2004 Assembly of Delegates Business
November 11-14, 2004

Eight-Point Motion
In accordance with the Society's Constitution, each year the Assembly of Delegates considers a motion from the Board of Directors to set the dues and fees for the year beginning next 1 July. This motion form the Board contains 8 parts or items and is referred to as "the eight-point motion" because the motion has 8 points, yet is traditionally voted on by the Assembly as a single motion. This enables the Assembly to set the dues and fees in a single vote, rather than voting separately on each of the 8 points within the motion.

The eight-point motion contains the proposed dues for each class of Sigma Xi membership (regular, student, emeritus, etc.), the initiate and promotion fee, and the travel subvention that will be paid for delegates to attend the next annual meeting. Eight-point motion for 2005-2006 (FY06). The eight-point motion recommended by the Society's Board of Directors to the November 2004 Assembly of Delegates for the year beginning 1 July 2005 contains no increases except that annual dues for regular and life members, and the amount returned to chapters from each affiliated member, shall be increased by the Higher Education Price Index (HEPI) for the year ending 30 June 2004. Annual dues are rounded up to the nearest dollar, Life membership up to the nearest US$25, and Local Support rounded up to the nearest US$0.50. This motion is essentially identical, except for the year affected and these three dues categories, to the motion approved for the current year by the November 2003 Assembly.

The Higher Education Price Index (HEPI)
The November 2003 Assembly of Delegatesapproved a recommendation that the Society's annual dues, Life Membership, and Local Support be tied into the Higher Education Price Index, rather than the Consumer Price Index (CPI) that has been used recently. The Higher Education Price Index (HEPI), produced by Research Associates of Washington DC, is based on the prices (salaries) of faculty and of administrators and other professional service personnel; clerical, technical, service, and other nonprofessional personnel; contracted services such as data processing, communication, transportation, supplies and materials, and equipment; library acquisitions; and utilities. The HEPI more accurately reflects the types of expenses that Sigma Xi must meet annually than the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures the cost of a market basket of consumer goods and services. Normally the HEPI is similar to the CPI and tracks similarly to the CPI from year to year.