What Does Deca Do For Students
Clara Vanliere
Our diverse, highly-motivated DECA members have college and career interests that closely align to our program areas. DECA members understand the need for career preparation and choose to enroll in more business courses than other business students.
Our Comprehensive Learning Program features a variety of educational programs across both divisions designed to engage and motivate DECA members to prepare for their futures. DECA provides an opportunity for chapter advisors to select and implement the programs that best align with their courses and curriculum.
Our educational programs help support important key initiatives in education, business and industry. DECA reinforces career and academic standards identified by business and industry in an effort to help close the 21st Century Skills gap.
DECA members understand the critical need to obtain a solid education, as well as the valuable connection between what they are currently learning and a successful career. DECA members seek challenging courses and advanced programs of study, and pursue college and career readiness with determination that outpaces the national average. In addition, the more engaged members are with DECA, the higher their GPAs, and the more likely they are to be successful self-challengers, choosing more relevant business courses and rigorous classes than their peers.
Imagine a classroom full of motivated students who are engaged in learning and captivated by the relevant information you share with them. DECA is your dream instructional tool.
For 6,000 teachers, DECA makes their teaching more fun and rewarding. It gives them the spirit to push their students to excel and the satisfaction of seeing them achieve success.
DECA is a tremendous benefit for your students, teachers, school and community. From case studies and activities to use in the classroom to access to cutting edge teacher professional development, DECA is aligned to Career and Technical Education goals to help support your program and curriculum.
First, make contact with your chartered association advisor. Then, visit Bring Your Classroom to Life and Advisor Resource Center for information on how to build and grow your chapter. Check out the 10 Steps to Getting Started with DECA.
DECA Inc. membership dues are $8 USD per person (student, advisor, alumni and professional) plus appropriate chartered association dues. Association dues can be found on your association's profile at deca.org/chartered-associations.
Each chartered association determines the criteria to charter DECA chapters within its state/province. Please reach out to your chartered association advisor for more information. DECA chapters must be associated with a school.
DECA membership is open year-round; however, DECA encourages all chapters to activate their chapter by submitting initial membership by November 15. This ensures that the chapter continues to receive communication, publications and services from DECA Inc. The deadline for members to be eligible to compete at the International Career Development Conference is February 15. Each chartered association may have earlier membership deadlines.
The minimum chapter size is ten (10) student members and one (1) advisor (or any combination of 11 paid members). The only exception is in the case of a new or reactivated chapter, which has two years to obtain the minimum chapter size. In this case, please contact the data management department at DECA.
DECA membership is available to students with career interests in marketing, entrepreneurship, finance, hospitality and management in grades nine through twelve. DECA membership is also open to DECA advisors, alumni and professional members. All DECA members must register through an official local chapter, and each chartered association may have additional membership guidelines.
Alumni members are individuals who have graduated and wish to remain involved with the program by paying the appropriate DECA Inc. and chartered association dues. Alumni members receive a sticker and the value of supporting an organization that has impacted them and additional emerging leaders and entrepreneurs. Alumni members should join through their local chapter, and the local chapter is encouraged to involve them.
All students who participate in DECA activities at the local, district, chartered association and/or international levels must pay chartered association and DECA Inc. dues. These activities include, but are not limited to, conferences, competitive events, online challenges, scholarship applications and more. Board policy states that all members, including advisors, must pay membership dues.
DECA has over 227,000 members in nearly all 50 United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, and Germany. This organization is very recognized for its reputation and the quality of its members. A lot of alumni of DECA have been accepted into Ivy League universities and other world-famous universities around the world. Many of them have become distinguished entrepreneurs or leaders in different parts of the world.
No wonder a lot of students are signing up for this competition every year. One of the main components of DECA is its competitive events program, which allows students to apply their knowledge and skills in real-world business scenarios.
DECA, also known as Distributive Education Clubs of America, is a non-profit organization that prepares high school and college students for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality, and management.
DECA is an international academic club for high school and college students focused on developing leadership, career readiness, and business skills. Founded in 1946, DECA's mission is to prepare emerging leaders and entrepreneurs in marketing, finance, hospitality, and management.
Considering the amount of time and level of professionalism that DECA conveys, it is considered one of the most prestigious academic institutions in the US. In fact, it is one of the world's leading career and technical student organizations.
Learning in DECA is all about hands-on learning. They integrate classroom instruction with real-world experience and even partner with industries to give students a taste of what it's like to work in marketing, finance, hospitality, or management.
Some high schoolers just know what they want. If you've envisioned yourself to be a business-oriented person, then joining DECA would be a great extracurricular activity choice for you. DECA could become more than your passion project, as it provides so much more opportunities to explore.
In DECA, you'll learn how to compete at different stages; local, state, and international levels. As a high schooler, this would be a perfect opportunity to shine.
DECA has more than 245.000 members and teachers whose goal is the same: to grow in the business area. This is a chance for you to get to know other students, discuss and collaborate. Not just with fellow students, but also with the professionals in the field who then might become your mentor.
Not only because DECA is one the most highly sought-after academic clubs in the U.S., DECA is also recognized and endorsed by all 50 state departments of education and the U.S. Department of Education.
DECA is quite a challenging club and therefore, joining them shows that you're driven, ambitious, and willing to take on new challenges. The qualities that top universities are looking for from their future students.
In DECA, you'll learn 21st-century high-demand skills like problem-solving, leadership teamwork, and public speaking. You'll be expected to navigate a group project, discuss and collaborate with others, or even interview for a job. Here, you'll learn how to have great communication skills.
DECA offers a variety of competitive events to high school students interested in business and marketing. Events are grouped into four career clusters: Marketing, Hospitality and Tourism, Finance, and Entrepreneurship. Within these clusters, students can choose to compete in individual events, where they work alone, or team events, where they work with a partner or a group.
Role-play events are the most common type of DECA competition. In these events, students are given a business scenario and have 10-30 minutes to prepare a solution or presentation. They then present their solution to a judge, who evaluates their performance based on specific criteria. Role-play events are available in various categories, such as marketing, finance, hospitality, and entrepreneurship.
This is a long-term competition. This series of events requires students to submit a written report, a presentation, or a career cluster exam on a specific topic related to their chosen category. These events are ideal for students who excel in research and writing. DECA's written event examples include business plans, research projects, and advertising campaigns.
Virtual business challenges are online simulations that allow students to run a virtual business and compete against other DECA members. These challenges are available in various industries, such as retail, sports, and hospitality. Students are evaluated based on their business performance and decision-making skills.
With 3,688 high school chapters, it's fairly simple to locate a club in your area. Check how many schools participate, how many students are members, and which participation is generally regarded. You can find this information on the local website, usually, each DECA in a specific location also has its website that you can check into. This is to check if the chapter that you are choosing can host a competition, or if you need to find or travel to another area if you want to register for a specific competition.
If you have a chapter in your school, it's recommended that you contact your school advisor or your teachers. They will provide you with all the necessary information about the organization and assist you with the registration process. Additionally, they can help you connect with fellow students who share an interest in DECA.
In case you cannot find any chapters nearby, you can consider starting a DECA chapter. However, you must have at least 10 members interested in starting this. Check out the five steps to create a DECA chapter here.