New Membership Model

ACHA will be implementing a new member model, effective January 2021, to reflect the growing benefit of membership. This new model, which allows free individual membership under a member school, expands access to ACHA’s valuable resources and programming to more people within the field of higher education and college health and wellness. Learn more about the new model below. If you have additional questions, please contact membership@acha.org.

ACHA New Membership Model: FAQs

What is the new member model?

The new member model will be implemented for the membership year starting January 1, 2021. All individuals who are part of a member school will be able to join for free, where in years past, they had to pay dues. All member schools will see an adjustment in their institutional dues to reflect the increased member benefits.

Why did ACHA change its institutional dues model?

We moved to an unlimited membership model to extend the benefits of ACHA membership to even more college health and wellness professionals as well as a wider range of other groups on campus. Every ACHA member is connected to a national network of their peers and gets access to numerous resources and opportunities. Our members can accelerate their professional development and enhance their campus health and wellness services through discounted and exclusive educational events, products, and services.

In the past, when an institution joined ACHA, only two individuals were able to get a membership included. We believe that all employees of an institution should benefit from their institutional membership and thought now was the right time to make the change. Over the years, the challenge of our former institutional model was that institutions were forced to make a choice of which two individuals could hold the membership. The new model allows us to expand the value of membership to all employees and to further reinforce the importance of health and well-being across all campus stakeholders. Additionally, this will help ACHA cultivate long-term relationships with its members and to help engage a large mindshare of members to help advance the work of ACHA.

What are the benefits to this new member model?

  • It will help spread the value of membership to all employees within your institution.
  • It helps strengthen the importance of health and well-being across all stakeholders.
  • Our members have been requesting this change for many years.
  • It will expand the number of volunteers involved in ACHA.
  • It reinvigorates our local affiliates and creates a larger group to engage in local work.

We have significantly expanded our member value through programs such as the Connected College Health Network (CCHN), ACHA Connect, HealthyStartU [coming soon], and the College Health and Wellness Professional (CHWP) Certification Program, as well as new electronic communications.

How are institutional dues calculated moving forward?

The following chart will be used to determine institutional dues. Simply identify your total health and well-being budget (as defined by spending related to health services, counseling services, and/or health promotion services) including staffing and find the corresponding range below:

The institutional dues will continue to be based on total health center budget but will remove the percentage calculation to be replaced with ranges. All individuals whose schools are nonmembers will still pay dues.

Do all new faculty and staff members at institutions automatically become members?

Only if you held an individual membership in the past year. For example, a 2020 individual will auto-renew to 2021 when the school renews for 2021, but not a 2019 individual. All lapsed members over 2 years and brand new individuals must ask their designated representative to activate their membership via the Roster Manager. If that is not possible and your school is permitting members to add themselves, you can go to the ACHA website, create an account if you've never had one and add yourself to the institution to activate the membership at no additional cost.

Is there a limit to how many staff are free under a member school?

No, the new member model allows for an unlimited number of staff and faculty at a member school to join.

What happens to the Representatives of a Member Institution (RMIs)?

We will still continue to have a primary RMI for each institution. The RMIs play an important role in helping to serve as an administrative contact for the institution’s membership and also will continue to hold the sole vote for the institution within ACHA. We will suggest that the RMI review the member roster for their institution periodically to ensure it is correct.

What happens if an institution does not want to remain a member?

On January 2, 2021, if an institutional member does not renew, they will lapse and lose access to ACHA’s products, services and membership rates. Individuals would still have an option to apply for individual membership, but there are significant differences in the benefits so please make sure to evaluate the differences in member benefits on our website.

Are there any other planned changes to the membership model?

None are currently planned at this time. However, ACHA is constantly looking for ways to continue to enhance the value of membership, so new products and services may become available over time.