M EM B E RS H I P

R E TE N T I O N PL A N
THE SOCIETY OF HISPANIC
PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS
AT
T H E U N I V E R S I T Y O F M I N N E S O TA

THE SOCIETY OF HISPANIC

PROFESSIONAL ENGNINEERS
126 COFFMAN MEMORIAL UNION
300 WASHINGTON AVE S.E.
MINNEAPOLIS, MN 55455
 TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S

Problem…………………………………………………..… 2

Purpose…………………………………………………..…. 3

Plan…………………………………………………… …… 4

Conclusion………………………………………………….. 5
 Problem
The importance and process of recruitment & retention is debated and
is also the most important need of any chapter. Our chapter needs to
address three main questions when dealing with this problem. Does
our Chapter have: 1. A sense of purpose? 2. A sense of progress? 3. A
sense of belonging?

Purpose
People are not going to involve themselves where they do not believe
in the “cause” or
“value” in something they are investing their time in. Even if your
chapter might not have all the stuff or structure in place, you can also
sell prospective members on your “vision” of the organization.

Progress
No one enjoys putting their time, effort, and energy into something
only to see it wasted. The chapter board needs to continually ask
themselves is the work they are putting into the organization (ie.
planning, documentation, time talking with members) actually getting
implemented? Is others hard work getting noticed?

Belonging
It has been long proven, people who feel they belong to a group, not
only strive to work harder, but enjoy working with the team and feel
value to their contributions.

Purpose
This plan focuses on taking freshmen recruits and molding them into
strong SHPE members with the following attributes:

• Academic Development
• Professional Development
• Community Service
• Leadership Qualities

In order for SHPE UMN to become a large and focused chapter, we

need to develop our future leaders of the organization as soon as they
become a member. In order for this purpose to become accomplished
year after year, a business plan needs to be established. This plan is a
standard, a stepping stone for new E-boards to embrace and also to
continually develop improvements.

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Plan
The plan is broken in to two areas:
1. Recruitment
2. Retention / Re-development

Recruitment

This process highlights the different standard avenues the chapter

can take to recruit new members each year. These should be
continually evaluated each year to weed out ineffective methods of
recruitment.

Step 1
Have the President or Vice President sign up for the Minneapolis
Student Org Fair, Welcome Week Fair and fall M-k kick off event.

Step 2
Have the Coordinator Student Prgms, Col of Sci/Engineering
(Simone) send out a welcome letter to all new incoming minority
students to the college encouraging/promoting our organization.
This should be sent out the Wednesday of the first week of school.

A sample letter is provided below

Welcome incoming freshman

Congratulations. You have been selected as a potential candidate as a member of The Society of
Hispanic Professional Engineers at University of Minnesota (SHPE UMN). SHPE is a national
organization with nearly 9,000 selected members and over 130 student chapters. Here at the UMN our
chapter’s mission is to empower young engineers by professional development, academic excellence, and
community service.

What can SHPE offer you?

• Traveling Opportunities
o (This years conferences: Cincinnati, Ohio & Chicago, Illinois)
• Personal Development
o (Resume workshops, Mock interviews with Company Reps, Company tours, interviewing
workshops and preparation for career fairs)
• Leadership Experience
o (Instant committee chair or board opportunities leading our chapter for various events)
• An opportunity to give back to the community through outreach
o (A number of High School visits explaining college life and engineering types)
• Scholarship and Internship Opportunities
o ($2 million dollars in scholarships and internships through the national organization)
• Networking
o (Build networking relationships with students and professionals across the nation at our
conferences.

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SHPE is the source for quality Hispanic engineers and technical talent. We are committed to enhancing
America’s position in developing quality leaders for tomorrow. If you would like to take the next step in
your career development and your learning beyond the classroom, please contact our Membership Chair.

Alyssa Ulrich
SHPE UMN Membership Chair
Email: ulric115@umn.edu
Cell: 952-836-7647

Step 3
A kickoff event for the organization should be held around the
second/third week of classes. At least two computers should be
there to be ready to register new members to the national
organization. This kickoff event should be highly interactive to
create a sense of unity and friendship. A brief presentation should
be given about SHPE at its national level. (Barry would a great
candidate since he is the regional Vice president and lives in
Minneapolis) At this first meeting also a brief overview of our
chapter student representatives and structure of our society should
be given. More focus should be given to breaking the new members
into subcommittees/teams which will be talked about in more detail
in the Retention plan.

SHPE UMN Executive Board

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 President

Vice
Secretary President

Communit
y
SHPE
Treasurer Outreach
UMN
Officer

Student Corporate
Relations Relations
Officer Officer
Communic
a-tions
Officer

Note: The Board will also be under the guidance of a faculty

advisor/s

Membership
Benefit Matrix
Active Member Member
(level of
membership)
Voting Right for
elections and
X X
special meetings
held by the board
Access to all local X X
SHPE events for
free and public

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SHPE documents

Able to be called
and participate in X X
a subcommittee
Able to be
appointed as
leader of a X
subcommittee by
the board
Receive a custom
SHPE polo X

If funds are
available, RLDC
X
event will be paid
for by SHPE
Have the right to
run for a position
on the board X

If funds are
available, National
X
Conference event
will be paid for by
SHPE

Membership level definitions

Member – Level of membership will be granted with the completion of
membership paper work and if the following requirements are met:
• Must be enrolled as a full time student at the Uof M
• Must be seeking a Major in a Science, Technology, Engineering, or
Math related field
• Must be in good academic standing with their college
• Must believe in the Values, Mission and policies of the organization

Active Member – Level of membership will be granted with a completion of

the following requirements:
• Must attend a minimum of 2 SHPE events
• Must have recorded by the secretary a minimum of 3 hrs of community
service
• Must be part of the planning or execution of 1 SHPE events
• Must be a member for a minimum of one month
Membership Paper Work

Membership pledge:

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 I , hereby but in writing, in accordance with the
purposes and objectives of SHPE, The Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, to improve the
equality of all people through the use of science and technology. I will value excellence in education,
professional pursuits, leadership, and community involvement. I will strive to obtain excellence
through integrity, empowerment, achievement, diversity and continuous improvement.

Applicant name(print) _______________________________________

Applicant Signature _______________________________________

Board Signatures:

President _____________________________ Corporate Relations Officer _____________________

Vice President _________________________ Student Relations Officer _______________________

Treasurer _____________________________ Community Outreach Officer ____________________

Secretary _____________________________ Communications Officer ________________________

Membership Growth Chart (electronic copy for every member recorded by the
Secretary)

Name: ____________________________Major: __________________________

Year in College: ____________________

Start Date of Membership: ____________

Event Attendance
Event Date Initials

Community Service
Event Date Hrs Initials

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 Event Planning/Execution
Event Date P/E Initials

Retention

A retention plan should be given to all levels of members. Here we

have broken the levels in to school years. New members joining as
sophomores don’t have to follow their designated plan, but instead are
encouraged to join the freshman plan if room permits.

Freshman Plan
At the First meeting (kick off event in the fall) freshmen will be
assigned a mentor. Mentors should be related to students by their
degree and should be paired before the meeting to engage in ice
breaker activities during the meeting. Mentors will be assigned by the
Board and will be given specific criteria as agreed by the board.

At the second general meeting (in the Fall semester) a mini E-board
shall be created consisting of four freshman. (If there are more than
four freshmen, the E-bard can have up to eight members and then
mimic the Organizations official E-board) The first four will consist of a
President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer.

At the second meeting after positions have been filled the group will be
responsible for planning, organization and executing an event assigned
to them by the official board. They will be given a designated budget
and recommended criteria by the Board.

Sophomore-Junior Plan
At the First meeting (kick off event in the fall) returning members will
be shown the tasks and future events the Board has planned. Here
members will be broken up into committees and each committee will
be assigned a leader/chair.

Senior Plan

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