What is a Merit Award?

The annual Merit Award program recognizes chapters for outstanding activities and programs in four broad areas:

• Chapter support to the professional development of members.
• Chapter support of SHRM.
• Chapter support of the profession.
• Professional operation of the chapter.

All SHRM student chapters are invited to submit an entry and chapters can earn awards regardless of their size. In the spring, the application is completed by listing the chapter's activities in the appropriate categories and assigning a point value to each. Completed applications and documentation are then submitted to SHRM by the end of March for review. All active chapters that accumulate the required number of points are awarded either a Merit or a Superior Merit Award plaque in May.

• Why should my chapter apply for a Merit Award?
  Completing a Merit Award application is a way to review and evaluate a chapter's progress towards its goals. Just as a company has a mission statement, a chapter should have a unifying purpose. Winning a Merit or Superior Merit Award provides an organization with national recognition for a job well done. Participation can result in the following rewards:
• National recognition. Winners are publicized in Echoes, to the professional chapters, and at the Society's annual conference. Professional SHRM members participate in a similar Merit Award program, so they understand the value of this accomplishment.
• Opportunity to share what you've learned. Successful programs reported in Merit Award entries are communicated to other chapters through the "Idea Book". Our experiences could help other students enrich their chapter programming.
• School recognition. Demonstrate the accomplishments of our chapter in a tangible way to other student organizations on campus. Display the award plaque for everyone to see.
• Satisfaction of doing your best. Anything worth doing is worth doing well. We will develop the habit of doing our best in all the activities we undertake. This quality is impressive to potential employers.

• HRMA received its 23rd consecutive Superior Merit Award in 2006-2007. This accomplishment is highly recognized by PIHRA, SHRM, and HR professionals—all of whom provide countless resources and time to our organization. These awards could not have been won without the dedicated support of our officers, faculty advisors, alumni, sponsors, and—most importantly—our members.