Please review our Individual Member benefits:

Subscriptions

With two publications, the NAGPS Annunciator, a periodic email news announcement, and the quarterly NAGPS Newsletter, you can stay informed on current graduate/professional student issues.

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Complementary Student Advantage Subscription

Full-year individual members receive a complementary Student Advantage card.  Student Advantage is the largest discount card in the US designed specifically for students!  You will gain access to discounts on Amtrak, Greyhound, Target.com and many other companies with this card - a $22.50 value included in your NAGPS membership!

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Access to Members-Only Content

Your NAGPS membership gives you access to members-only web content such as select content from national and regional conferences, student survey questionnaire templates, strategic plan examples, assessment survey data from graduate/professional student associations, and resources to develop graduate/professional student associations. 

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Annual and Regional Conference Invites

Even as an individual member, you can contribute to NAGPS and take what you learn back to your school's graduate/professional student body. At the conferences, students present about best practices and current issues at their universities, and all attendees engage in roundtable discussions of issues.  Issues addressed at the conferences include negotiating stipend increases, health and dental care, graduate families, activities, housing, working with the university administration, handling budget cuts, advisor-advisee relations, communications, and engaging students, among other topics. At the conferences’ membership meetings, members elect officers, and vote on amendments to the governing documents and legislative platform.

The conferences are an excellent place to build cross-university relationships that can lead to further collaboration throughout the year.  You are also eligible for the NAGPS Travel Award Program which subsidizes travel, lodging, and registration during the NAGPS National Conference. Click here for details on our previous conferences. In 2010, the National Conference will be hosted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, MA.

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Discounts on Publications & Services

NAGPS also provides tangible benefits for its members, including discounts on The Chronicle, BetterWorldBooks, Student Advantage discount cards, and on auto insurance through GEICO (up to 8%). Look for new discounts as NAGPS pursues additional corporate partners including dental, vision, disability, life, and tuition insurance partnerships among others.  

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Professional & Leadership Development

Not only is NAGPS a valuable resource on graduate/professional student issues, it is also a resource for professional and leadership development. NAGPS provides these resources in the members-only content area and hard copies can be sent to you upon request. We also have opportunities to further develop your professional and leadership skills by serving on any of our four membership committees or running for a seat on the Board of Directors. Learn more about the NAGPS organizational structure.

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Access to Health Insurance

NAGPS offers a health insurance plan to members who do not have access to health insurance. Benefit coverage for the new plan is provided through StudentResources, a UnitedHealthcare company specializing in university health programs.

The Student Injury and Sickness Insurance Plan offers students single coverage at a competitive cost from as low as $69/month for students ($65/month for international students).  Students joining the plan within 18 months of graduation are eligible.

Some of the important features of the plan are:

• Low monthly cost
• Access to a large nationwide panel of physicians
• Low co-pays and co-insurance for doctor's visits, hospitalization, lab, x-ray and prescriptions
• Coverage is available for your eligible dependents, including domestic partners
• Maternity is covered
• Coverage is guaranteed regardless of any medical condition
• All J1 visa requirements for medical coverage, repatriation and medical evacuation are satisfied by enrollment in this plan. 

For more information or to enroll in this plan, click here.

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Lobbying Experience & Training

During NAGPS Legislative Action Days (LAD), members carry out one of the most important missions of NAGPS: to advocate for its constituents. Twice a year, NAGPS organizes the event, provides professional lobby training, and provides policy briefings and materials for legislative visits.  At LAD, NAGPS members meet with their congressional representatives and address key federal policies affecting graduate and professional students.  NAGPS provides an on-site training session for all LAD attendees and provides other materials to prepare attendees.  Click here for the LAD event page.

Current NAGPS advocacy issues may be viewed on the Legislative Concerns Committee webpage. The Association’s legislative platform evolves with student needs and is able to react rapidly to the ever-changing academic and legislative environments.

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Voting Representation

You are eligible to vote in caucus (one vote per 40 individual members) for elections and ballot issues.

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Contribute Your Ideas

NAGPS welcomes your thoughts and ideas. Please forward your suggestions and feedback at anytime by our online form, email, or phone at (202) 596-9035 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting            (202) 596-9035      end_of_the_skype_highlighting.

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National Representation

With your membership, we can be your voice and forward the graduate/professional student agenda at the national level.

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