Annual Renewal &
Chapter Development Reports

BMES recommends each student chapter review the Chapter Development Report Guidelines to successfully complete their renewal and eligibility for awards. 

Annual Renewal

Each student chapter is required to renew its Charter with the BMES national office on an annual basis.  Renewal is completed by submitting a Chapter Development Report (CDR) to BMES on May 1, 2024 each year, making this task mandatory.

All CDRs must be submitted via the 2024 CDR Submission form in a single .pdf document by the deadline.

Student Chapter Development Report Guidelines

The BMES Chapter Development Report (CDR) is a tool for BMES student chapters to monitor and assess their progress on an annual basis. It is also the means by which chapters renew their chapter charter to stay nationally recognized.

This tool also acts also as a measure for BMES to award student chapters for their successful operations, activities, and programs. As such, the CDR guidelines outlined below are designed to maximize each submitted CDR’s Outstanding award potential.

We strongly encourage chapters to create CDRs as a record of their chapter’s ongoing activities. Updating your CDR yearly will ensure that your chapter records are accurate and up to date and will assist next year’s leadership by tracking the previous year’s programs.

Submitting a CDR is a requirement; however, it is up to the chapters how many sections (and thus how many Outstanding Awards) they wish to submit for. Additionally, each CDR will have space to include the information for your one FREE BMES Student Membership – consider it your chapter’s compliance reward for submitting a yearly CDR.

High scoring CDRs are also considered for the following awards:

• Outstanding Chapter Award
• Commendable Achievement Award
• Outstanding Outreach Award
• Outstanding Mentoring Program Award
• Outstanding Chapter-Industry Program Award
• Outstanding Societal Impact Award
• Up and Coming New Student Chapter Award
• Outstanding High School Chapter Award

There is no maximum page limit when writing your CDR, but we do request you be succinct in your submission; BMES encourages you to meet the requirement minimums while still being free to elaborate program details where necessary.

Membership Renewal

In order for your CDR to maintain compliancy with BMES as well as to be eligble for an award, at least TEN of the student members listed in your CDR must have active student memberships and 1 faculty advisor with an active professional membership.  For joint universities, the requirement is at least 15 members with 2 faculty advisors with active memberships. Please note, an active BMES membership means that the students and the advisor(s) listed ALL have either paid or renewed their student or professional membership with our society. Expired, nonmember and/or unpaid memberships will not qualify. If you are unsure about the status of your CDR roster, or if you would like to pay or renew memberships for your chapter members simultaneously, please email studentaffairs@bmes.org.

Format Requirements

The only required page is the first page titled: Renewal Document. If you are submitting for awards, it is suggested you include all other pages listed.

Your CDR should be formatted into sections as outlined below to receive the minimum point allocations for award consideration; if your CDR does not contain each section or it doesn’t adhere to the guidelines, you will not be allocated points for that section/s. Moving forward, chapter scores will be provided upon request.

I. Renewal Document (Required)

1. Faculty Advisors Information
   1. Name
   2. Email Address

1. Ten core Student Members Information
   1. Name of ten student BMES members
   2. Email Address
   3. Chapter Positions (if applicable)
2. Student Chapter/Department Website Link
3. One Free Student Membership Information
   1. Name
   2. Email Address
   3. Chapter Positions (if applicable) 

II. Cover Page

1. Year
2. Contact Information of Submitting Party
3. Minimum 200-Word CDR Summation

III. Cover Letter

1. One-Page Chapter Summation from the Faculty Advisor

IV. Table of Contents

1. Administrative Report
   1. 200 Word Abstract
   2. Chapter Officer Information
   3. Membership Breakdown
   4. Chapter Meeting Dates and Agendas

VI. Treasury Report

1. 200 Word Abstract
2. Chapter Balance Sheet

VII. Chapter Activities

1. Abstract of all Chapter Activities

VIII. Social or Other Activities

1. 200 Word Abstract
2. List of Social, Networking, or Other Chapter Activities
3. Breakdown of Attendance and Cost

IX. Inter-Chapter Activities

1. 200 Word Abstract
2. List of any Chapter Activities Coinciding with another BMES Student Chapter
3. Breakdown of Attendance and Cost

X. Outreach Activities

1. 200 Word Abstract
2. List of any Outreach Activities
3. Breakdown of Attendance and Cost

XI. Mentoring Activities

1. 200 Word Abstract
2. List of any Mentoring Activities
3. Breakdown of Attendance and Cost

XII. Industry and Professional Development Activities

1. 200 Word Abstract
2. List of any Industry or Professional Development Activities
3. Breakdown of Attendance and Cost

XIII. Societal Impact Activities

1. 200 Word Abstract
2. List of any published, created, or working projects that provide a real-world solution to medical issues affecting those in their community.
3. Breakdown of Attendance and Cost

XIV. National BMES Meeting

1. Summation of Past Experiences or Future Expectations/Goals for Attending the Annual Meeting

XV. Future Direction

1. Summation of Next Year’s Chapter Goals
2. Outline of Goal Achievement Strategy

The Outstanding Chapter Award and Commendable Chapter Award will be determined by those two chapters with the highest averaged score.

The Up and Coming New Student Chapter Award will be determined by the chapter with the highest averaged score from those chapters whose charter was approved within one scholastic year of CDR submission.

The Outstanding High School Chapter Award will be determined by the chapter with the highest averaged score from the pool of High School Student Chapter CDR submissions.

Sample Winning CDRs

2022 winner Ohio State University

2022 winner Pine View High School

2022 winner 3 Southern California University

Revocation of a Student Chapter Charter

A student chapter’s charter may be revoked by the Biomedical Engineering Society if it fails to satisfy the qualifications criteria cited above, if it fails to renew its charter annually, or if its continuance is considered not to be in the best interest of the Society.