Success of first-year-free offer leads to expansion of student program

Emily M. Smith
ASME NEWS

The overall growth of new student members and their retention have been so high that an ASME program offering first-year-free membership to engineering students has been expanded a second time to include a total of 49 schools.

The program was first offered as a pilot program to seven schools in January 2001. The success rate was high enough so that, with $49,000 from ASME's Development Fund, 18 more schools were added in the 2001-02 fiscal year.

Further success led the Council on Member Affairs to approve a second expansion of the program for the 2002-03 fiscal year, using money left over from the Development Fund. CMA approved the addition of another 24 schools, bringing the total to 49.

The year before the first-year-free program started, the total retention rate at the first seven schools in the program was 51.9 percent. Retention at the first schools with the free membership program was 51 percent. But with the explosion of total new student members at those seven schools that occurred with the program, that retention percentage means that 201 more new students retained their membership under the first-year-free program.

The year before the first-year-free program was offered, the number of new student members at those schools totaled 587. The year after the program was in place, the new-student-member number leaped to 992, a growth of 69 percent. Growth of new student members at the 18 additional schools was 55 percent.

If retention numbers continue to be favorable, the council will decide whether to expand the program to all schools for the 2003-04 fiscal year.

 

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