Association of College Honor Societies

The Association of College Honor Societies (ACHS) is a voluntary association of national collegiate and post-graduate honor societies.

History
The Association of College Honor Societies was formed in 1925 to create a network of affiliated societies and promote standards for scholarship and leadership on campus. The founding societies intended to establish and maintain desirable standards for groups wishing to call themselves honor societies. These standards included criteria for membership, governance, and chapter operation. Representatives of Alpha Omega Alpha, the Order of the Coif, Phi Beta Kappa, and Sigma Xi attended its preliminary meeting held on October 2, 1925. When ACHS was officially established on December 30, 1925, its founding members were Alpha Omega Alpha, the Order of the Coif, Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi, Sigma Xi, and Tau Beta Pi.

Since that time, more than 65 honors societies have joined ACHS, turning it into an international organization. However, not all legitimate honor societies apply for membership in ACHS. ACHS coordinates member organizations and facilitates communications between them. It also provides both scholarships to members of its member organizations.

The honor society standards set by the Association of College Honor Societies are mentioned by the U.S. government's Office of Personnel Management for entry into government employment at GS-7 Level: "Applicants can be considered eligible based on membership in one of the national scholastic honor societies listed... by the Association of College Honor Societies. Agencies considering eligibility based on any society not included in the following list must ensure that the honor society meets the minimum requirements of the Association of College Honor Societies."

List of member organizations
As of 2024, 65 organizations are affiliated with the ACHS.

Former members
While the Association of College Honor Societies, with sixty-nine members as of 2022, remains the largest trade association of honor societies, some former members have resigned from ACHS membership to operate independently. Of these, several have either merged into successor groups that remain part of the ACHS or have gone dormant.

Recently, four of the oldest independent honor societies, including three of the original six founding members of the ACHS, have formed a new coordinating organization called the Honor Society Caucus.