Policy to Establish and Maintain an SPE Student Chapter

Local student chapters exist within SPE to provide a framework for SPE activities within set boundaries.

Establishment

The following requirements must be met and submitted to SPE International by the 15th day of February, June or October.

  1. Membership

    • At least 25 student members on the petition must be enrolled in at least a two-year degree program related to the energy industry. Programs should be equivalent to a bachelor’s or a postgraduate degree. 
    • A minimum of 25 student members who are not graduating within 12 months of the establishment date.
       

  2. Jurisdiction

    • Student chapters must be named for and located at a single university.
    • Student chapters must be at a university that offers at least a two-year degree program related to the energy industry. Programs should be equivalent to a bachelor’s or a postgraduate degree. 
    • The degree programs for the members should be well-established programs - meaning they must have already graduated at least one class of students. They cannot be new programs without graduates.
       

  3. Officers and Governance

    • All core officer positions are required: President, Vice President, Membership Chair, Secretary, and Treasurer. Officers listed on the petition must be enrolled in a qualifying degree program and should not be graduating within 12 months of the date of establishment. 
    • Student chapters must have the support, confirmed on the petition form, of a university faculty member who is a professional member of SPE and is willing to serve as an advisor to the student chapter.
    • Student chapters must receive support from a compliant SPE section. The section chair and student chapter liaison must be professional members, confirmed on the petition form.
    • Student chapters must agree with operating regulations as provided by SPEI. If alternative versions of operating regulations are preferred, these should be submitted in advance to SPEI for approval.

Review and approval of petitions will be completed three times a year at the end of February, June and October. Upon approval, SPE will issue official charters and logos.

Maintaining an SPE Student Chapter

Just as student chapters must meet certain requirements to establish, it is expected they meet certain requirements to maintain their status. They must meet the requirements below by 15 November.

Student chapters missing compliance criteria will be considered "at risk" and may be subject to disestablishment. Student chapters considered to be "at risk" will be notified in advance of the compliance deadline. Student chapters will be provided with details of how to rectify their situation and should work closely with the sponsoring section to improve. If unable to do so, student chapters may be placed on a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) for the upcoming year—or disestablished at the discretion of the Regional Director and SPE staff. Student chapters on a PIP are not eligible for awards or participation in PetroBowl®. If improvements have not been made by 15 November of the following year, student chapters on a PIP will be at risk for disestablishment.

  1. Membership

    • Student chapters must have 25 student members.
       

  2. Officers and Governance

    • Student chapters must have at least three paid executive officers in good standing with SPE policies on file. Executive officers are President, Vice President, Membership Chair, Secretary, and Treasurer.
    • Student chapters must have a faculty advisor, who is a professional SPE member, on file. Faculty advisors must renew their membership early. The deadline for faculty advisor dues renewals is 15 November.
    • Student chapters must submit annual reporting and financial information.
    • Student chapters must agree with operating regulations as provided by SPEI. If alternative versions of operating regulations are already in use, these should have been submitted to SPEI for approval.
    • Student chapters must comply with SPE policies.

In addition to needing to meet the above outlined requirements, student chapters’ performance will be assessed based on the following metrics:

  • New student retention
  • Overall student retention
  • Student to professional member conversion
  • Growth rate
  • Adherence to SPEI policies
  • Engagement with SPEI programs
  • Programs and services offered to members
  • Use of SPEI tools and resources.

At any time, SPE may decide to disestablish student chapters. There may also be times when the leaders of a student chapter find it necessary to cease operations.

If the student chapter board deems necessary to dissolve the student chapter, a documented affirmative vote of two-thirds of membership and notification to the membership of dissolution is required. If no current officers are on file, confirmation by the faculty advisor will be deemed appropriate. If dissolution is necessary, after fulfilling prior commitments, all remaining funds are encouraged to be allocated to the SPE Foundation to fund programming.

Once disestablished, a student chapter may not establish again for a minimum of 12 months. Student chapters requesting to re-establish should submit a plan for improvement to outline any actions undertaken or due to be undertaken to reduce the risk of future disestablishment.