| | Pi Kappa Delta Orders and Degrees
Orders of Membership: Pi Kappa Delta members join orders and earn credit points towards the completion of degrees. Because Pi Kappa Delta is now the official alumni relations partner of the National Forensic League, any former NFL member is invited to join Pi Kappa Delta -- either as an active undergraduate member, an alumni member or as an affiliate. Here is how the PKD Constitution describes orders and degrees: Orders of Membership: 700 – There shall be six membership orders: active undergraduate, alumni, instruction, affiliate, attainment and honorary.
701 – The purpose of the membership orders is to recognize the qualifications and activities of members of the organization in the context of the mission to: practice and support forensics in all its forms and contexts; to nurtuer citizenship through community service and scholarship; and to promote the art of persuasion, beautiful and just.
702 – Qualification for membership in an order.
702.1 - Eligibility for Active Undergraduate membership shall be determined as follows. Membership will be open to individuals in good standing at their academic institution and who participate and show proficiency in competitive or non-competitive communication events or activities which support the aims of the organization.
702.11 – For membership in an undergraduate chapter, individual chapters may define the appropriate level of participation and grade-point average.
702.12 - Members of the Order of Active Undergraduate who join Pi Kappa Delta prior to their arrival on a college or university campus are automatically enrolled in the National General chapter.
702.13 – A member may transfer from the National General chapter to a chartered undergraduate chapter conditional upon acceptance by the Chapter. In the event that their request for membership is rejected by the Chapter, they shall remain members of the National General chapter, and shall retain all rights and privileges of membership.
702.2 – Eligibility for Order of Instruction membership shall be determined as follows: Membership will be open to faculty/staff members instructing Communication , coaching forensic activities at a recognized college or sponsoring and/or assisting with activities which support the aims of the organization carried out by undergraduate student members.
702.3 – Eligibility for Alumni membership shall be determined as follows: Membership shall be open to any previous Active Undergraduate member who has graduated from a college or university or left the college or university and is no longer an active participant in forensics-related activities.
702.4 – Eligibility for Affiliate membership shall be determined as follows: Membership shall be open to any person wishing to support or actively participate in the activities of the organization and who is not otherwise connected with an existing undergraduate or alumni chapter.
702.5 – Eligibility for Order of Attainment and Honorary memberships shall be determined as follows: Membership in the Order of Attainment shall be through nomination and selection by the process outlined in the organization’s by-laws. Honorary membership shall be through nomination by an undergraduate chapter in good standing and is limited to one Honorary membership per academic year.
703 - The membership application process is as follows:
703.1 - Each candidate for membership in an undergraduate chapter shall make application electronically, or in writing on the official form. The Undergraduate Chapter after a two-thirds affirmative vote of the members in good standing shall recommend the applicant for membership. The application shall then be forwarded to the National Secretary-Treasurer with a statement of its acceptance by the Undergraduate Chapter together with the initiation fee. The National Secretary-Treasurer shall issue the membership card. After completing the initiation ritual, the applicant shall be given the standing for which he or she is eligible as a regular member. A membership certificate will be issued upon request at cost.
703.2 – Each candidate for membership in the National General Chapter shall make application electronically, or in writing on the official form. Upon receipt of a complete application and initiation fee the application will be reviewed by the National Secretary-Treasurer or the Chair of the Charter and Standards Committee and with their consent be deemed approved. The National Secretary-Treasurer shall issue the membership card. The applicant will be given the standing for which he or she is eligible as a regular member. A membership certificate will be issued upon request at cost.
703.3 – Each candidate for membership as an Affiliate member shall make application electronically, or in writing on the official form. Upon receipt of a complete application and initiation fee the applicant will be deemed approved.
704 – Membership dues shall be set by the National Convention. There shall be no dues for Order of Attainment or Honorary memberships.
704.1 – Membership in the orders of active undergraduate, alumni, Attainment and Honorary membership shall be life-time memberships.
704.2 – Affiliate membership shall be for one-year and is renewable.
705 - All students and faculty/staff who transfer from recognized institutions may receive full credit for their previous forensic work toward eligibility for membership, or advancement in orders and degrees.
706 - Members of other forensic organizations may become members of Pi Kappa Delta and members of Pi Kappa Delta are free to join other forensic organizations. Degrees of Membership 800 – There shall be ten degrees of membership for persons in the categories of active undergraduate, alumni and instruction.
801 – The degrees of membership shall be determined using the accumulation of points set out in the by-laws of the honorary.
801.1 – The National Council shall periodically examine the point structure to facilitate fairness and to incorporate changes in forensics, service and scholarship practices. Any changes to the point system shall not apply to existing active undergraduate members until they have completed their undergraduate eligibility or changed their membership status. Any changes to the point system shall apply to alumni and instruction members beginning on August 1st following approval of those changes.
801.2 – The National Council shall be responsible for monitoring the points system and shall rule on any disputes arising from the assignment of points for all activities for which points may be accumulated.
802 - The degrees shall be as follows: proficiency, achievement, merit, excellence, distinction, honor, and key level accomplishment: bronze key, silver key, gold key, platinum key. | | | | | |
| | | Pi Kappa Delta Chapters | | | | Institutions join Pi Kappa Delta by forming chapters. As a result of the adoption of a new Constitution in 2011, this process has been vastly simplified and can usually be accomplished online. The Constitution explains chapters as follows:
300 – There shall be three types of chapters, the undergraduate chapter, the alumni chapter and the national general chapter whose nature and activities are set out in the following subsections.
301 – An undergraduate chapter shall be composed of five or more members meeting the qualifications specified in Article VII.
301.1 – The undergraduate chapter shall exist for three purposes: to support forensics in all its forms and contexts; to nurture citizenship through competition, service and scholarship, and to promote the art of persuasion, beautiful and just.
301.2 – The undergraduate chapter shall have full charge of all its activities within the limits of this constitution and the rules and regulations of the National Organization.
301.21 – The undergraduate chapter is not synonymous with an existing college or university forensics program. The undergraduate chapter shall establish and maintain a regular set of activities beyond participating in competitive forensics tournaments which may include but not be limited to civic events aimed at engaging great public understanding and appreciation for forensics such as public debates and speech events; and service activities aimed at the strengthening the forensics community, the college or university community, and the community at large.
301.3 – An undergraduate chapter may be established at any accredited college or university provided the chapter meets the conditions specified in Section 310.
301.31 - Only one Undergraduate Pi Kappa Delta Chapter shall be chartered and recognized on each eligible accredited college or university campus. Colleges or Universities with multiple campus locations may, however, petition the National Council for an official exception to this policy.
301.32 - In the event that an Undergraduate or Alumni Chapter is no longer in good standing, or is in inactive status, any group of five Pi Kappa Delta members in good standing may petition the National Council to have the respective Charter transferred to a new Chapter Sponsor. Upon such a transfer, the new Chapter Sponsor shall assume all rights and responsibilities associated with the Chapter.
301.4 – An Undergraduate Chapter is considered to be in good standing if it pays its annual dues and enrolls new members each year. If a Chapter does not meet these criteria for three consecutive years it will be listed as an inactive Chapter. Inactive Chapters may not participate in Pi Kappa Delta sponsored events. To regain good standing the Chapter must pay the current year’s dues, initiate new members, and pay a reactivation fee
301.5 - The membership of June 30th shall be considered as the membership for the current year. Each Chapter shall report on its membership, civic events and service activities as requested by the National Organization.
301.6 - Each Undergraduate Chapter shall elect a President at least once each year and may elect other officers as the Chapter desires, such as: Vice President, Secretary-Treasurer, Reporter or Corresponding Secretary or Historian.
301.7 - Each Undergraduate Chapter shall have a faculty/staff sponsor who shall be recognized as the sponsor by the college or university where the Undergraduate Chapter is chartered. Refusal to appoint a faculty/staff sponsor shall be grounds for possible action resulting in the Chapter being placed on inactive status.
301.8 - The President or faculty/staff sponsor of the Undergraduate Chapter shall be the responsible head of the undergraduate organization as far as its relation with the National Organization is concerned and he or she shall be responsible for the fulfillment of the requirements of the constitution and the regulations of the National Organization.
301.9 - Each Undergraduate Chapter shall provide itself with a constitution, shall meet regularly, shall initiate new members at least annually using the obligation and ceremony provided by the National Organization, shall report new members and changes in standing of members to the National Secretary-Treasurer and shall collect annually membership fees and other assessments of the National Organization promptly and forward them to the National Secretary-Treasurer. All treasurers who are sending money for fees or keys must designate the person or persons for whom the money is being sent.
301.10 – Each Undergraduate Chapter shall have one vote at the National Convention.
302 – An Alumni Chapter shall be composed of five or more members who have previously been undergraduate members of Pi Kappa Delta.
302.1 – The Alumni chapter shall exist for four purposes: to support forensics in all its forms and contexts; to nurture citizenship through competition, service and scholarship, to promote the art of persuasion, beautiful and just and to support the activities of the undergraduate chapter.
302.2 – The Alumni chapter shall have full charge of all its activities within the limits of this constitution and the rules and regulations of the National Organization.
302.3 - Each Alumni chapter shall provide itself with a constitution, shall meet at least once a year, shall report changes in membership to the National Secretary-Treasurer, and shall send an annual report to the National Secretary-Treasurer.
302.4 - An Alumni chapter shall not be required to have a faculty sponsor.
302.5 - Alumni chapters shall be exempt from fines, fees, and assessments of Province and National Organizations, except for the original charter fees. However, an Alumni chapter shall be empowered to levy a membership fee on itself. Nothing in this paragraph shall preclude voluntary financial support of the organization.
302.6 - An Alumni chapter shall have one vote at Province and National Conventions, if a member in good standing is present.
303 – The National General chapter shall be composed of members who have met the qualifications and joined the organization and who are not associated with an existing Undergraduate chapter.
303.1 – The National General chapter shall exist for three purposes: to practice and support forensics in all its forms and contexts; to nurture citizenship through competition, service and scholarship, and to promote the art of persuasion, beautiful and just.
303.2 – The National General chapter shall have voting privileges at National Conventions. The National General chapter shall have one vote for every twenty-five members in good standing, if a member in good standing is present.
303.21 – Members of the National General chapter attending the national convention shall meet prior to the first business meeting and select their voting representative(s) by a majority vote of those members present.
303.3 – Members of the National General chapter shall be exempt from fines, fees and assessments of Province and the National Organization, except for the original membership fee. Nothing in this paragraph shall preclude voluntary financial support of the organization.
310 – Charter and Standards Process
310.1 – Requirements for Receiving a Charter
310.11 – Undergraduate chapters may be established at colleges or universities with existing membership in other forensics organizations provided such establishment is in concordance with the applicant’s college or university rules.
310.12 – Alumni chapters may be established outside of a recognized and accredited college or university.
310.13 – Charters will only be granted to institutions meeting the standards of Section 201 on access and non-discrimination.
310.2 – Undergraduate and Alumni chapters must be chartered using the process specified in this section.
310.21 – The application for a charter must be made in writing on the official form. The application shall include the names of all qualified student members and the name of the chapter sponsor and the sponsor’s official college or university title.
310.22 – The National Council shall be responsible for approving charter applications in a timely manner and the presumption shall be that a charter shall be approved provided the applicant meets the requirements set out elsewhere in this section unless there is good and sufficient reason not to do so.
310.23 – Upon approval of the charter application, the applicant shall remit the charter fee; current chapter dues; and membership fees for new members when those persons join.
310.24 – Upon approval of the charter, the National Council shall assign the chapter to a province. Any chapter may petition the National Council for transfer to another Province, but no such transfer shall be without approval of the Governors of both Provinces affected.
310.3 – Conditions for revocation of charter. The Charter and Standards committee may recommend to the National Convention that a charter be revoked under such circumstances when a chapter engages in such activities violating the provisions of this constitution. When the National Convention is not in session the National Council will consider the revocation recommendation and may revoke the chapter with a two-thirds affirmative vote of the National Council members.
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