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Individual and Chapter Memberships

Individual Membership

Military Active Duty, or Honorably Discharged Veterans, who attend college at a 2-year or 4-year institution, with a 3.0+ GPA may qualify to apply for SALUTE.

SALUTE was established at Colorado State University in 2009 and since has grown rapidly reaching hundreds of schools across the country. Military Active Duty or Veterans that attend institutions that have an established Chapter of SALUTE must apply for membership through their college.

To see if your institution has a chapter of SALUTE, and to obtain your advisor’s contact details, click here.

If your institution is not listed as a SALUTE School, please apply for membership through the National chapter, link below. We also strongly encourage you to apply for a chapter membership making your school a SALUTE School (see chapter membership).

If you do not see your college listed as a Chapter, have questions, or don’t know who to contact, please email: salute_national@mail.colostate.eduBe sure to include which institution you are attending and we will be happy to assist.

Benefits of individual membership include:

  • One-time payment for lifetime membership
  • A certificate and military-style challenge coin commemorating membership in SALUTE and specific level of academic achievement
  • Compete for Scholarships
  • Enhance your resume with formal academic acknowledgement and engage in local leadership positions
  • Opportunities to network, as well as, receive and give assistance to fellow student veteran members
  • Wear SALUTE Honor’s regalia to demonstrate academic achievements as a veteran status at graduation
  • Participate in local, and National, SALUTE programs

Standards for Student Membership:

All Undergraduate Students selected for induction to SALUTE must meet the following criteria (for graduate students, please see section below):

  1. Qualify as military/veteran student under locally-derived and maintained definitions. Applicant must submit a DD-214 Member 4 copy that displays the character of service (honorable discharge). Applicants currently serving on active duty or in the Guard or Reserves must submit a copy of orders for their current duty assignment.
  2. Be currently enrolled as a student, and have a minimum of 12 course credits, for undergraduates
  3. Maintain the highest ethical standards.
  4. The undergraduate GPA tiers are broken down according to the following:
    1. Alpha Tier GPA: 3.75 – 4.00
    2. Bravo Tier GPA: 3.50 – 3.74
    3. Charlie Tier GPA: 3.25 – 3.49
    4. Delta Tier GPA: 3.00 – 3.24

All Graduate Students need to have completed 9 credit hours, hold at least a 3.5 GPA, and will be classified as “SALUTE Gold Member”

SALUTE provides formal recognition for service and academics, leadership, volunteering and resume development, campus-community engagement, opportunities to network with as well as give and receive assistance to fellow veterans, eligibility for SALUTE scholarships, authorization to wear distinguishable honor cords and stole at graduation, letters of recommendation, federal hiring preference with honors merit & more!

Tier-Upgrade Mobility

  • Members are encouraged to move up to the next higher tier level as their GPA increases. This serves to motivate students to strive from improvement. Higher tier levels have opportunities for greater scholarship money and receive updated materials. Such as, new certificate, along with a personalized letter of recommendation from SALUTE National.
  • To complete a tier-upgrade, fill out the Tier Appeal Petition Form and pay the $10 upgrade fee.
  • You will be required to submit an updated unofficial transcript and completed Tier Form to salute_national@mail.colostate.edu; or to your Chapter advisor.

Chapter Membership

2-year or 4-year American accredited institution of higher education in Good Standing with the Department of Veteran Affairs, and participating in the GI BILL, can apply to become a chapter member of SALUTE.  Once an institution becomes a chapter member, they will process the application and induction of individual members at their institution, with support from the national headquarters of SALUTE.

Chapter membership allows schools to induct high achieving military members, hold SALUTE recognition ceremonies, and offer connections for engagement, peer mentors, scholarships and resume enhancement, and career connections!

  • Local Chapters may place additional requirements for their members; to include:
    • Register as a student organization on campus to assist with leadership opportunities and service events.
    • Require local SALUTE meetings regularly.
    • Participate in at least one campus-community activity /semester
      • Host an induction ceremony and recognize locally and personally high achieving student veterans.

Each academic institution has different ideas on what their chapter should be. This is by design based on the demographic and number of student veterans at each institution. Some colleges and universities have an entirely student run organization, however, it is our policy that the director (or administrator) must be a college staff member. The SALUTE Coordinator (or assistant) can be staff or student, and/or the director and coordinator may be the same person, as long as they are a staff member of the school. Some Chapters participate in community service and university events. Other institutions have their Chapter as part of a community outreach and mentor programs, or simply hold ceremonies to recognize their student veterans as they go from a 2 to 4-year schools, or as they graduate.

SALUTE Honor Society is what you make it. Whether large or small, there is no limit on awarding and recognizing your student veterans. Chapters can take every imaginable form. Some are honorary societies in the strictest sense of the word, existing solely to honor their members. Others meet campus social needs, leadership opportunities, and become activists and advocates on some campuses. The goal is to recognize outstanding students through SALUTE and meet their greatest needs. Therefore, SALUTE is a way to recognize the hard work and dedication of student veterans.

Apply for Chapter Membership Online: The institution applying for chapter membership agrees to the following conditions:

  • Abide by all guidelines as set forth by the SALUTE National Honor Society Executive Steering Committee.
  • Maintain the integrity of the honor society by independently verifying a member’s GPA, transcripts, and military status.
  • A $100 fee will be assessed upon initial application. Checks may be made payable to SALUTE National Honor Society. To pay by credit card, please complete the application form below. Once submitted, you will be directed to a page with payment instructions and a link to pay by card online.
  • Any changes to the chapter’s director, contact information, or other pertinent information must be relayed to the SALUTE national headquarters as soon as possible.
Members participating in a race