Program
It costs your institution nothing.
No dues, no fees, nothing to renew, and nothing to put in a budget. The National Society of Leadership and Success (NSLS) is funded by the students who choose to join, so bringing a chapter to your campus is not a spending decision.
Administrators ask this question early, and they usually expect a hedge. There isn't one. Your institution is never charged to host a chapter, not in year one, not in year five.
What your campus provides is an advisor and a place for the chapter in your structure. The NSLS provides everything else: the curriculum, the platform, executive board training, six speaker broadcasts a year, marketing materials, and a success team who works with your advisor.
If budget is the constraint on your campus, and for most of the people who read this it is, that constraint doesn't apply here. The real question is staff capacity, and it's a smaller question than most people expect.
What your campus provides
An advisor, and recognition
That's the whole ask. Everything students need to complete the program comes from the NSLS.
An advisor
Roughly 10 to 20 hours per semester. Chapters are student-led and the NSLS provides the programming, so your advisor supports a student executive board instead of building or running the programming.
Recognition on campus
A way for the chapter to exist in your structure, usually the same pathway as any other student organization, though some campuses house it academically.
And from the NSLS
An annually updated curriculum, the Chapter Portal, executive board training, six broadcast speakers a year, marketing kits, annual assessments, and a dedicated success team.
The student side
Students who accept a nomination pay $95, once
This is the part most often confused with an institutional cost, so it's worth being exact: the $95 belongs to the student, not to your campus. Your institution pays nothing either way.
That one payment gives a student lifetime access to the NSLS Members Area. There is nothing to renew afterward, and nothing else to pay. Graduation regalia is not included.
What the fee enrolls them in is a defined program: Orientation, a two-hour Leadership Training Day, three Speaker Broadcasts, three Success Networking Team meetings, and induction, which usually takes place in a ceremony, roughly 10 hours of work, typically inside one semester. Completing Foundations of Leadership is what earns induction.
Inducted members unlock personalized recommendation letters, exclusive scholarships, and a curriculum they can return to long after they graduate.
Student enrollment and scholarship figures are published by the NSLS; see the source note below.
How this works
Where the funding comes from
Students who choose to join fund the program, through that one-time enrollment fee, along with optional purchases such as the NSLS Shop. Nothing in the model depends on an institutional payment, which is why there isn't one.
It also means the NSLS has to keep earning student participation every semester. An accredited curriculum, national speakers, and $400,000+ in annual scholarship opportunities exist because students are the ones deciding whether the program is worth their time.
The harder question
"We are not comfortable asking students to pay"
This is a reasonable position and it deserves a real answer rather than a reframe. Plenty of campuses serve students for whom $95 is a genuine decision, and an honor society that looks purchasable undermines the recognition it offers.
On the second point: membership is not for sale. Campuses nominate students, self-nomination requires faculty endorsement, and induction is earned by completing the coursework. The fee enrolls a student in a program; it does not buy the honor.
For students with financial need, the NSLS FAQ recommends contacting local chapter leaders about available resources or a deadline extension. It states that the one-time enrollment fee cannot be waived. Assistance depends on local resources; annual scholarship opportunities are separate and do not guarantee coverage of the enrollment fee. Confirm the options before inviting your students.
If it isn't your call
Taking this to your dean
Career services, student success, advising, and retention staff often see the need before the person who has to say yes. The decision involves advisor capacity, student access, and campus recognition. Three points can help frame it.
- The institution is never charged, so this is a decision about staff time rather than dollars.
- One advisor, roughly 10 to 20 hours a semester, because chapters are student-led by design. See the advisor time commitment.
- The NSLS states that 95% of its chapters continue every year.
Cost questions administrators ask
What does an NSLS chapter cost an institution?
Nothing. The National Society of Leadership and Success does not charge institutions to host a chapter. There is no annual charge, nothing to renew, and nothing for you to put in a budget. Your campus provides an advisor and recognition for the chapter; the NSLS provides the curriculum, the platform, the training, the speakers, and the support team.
So what does our campus actually have to provide?
An advisor who spends roughly 10 to 20 hours per semester, and a way for the chapter to be recognized on campus. Chapters are student-led, so the advisor supports a student executive board rather than running the programming.
What do students pay, and what does it cover?
Students who accept a nomination pay a one-time $95 enrollment fee. It covers lifetime access to the NSLS Members Area, with no recurring membership payment. Optional advanced coursework is separate. Graduation regalia is not included. This is the student’s own membership and it is separate from your institution, which pays nothing.
Does the student fee mean this is a pay-to-join honor society?
Students do not buy membership. Campuses nominate students, self-nomination requires a faculty endorsement, and induction is earned by completing the program: Orientation, a two-hour Leadership Training Day, three Speaker Broadcasts, three Success Networking Team meetings, and induction, which usually takes place in a ceremony, roughly 10 hours of work over about a semester. The fee enrolls a nominated student in that coursework and keeps their access to it for life.
How is the NSLS funded, if institutions pay nothing?
By students who choose to join, through the one-time enrollment fee, and by optional purchases such as the NSLS Shop. That is the whole model, and it is why a chapter never turns into a line item on your side.
What is included for a campus that pays nothing?
An annually updated curriculum, an all-inclusive Chapter Portal, managed engagement and recruitment, six broadcast speakers a year, executive board training, marketing kits, annual program assessments, free regional conferences, help recruiting chapter leaders, and a dedicated success team. Members can also apply for NSLS Foundation scholarships and awards: $400,000+ in annual scholarship opportunities.
We are not comfortable asking students to pay. What then?
Confirm local support before inviting students. The NSLS FAQ directs students with financial need to chapter leaders to discuss available resources or a deadline extension. Enrollment-fee assistance is not guaranteed; annual scholarship opportunities are separate.
Does it cost more to run the program online?
No. The program runs in person, virtually, and fully asynchronously, and a distance-serving campus gets the same program as a residential one.
Sources. The institution is not charged; the NSLS is funded by students who choose to join and by optional purchases. Student one-time $95 enrollment fee, lifetime Members Area access with nothing to renew, regalia not included, nomination, the five-step member journey, and the ~10-hour completion estimate: nsls.org/faq. Chapter support, executive board training, regional conferences, and the 95% chapter continuation claim: nsls.org/our-program. Member scholarships and awards: nsls.org/scholarships-and-awards.
Talk through your campus goals
Explore the program, responsibilities, and next steps with our partnerships team.