2026-2027 Program for Chapter Activities - Emerging Scholars

EMERGING SCHOLARS CHAPTER REQUIREMENTS

Chapters must meet baseline requirements, which is recognized as Bronze level. The requirements include submission of the following:

• Reports
• Induction
• Professional Activities 
• Reaching Out Activities 
• Service Activities 

Chapters not meeting Bronze level requirements (see below) are placed on continuing review status for the subsequent year. A chapter may not remain in continuing review status for more than one year.

MINIMUM ACTIVITIES REQUIRED BASED ON CHAPTER ACHIEVEMENT LEVEL

*Emerging Scholars chapters are encouraged to conduct an "Essential Skills* session (Refer to Essential Skills topics under Professional Activities). 

EMERGING SCHOLAR CHAPTER ACHIEVEMENT LEVEL

All Emerging Scholar chapters are required to meet Bronze level status.

ACTIVITY TIME & ATTENDANCE

For the purpose of measurement of an activity’s time, an hour consists of a 50-minute session. Thus, an activity lasting 50 minutes will be awarded one service or professional activity point. All activities need to be reported in the Reporting Intranet. 

CHAPTER REPORTING

REVIEW THE REPORTING INTRANET RESOURCES GUIDE

Prior to reporting, please review the Reporting Intranet Resources Guide to become familiar with the reporting process. A reporting guide and webinar recording are available on the BAP.org site under "Resources".

BEGINNING-OF-YEAR REPORT

All U.S. chapters must submit a Beginning of Year Report by October 15.

To complete this report, go to the “Enter Beginning of Year Report” tab in the Reporting Intranet and:

1. Update the Chapter Profile. This section lists current officers, Faculty Advisor, and other information.
2. Enter the Plan of Activities, including dates and programs (either planned or anticipated) detailing the chapter's plan for fulfilling the mission-based activities.
3. If the chapter bylaws have changed from the previous year, attach a copy of the revised bylaws. If the bylaws have not changed, click on “No Changes Needed.”
4. Pay annual chapter maintenance fee online by credit card or by check payable to Beta Alpha Psi. Once the payment has been confirmed, the Executive Office will check off this box as “received.” An invoice may be printed from the Reporting Intranet. The chapter maintenance fee is due on October 15th. 

END-OF-YEAR REPORT

All US chapters must prepare and submit an End-of-Year Report by June 1.

NOTE: Failure to file the End-of-Year Report by the deadline will result in a $100 late filing penalty.

A reporting guide and webinar recording are available under Reporting Intranet Resources.

Submitting End of Year Report: Go to the “Enter End of Year Report” tab in the Reporting Intranet and:

1. Update the ES Chapter Profile page.
2. Attach the chapter’s Statement of Financial Position and Statement of Activities. See the Financial Reporting Guide for more information. These statements may be attached in Word, Excel or PDF format.
3. Complete the chapter reporting including updating all professional and service activities.
4. Complete the Faculty Advisor Sign-Off (must be completed by the Faculty Advisor, logged in under his/her password).

This sign-off requires the Faculty Advisor to:

1. Verify both the Beta Alpha Psi and Non-Beta Alpha Psi activities reported by the ES Chapter
2. Complete the tax information:
   • Chapter IRS Tax Filing Instructions
     1.    Chapters with revenue less than $50,000 are required to submit the online 990n e-Postcard filing and include the submission ID from the Acceptance screen. Please also forward a screenshot of the Acceptance screen to bap@bapeo.org. Please be aware you will not receive an email confirmation of filing from the IRS. You must login to the IRS Select Check site after you have filed to check the status.
     2.    Chapters with average gross receipts for the past three years exceeding $50,000 must also download the Over $50K spreadsheet from the End of Year Reporting screen. Chapters with revenue over $50K will be included on the BAP National Council Group Return only if they file the Over $50K spreadsheet. A chapter with revenues over $50K has the option to file Form 990EZ. Please send proof of filing to bap@bapeo.org. Chapters who file Form 990EZ will not be included in the group return.
     3.    All chapters are responsible for electronically filing their chapter’s 990n or Form 990EZ. 
     4.    Complete the financial statement sign-off. If you indicate your chapter had gross receipts over $100,000 for the past year, you are required to include an auditor’s report (if your state requires one).  See the Reporting Intranet Resources for more information.
     5.    Failure to complete the tax filing will result in an incomplete End of Year report.
   • 6.    Submit the entire sign-off by June 1st. All required chapter reporting must be completed by June 1.
3. Only under extreme circumstances will exceptions be considered by the Board.

IMPACT ACTIVITY POINTS

An Impact Activity is a Professional or Service Activity that creates a meaningful and measurable positive impact on the school or community. Impact activities may include but are not limited to the following elements:

• Tutoring
• Mentoring
• Media Promotion (TV or Print)
• High School Outreach
• Two-Year School Transfer Event
• VITA 

IMPACT EXAMPLES

Chapters are encouraged to generate impact points in ways that are best suited for them but are welcome to use the below suggestions to earn impact points.

Media Promotion or Tutoring Impact Point

Your chapter conducts a school supplies drive for a local elementary school (20% attendance = 1 Service point). Add media promotion or a tutoring session to that activity for young children in reading or math and earn an Impact point. The addition of media promotion or tutoring provides 2 points for one Service Activity. 

Your chapter volunteers to provide a presentation to undeclared students at your school or high school seniors who are not familiar with the benefits that business careers offer. (20% attendance = 1 Service point). Invite a local business professional and/or business school administrator or faculty member and feature the event in a local paper or local TV station. Earn 2 points for one Professional Activity. 

Your ES chapter offers to conduct tutoring sessions with your fellow two-year school students or local high school students. The tutoring sessions should be reported as one activity for fall and one activity for spring semester.

Earn 2 points for each session for more than 5 students tutored. Students can include enrolled two-year students and high school students.

Mentorship Impact Point

Conduct a case study or financial literacy activity with a group of high school or two-year students (20% attendance = 1 Professional point). Add a “Pay it Forward” component where the engaged students conduct the same activity with other students. The addition of the Pay it Forward component provides 2 points for one Professional Activity. 

High School Outreach Impact Point

Your chapter conducts a professional activity with a local high school (20% attendance = 1 Professional Activity point). Include local high school students to attend your Emerging Scholar meetings and earn 2 points for one Professional Activity.

Transfer Event

Chapter invites professionals to speak about the benefits of a career in accounting/finance/business technology/data analytics. Transfer counselor review the process for two-year students to apply to a four-year school followed by a question and answer session.

VITA Impact Point

We encourage all chapters to participate in VITA. To earn the VITA impact point, chapters must meet the following requirements:

• • The VITA event must be BAP/University sponsored
  • The ES chapter must meet the 20% participation rule
  • Chapters must complete the VITA report form found here and submit by the designated deadline. If the report is not submitted by the deadline, the chapter will not earn the VITA impact point.

REPORTING IMPACT POINTS

Utilize the dropdown function in the Reporting Intranet to report Impact Points and complete the Wufoo form with evidence of impact (e.g., descriptive paragraph, attestation, photos or videos) demonstrating how your activity meets the impact points guidelines above. 

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES 

All chapters must report at least six professional activities per year meeting the following requirements:

• Participation by at least 20% of the active members/candidates for the semester, and
• the activity must be at least 1 hour (50 minutes) in duration
• These activities must be reported on the online Report Activity screen in the Reporting Intranet. See Reporting Intranet Resources for help with reporting.

We encourage Emerging Scholars chapters to conduct one mandatory professional session devoted to "Essential Skills". Professional activities may be conducted on campus, virtually, as a chapter, or individually. Attendance from each member/candidate professional session (on-campus or online) should be reported as:

• ES Chapter Professional Development Meetings (identify if Essential Skill)
• Individual Professional Development (identify if Essential Skill). Examples include:
  • Independent certificate course
  • Independent webinars that are at least 50-minutes
  • Recorded professional development sessions via the Alumni and Member Network
• Virtual Professional Meeting (reported the same as any on-campus professional activity). Chapters can pick and choose professional topics from the list below.

Chapter professional development meetings:

• Activity or meeting with a professional organization
• Webcast and Webinar Resources from our Professional Partners (available on our website)
• Joint meetings with professional organizations
• Joint meetings with on-campus organizations
• Local seminars/workshops (not those involving “paid” tuition)
• Field trips and office visits 
• Meet-the-Firms Night or Activity (must be a single event where multiple firms are represented and the purpose is to provide a significant number of students with information about various firms and industries. This should not be strictly a recruiting event)
• Mock interview activity (must be an event where multiple firms are represented and all member/candidates are eligible to participate, not a recruiting event)
• Social activities with professionals – up to two activities per year with a maximum time of 1 hour (50 minutes) per activity
• Student Driven Professional Sessions – Chapters can invite professionals to attend a BAP meeting (in-person or virtually) where the students present various technical topics.

Credit is not given for prospective Emerging Scholars meetings, chapter orientation meetings, chapter organizational meetings, chapter business/planning meetings, firm information sessions, inductions and other similar activities that provide no professional component.

ESSENTIAL SKILLS

Many students seek to obtain internships and full-time job opportunities; however, once they have the job, they must develop their “essential skills” in order to succeed professionally. We encourage ES chapters to conduct one  professional session devoted to “Essential Skills.”

Essential Skills activities must be entered into the Reporting Intranet as: ES-Topic Title

A list of Essential Skills topics is provided:

• Business Writing Skills – Business writing skills are different from academic writing. This session conveys the basics of business writing skills that include standardizing, streaming, and reinforcing a company’s corporate culture by communicating in a professional manner.
• Facilitation Skills – This session helps students learn what to expect in a professional situation involving a group discussion format. Learn how to create an inclusive environment to achieve group goals.
• Managing Distractions – Emails, phone calls and co-workers stopping by your desk to talk creates distractions. This session covers how to handle inevitable disruptions and remain focused and productive.
• Ethical Decision-Making Skills – Accountancy is based on trust. This session distinguishes one’s core values and ethical decision-making.
• Negotiation Skills – Negotiation skills are extremely important in maintaining focus in one’s career. This session covers the basics of negotiations, information gathering, learning to listen, leveraging the situation, goals of the negotiation, costs of the negotiation, the bargaining phase and closing the negotiation process.
• Conflict Management – Conflict in the workplace is a reality professionals encounter at some point in their careers. This session includes tips on how to quickly identify conflict, assess the issue, managing oneself and the parties involved and professionally resolving the issue.
• Change Management – This session assists students in understanding what to expect and how to deal with change in the work environment whether it will be a departmental change or organizational change.
• Emotional Intelligence – Studies have shown people with high emotional intelligence have greater mental health, exemplary job performance, and more potent leadership skills. This session includes identifying a person’s EQ and how to improve EQ.
• Interpersonal Skills at the Workplace – Working with others is essential to networking and engaging with coworkers and clients. This session focuses on developing these skills and applying them to the workplace.
• Team Collaboration & Workplace Engagement – Professional environments bring together varied work styles, experiences, and perspectives. This session explores how to foster respect, effective communication, and collaboration to enhance teamwork in the workplace. 
• Accepting Feedback – The ability to accept feedback and learn from it is essential to individual development and growth. This session includes tips and strategies for accepting and delivering healthy feedback.

SERVICE ACTIVITIES 

All chapters, regardless of achievement level, must report two service activities during the year meeting the following requirements:

• Participation by at least 20% of the active members/candidates for the semester, and
• the activity must be at least 1 hour (50 minutes) in duration.
• These activities must be reported on the online Report Activity screen in the Reporting Intranet. See Reporting Intranet Resources for help with reporting.

Definition of Service Activities

The service category is intended to be flexible and adaptable to the needs and desires of individual chapters. Service is the giving of one’s time, energy and talents to benefit either the campus or local community. Community service involves making a difference to these entities through the actions of caring for others by the chapter and/or its members and includes direct service or indirect service. Direct service actively involves the chapter with a community group or organization (either on or off campus). Indirect service provides help or resources through a “round-about” approach and includes preparation time for charitable events and raising funds for charity. In evaluating community service, we suggest that the chapter consider the following questions.

• How does this activity benefit the organization/individual(s) being assisted?
• Why are we (am I) doing this?

To be reported as a service activity sponsored by Beta Alpha Psi, the event either:

• must be organized and carried out by the Beta Alpha Psi chapter or
• must involve participation by the members of the Beta Alpha Psi chapter as a group (in which case the chapter agrees to participate as a chapter and has promoted participation in the event).

Any money received from a service activity must be donated to a charitable organization or used for a charitable cause.

Examples of Service Activities

• Volunteer Income Tax Assistance - VITA training time may be counted as a Professional Activity and VITA tax preparation volunteer time may be reported as a Service Activity. Each chapter reporting VITA as a service activity will be required to submit the VITA Summary Report. You can find the report here.
• Tutoring business school students and/or community college or high school students
• Volunteering for non-profits such as: Habitat for Humanity, Big Brothers/big Sisters, Junior Achievement.
• Organizing and/or participating in a charitable event such as: fundraising projects for charity, food drives (note: must organize, not just donate), blood drive or walk or bowl-a-thons. 
• Volunteering to assist with community college or two-year school events such as career fairs, etc.
• Hosting a financial literacy event 
• Mentoring business school students and/or high school students

Activities not constituting community service include:

• assisting friends or family
• volunteering to participate in events where the underlying purpose is recruitment.
• activities for which members receive course credit (with the exception of VITA) are not considered service activities.
• donating non-perishable food items to a non-profit organization cannot serve as a substitute for a service activity. We suggest chapter events that include organizing and working at a food drive event. Creating pantry packs and providing words of encouragement with the pantry packs is encouraged.

REACHING OUT ACTIVITIES (ROAs)

All chapters must participate in Reaching Out activities during the year. The following number of activities are required for each achievement level:

• Bronze - 2 activities

Reporting Reaching Out activities: Chapters should update the “Report Activity > Reaching Out Activities” tab on the Reporting Intranet by December 15 and June 1. Even though more than one chapter member may attend an event, such as a Mid-Year Meeting, only one credit is received for the Reaching Out activity. Most activities also result in participation (professional or service) for the individual(s) attending the event.

These activities should be recorded on the online activity reporting screens in the Reporting Intranet.

The following list includes items qualifying as a Reaching Out Activity (ROA):

Executive Office Sponsored ROAs

• Live Virtual Chapter Reporting 101 attendance - fall or spring
• Virtual Culture & Community event attendance (one ROA per academic year)
• Live Virtual Induction (Fall or Spring - one ROA per academic year)
• 2027 Mid-Year Meeting Attendance
• 2027 Mid-Year Meeting Presentation (Chapter Operations)
• Transfer event - Steps on transferring to four year colleges
• Donation of 100 books to support literacy. A description of the event is required.
• Complete the 2027 Emerging Scholars PCA Quiz with a passing grade of 80%

In addition to the items listed above, Emerging Scholars chapters may sponsor Reaching Out Activities.

For each Reaching Out Activity sponsored by the chapter, upload a brief paragraph describing the activity on the Reporting Internet.

Chapter Sponsored ROAs

• Wellness Session for Emerging Scholars students
  • This event emphasizes living well at home and may include virtual fitness classes, mindfulness sessions, weight management and nutrition sessions, importance of sleep and exercise sessions, health and wellness webinars.
• Culture and Community awareness event (may include professional speaker or panel) – requires uploaded description of event (one ROA per academic year)
• Career Event Live or Virtual - requires uploaded description of event 
  • Presenting career information to a broad range of students or engaging in activities oriented toward the retention of undeclared students, interested in business focused fields.
  • The career orientation program(s) or activities should be directed toward community college or students at the high school level.
  • Career materials are available from a variety of professional organizations. These presentations are intended to be group sessions. 
  • Other possible projects include special tutoring sessions solely for undeclared students, counseling sessions, mentoring programs exclusively for undeclared students, transition year counseling, and other types of activities oriented toward retention. 
• Multi-ES Chapter Event
  • A professional or service activity co-sponsored with another Emerging Scholar chapter. In order to promote interaction between chapters, this co-sponsored event should involve at least 20% of each chapter’s current ES membership. Virtual multi-chapter events are welcome. We will allow one “multi-chapter webcast” meeting per year. ES Chapters who conduct a webcast meeting will have to provide documentation demonstrating it incorporated controls to ensure members who logged in participated and were engaged in the webcast.

• Promoting Careers in Accounting/Finance/Business Technology and Analytics Live or Virtual.
  • ES Chapters may report 2 events per year
  • This includes career orientations related to accounting, finance, business technology and analytics presented to pre-decision college students, college students from other majors, or junior high and high school students. 
• Present at a Beta Alpha Psi chapter
• Optional Second Emerging Scholars Induction
• Community College Accounting Club Mentorship Program

• High School Outreach 
  • Schedule a presentation at a local high school to introduce students to careers in business, accounting, finance, business technology or analytics
  • May help mentor high school students with college applications.
• Natural Disaster Relief. Please upload a description of the event that includes the receiving organization.

INDUCTION

For 2026-2027, Emerging chapters may elect to hold an in-person induction or participate in the Executive Office's sponsored Virtual induction. All chapters must conduct at least one formal initiation/installation or virtual initiation event each year.

Emerging Scholars Chapters may choose to have a second induction event during the academic year. This event qualifies as a Reaching Out Activity (ROA).  All installations and initiations are to be reported to the Executive Office.

DIGITAL BADGE PROCESS

Verify that the ES candidate meets the eligibility requirements prior to the initiation. When a candidate is inducted as an Emerging Scholar, the student record needs to be moved from Active Candidate folder to the Submit for Initiation folder in the Reporting Intranet. This serves as a notification to Executive Office.  The ES chapter will notify the Executive Office to issue digital badges to the Emerging Scholars. 

Candidate Payment Process

• Emerging Scholars Candidates should be entered into the Reporting Intranet on a monthly basis. Do not enter the candidates into the system until the $20 fee has been collected. 
• Candidate dues must be paid within 60-days from the time the candidate record has been entered and saved to the Reporting Intranet. Once a record has been saved to the Reporting Intranet, the one-time $20 fee becomes a receivable to Beta Alpha Psi.
  • Chapters can either pay online via credit card or by check. Checks must be made payable to Beta Alpha Psi and mailed to the Executive Office -11161 E State Rd 70, Suite 110-608, Lakewood Ranch, FL 34202
  • A list of candidates for whom the check relates should accompany the check. Invoice with the list of candidates may be printed from the Reporting Intranet.
  • For payments made after 60-days, a late fee of $20 per candidate will be charged to the chapter.

The Online Student

The online student can meet service requirements via the same model as students on campus, only their hours would be recorded as “BAP-Service Activity for Online Students.” Examples of service hours they could report include:

• Tutoring other online students in business courses
• Tutoring high school students in math
• Tutoring other Community College students in business courses
• Working with a local Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program

Pass this quiz and earn a Reaching Out Activity (ROA) Point

You must complete with an 80% pass rate to earn the ROA - Take Quiz Now