• Each chapter is required to adopt either Process A or Process B, effective August 1, 2025. Chapters needing assistance with this process should work with their faculty advisor as well as their student affairs office. Guidance from the PLS Board of Directors will also be available.

The question bank and evaluation rubric were designed to align with and evaluate the four key qualities determined to be essential for all PLS members (as aligned to the PLS Mission and Vision):

• • o Inclusive Mindset / Team Player
    o Desire to contribute to developing other leaders (e.g., mentorship, paying it forward, follow when necessary)
  • o Commitment to Self-Awareness (e.g., applicant wants to develop leadership skills, realizes that their leader development journey is never complete)
  • o Contributes their voice to visionary leadership – desires to be part of transformational change (e.g., creates vision or helps to execute), adaptability, forward thinking, empowering and/or motivating others
•  The purpose of standardizing questions is to reduce the chance of bias and implement membership standards across the Society. Questions outside of the provided banks are not allowed for this reason.

No, the purpose of the standard rubric provided in this document is to reduce the chance of bias across the Society.

CVs and resumes were previously used by many chapters to determine whether candidates had enough leadership experience to be recognized with membership in PLS. With the 2021 changes to our mission and vision, our Society now prioritizes leadership development along with leader recognition. Therefore, it is no longer necessary to determine if a candidate has had specific leadership positions or titles. What is more important is learning about how the candidate describes their leadership journey, which may include leadership roles that did not have titles associated with them.

A candidate’s leadership journey is now being evaluated using standardized rubrics to assess their written application and interview responses.

Historically, voting has been used to exclude candidates from membership without appropriate justification, which is in direct conflict with the Society’s mission and vision.

• Article II of the Society’s Bylaws outline eligibility requirements for membership and nomination methods that must be adopted by all chapters. Neither of these are changing. The most recent copy of the Bylaws can be found on our website HERE.

• Chapters are free to determine the best time of year for their selection process to take place, as outlined in Article III of the Society’s Bylaws.

• Chapter advisors play a very important role in this process. The advisor shall ensure that the chapter follows Society and institutional procedures and should provide guidance on the chapters’ specific methods for reducing bias during the selection process.

• Chapter advisors are a resource to the chapter and serve as a liaison to school/college administration when needed to determine a candidates’ moral and ethical standing or coursework completion.