Frequently Asked Questions by Faculty Advisers
- New FA - I'm a new Faculty Adviser. How do I proceed?
- How much time? - to be a Faculty Adviser?
- Reports - What reports have to be filed?
- Dumped! - I'm the Co-Adviser, the FA just left. How do I pick up the reins?
- Pre-Signed Certificates - What's it all about?
- Invitation Kits - How do I use them?
- Supplies - How do I order them?
- Membership Kits - What are they?
- Qualifying Students - How do I decide?
- Online Inductions - How can I induct our online students?
- What's our EIN? -Administration or my bank asked me for an EIN. Now what?
- W9 - My administration asked me for a W9. Where do I find it?
- Fed Taxes - Please explain the filing of chapter taxes.
- Sales Tax - Is DMD exempt from sales tax?
- Opening Accounts, Making Payments, Handling Purchase Orders
- Why "Adviser" rather than "Advisor"?
Q: How do I proceed as a new Faculty Adviser?
First, click on Contact Form for New Faculty Advisers and let us know about your willingness to serve and you contact information. We will reply promptly, arrange a "Welcome" kit, including a certificate of recognition.
Next, click on Checklist and Procedures and review what a typical DMD year is like.
Locate the chapter's copy of bylaws and read through it. We can provide a copy of what was last sent to national for review and approval.
Finally, contact Central Office to see if the chapter is in arrears for reports or monies or data. Or, contact us for more explanation and advice. We're here to help. And, here is still more information.
Q: How much time does it take to be a Faculty Adviser?
Actually, this is a whole other subject! Basically, the student-officers are to do most of the work each year. YOU are the "adviser." Here is a separate section of ideas and what has worked for other faculty advisers. Go:
Q: What Reports have to be filed?
No chapter is required to file reports to theIRS. Because the Societyl maintains a Group 501(c)(3) exemption, each chapter must file two reports each year with Central Office - an Annual Report and a Financial Statement, no later than September 1st. Both are simple to complete and can be found under the Forms button. If it will be helpful to you, we can provide copies of the prior-year's reports.
Q: How do I pick up the reins from an absent faculty adviser?
Please contact Central Office as soon as you can. We will be happy to provide an audit of the chapter's status and review recent emails and let you know as best we can. Contact the chapter's officers for what might be in progress that we would not yet know about.
Q: What are pre-signed certificates?
Central Office is prepared to support digital signatures, either for the Faculty Adviser only, or also to include the chapter President and Secretary. For more information, visit our signature service page.
Certain supplies are free to chapters in good standing: complete Membership Invitation Kits; or, partial Membership Invitation materials; and, Society posters to display throughout the campus.
Other supplies may be purchased with free UPS-Ground shipping. Faster shipping is available at the chapter's expense. See the Chapter Supply Order Form. Although it is a word processing form, be sure to save it onto your computer before entering information.
Q: What are the contents of Membership Invitation Kits?
A full kit consists of a "Dear Student" letter from the National President; a copy of the Matter of Honor brochure from ACHS, the Association of College Honor Societies, explaining what an international honor society is about; a benefits flyer; and a two-sided, 9x4, DMD information card that explains the Delta Mu Delta Honor Society. An e-version can be found Invite Kit.
Each of these items can be ordered individually if the chapter wishes to assemble their own invitation packet.
Further, the brochure, info card and benefits flyer will also be included in the Member Kit since not all chapters order these items.
Note: A chapter must include other items if the invitation is to be mailed to eligible students. A letter from the Dean, Department Chair, and/or the Faculty Adviser adds the personal touch and should include details of the local requirements, the amount of payment, and the time and place of the induction ceremony. Also included should be a copy of the Membership Data Profile Form for the student to complete and return with their payment.
All is explained in greater detail in the Chapter Guide.
Q: How do I get my chapter's Federal EIN?
The Federal Employer Identification Number, FEIN, is requested from IRS as each chapter or co-chapter is installed. Central Office then reports to IRS within the Society's Annual Report, which is in additional to our 990 tax filing. All FEIN numbers are on file in Central Office. Just send us an email or call and ask.
Q: Where do I find a W9 form?
Depends on who is asking and why. When your school pays an invoice sent by Central Office (this assumes that the school manages the chapter's account), this will serve to let them know that a 1099 form does not need to be issued to DMD at the end of the year.
If they wish to receive a W9 from Central Office, here it is.
You must date it.
If your vendor is requesting one for your chapter because the chapter is going to place an order with them, then you will have to download the blankform from the IRS web site and complete it with the chapter's FEIN.
Q: Is DMD exempt from Sales Tax?
Sales tax is a separate issue for each state - usually an organization must apply to their state for a specific exemption. Having a copy of our 501(c)(3) IRS letter might help, but there is nothing automatic about it. Although we are a not-for-profit corporation, each state applies its own definition as to how/whether that will apply. If the school is willing to make the chapter's purchases, then the school can provide their sales tax exemption #.
Q: How do I decide which students are eligible?
Although you work with the Registrar's office to obtain lists of students sorted by GPA, the amount of work can be greatly simplified if your administrative system supports some form of a query language. Still, it can be complex. Here is an example.
Q: How can I induct our online students?
More universities and colleges are acquiring a significant proportion of online business students and it's important that this contingent be fairly treated when selecting eligible students to invite to membership.
FIRST, ascertain that these students are in the same accredited business program that permitted the installation of your DMD chapter. If you need help for this step, call Central Office.
SECOND, select the style of an induction ceremony. Online inductions depends in part on the capabilities of your system - if ITV, is the interactiveness to the level of an individual student. If simple or sophisticated "chat rooms" just develop a list of eligible names against which you can compare the responses as they reply. The "oath" is an essential part of the ceremony and should not be replaced with merely mailing the membership kit to the student.
Q: Why "Adviser" rather than "Advisor"?
In the early 90's, the Society went through its documents and standardized on "adviser" as the preferred usage. That's the way it currently appears in all our documents.
If you search on the web with "define: adviser" you will find mostly academic usage. The same search for "advisor" will produce some financial references in addition to some of the above. Thus, our choice to standardize on the first spelling.
Q: Opening an Account; Making Payments; Handling Purchase Orders.
To assist you with any or all of these steps, we have developed a series of info pages, all of which are linked from HERE.
Q: Please explain how DMD handles tax filings?
This position paper explains: (a) who has to file with IRS; (b) what the reason is for chapter reports; and, (c) how does this protect our 501(c)(3) tax exemption status? NEXT
