Handbook: Working with Your Registrar for Eligibility Lists

The list of eligible students should be secured by the chapter advisor after each curricular grading period. Be sure to contact your Registrar for their preferred timeline and data request method (via email, online form, formal meeting, etc). It may be possible for the Registrar to set up a program that you can run yourself.

Request an excel document of all eligible students: full name and email address. Add permanent address if planning to send a letter or postcard home. Alpha Lambda Delta is an interdisciplinary honor society, so be sure you are asking for all first-year students across all majors. Use this form if needed.

An overview of the ALD Bylaws related to membership eligibility:

• First-Year
  Only credit hours that count toward a bachelor’s degree can be used to determine Alpha Lambda Delta eligibility. Advanced placement and other credits earned prior to high school graduation are not counted in determining Alpha Lambda Delta eligibility.

• Full-time
  The student must be registered in a course of study leading to a bachelor’s degree for an amount of work equal to a full load as defined by the student’s institution.

• Achieved a minimum of 3.5 GPA
  The minimum academic average required for membership is a grade exactly half-way between grades A and B, or the equivalent thereof, and is not subject to reduction by an individual chapter. If you are obtaining the list after the first full year, the cumulative average of the total hours earned must be considered.

• Transfer Students
  Transfer students may be eligible for membership provided that they meet the requirements. A. Students must have transferred to a chapter institution at the first-year level (usually with no more than 30 academic credits). B. Students must have the required Alpha Lambda Delta grade point average on the courses taken during the first full curricular period at the institution to which they transfer.

Because each institution is different, exceptions may be made. Questions of interpretation or adjustments pertaining to eligibility should be referred to ALD Headquarters.

FERPA Issues

Sometimes questions related to FERPA come up. FERPA (otherwise known as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, or the Buckley Amendment) is a federal law that protects the privacy of personally identifiable information contained in a student's educational record. Registrars may tell you they are not allowed to release the information you are requesting because it is protected, but you can assure them of the following:

You are not asking for the actual student grade itself, or any other educational record. You are only asking for the students who achieved a 3.5 or higher GPA. 
The information requested (including email address) is considered Directory Information, and therefore is information that may be disclosed without prior consent.

Privacy Policy

There may be other privacy-related questions that arise. Please refer to ALD’s Privacy Policy. Highlights include:

• Alpha Lambda Delta will never share personal or identifying information about its members, officers, or prospective members with any third party.

• Alpha Lambda Delta will never send unsolicited e-mails to any individual.

Timing of Request

It is advisable to ask for the list as early as possible, soon after grades are reported on the official transcripts. For fall grades, this is typically the first week of January.