Reports
Here are all the forms your chapter will need throughout the year organized by due date. Reports help your measure your chapter's progress and ensure that your transition to the next class is successful while showcasing everything you've accomplished!
Required reports
Chapter Action Plan (CAP): SEPTEMBER 30
Each year, chapters complete a Chapter Action Plan. This document is a planning document for the year ahead. Please do your best to complete the document; it is not set in stone; it is just a start to guide your year. Chapter Action Plans are due September 30 for semester schools (October 15 for quarter schools).
For the past few years, the Chapter Action Plan has been an online form, but we’ve moved to Google Docs to allow for better chapter collaboration and Region Coordinator dialogue. Your Region Coordinators will offer feedback on your plan and are here for consultation if needed.
A unique Google Doc has been created for your chapter – please use this link and do not recreate and/or save the report in a different format. Links have been emailed to the chapter; if you need your chapter’s link, email chapters@mortarboard.org.
Candidate Request (CR)/Official Membership Report (OMR): BETWEEN SELECTION AND TAPPING
You must provide the National Office with a complete list of the candidates your chapter has selected at least two weeks before candidates are tapped. Once these candidates are approved, they may be tapped by your chapter.
The link below will take you to the CR in Microsoft Excel and includes instructions for its completion. Please see the instructions tab of the workbook for more information on payment of fees. Within one week after initiation, your OMR must be completed with detailed information about the candidates you selected, including whether they accepted or refused membership. The OMR automatically calculates the amount of fees your chapter must submit. Note, you must complete the OMR in your previously approved CR workbook, not a new one.
Responsible officers: membership chair, vice president or president and treasurer
OMR and Fees: WITHIN 21 DAYS AFTER INITIATION
See details above for completion of the OMR. Ensure that the conference fee and all new members and continuing senior fees (including those paid online) have been received by the National Office. This is required for Gold Torch Award consideration.
Responsible officers: membership chair, vice president or president and treasurer
Chapter Annual Report [CAR]: MAY 15
This report combines the new officer information, finance report, chapter report, and historian reports. It also includes the award applications for Gold Torch, Project Excellence, DEI&B, and Outstanding Achievement, so each chapter only has to complete this one report to meet National Requirements and apply for most awards! This report will serve as a great transitioning document to show what you have done and leave a good record for the next chapter leaders, so please take your time and be as detailed as possible.
The Chapter Annual Report is due on or before May 15 for all semester schools and quarter schools applying for awards. Quarter schools not applying for awards may submit their reports by June 1.
Advisor Report: JUNE 1
The Advisor Report is due on or before June 1. Advisor Reports are not required, but strongly encouraged. They not only provide unique insight into our chapters, but they help us better understand the advisor experience and how we can best support you. We also offer a letter of thanks and support for your role as advisor, to be sent to up to three campus professionals of your choosing.
National Conference registration: JUNE 15
Each chapter is required to send one delegate to the annual national conference to remain in good standing. The delegate is typically the chapter president or another officer if they are unable to attend. Registration costs and accommodations are provided free of charge for this delegate. The cost is covered by the annual chapter fee / conference fee that the chapter submits annually with the OMR, along with grants and funding provided by Mortar Board, Inc. and the Mortar Board National Foundation.
- For virtual conferences (odd years), up to 5 additional chapter members and advisors are invited to attend the conference at no additional registration fee for virtual conferences.
- For in-person conferences, additional collegiate members and advisors are invited – and encouraged – to attend but will be required to pay a registration fee.
The deadline for official delegates to register is June 15.
Responsible officer: new chapter president for the upcoming academic year
National Conference registration form – coming soon
General Reports
Mortar Board Forum Winter/Spring issue submission: APRIL 1
A picture is worth a thousand words. Write a little and send a great photo! Photos should be in JPEG, TIFF or GIF formats – NOT embedded in the document – and must be print-quality photo resolution (at least 300 dpi).
Responsible officers: director of communications, historian or president
Mortar Board Forum Summer issue submission: AUGUST 1
A picture is worth a thousand words. Write a little and send a great photo! Photos should be in JPEG, TIFF or GIF formats – NOT embedded in the document – and must be print-quality photo resolution (at least 300 dpi).
Responsible officer: director of communications, historian or president
Mortar Board Forum Autumn issue submission: OCTOBER 15
A picture is worth a thousand words. Write a little and send a great photo! Photos should be in JPEG, TIFF or GIF formats – NOT embedded in the document – and must be print-quality photo resolution (at least 300 dpi).
Responsible officers: director of communications, historian or president
Due on or before November 10
Chapter Petitions
DUE WITH CR: Petition for honorary membership
Each year, your chapter is encouraged to select up to three honorary members who exemplify the purpose of Mortar Board and have at least a baccalaureate degree and national or regional reputation in their field. A candidate for honorary membership may not already be a Mortar Board member. Note: Mortar Board also has a Chapter Citation to honor people on your campus who have been helpful to your chapter but who do not qualify for honorary membership.
DUE WITH CR: Petition for maximum chapter size exception
Chapters must select a minimum of 15 candidates, or 10 percent of the student body with junior standing, whichever is less. The maximum number of members is 50, or 1.5 percent of the student body with junior standing, whichever is greater. If your chapter has a compelling reason for selecting more than the maximum number of candidates, submit this report for approval from the National Office. (If your chapter fails to consider the minimum number of candidates, a Chapter Recovery Initiative (CRI) report is required.)
DUE WITH CR: Petition for scholarship exception
The scholarship requirement for collegiate membership is the minimum grade point average representing the upper 35 percent of the student body with junior standing, or a minimum of a straight B average (3.0), whichever is higher on your campus. If your chapter wants to select a candidate whose GPA is lower than 3.0, you must submit a petition for a scholarship exception before the candidate may be tapped. Submit the petition along with the CR, and the National Office will let you know if you may tap the candidate.
AS REQUESTED: Chapter Recovery Initiative (CRI)
Use this report to develop an action plan to overcome issues that threaten your chapter. Chapters struggling to obtain an appropriate number of candidates are urged to fill out the form as early as possible before selection to take proactive steps to overcome this obstacle and complete a successful selection.
Responsible officer: any Mortar Board member or officer
Collegiate Awards
Mortar Board is proud to honor chapters for the excellence they exhibit throughout the year. All chapters are encouraged to nominate themselves for higher honors such as the Project Excellence Awards, the Gold Torch Awards, Freeman and Fox Most Improved Chapter Award, DEI&B Award, our highest honor – the Ruth Weimer Mount Chapter Excellence Award, and the Outstanding Achievement Awards. Nominations for all awards are due on or before May 15.
Chapter Action Plan FAQ
Why the CAP?
The Chapter Action Plan, or CAP, documents your chapter’s plan for recruitment and selection of new members, as well as your chapter’s events and activities for the year. Complete this form with estimated dates, hours spent and details for your chapter’s events.
Why should our chapter complete the CAP?
Every chapter that completes the CAP earnestly and thoroughly and then follows the plan is assured of success. If you submit your CAP on or before the deadline, your chapter will take its first step toward award recognition at year’s end. The chapter president must collaborate with other officers and advisors to complete this report. It’s best if the entire chapter is involved. In addition to being a great chapter planning tool, the CAP is part of Mortar Board’s Chapter Minimum Standards.
What happens once our chapter completes the CAP?
When you have your first draft of the CAP ready, please send it to your region coordinator for initial review. Your region coordinator is the primary reviewer of your CAP and will praise great ideas and suggest modifications that might be necessary. You can have a dialogue about where you’re excelling, as well as how you might improve your CAP. Then, once you have the CAP in top condition, send it on or before September 15 to the National Office at chapters@mortarboard.org. The staff in the National Office will review your CAP one last time with special attention to membership selection.
What if I make changes to our CAP?
If your chapter adjusts the CAP after September 15, please let your region coordinator and the National Office know unless it is an insubstantial modification. The CAP is a planning tool meant to help your chapter envision its year and make plans for key events. We understand that sometimes event dates need to be changed and members’ schedules fluctuate. But, if your membership selection deadlines shift and you are no longer able to meet the national guidelines set out in the Membership Selection Handbook, you must notify the National Office and your SC immediately. This especially includes the rules governing initiation (found in Bylaws of Mortar Board, Inc. Article VI, Section 1.16).
How can our chapter use the CAP throughout the year?
There’s an old saying, “Plan your work and work your plan.” The CAP is a plan. Work it! Bring the CAP to every Executive Committee meeting and evaluate your progress, making minor adjustments or lighting fires to get things done. Make sure your advisory team is sensitive to the CAP, too, so they can help you meet your goals as laid out in the CAP.