Top Ten Tips to Kickstart Your Student Chapter

Getting started

1. Growing your student chapter is easier than ever at: ascemembershipkit.org. You’ll find posters, brochures, promotional videos, customizable templates, giveaway goodies and everything else you need to up your recruitment game at our one stop online shop.
2. Schedule your classroom presentations. Download our short presentation template and customize it as needed. We’ve embedded a new student membership video in the presentation.
3. Show your Civil Engineering spirit! Display the new ASCE poster in a prominent location. Order more for maximum impact. Not allowed to hang posters? Download the poster projection file to project the image on the wall.
4. Up your Club Fair game. Show the new membership video on a tablet, hand out some great giveaways, display your Concrete Canoe or all the above! Need more? Order more at ascemembershipkit.org.
5. Promotion, Promotion, Promotion. Whether it’s your welcome barbeque, a site tour, or your regular meeting, use the downloadable flier template to promote all your events with a consistent and recognizable brand. When appropriate, be sure that all students know they are welcome to attend.
6. Add some professional polish to your meetings. Set the tone for chapter meetings by using the downloadable PowerPoint template for your presentations, show a video from the video page to highlight a key professional issue, or invite ASCE professional members to present on their work and share information about their area of practice.

Now that your chapter is growing, what’s next?

1. Take advantage of your new video meeting skills! Zoom into the future with technology that allows you to invite a much wider array of speakers from around the country, including ASCE leadership and university alumni! It can also help you collaborate on events and share ideas with other universities.
2. Become familiar with your Section and Branch leaders and local Younger Member Groups – they can be an excellent resource for finding speakers and planning events.
3. Social Media. Show off your chapter on Instagram/Facebook/TikTok/YouTube! This is a great way to promote your chapter and keep students engaged and excited about all the activities. A chapter website is another option for sharing information and storing historical data (speaker lists, event ideas, service projects, etc.) for future members to benefit from.
4. Contact [email protected] for a copy of the Official ASCE Student Chapter Handbook for even more ideas and resources.

Bonus Tip:
Remember to promote all the additional benefits your chapter members receive when they register for their ASCE Society membership—students join for free and get a full year of FREE professional membership after graduation!

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