The ACHS is a group of honor societies that have come together to make guidelines for their membership. Like many legitimate honor societies, including four of the founding honor societies of ACHS who are no longer members, the NSLS is not a member of ACHS.
The NSLS standards exceed ACHS guidelines:
- The NSLS is held to external standards of performance and impact in education through its accreditation with Cognia (formerly AdvancED). This recognition is more rigorous than any endorsement from ACHS, as it requires the NSLS to obtain certification from the US Department of Education.
- The NSLS meets the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to its purpose through certification as a For-Benefit Organization. ACHS membership does not require member honor societies to achieve these rigorous standards.
- The NSLS maintains university-established criteria that best serves to recognize a distinguished group of their students. Nationally, less than 20 percent of the campus population receive an invitation to join the NSLS, while ACHS honor society standards include 20-35 percent of campus populations.