Chapter Certification

In its simplest form, Chapter Certification is the submission of evidence that a chapter has completed its fraternal requirements. The order of submission is not critical, as long as each fulfilled requirement has been documented prior to the deadline.

The process includes the following roles and tasks:

1. Chapter: provides the email address of the chapter's certification designee to Chapter's Board of Directors designee to have permission assigned to chapter's folder (MUST BE AN ACCOUNT WITH GOOGLE ACCESS)

2. WPBOD designee: provide chapter's Google account email address to Province Certification Manager

3. Chapter: saves a supporting document for each requirement

4. Chapter: uploads each document separately to the chapter's certification folder (deadline: October 15)

5. Certification Manager: reviews contents of chapter's folder weekly, noting and reporting either compliance or errors/deficiencies to the Chapter's province Board of Directors (WPBOD) designee

6. (if applicable) WPBOD designee: contacts the chapter regarding any issues or omissions that must be corrected

7. (if necessary) Chapter: corrects errors and/or deficiencies

8. Certification Manager: compiles summary report for the Province Polemarch 

9. Province Polemarch: verifies/authenticates Chapter's certification status and reports to Grand Chapter by October 30 deadline

The following are the business requirements necessary to complete Chapter Certification; save EACH one as a separate document and upload no later than October 15:

ALL CHAPTERS

1. Completed Officers Report (KappaOrg)
   Recommended first step, as this will provide current officers with access to other KappaOrg resources. For undergraduate chapters whose previous officers may no longer be available, see Chapter Advisor for assistance.

2. Proof of Insurance payment to Grand Chapter (receipt from IHQ)

3. Updated Membership Report (KappaOrg)
   Note: undergraduates chapters should make sure to remove the names of all graduates.

4. Chapter Program Documentation (link here) 

5. Completed IRS Form 990-EZ

   • EIN's (Employer Identification Numbers) are unique; no two chapters share an EIN

   • if chapter's EIN is not known, contact Brother Joseph Wilson

   • if the chapter is in the process of reinstating its not-for-profit 501c(7) status, in lieu of Form 990, submit Form 1024, "Application for Recognition of Exemption Under Section 501(a)" 

6. Proof of Contribution to Kappa Alpha Psi Foundation ($50 UG, $100 Alumni; copy of receipt from Foundation)

7. Proposal for chapter's Membership Training Academy (MTA) Fee Structure (must comply with fraternity's regulatory maximums)

8. Signed letter/statement of Electronic - Digital Usage Compliance (sample here) 

9. Proof of a complete set of Archives (photo of the following): 

   • Charter issued by the Grand Chapter

   • Constitution & Statutes of Kappa Alpha Psi

   • Set of at least 5 rituals (unique numbers printed on the spines must be legible
     Each chapter should have its own set; if you do not have a set, please write a letter to Province Polemarch Woods explaining why.

   • Holy Bible (King James Version)

   • Insignia of the offers of the chapter

   • Copy of Robert's Rules of Order

   • Copy of Kappa Alpha Psi Songbook

   • Copy of the Story of Kappa Alpha Psi

   • Copy of the Western Province Bylaws

   • Copy of the Chapter's Bylaws

   • Copy of the Protocol Manual

ALUMNI ONLY

1. Proof of mandatory contribution to Western Province Undergraduate Stipend

UNDERGRADUATE ONLY

1. Proof of Chapter GPA
   Include copies of each member's transcripts, rolled into a single file (see instructions for merging PDFs).

2. University Letter where the charter is held, indicating/confirming that the chapter is in good standing.

FOOTNOTES
Some requirements from previous years have either been eliminated, or will be completed on the chapter's behalf; those include:

1. Proof of Registration at most recent Grand Chapter Meeting (Certification Manager will verify)

2. Proof of Registration at most recent Western Province Council (Certification Manager will verify)

3. Proof of Registration at most recent C. Rodger Wilson Leadership Conference (Certification Manager will verify)

4. Proof of Registration at most recent Polemarch & Advisors' Summit (Certification Manager will verify)

5. (UG only) Completed Form 40 - Schedule of Graduates (verified via the updated Membership Report above)

6. (UG only) Completed Statement of Collaboration Form (not necessary if university will not sign)

To aid in the review and approval process, please adhere to the following standards:

• Documents must be saved using the PDF file format (also known as "print to Adobe PDF")

• Documents must be legible (150 to 200 dpi is sufficient)

• Due to storage space considerations, keep file sizes as small as possible; do not attach high-resolution photos. As a rule of thumb, files should be less than 1,000 KB (1 MB) each; if they are significantly larger, see the tips below.

• Submit only one (1) file for EACH Certification requirement (1 requirement = 1 file)
  If necessary, see instructions below regarding combining multiple PDF files into a single PDF.

HELPFUL TOOLS & TIPS

• Combine files: To combine multiple PDF files into one (such as the college transcripts of several members into a single file containing all of the chapter's members transcripts), use a file merge tool such as the following:
  
  Adobe Acrobat Merge PDFs Tool (do not merge all requirements into a single document; 1 requirement = 1 file)
  https://www.adobe.com/acrobat/online/merge-pdf.html
  
  

• Smaller files: To make files smaller, FIRST avoid using any high-resolution photos such as those in a native smartphone resolution like 12 megapixel (4032 x 3024); try re-saving the photos at a lower resolution; 2 megapixel (1920 by 1080 or 1600 by 1200) should be more than enough.
  
  If after resizing the attached graphics, the PDF is still too large, try compression (note: a huge file can only be compressed so much, so don't skip the previous step). Use a file compression tool such as the following:
  
  Adobe Acrobat Compress PDF Size Tool
  https://www.adobe.com/acrobat/online/compress-pdf.html