearing
the signature of each petitioner. - A letter of recommendation from the Dean of the school or college of pharmacy. The
Dean’s recommendation should include a statement that the list of eligible petitioners have
met the requirements set forth in Article III: Members of the 2018 Revision of the National
Bylaws of The Rho Chi Society and that the petitioners have no known disciplinary action for
academic reasons or for unprofessional conduct. - The name of the faculty advisor or names of co-advisors for the new chapter who will serve
as the point of contact for correspondence during establishment of the Rho Chi chapter.
Submission
Submit all materials via email to the Rho Chi Society National Office by the October 1 deadline to provide sufficient time for review.
An electronic copy of the petition should be sent via email to the Society’s National Office (RhoChiSociety@umich.edu).
Fees
The fee for establishing a Rho Chi chapter is $500.00. Additional costs include the preparation
and distribution of any copies of the petition and the costs of jewelry, membership certificates,
and national dues for new members. Those costs associated with the installation of the new
chapter and induction of new members or other special event associated with the induction
ceremony will be the expense of the school or college of pharmacy or the new chapter being
installed. The school or college will also incur the expenses incurred for attendance (travel,
housing, etc.) for both one National Rho Chi Officer and the Regional Councilor for the region in
which the chapter will be a member who together will conduct the chapter installation and
induction of new members.
Correspondence:
The Rho Chi Society
University of Michigan
College of Pharmacy
428 Church Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1065
Email: RhoChiSociety@umich.edu
T: (734) 615-4898
Website: www.rhochi.org