Knowing the requirements
Getting the right students to join your chapter is key, and will positively impact on how well your chapter can retain its members. To fully benefit from the programs and services SPE chapters offer, students need to fit the following requirements for membership:
Student must be enrolled in a university and carry at least 30% of a normal full-time academic load and have a concentration in petroleum or a related field. And at least one of the following:
- Be pursuing the equivalent to a bachelors or graduate degree
- Attend an university with an SPE established student chapter
One size does not fit all
SPE offers a wide range of membership benefits specifically tailored to students. To effectively grow and retain your membership it is important that both members and non-members are fully aware of all the advantages of SPE membership. All products and services are not of equal value to students in different stages of their studies – first year students may enjoy participating in local contests, whereas PhD students may benefit from volunteering outside their chapter to start building up their networks and getting themselves ready to enter the professional world. Focusing on their specific needs and circumstances can help you highlight what might be of the most interest to them.
Work with your Faculty Advisor and sponsoring section to develop a recruitment and retention strategy
The best way to recruit new members to your chapter will depend heavily on the internal workings of your university and the space you have within this to operate. A good starting point would be to liaise with your Faculty Advisor and sponsoring section on advice on how to put together a strategy to recruit and retain members. Getting support from key stakeholders within your university, for example the Vice Chancellor, Department Head or career advisers, can also help spread the word of SPE. It is important to realize it is not all about the quantity – getting any student to join simply to get a good growth rate, may backfire if those students fail to renew one year in which will in turn decrease your chapter’s retention rates. Putting a chapter officer, or a group of officers, in charge of membership and reporting on results regularly, will keep activities focused and provide a consistent monitoring of the trends. Making new members feel welcomed and engaging them through regular on site social and academic activities will help keep them involved in the long run.
Renewal time
The SPE membership year is January through December. Throughout the year SPEI runs an extensive campaign to encourage members globally to renew their membership. Around August time the first communication goes out to encourage members to renew for the following year. Further email and calling campaign take place throughout September to December, with the aim to have the majority of members renew before the end of the calendar year. Further dues reminders will go out in Jan-March for those members who have not renewed yet.
Knowing your options
SPE membership has different fees depending on which group your country is in. View your country category to determine the cost of your dues. Student Membership is free when students opt in to the Chevron Dues Waiver Program.
Continuing your membership once you graduate
The programs and services SPE offers for students, along with the support through their local chapter, are designed to prepare students for their professional careers ahead. SPE have played an essential role in the career paths for many of our members. Although students will no longer be associated with their chapter upon graduation, it is the chapter’s responsibility to advocate graduates on the benefits of continuing their SPE membership. With the current industry climate it may not be the easiest of tasks to find a job straight away – this should however not stop graduates from staying involved with SPE. In fact, finding a job might well get easier once you join a Section as a professional member and start engaging with other professionals in your region. If your section has a Young Professional committee this may be a good first point of call, as many of them would have experienced the challenges of entering the professional world quite recently and can share their experiences and advice.
SPE is committed to the success of our student members and we therefore offer free membership for the first year after graduation. Further reduced membership fees apply for the second year too. Thus even without having a paid job straight away, you can stay involved.
There are many services that SPE offers that can assist members transitioning from a student to a professional member:
Likewise sections can benefit from a new pool of local talent you chapter has to offer, and are more often than not pleased to welcome the next generation of engineers.
Get recognized and get rewarded
SPEI rewards chapters for their efforts to recruit and retain members year on year through the Section and Student Chapter Membership Competition which offers the chance to win USD 1,000 if your chapter has achieved the global target member retention rate. Learn more on how other sections have achieved to do so through the membership retention success stories:
We would love to hear from you. Share your chapters’ top membership recruitment and renewal tips with us.