Statement to the Higher Education Community (Download Copy Here)
The Association of College Honor Societies (ACHS) serves as the only certifying agency for college and university honor societies. The ACHS board of directors would like to assure you that we are committed to the Diversity, Equity, Inclusivity, and Accessibility of our certified academic honor societies by promoting such policies, programs, and initiatives for both the national association and its member societies. We also hereby confirm that:
- ACHS was founded in 1925 as a coordinating agency for certified academic honor societies in chartering chapters in accredited colleges and universities and currently certifies 67 honor societies linked and searchable here.
- Our members are academic honor societies that serve multiple academic disciplines and specific academic majors as opposed to professional and social organizations.
- Our members seek to recognize, encourage, and honor students who have achieved a high level of academic competence and to promote excellence in the academic community.
- ACHS acknowledges that due to the origins and nature of the establishment of institutions of higher education, historical contexts, and the earlier admittance practices of some colleges and universities, discrimination of certain groups of students undoubtedly occurred in some collegiate organizations of those times.
- ACHS honors and recognizes the resiliency of minority populations who have fought for access to academic pursuits and admittance to colleges and universities and thus academic honor societies.
- Our members undergo a regular compliance and certification process that is outlined on our website.
- ACHS sets a high priority on maintaining high standards, on defining the honor society movement, and on developing criteria for judging the credibility and legitimacy of honor societies.
- ACHS operates in compliance with the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS) standard for “College Honor Society Programs.”
- For the students who have been invited or who in the future will be invited to join our member honor societies, it represents a notable achievement in their academic lives and places them in a community of similarly high-achieving scholars.
ACHS is proud of our member societies, which encourage and recognize the scholarship and service achievements of the students and alumni who comprise their membership. If you have questions about ACHS, please contact us at [email protected]. More information about ACHS and its member societies is available on our website at www.achshonor.org.
Sincerely,
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