Association of College Honor Societies

What Association of College Honor Societies does

The Association of College Honor Societies (ACHS) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit certification body founded in October 1925 in the United States. It is the only certifying agency for college and university honor societies in the country, setting standards for organizational excellence and scholastic eligibility while assuring member participation in governance through a Council of affiliate societies. ACHS currently certifies approximately 67-68 honor societies, through which approximately 500,000 students join honor societies annually. The organization is governed by a Council where each member society is represented by an official delegate, with a Board of Directors managing operations between council meetings, and operates in compliance with the Council for Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS) standards.

ACHS's core offerings center on certification and standards: petition review and admission for new member societies (with a $500 one-time admission fee), ongoing re-certification, a searchable online directory of certified societies for students and institutions, an annual conference that rotates through U.S. cities, and scholarship partnership programs with external organizations including The Fund for American Studies, The Washington Center, and United Planet. ACHS certification confers tangible benefits such as eligibility for the GS-7 federal employment pay grade, access to scholarships, and credibility against predatory non-certified organizations. The organization also publishes bylaws, eligibility requirements, classification systems for honor society types, and DEIA resources for member societies.

The business model is membership-based: ACHS collects annual dues from member societies on a sliding scale tied to the number of new members each society admits annually (primary recurring revenue), supplemented by one-time admission fees from new petitioning societies, conference sponsorships (nine named sponsors for 2026 including GreekTrack, PrintingPlus, and Collegiate Regalia), and grants. ACHS does not charge students directly; revenue derives entirely from certifying member societies and ancillary sponsor and grant support. The organization operates with 1-10 employees from a Sheridan, Wyoming mailing address and conducts no technology product development.

Name

Association of College Honor Societies

Legal name

Association of College Honor Societies

Website

https://achshonor.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1925

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Association of College Honor Societies is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit certification body that has served as the sole certifying agency for U.S. college and university honor societies since 1925, certifying approximately 67-68 member societies and reaching about 500,000 inducted students annually through dues, admission fees, and sponsorships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Association Certification Services

NAICS

Professional Organizations (813920), Business Associations (813910), Business, Professional, Labor, Political, and Similar Organizations (8139), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Accreditation Coordination, Recognition & Meta-Accreditation Bodies (EDADACAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

National/Institutional Accreditors (Career, Faith-Based, Distance, etc.) (EDADACAB), Accreditation Standards, Benchmarking & Framework Organizations (EDADACAJ), International/Transnational Accreditation & Recognition Bodies (EDADACAG), Accreditation Appeals, Arbitration & Compliance Oversight Bodies (EDADACAL), Standards, Metrology & Accreditation Bodies (BPAIAOAC)

Keywords

• Honor society certification
• Membership standards
• Higher education accreditation
• Nonprofit credentialing services
• Scholarship recognition

Headquarters

HQ city

Okemos

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Member Society Annual Dues: ACHS collects annual dues from member societies on a sliding scale based on the number of new members each society admits annually. This is the primary revenue source.
2. Admission Fees: New honor societies pay a $500 admission fee when petitioning for ACHS certification and membership approval.
3. Vendor Partnerships and Sponsorships: Conference sponsors (GreekTrack, PrintingPlus, VBR, Award Concepts, GCP, HJ, Collegiate Regalia, Switch, Schoen Trimming) provide revenue and in-kind support for annual conferences.
4. Grants: Supplementary revenue from grants to support organizational activities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Association of College Honor Societies certifies and credentials college and university honor societies through a formal petition and Council review process, enforces a Standards of Excellence framework governing organizational governance and scholastic eligibility, and operates a searchable public directory of its 67-68 certified member societies. It also runs an annual conference for governance, networking, and best-practice sharing, and facilitates scholarship opportunities through partner organizations for members of certified societies.

Product overview

The Association of College Honor Societies (ACHS) operates as a certifying and standards-setting body for college and university honor societies, not as a technology product company. ACHS's offerings consist of certification and credentialing services for honor societies, standards frameworks and governance documents, a searchable certified member directory, annual conferences, eligibility guidelines, scholarship partnerships, and DEIA resources. The core product is the certification service through which honor societies achieve neutral-body verification, with supporting products including the Standards of Excellence framework, Bylaws, Eligibility Requirements, Certified Society Search directory, and Annual Conference program. ACHS also facilitates scholarship opportunities through partner organizations for members of certified societies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Honor Society Certification Services Certification and credentialing services for college and university honor societies, including petition review, compliance evaluation, and ongoing re-certification to ensure adherence to ACHS standards of excellence. Customers are honor societies seeking neutral-body verification.
• Honor Society Standards of Excellence Comprehensive standards framework defining criteria for organizational excellence, including governance requirements, scholastic eligibility thresholds, campus chapter standards, and member eligibility classifications, used by honor societies and institutions to evaluate compliance.
• ACHS Certified Society Search Searchable online directory enabling students, parents, and institutions to verify and locate ACHS-certified honor societies, ensuring legitimacy of honor society affiliations.
• Annual Conference Annual professional gathering bringing together honor society leaders, educators, and members for networking, best practice sharing, leadership development, and ACHS governance meetings. Locations rotate through U.S. cities annually.
• ACHS Bylaws and Policies Official governance documentation including ACHS bylaws (amended January 30, 2026) and name use policy, establishing the organizational framework and standards for member honor societies.
• ACHS Eligibility Requirements Detailed eligibility criteria specifying requirements for honor societies to obtain and maintain ACHS certification, including classification types (General and Specialized), scholastic standards, and governance requirements.
• Scholarship and Partnership Programs Partnership-enabled scholarship opportunities for members of ACHS-certified honor societies, including programs with The Fund for American Studies, The Washington Center, The Osgood Center, The PhD Project, and United Planet offering merit-based awards and internship funding.
• Honor Society Credibility Evaluation Tools Resources and checklists for students, parents, and institutions to evaluate non-certified honor societies, including criteria assessment tools and guidance on verifying nonprofit status, transparent governance, and academic standards.

Quantifiable outcome

• 67-68 honor societies certified and actively participating
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• The Fund for American StudiesminorGTM or Marketing PartnerProvides merit-based $1,000 scholarship for one inducted student member of each ACHS society to attend TFAS Summer Institute or Capital Semester programs.
• The Washington Center for Internships and Academic SeminarsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerAwards $1,000 housing scholarships to selected students who are members of ACHS honor societies for internship programs.
• The Osgood CenterminorGTM or Marketing PartnerOffers $500 scholarship automatically awarded to any student who is a member of an ACHS member society for Washington, D.C. internship programs.
• The PhD ProjectminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEncourages ACHS member society students to participate in network supporting African-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, and Native Americans in attaining business Ph.D.s and becoming business school professors.
• United PlanetminorGTM or Marketing PartnerOffers one $500 merit-based scholarship per calendar year for inducted student members of each chapter within every ACHS member society for international volunteer programs in 35+ countries. Also provides five $500 scholarships for alumni.
• Council for Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerACHS operates in compliance with CAS standards for College Honor Society Programs. ACHS Executive Director Emeritus Dorothy Mitstifer collaborated on developing CAS standards for honor societies.
• National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRelationships with NCHC strengthen the visibility and role of ACHS in the higher education community.
• GreekTrackminorOthers2026 ACHS Conference sponsor.
• PrintingPlusminorOthers2026 ACHS Conference sponsor.
• VBRminorOthers2026 ACHS Conference sponsor.
• Award ConceptsminorOthers2026 ACHS Conference sponsor.
• GCPminorOthers2026 ACHS Conference sponsor.
• HJminorOthers2026 ACHS Conference sponsor (HJ logotypes).
• Collegiate RegaliaminorOthers2026 ACHS Conference sponsor (academic regalia provider).
• SwitchminorOthers2026 ACHS Conference sponsor.
• Schoen TrimmingminorOthers2026 ACHS Conference sponsor.
• Redstone AgencyminorOthersPhone service provider for ACHS phone line (877-321-2131).

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA): CHEA is a meta-accreditation and recognition body that coordinates U.S. accreditors, structurally analogous to ACHS's role of recognizing and coordinating honor society accreditees.
• National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC): NCHC is a core partner of ACHS and serves the parallel audience of college honors programs and colleges, with overlapping membership and a shared mission of advancing excellence in higher education.
• Council for Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS): CAS sets the standards framework that ACHS explicitly co-develops and complies with for college honor society programs. It is the closest peer organization in the higher-education standards-setting space.

Broad incumbents

• American Council on Education (ACE): ACE is a major higher-education coordinating and advocacy body that convenes institutions and sets broader policy frameworks, comparable to ACHS as a coordinating, standards-oriented higher-ed association.
• Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE): MSCHE accredits colleges and universities in the Mid-Atlantic region. It is comparable as a peer accreditation body that issues standards-based certifications to learning institutions.
• Higher Learning Commission (HLC): HLC is a large regional accreditor for degree-granting institutions. It operates an institutional accreditation model structurally similar to ACHS's honor-society certification model, at a much larger scale.
• WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC): WSCUC is a regional accreditor serving institutions in the western U.S. It provides a comparable accreditation/certification function for higher education entities.
• Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP): ACBSP is a specialized accreditor for business schools and programs, comparable to ACHS as a specialized programmatic accreditor issuing standards-based certification.

Emerging players

• Phi Beta Kappa Society: Phi Beta Kappa is the oldest U.S. academic honor society and a publicly recognized honor society brand, comparable as the most prestigious honor society counterpart to ACHS-certified societies.

Others

• National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA): NASFAA is a membership association serving higher education professionals, analogous to ACHS as a membership-based standards community in higher education (though not a certifying body).

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/achsnatl
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/association-of-college-honor-societies

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Association of College Honor Societies