ARTICLE 1
NAME AND PURPOSE
Section 1. The name of this organization shall be the National STEM Honor Society™ (“NSTEM”).
Section 2. The purpose of this organization shall be to inspire student participation in science, technology, engineering, and math (“STEM”) disciplines; to provide recognition of student achievement in STEM; to provide opportunities to engage underrepresented youth in STEM; to work in conjunction with educators, advisors, and school administrators to promote, encourage, and build a culture of STEM awareness and literacy; to develop graduates who will pursue STEM majors and minors in higher education; and to identify and partner with STEM leaders to determine trends in STEM workforce and career development needs.
Section 3. NSTEM is a Benefit Corporation supporting Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access; Community and Connectivity; and Sustainability.
ARTICLE 2
THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Section 1. The control of this organization at the national level shall be vested in the Board of Directors (the “Board”).
Section 2. The Board shall consist of no fewer than two members and no more than nine members who shall be appointed by the Board of NSTEM.
Section 3. The Board shall hold at least two meetings annually.
Section 4. Members of the Board may attend meetings through any real-time method including, but not limited to, participation through physical attendance, conference call, or video-conference.
ARTICLE 3
ADVISORY COUNCIL
Section 1. There shall be an Advisory Council to advise the Board and the NSTEM Team regarding NSTEM, its goals, policies, and procedures.
Section 2. Members of the Advisory Council shall be appointed by and approved by the CEO, President, and Chairperson of the Advisory Council for one-year terms, which may be extended.
ARTICLE 4
LOCAL CHAPTERS
Section 1. Any public or private educational school that is approved by the applicable state department of education and is comprised of one or more grades of kindergarten through the fourth year of college/university is eligible to apply for designation as a local chapter. Each school shall have its own Chapter.
Section 2. Each Chapter shall pay an annual Chapter fee to NSTEM in an amount determined by the National Board. The amount of this fee shall be posted on the NSTEM website.
Section 3. Each Chapter shall conform to this Constitution as amended from time to time by the Board. Any amendments to this Constitution shall be posted on the NSTEM website. Failure of a Chapter to conform to the Constitution may result in loss of the NSTEM Chapter designation and a revocation of all accompanying benefits.
Section 4. Each Chapter shall write and adopt bylaws to amplify sections of this Constitution, and to clarify operating standards and procedures of the chapter. Chapter bylaws shall be consistent with this Constitution.
Section 5. The Chapter bylaws shall contain information concerning the election and duties of officers, the schedule of meetings, member obligations, dues, project descriptions, and the like. Chapters may add any other information pertinent to the Chapter.
Section 6. Local Chapter bylaws shall be sent to NSTEM.
Section 7. Chapters can prorate the requirements of their members if a Chapter is created after the school year is in progress. The minimum number of hours required by each member shall be prorated for members based on the number of months remaining in the academic year.
ARTICLE 5
THE CHAPTER DIRECTOR
Section 1. The principal, headmaster, dean, director, or president of a school shall be the Chapter Director. The Chapter Director shall have the right to approve all activities and decisions of the Chapter.
ARTICLE 6
THE CHAPTER ADVISOR
Section 1. The Chapter Director shall appoint annually an individual or organization as a Chapter Advisor. The Chapter Advisor may serve consecutive terms.
Section 2. The Chapter Advisor shall be responsible for the direct, day-to-day supervision of the Chapter, and shall act as a liaison between faculty, administration, students, and community.
Section 3. The Chapter Advisor shall maintain files on membership, Chapter history, activities, and financial transactions. The Chapter Advisor shall send an annual report to NSTEM on an NSTEM approved form.
Section 4. The Chapter Advisor frequently shall review each member for compliance with the standards and obligations of NSTEM and the local Chapter.
Section 5. The Chapter advisor shall help the Chapter officers understand and carry out their duties.
ARTICLE 7
MEMBERSHIP ELIGIBILITY
Section 1. Membership is an honor bestowed upon a student.
Section 2. Membership requirements for STEM classroom hours and project based learning enrichment hours are established by verifying the past 12 months for each member to determine if students have fulfilled these requirements.
Section 3. Membership requirements for the GPA in STEM classes only is determined from the last grading period.
Section 4. The Chapter advisor determines eligibility in all cases.
Section 5. A student must satisfy the following minimum requirements to be eligible for membership, and then must satisfy this criteria each year in order to maintain membership. Minimum member requirements are as follows:
- (a) Academic Standards: Chapter student members must achieve an average grade of a minimum of 85 (or a B, 3.0 on a 4.0 score, or equivalent standard of excellence) in all STEM courses only for the last grading period. A Chapter may require a higher level of academic performance in STEM disciplines but may not reduce the GPA requirement. A Chapter may not impose academic standards for non-STEM courses.
- (b) Academic Curriculum: To fulfill NSTEM’s member minimum requirements for STEM curricular hours, the Chapter advisor decides which STEM courses from the student’s course of studies qualify. NSTEM requires that courses are in STEM disciplines. Interdisciplinary courses that include STEM disciplines are encouraged and the Chapter advisor determines classroom applicability. Chapter members must complete the following minimum number of hours of STEM courses over the past 12 months during school hours:
- (i) Grades Kindergarten through 2: no requirement
- (ii) Grades 3 through 5: 180 hours
- (iii) Grades 6 through 8: 240 hours
- (iv) Grades 9 through 12: 360 hours
- (v) College/University
- First and Second Years:
- Part-time: 3 credit hours per semester
- Full-time: 6 credit hours per semester
- Third and Fourth Years:
- Part-time: 4.5 credit hours per semester
- Full-time: 9 credit hours per semester
- First and Second Years:
- (c) Participation in STEM Enrichment Activities:NSTEM Chapter student members must participate in one or more STEM-related extracurricular activities designed to increase a student’s knowledge of and engagement in STEM-related topics. Enrichment activities may be sponsored by the chapter or any other organization or group, as long as the activity has been reviewed and pre-approved by the Chapter advisor as being age and content appropriate for a STEM enrichment activity. Each grade level of NSTEM has required hours its members must engage in enrichment activities to remain an active member of their Chapter. Each Chapter must offer or approve a sufficient number of STEM extracurricular activities/programming to permit a student to satisfy the STEM enrichment activity requirements outlined in this subsection The required minimum number of hours is as follows:
- (i) Grades Kindergarten through 2: 30 hours annually
- (ii) Grades 3 through 5: 60 hours annually
- (iii) Middle School: 80 hours annually
- (iv) High School: 120 hours annually
- (v) College/University (Years 1 & 2):
- Part-time: 60 hours annually
- Full-time: 120 hours annually
- (vi) College/University (Years 3 & 4):
- Part-time: 90 hours annually
- Full-time: 180 hours annually
- Examples of STEM enrichment activities include: science fairs and competitions, math contests, STEM-related clubs (e.g. science, math, cyber, Lego, robotics), tutoring other students in STEM disciplines, coding, individual or group STEM projects, attending a lecture or film on STEM topics, working at a STEM-related internship/job, etc.
Section 6. For a particular student that the Chapter Advisor feels is highly motivated and engaged yet has not attained the GPA requirement of 3.0, while meeting the other requirements for membership, accommodations can be made for this particular student. If the Chapter Advisor observes that the student is engaged and motivated and that the particular student’s grades are improving significantly in STEM classes, then at the discretion of the Chapter Advisor, they may determine that a particular student does not need to meet the grade point requirement during the current grading period as long as that student is striving to achieve the required 3.0 GPA.
Section 7. Once a student is inducted to a Chapter, they remain an active member as long as they maintain the three minimum requirements. If a member falls below any of the three minimum requirements at any time throughout the year, that member becomes a provisional member. Upon achieving the three minimum requirements, that provisional member becomes a Chapter member again.
Section 8. A member of any other Chapter who transfers to a new school will be accepted in this Chapter when proof of membership at the previous school is provided.
Section 9. A member must maintain behavior that is acceptable to the guidelines of the educational institution.
ARTICLE 8
SELECTION OF MEMBERS
Section 1. For active Chapters, there are two levels of student membership:
- Chapter Members: students who have achieved and maintain the requirements for membership.
- Provisional Members: students who have not yet achieved the minimum requirements for membership in Article 5 or who were once Chapter members and no longer meet the requirements for membership. Provisional members will have all of the rights and obligations of regular members except that they shall not be elected as an officer of the Chapter.
Section 2: Members shall be selected for membership by the Chapter Advisor who certifies that each student deemed a Chapter member meets the minimum requirements in Article 5 subject to the exception provided in Article 7, MEMBERSHIP ELIGIBILITY.
Section 3: All new Members shall be inducted at an induction ceremony held during the academic year. The substance of such a ceremony shall be determined by the [Chapter Advisor/Members of the Chapter].
Section 4. Each Chapter shall decide whether to charge individual member annual dues. The amount of such dues, if any, shall not exceed $20 per member. There is no student membership fee payable to the National STEM Honor Society.
Section 5. The Chapter Advisor may determine that students must complete and submit a Chapter Student Membership Application to the Chapter Advisor in order to be considered for membership.
ARTICLE 9
DISMISSAL
Section 1. A student may be dismissed as a member of NSTEM if the student violates the standards or obligations of NSTEM or the Chapter.
Section 2. Dismissal shall be approved and carried out by the Chapter advisor and/or the Advisory Council.
Section 3. Upon dismissal, the student shall be divested of all benefits of membership in NSTEM.
Section 4. A student may appeal dismissal by submitting a written request to the Chapter Director. The decision of the Chapter Director shall be final.
ARTICLE 10
CHAPTER OFFICERS
Section 1. The officers of the Chapter, if any, their duties, and the method of their election shall be determined by the members of the Chapter and/or the Chapter advisor and be described in the Chapter bylaws.
Section 2. The local Chapter officers shall have general supervision of the affairs of the chapter as overseen by the Chapter advisor. The officers shall meet regularly, make recommendations to the Chapter, and perform all duties described in the chapter bylaws.
Section 3. The officers shall abide by this Constitution and the NSTEM standards and obligations.
ARTICLE 11
MEETINGS
Section 1. Each Chapter shall have regular meetings during the school year on days designated by the officers and/or the Chapter advisor, and which shall be held in accordance with school policy and regulations.
Section 2. The regularity of the meetings shall be designated in the Chapter bylaws.
ARTICLE 12
OFFICIAL INSIGNIA AND LOGO
Section 1. NSTEM uses “National STEM Honor Society”, “NSTEM”, “K to CAREER” and the NSTEM logo as its trademarks (collectively the “NSTEM Trademarks”). NSTEM has filed for registration of these NSTEM Trademarks with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Section 2. The distribution of the NSTEM Trademarks, and the rules for their use, are under the exclusive control of the Board. Graphics of the NSTEM Trademarks are available on the NSTEM website and may be used by a local chapter only in connection with its NSTEM activities, and only on paper (excluding induction certificates, graduation certificates, membership cards and any other items that are otherwise distributed by NSTEM) or in digital format. The NSTEM Trademarks shall not be affixed to or printed on any clothing, banners, pins, or merchandise. Additional rules and conditions for use of the NSTEM Trademarks are set forth in the Trademark Usage Guidelines available on the NSTEM website.
Section 3. Each active and graduate member of a local chapter shall be entitled to wear a pin with the NSTEM Trademarks (the “NSTEM pin”).
Section 4. Any member who resigns or is dismissed shall return the NSTEM pin to the Chapter Advisor.
ARTICLE 13
AMENDMENTS
Section 1. This Constitution may be amended by the President and an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members of the members of the Board at any meeting of the Board or by mail. Any amendments shall be posted on the NSTEM website.
Last updated: August 21, 2023
