Section 1. Eligibility for Membership. To be eligible for consideration for admission applicants must have completed 60 semester hours (90 quarter hours): have a minimum cumulative GPA of at least 3.0 for all courses taken; be in the upper 35% of their class; have a GPA for all communication studies courses' taken of as least 3.25; completed the equivalent of 12 semester (18 quarter hours) in communication studies; and currently be enrolled as a full-time student in good standing, as determined by the institution's policies. In addition, students should display commitment to the field of speech communication. In addition, all persons considered for membership shall exhibit high standards of personal and professional character and shall support the purposes of the honor society.
Section 2. Election to Membership. A method of election to membership shall be devised by each chapter, but must include (a) strict adherence to Eligibility for Membership (Article V, Section 1), and (b) a process of election which engenders joint responsibility of both faculty and students.
Section 3. No rushing and/or social pressure shall be used to ensure acceptance of invitation to membership or for initiation into membership.
Section 4. Each chapter shall collect and transmit to the Speech Communication Association an initiation fee for each member eligible for membership in the local chapter and a list of new members by December 1 and/or April 1 of each year. Dues must be paid before membership certificates will be processed.
Section 5. Each chapter shall transmit to the Speech Communication Association a fee for each member who was previously initiated and paid an initiation fee and is still an active member of the chapter by December 1 of each year along with a list of the names of those members. Fees for yearly member dues will be established in accordance with the Speech Communication Association Constitution and Bylaws. Before proposing a change in fees, a proposal will be submitted to the Lambda Pi Eta Student Advisory Board and the Faculty Advisory Committee for review and action.
Section 6. Graduate Students. Graduate students may continue as members of Lambda Pi Eta if they were previously inducted by a chapter as an undergraduate, or they may be inducted as new members if they would have met the membership qualifications as an undergraduate at an institution which did not have an active chapter of Lambda Pi Eta.
Section 7. Privileges of Membership. A member shall be eligible to vote at all chapter meetings of the Society, be eligible for election to chapter offices, be eligible to attend scholarly presentations and colloquia of the sponsoring academic department, and be eligible to represent the local chapter at state, regional, and national conventions. Individuals shall not be considered members of the Speech Communication Association by virtue of their membership in Lambda Pi Eta.
Section 8. Honorary Members. The delegates to the annual membership meeting or the members of any chapter may, by majority vote, confer Honorary Member status upon communication faculty members or individuals who demonstrate exceptional commitment to the goals of the Society or make outstanding contributions to the academic goals of the chapter. Honorary Members may not vote or hold office in the Society or the chapter or represent the chapter at the national meeting.
Section 9. Non-Discrimination. Selection for membership shall be made without regard to race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, physical disabilities, physical qualities, or age.