Frequently Asked Chapter Operation Questions
If you have additional questions, please contact centraloffice@dspnet.org for assistance.
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| Do I still need to submit an officer report even though the officer information has not changed? |
| Yes, officer reports should be submitted anytime officer information changes or needs updated. This helps to insure that we can contact officers when necessary. The Fall Officer Report needs to be submitted between August 1 and within 14 days after the start of the fall term. The Spring Officer Report needs to be submitted between December 1 and within 14 days after the start of the spring term. The Summer Officer Report needs to be submitted between April 1 and within 14 days after spring commencement. |
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| Why don’t I have points for the pledge program even though I submitted it before the deadline? |
| All pledge programs must be thoroughly reviewed and then approved by Central Office staff before points are awarded. Since so many pledge programs come in at one time, it can take weeks to get through them all. If someone has already told you that the program was approved, but that chapter still does not have points, contact cei@dspnet.org. |
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| Why don’t I have points for Membership Dues? |
| Points are only awarded once the dues roster and dues payment are received. If the chapter does not submit a dues roster, points will not be awarded. Dues must be paid for all active members (therefore if a trial resulting in expulsion is completed after the dues deadline, dues are still owed for the expelled member). Since so many dues rosters come in at one time, it can take a week or two to get them all processed. If you have questions about your dues roster, contact accounting@dspnet.org. |
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| Why don’t I have points for the Pledging Ceremony? |
| If you do not have points for the pledging ceremony packet, make sure that it was submitted completely (a lot of chapters will complete the packet, but won’t submit it by clicking the “Submit Packet” button at the bottom of the packet). If it has indeed been submitted, you might not have points because it was submitted late (the pledging ceremony packet must be submitted within 14 days of the pledging ceremony in order to receive points) or because it has not been processed yet. |
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| Why don’t I have points for Initiation Planning? I have already submitted the regalia reservation and ordered badges on time. |
| If you have already ordered badges and regalia, you probably do not have points for initiation planning because the number of badges that you ordered does not match the number of pledges you reported on the pledging ceremony packet (this would be the case if you had pledges drop out of the pledge program). In this case, points for initiation planning will be awarded after the initiation report has been processed showing that badges were ordered for each new initiate. |
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| Why don’t I have points for my Initiation Report? |
| You probably do not have points because either the report was late or the initiation fees were late. Points are only awarded if both the initiation report and initiations fees are submitted within 14 days after initiation. |
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| When are points awarded for professional and service events? |
| When 8 professional events have been submitted and approved, the chapter will receive 5 points. When 6 service events have been submitted and approved, the chapter will receive 5 points. Any late submissions, submissions with 0 listed as the number of collegiate members in attendance, and any submissions that do not qualify will not count towards the chapter’s required number of events. |
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| Why haven’t we received any points for our officer transition? |
| Points for officer transition reports are not awarded until an officer transition report has been submitted after each election for the year. If a chapter has 1 election a year, then it receives all 9 points once a complete transition report is submitted on time for that election. If a chapter has 2 elections a year, then it receives all 9 points once 2 complete transition reports are submitted on time for each election. |
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| Why was our officer transition not approved? |
| The officer transition form is probably not approved if it is not for your “regular” officer transition (those transitions for special elections). For officer transition reports are only approved if it is an officer transition for all officers (individual officer transitions do not need to be submitted). |
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| Why don’t I have points for Fraternity Conferences and Leadership Events? |
| Points for Fraternity Conferences and Leadership Events are entered by Central Office staff after the event takes place and attendance lists are verified. It sometimes takes up to two weeks after the event for these points to show up. If it is past 2 weeks after the event and your chapter still does not have points, contact cei@dspnet.org. |
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| Budget and Financial Statements- Can I edit an item I already submitted? |
| You cannot edit anything that has already been submitted. If you would like to make changes to something that has been submitted, you will need to contact cei@dspnet.org and we will need to delete all items that were submitted after where you would like to make the change. For example, if you would like to make a change to the balance sheet, we will need to delete the budgeted income statement and the balance sheet in order for you to make the change. |
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| Where do I find the Chapter Bylaws template and how do I submit them? |
| Each chapter is required to submit their bylaws to the Fraternity by November 15 every year. A template to aid the chapter in completing the bylaws is available on the national web site at: www.dspnet.org/dspmarket/forms/non_cei/chapterbylawsformat.doc. Once the bylaws are completed, the document needs to be sent to bylaws@dspnet.org |
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| Where do I find the Award and Recognition Guide? |
| The Award and Recognition Guide has applications for Honor Roll/Honorable Mention status, national awards for both collegiate and alumni chapters, Collegian of the Year, individual recognition, and many more. This guide can be found at: www.dspnet.org/dspmarket/pdf/manuals/Awards_rec.pdf |
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| Why wasn’t our strategic plan approved? |
| Most strategic plans are not approved because the “Professional Programming” section is incomplete. The chapter is specifically asked to “Enter at least 4 activities by tentative month and location. In the description field, list topic, speaker/business name and general description or purpose of the activity.” If you simple list “professional speaker” for any of the professional descriptions, the plan will not be approved. Unapproved strategic plans may be submitted for points as long as the original plan is submitted before the deadline. |
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| Are there partial points available for good but late submissions -- or other situations? |
| No. The simplified plan and use of computers generally eliminates the awarding of partial points. In other words, if something is submitted late, it will be accepted, but no points will be given. Since the system is “live” 24/7, no allowance for Sundays, holidays, mail issues, etc. are given. Plan ahead! However, in special or unique circumstances, you should contact the Central Office to discuss the situation. (“My computer died” is not a special circumstance!) |
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| What if my chapter doesn’t get 100 points? |
| Failing to achieve 100 points should cause the chapter to review and evaluate its practices. Better planning, focus, effort, etc. will be needed. National volunteers and staff will monitor point ratings and give increased attention to those chapters not meeting the 100 point goal. Chapters not reaching 100 in successive periods may be subject to formal assistance or discipline as per National Policy and Bylaws. |
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| Should we submit CEI information even if it is late? |
| Absolutely! The goal of the program is successful chapter operations (not just earning points) -- so late submissions are still valuable for chapter reference and success. |
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| Who is responsible for CEI submissions? |
| The VPCO has overall responsibility to ensure CEI submissions are made in a quality and timely fashion. Various other officers have responsibility to ensure certain areas of chapter operations are successfully completed. The VPCO should fully understand the CEI submission process and work with all officers to ensure reporting is done in a timely and accurate manner. Responsible/involved officers are listed with each section of CEI responsibility. |
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| Do we get points for contributing to the Leadership Foundation? |
| Yes! Leadership Foundation fundraisers are encouraged and recognized as community service activities. Additional recognition for Leadership Foundation contributions is available in the awards program. |
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| What is the “Document Well” and how do I use it? |
| The Document Well provides each chapter with a “well of information” at their fingertips. This password protected, on-line “storage area” will contain each chapter’s most recent bylaws, officer information, pledge programs, strategic plans, budget/finances and chapter annual census. Chapter members, advisors, district directors, regional vice presidents, staff, etc, will be able to access and review these documents for reference, and in planning for the future. Just click on “Document Well” on the CEI toolbar. (Note it will take a while for chapters to submit and “load” all of these documents.) |
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| Why do I sometimes have trouble submitting a report and get an error message? |
| Most often it is because you have not followed the correct date format. The format you must use is mm/dd/yyyy (or 02/09/2002, for example). |
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| Where do I find the Individual Disciplinary Policy? |
| The Individual Disciplinary Policy can be found at: www.dspnet.org/dspmarket/pdf/manuals/Discipline.pdf. |
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| If you have a question(s) that is not addressed here, or elsewhere in our site, just click on the CONTACT US link and email it to us. | |
