The Golden Key International Honour Society (formerly Golden Key National Honor Society) is an

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital city, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georgia, Fulton County, the mos ...

-based

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

founded in 1977 to recognize academic achievement among college and university students. Golden Key has chapters at colleges and universities in

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, and the

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. Membership into Golden Key is offered to undergraduate and graduate students recognized to be among the top 15% of their class by GPA.Kristen Wyatt
Golden Key Shows Tarnish, Critics Say
''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large na ...

'', April 21, 2002. Lifetime membership is given to those who pay a one-time fee, which was US$60 in 2002 and is US$95 in the United States. GK Medal

History

Golden Key National Honour Society was founded by James W. Lewis at

Georgia State University Georgia State University (Georgia State, State, or GSU) is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1913, it is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities. It is also the largest institution of hig ...

in Atlanta, Georgia in 1977.Andrew Brownstein, "Dishonor Society". ''

The Chronicle of Higher Education ''The Chronicle of Higher Education'' is a newspaper and website that presents news, information, and jobs for college and university faculty and student affairs professionals (staff members and administrators). A subscription is required to re ...

''. March 22, 2002. The original intent of the society was to create a new academic honor organization that was the equal of longstanding

honor societies In the United States, an honor society is a rank organization that recognizes excellence among peers. Numerous societies recognize various fields and circumstances. The Order of the Arrow, for example, is the National Honor Society of the Boy S ...

such as

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ...

, but which did not carry the same perceived

elitism Elitism is the belief or notion that individuals who form an elite—a select group of people perceived as having an intrinsic quality, high intellect, wealth, power, notability, special skills, or experience—are more likely to be construc ...

of older institutions, operating more strictly on merit standards (by accepting students in the top 15% of their college classes, and permitting part-time and transfer students who excelled academically). The society expanded over the course of the 1980s on a minimal budget, increasing the number of schools at which it had chapters and membership at those chapters. Lewis moved the institution's headquarters to a former Church of Christ Scientist building in the

Druid Hills Druid Hills is a community which includes both a census-designated place (CDP) in unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, United States, as well as a neighborhood of the city of Atlanta. The CDP's population was 14,568 at the 2010 census. The ...

area of Atlanta in 1984. In the late 1980s, the society began attracting corporate sponsorships, providing data about its students to its sponsors, and holding large sponsored networking events, arguing that the strategy increased students' competitiveness in the job market. It expanded to Australia in the mid-1990s, and in 2000 changed its name to Golden Key International Honour Society in order "to reflect tsinternational presence". Lewis, who by the late 1990s was making more than $300,000 as chairman of the organization, stepped down in January 2000 after being pressured by his board, and was replaced by Carl Patton. Patton resigned in 2002 after a round of negative press coverage about the society.Paige Shamsi
Golden Key Honor Society comes under fire for lowering standards
'' Student Life'', April 18, 2002. By 2002, the society was "one of the largest collegiate honor societies in the world", with an annual budget of US$10.9 million and over 120,000 inductees annually.

Countries

Golden Key has started chapters in the following countries: *1977 – United States of America *1993 – Australia *1997 – Canada *1998 – Malaysia *1999 – New Zealand *2000 – South Africa *2010 – The Bahamas *2011 – India

Membership and activities

Golden Key's main office is in Atlanta, Georgia, with regional offices in

Sydney, Australia Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and List of cities in Oceania by population, Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metro ...

, and

Pretoria, South Africa Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends eastward into the foot ...

.Brian Carr
Golden Key International Honour Society: A Georgia original, recognizing young leaders worldwide
Georgia Center for Nonprofits, May 2015. It manages approximately 400 campus chapters worldwide. In its early years, Golden Key anticipated

volunteerism Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...

drives on college campuses by organizing community service efforts, such as working in

soup kitchen A soup kitchen, food kitchen, or meal center, is a place where food is offered to the hungry usually for free or sometimes at a below-market price (such as via coin donations upon visiting). Frequently located in lower-income neighborhoods, soup ...

s, reading to children at libraries, and doing tax preparation help for low-income and immigrant populations. Since chapters are not centrally managed, charity and volunteer efforts are now fostered through a system called SPARK a Change, which allows chapters to determine the causes they support and the level of involvement of students. Golden Key offers résumé and graduate program assistance, career planning and opportunities, leadership opportunities in local chapters, and networking events. It also offers scholarships, awards, research grants, travel support for academic conference attendance, and

student loan A student loan is a type of loan designed to help students pay for post-secondary education and the associated fees, such as tuition, books and supplies, and living expenses. It may differ from other types of loans in the fact that the interest r ...

debt relief to its members. The organization operates as a non-profit under section

501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of ...

of the U.S.

Internal Revenue Code The Internal Revenue Code (IRC), formally the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, is the domestic portion of federal statutory tax law in the United States, published in various volumes of the United States Statutes at Large, and separately as Title 2 ...

. Golden Key sought and was denied acceptance to the

Association of College Honor Societies The Association of College Honor Societies (ACHS) is a predominantly American, voluntary association that serves a number of functions with respect to national collegiate and post-graduate honor societies. ACHS coordinates member organizations, fac ...

in 1984 and 1997. Golden Key was accepted by the ACHS in 2005. Golden Key resigned from the

in December 2013 after what the ACHS indicated was "a series of on-going discussions and correspondence."

Criticism

A 1999 article in the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks among the top thr ...

student newspaper, ''The

Ubyssey ''The Ubyssey'' is the University of British Columbia's official, independent student-run paper and is published bi-weekly on Tuesday. Founded on October 18, 1918, ''The Ubyssey'' is an independent publication funded by a $7.09 annual fee, from ...

'', examined the society's finances and scholarship practices after it established a chapter on campus in 1998. ''Ubyssey'' obtained the organization's IRS filings for 1997 and noted "Golden Key spent just $289,461 (US dollars) on scholarships, less than 5 per cent of their total expenditures for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1997." Golden Key reported on its own website in 2009 that it had increased scholarship disbursals to over $500,000 annually,Students should take caution when picking honor societies
''

The Daily Nebraskan ''The Daily Nebraskan'', established in 1871 as the ''Monthly Hesperian Student'', is the student newspaper of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Although many journalism students are on staff, the ''Daily Nebraskan'' is independent of the uni ...

'', February 10, 2009. but a later report indicated that spending on member events and scholarships in 2014 were less than $200,000. A 2002 report by ''

'' reported that there were conflicts within the society's administration over the lowering of academic standards required for admission and inflated recruitment numbers from local university chapters. The society's aggressive marketing techniques toward eligible members were criticized in 2002 by the president of the

National Collegiate Honors Council The National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC) is an association of undergraduate honors programs, colleges, directors, deans, faculty Faculty may refer to: * Faculty (academic staff), the academic staff of a university (North American usage) ...

. The business practices of Golden Key also attracted the ''Chronicle'''s notice, as well as that of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...

''. Sponsoring corporations, who paid a minimum of $55,000 a year (2002) to access Golden Key's membership lists, sent students "mass mailings for such products as credit cards and auto insurance." Golden Key responded to these criticisms by stating that it was standard practice among alumni groups and honor societies. The ''Chronicle'' quoted former employees who thought the institution's expenditures on parties and upper executive salaries, as well as its maintenance of the Druid Hills headquarters, were lavish and inconsistent with the former ideal of "a student-centered, nonprofit organization." The ''

Atlanta Journal-Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the only major daily newspaper in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger between ...

'' reported poor accounting practices under Lewis's tenure in the late 1990s, and investigators were unable to determine exactly how much he was paid due to bookkeeping discrepancies.John McCosh, "Golden Key founder loses luster". ''

'', April 6, 2002. A 2016 investigation by Australian student newspaper ''

Honi Soit ''Honi Soit'' is the student newspaper of the University of Sydney. First published in 1929, the newspaper is produced by an elected editorial team and a select group of reporters sourced from the university's populace. The name is an abbrev ...

'' found that Golden Key continued to release data about students, without their consent, to corporate sponsors.Tom Joyner
The Honour Society
''

'', May 31, 2016. Some students reported to student newspaper investigators that they were unsure of the society's benefitsWill McDonald
Golden Key honour society holds national networking summit
''

'', February 8, 2012. or did not find the society's networking opportunities worth the cost of membership. ''Honi Soit'' also noted that society staffers altered the Golden Key International Honour Society

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page to burnish the institution's image.

References

External links

* {{authority control 1977 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) Student organizations established in 1977 Non-profit organizations based in Georgia (U.S. state) Honor societies Former members of Association of College Honor Societies