Officer Academy returns this academic year!
Incoming collegiate chapter Executive Committee officers: Invest in yourself and become the best leader you can be. Join us for Officer Academy 2026!
Throughout the Officer Academy experience, collegiate Executive Committee officers will participate in EQUIP: Officer Skills Training. Developed by RISE Partnerships, an industry-leading organization, this curriculum gives new collegiate chapter leaders the skills to manage the interpersonal and situational challenges and opportunities they will face in their new positions.
Register for Saturday, January 10 or Friday, January 16 — choose the date that works best for you!
Overview:
- Officer Academy is for ALL incoming Executive Committee officers!
- The more Executive Committee members your chapter sends, the less you pay.
- Gain leadership skills that set you up in your AΣΤ role and beyond with 400+ Sisters nationwide.
- Officer Academy 2026 consists of pre-work in the Learning Lounge (approx. 60-90 minutes) and a live virtual event offered on two dates — Saturday, January 10, and Friday, January 16 — choose the date that works best for you!
- Registration opens on Saturday, November 1, and closes on Wednesday, December 17! You can register in Officer Portal under “Submit a Form.” The form will be located under the “Forms that Can Be Completed at Anytime” section.
Learn more about Officer Academy 2026
Alpha Sigma Tau is helping women become stronger leaders.
In January 2026, nearly 500 incoming collegiate chapter Executive Committee members took part in Officer Academy!
To make this cornerstone leadership program accessible to every incoming Executive Committee member, the curriculum was delivered virtually in a hybrid model.
Leadership On-Demand
First, participants completed leadership lessons in an online, on-demand format. The curriculum featured core leadership principles that help these chapter leaders manage interpersonal and situational challenges and opportunities they’ll face in their new positions—and in any role leading or being on a team:
Officer Academy LIVE!
For the live portion of Officer Academy, participants were grouped by officer role and with similar chapters. In these groups, Sisters applied their new knowledge, collaborated to solve the scenarios, and truly connect with one another as Sisters.
Watch this video to come along with Sabrina during Officer Academy 2025!
Sisters in leadership roles learned how to become…
Strategic Leaders
Sisters learned how to tackle technical and adaptive challenges, apply critical thinking, reset and readjust strategies, and leverage resources and support for effective chapter management.
Skillful Leaders
Sisters learned to apply leadership styles, foster engagement, manage projects effectively, and delegate tasks, ensuring collaborative success and stronger chapter operations.
Mindful Leaders
Sisters discovered how to lead with empathy, navigate conflict with care, and create a culture of accountability while prioritizing wellness and setting healthy boundaries to strengthen their chapter’s connections.
Officer Academy Overview
What’s the schedule for Officer Academy?
While there’s pre-work for attendees to complete beforehand, Officer Academy 2026 live programming will take place virtually on Saturday, January 10, 2026, and Friday, January 16, 2026. Participants only need to attend ONE of the live programs.
Officer Academy: Equip Officer Skills Training Schedule
| 10 – 10:15 a.m. ET | Welcome and Introduction to Officer Academy | Large Group Webinar |
| 10:20 – 11 a.m. ET | Meet and Greet Your Team | |
| 11 – 11:45 a.m. ET | What Would You Do? | |
| 11:45 a.m. – 12 p.m. ET | BREAK (order lunch, if needed) | |
| 12 p.m. – 1:15 p.m. ET | Work the Problem | |
| 1:15 – 2:10 p.m. ET | LUNCH BREAK | |
| 2:15 – 3 p.m. ET | Advisor and Student Leader Panel | Large Group Webinar |
| 3:05 – 3:50 p.m. ET | Sisterly Support | |
| 3:50 – 4 p.m. ET | BREAK | |
| 4 – 4:45 p.m. ET | My Next 30 Days | |
| 4:50 – 5 p.m. ET | Closing | Large Group Webinar |
What will I gain from taking part in Officer Academy?
Officer Academy is designed to equip all participants with the knowledge and skills necessary to be an effective leader. While we focus on your leadership role in Alpha Sigma Tau, the skills you learn and develop throughout the program translate to any role leading or being on a team. The program is organized into three sections covering a variety of topics including:
The Strategic Leader
- About Strategic Leadership
- Technical and Adaptive Problems
- Critical Thinking Techniques
- Resettling and Adjusting
- Resources and Support
The Skillful Leader
- About Skillful Leadership
- Leadership Styles
- Engagement
- Project Management
- Delegation
The Mindful Leader
- About Mindful Leadership
- Leading through Emotion
- Addressing Conflict
- Accountability
- Personal and Communal Wellness
- Identifying Boundaries
How does this program work?
Officer Academy is broken into two parts: pre-work through the Alpha Sigma Tau Learning Lounge and the live virtual event via Zoom on Saturday, January 10, and Friday, January 16. Participants only need to attend ONE of the live virtual event dates.
Pre-work
First, all attendees will complete our Officer Academy 2026 course in the Learning Lounge. In this online course, you’ll learn the fundamentals that you’ll put into practice during our live event on January 10 or 16.
This course will be available to you on Monday, November 24, and you must complete it before your live virtual event date. Complete it at your own pace (the Learning Lounge saves your progress), but you’ll need approximately 60-90 minutes to complete pre-work.
Failure to complete the course before your live virtual event date will result in a canceled registration and inability to attend the live program.
Officer Academy Live Virtual Experience
Now that your pre-work is done, you and your Sisters in Executive Committee positions from chapters across the country will gather for our live virtual experience!
Our live virtual experience will be offered on Saturday, January 10, and Friday, January 16, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET. Participants must be able to attend all sessions in their entirety on the selected live date to participate.
This live event is your opportunity to identify and work through potential leadership challenges you may face during your term through a scenario-based learning experience. The experience will include both large and small group sessions with Sisters from all over the country.
Participants will also be expected to complete pre-and-post program surveys.
Keep in mind that Officer Academy curriculum is not designed as position-specific training. The skills you’ll gain at Officer Academy are general leadership skills that can be applied to your role in AΣΤ, other organizations, internships/jobs, life beyond college, and more. Position-specific training courses and resources are available as part of the New Officer Onboarding program.
Who can participate in Officer Academy?
All Executive Committee officers (Chapter President and Vice Presidents) are invited and strongly encouraged to participate in Officer Academy. Regardless of which position she holds in the chapter, each participant will leave Officer Academy with new skills, ideas, and resources related to leadership, accountability, delegation, and more.
How much does it cost?
Each collegiate chapter will be billed a one-time registration fee in February, based on the number of officers from your chapter who successfully complete the program. Successful completion means registered participants complete the required pre-work course and participate in all live virtual sessions in their entirety. No exceptions will be made for these requirements.
Send more members and pay less!
We believe so strongly in the Officer Academy: EQUIP Officers Skills Training Program to prepare your chapter’s Executive Committee officers that we will decrease the registration fee as the number of Executive Committee officers from your chapter who successfully complete the program increases.
Chapters will be assessed a registration fee as follows:
- 6 to 8 officers – FREE!
- 4 to 5 officers – $250
- 1 to 3 officers – $400
- 0 officers – $750
Send your entire Executive Committee and pay NOTHING!
What if I have an unavoidable conflict and cannot attend? Will my chapter be billed for my absence?
By offering two dates for the live virtual event, we expect there should be minimal conflicts, but we understand there may be some unavoidable circumstances that will prevent Executive Committee officers from participating.
If there are conflicts for BOTH dates of the live virtual program, we will provide an exemption toward the total count of your chapter’s participating officers for the following circumstances with appropriate documentation submitted via the Officer Academy Exemption Request Form in Officer Portal by Wednesday, December 17:
- Official Panhellenic recruitment events – the chapter must submit the official Panhellenic-approved recruitment schedule detailing the dates and times of recruitment rounds. (Note: this exemption does not include recruitment-related events scheduled by the chapter).
- Credit-bearing study abroad – the officer must provide a copy of an official program letter with the dates of the program.
- Collegiate athletic event or competition – the officer must provide the event or competition schedule.
- Severe illness or hospitalization* – the officer must provide a doctor’s note documenting the date treatment was sought or needed.
- Family death or funeral* – the officer should contact Jessa Albert at jalbert@alphasigmatau.org or 317-613-7231.
Requests for exemption outside these circumstances will not be considered.
*Documentation is not required to be submitted by December 17.
How can I register?
Registration will be available starting November 1, 2025.
Executive Committee Elect officers can register for Officer Academy via Officer Portal under “Submit a Form.” The form will be located under the “Forms that Can Be Completed at Anytime” section. All registrations must be submitted by Wednesday, December 17, 2025.
Note: Participants must be reported in an Officer Elect position in MCR, with the update reflected in Officer Portal, before registration will be available. So if your chapter elected new officers but hasn’t updated your officer listings yet, you’ll need to do that first.
What will I need to prepare?
Each participant will need to complete the following:
- Register individually via Officer Portal no later than December 17, 2025.
- Complete the Officer Academy pre-survey no later than January 8 (for the January 10 live event) or January 14 (for the January 16 live event). The survey link will be included in the confirmation email you will receive after registering and in the pre-work course in the Learning Lounge.
- Complete the assigned Officer Academy 2026 course in the Learning Lounge by 7 p.m. ET on January 9, 2025, for the January 10 event, or 7 p.m. ET on January 15, for the January 16 event. The course will be available on Monday, November 24, 2025. Failure to complete the course by the designated time will result in a canceled registration and inability to participate in the live program. Please note the course takes about 60-90 minutes to complete.
- Attend all sessions of the Officer Academy 2026 live program.
Officer Academy has too much going on for a small phone screen. All participants should have access to a laptop or desktop computer with a working web camera and audio (microphone/speakers/headphones) to participate fully.
Questions about Officer Academy? Contact Jessa Albert, Director of Chapter Volunteer Development, at jalbert@alphasigmatau.org or 317-613-7231.
Officer Academy returns this academic year!
Incoming collegiate chapter Executive Committee officers: Invest in yourself and become the best leader you can be. Join us for Officer Academy 2025!
Throughout the Officer Academy experience, collegiate Executive Committee officers will participate in EQUIP: Officer Skills Training. Developed by RISE Partnerships, an industry-leading organization, this curriculum gives new collegiate chapter leaders the skills to manage the interpersonal and situational challenges and opportunities they will face in their new positions.
Register by December 18 in Officer Portal!
Overview:
- Officer Academy is for ALL incoming Executive Committee officers!
- The more Executive Committee members your chapter sends, the less you pay.
- Gain leadership skills that set you up in your AΣΤ role and beyond with 400+ Sisters nationwide.
- Officer Academy 2025 consists of pre-work in the Learning Lounge (approx. 2 hours) and a live virtual event offered on two dates — Saturday, January 11, and Friday, January 17 — choose the date that works best for you! Officer Academy will take place from approximately 10 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. ET. You’ll need to complete both the course and the live event in their entirety.
- Register in Officer Portal by Wednesday, December 18!
Officer Academy and EQUIP: Officer Skills Training were made possible by a generous grant from the Alpha Sigma Tau National Foundation. Invaluable leadership opportunities like this are only possible thanks to donors who support the Foundation. Thank you for empowering the next generation of women to excel in life. Click here if you would like to support leadership programs like Officer Academy.
Curriculum Overview
Setting Direction
Participants kicked off their Officer Academy experience by completing a dashboarding activity in which they evaluated and then depicted their chapter’s current state on a number of dimensions of chapter health, including sense of sisterhood, health and safety, operations, academic performance, affinity and pride, and member engagement, among others. Participants then crafted a vision for their desired chapter state and developed goals for how to get from the current state to the desired state.
Leading Your Team: Engaging Members
Participants learned about how to involve and motivate members in meaningful ways through examining the “Power of Law”—a realistic and achievable theory of getting members to give just 5% more. Participants “worked their roster” to identify members with untapped talents and gifts that need to be reengaged through relationship building and then role-played asking those members for help in ways that were specific and personal.
Leading Your Team: Aligning Members
Participants explored the three keys to accountability: setting expectations, communicating expectations, and reinforcing expectations. They examined their own chapter’s cultural norms and evaluated the degree of alignment with desired expectations or behaviors. Participants then brainstormed ways to reward and encourage the more desired behaviors, while reducing reinforcement of undesired behaviors. Participants also discussed member personalities that might prove challenging, and practice skills for caring conversations using a confrontation framework.
Planning and Execution
Participants were challenged on the assumption that “members just aren’t engaged” and asked to consider that engagement is directly correlated to the energy-level and desirability of the events and activities we do. Participants were tasked with thinking through what turns an event from an “energy-suck” to an “energy-boost” and learned specific skills for event prototyping, breaking down the work into manageable parts, building and assigning the task list, and planning the calendar. Put it all together, and you have a recipe for a well-thought-out, engaging, and well-organized event.
Alpha Sigma Tau Leadership: Tools and Resources
Participants received an overview of important Alpha Sigma Tau tools and resources available to help support their success during their officer term. The program reviewed what, where, and why of the Chapter Support Team, Basecamp, Officer Portal, MyChapterRoom (MCR), Billhighway, CrowdChange, Parson-Bishop Services, and the Brand Toolkit.
Powered by donors to the AΣΤ Foundation
Officer Academy is only possible thanks to Sisters and friends who donate to the AΣΤ Foundation. Please make a gift of any amount to keep the Alpha Sigma Tau experience strong.
