Program
What your institution actually receives
A chapter is not a license to a platform. It is a delivered program: curriculum, recruitment, speakers, training, assessment, and support. Here is each piece, and the problem on your campus it exists to solve.
Speaker count and advisor hours: info.nsls.org/our-program. Chapter count: NSLS core organizational figures.
What it solves
Seven problems the program arrives already solving
The list of deliverables is long. What matters is which of your constraints each one removes.
How it is delivered
Three modalities, one program
The NSLS program is available in person, virtually, and fully asynchronously. That choice belongs to your campus, and it is the reason the program works for residential undergraduates, commuter and working students, and fully online divisions without running three different programs.
In person
Sessions and meetings happen on campus, which suits institutions where student life is already the center of engagement.
Virtual
The same program delivered live online, useful when students commute, work, or are spread across multiple sites.
Fully asynchronous
Students complete the program on their own schedule, which is what makes it viable for online divisions and adult learners.
On the student side
What your students receive
You will be asked this by a student government representative before you are asked it by a provost.
- A defined member journey: orientation, a two-hour interactive Leadership Training Day, three Speaker Broadcasts, three Success Networking Team meetings, and induction, which usually takes place in a ceremony, around 10 hours in total, typically completed in one semester.
- Lifetime access to the Members Area for a one-time $95 enrollment fee, with nothing to renew. Graduation regalia is not included.
- For inducted members, personalized recommendation letters and exclusive scholarships, drawn from $400,000+ in annual scholarship opportunities.
- Coursework at three levels, with a certificate pathway and a credit-recommended pathway at each, explained in detail on accreditation and credit.
- A National Online Chapter option, for students at institutions that do not host a chapter.
Next questions
The two things you will be asked in the approval meeting
What it costs
Nothing, for your institution. The full answer, including what students pay if they accept a nomination and why that is a separate question.
What it costs your advisor
Where the 10 to 20 hours per semester actually go, and what the student-led model does and does not hand to your staff.
Whether it counts academically
Cognia accreditation, ACE and NCCRS credit recommendations, and the honest mechanics of how a recommendation is evaluated at your institution.
Talk through your campus goals
Explore the program, responsibilities, and next steps with our partnerships team.
Questions administrators ask
What does an institution actually receive when it hosts an NSLS chapter?
The National Society of Leadership and Success provides an annually updated curriculum, managed engagement and recruitment, six broadcast speakers per year, marketing kits, help recruiting chapter leaders, executive board training, free regional conferences, annual program assessments, an all-inclusive Chapter Portal, and a dedicated success team. Members can also apply for NSLS Foundation scholarships and awards ($400,000+ in annual scholarship opportunities). These are published at info.nsls.org/our-program, nsls.org/our-program and nsls.org/scholarships-and-awards.
Do we have to write or update the curriculum ourselves?
No. The curriculum is provided and updated annually by the NSLS, and chapters also receive ready-to-go content. Your staff does not author or revise course material.
Can the program run fully online or asynchronously?
Yes. The NSLS program is available in person, virtually, and fully asynchronously, so it can fit a residential campus, an online division, or a mix of both.
How many speakers are included each year, and who are they?
Six broadcast speakers per year are included. Speakers the NSLS has featured include Obama, Bill Gates, Mark Cuban, and Oprah Winfrey.
How much of our staff time does hosting a chapter require?
The NSLS publishes an advisor commitment of roughly 10 to 20 hours per semester. A trained student executive board leads each chapter alongside the advisor, and the NSLS provides the programming, training, and support.
What if our budget is already committed?
It does not matter here. Hosting a chapter costs your institution nothing, so there is no spending to find. Members can also apply for NSLS Foundation scholarships and awards ($400,000+ in annual scholarship opportunities), and chapters can earn national awards.
Does the enrollment fee students pay cover everything?
Students who accept a nomination pay a one-time enrollment fee of $95 for lifetime access to the Members Area, with nothing to renew. Graduation regalia is not included. That fee belongs to the student; your institution pays nothing.
Sources. Everything on this page comes from NSLS published pages: info.nsls.org/our-program (included items, six speakers per year, annual assessments, advisor hours, delivery modalities), nsls.org/our-program (Chapter Portal, ready-to-go content, executive board training, free regional conferences, marketing kits), nsls.org/scholarships-and-awards (member scholarships and awards), and nsls.org/faq (the member journey, the $95 one-time enrollment fee, recommendation letters and scholarships, the National Online Chapter). Cost and advisor-hour figures are published NSLS figures, not third-party research.