WHAT IS THE SALUTE VETERANS NATIONAL HONOR SOCIETY?

Updated December 5, 2022 · 1 Min Read

The SALUTE Veterans National Honor Society is the only one of its kind. It stands for Service, Academics, Leadership, Unity, and Excellence, and aims to honor military veteran students who uphold each of these pillars. It was founded through the ACE/Wal-Mart Foundation Success for Veterans Grant, and Colorado State University provides headquarters. Here is some ...

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The SALUTE Veterans National Honor Society is the only one of its kind. It stands for Service, Academics, Leadership, Unity, and Excellence, and aims to honor military veteran students who uphold each of these pillars. It was founded through the ACE/Wal-Mart Foundation Success for Veterans Grant, and Colorado State University provides headquarters. Here is some detailed information about the wonderful work that SALUTE accomplishes and how academic institutions can create and run chapters.

Individual Membership Benefits

Students who pay a membership of only $100 to join initially receive membership for a lifetime. This membership fee could end up paying for itself and more through access to exclusive scholarships. Members receive special certificates and commemoration coins. This honor looks great on resumes and personal statements for graduate school admissions, especially for students who hold chapter leadership positions. Students and alumni enjoy access to several networking opportunities. They also get to sport special SALUTE regalia at their commencement ceremonies.

Ranking: 30 Best Military-Friendly Colleges

Chapter Membership Benefits

In addition to the benefits offered to individual student members, the entire institution benefits from hosting a SALUTE chapter. It increases recruitment and retention of veteran students. This, in turn, gains national recognition for being a veteran supportive institution. Since SALUTE requires that students achieve and maintain certain standards (detailed below), this raises the academic statistics and standing of the institution as a whole. To open a chapter, the institution simply needs to pay a $100 fee and appoint an institution staff director to fill out the SALUTE Chapter Application.

Student Membership Requirements

All student members, and chapters as a whole, must uphold the SALUTE Ethical Standards and Best Practices. To qualify for and maintain membership, undergraduate students must meet the following requirements:

  • Be currently enrolled in at least 12 credits.
  • Alpha Tier: hold a GPA of 3.75 - 4.00.
  • Bravo Tier: hold a GPA of 3.50 - 3.74.
  • Charlie Tier: hold a GPA of 3.25 - 3.49.
  • Delta Tier: hold a GPA of 3.00 - 3.24.

Graduate students, or SALUTE Gold Members, must meet the following requirements:

  • Complete at least 9 credits.
  • Hold a minimum GPA of 3.5.

How to Run a Chapter

As long as chapters have an active staff director and both chapters and individual students uphold the SALUTE Ethical Standards and Best Practices, there is a great deal of flexibility in chapter management. Many choose to be fully student-run to provide additional leadership opportunities to students, while others enlist more involvement from staff and faculty to increase networking and access to resources. Many run SALUTE in tandem with other institution organizations and many connect with community social outreach initiatives. Meetings can be weekly for the most active chapters or simply consist of yearly pre-commencement ceremonies for chapters who just want to honor their student members.

The SALUTE Veterans National Honor Society is a wonderful way for academic institutions to honor their veteran students for their service and academic achievements, as well as assist them in their academic pursuits. Both 2- and 4- year institutions are eligible to create chapters. Providing benefits to both individual student members and entire institutions, SALUTE is an investment in excellence all around.

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