Industry Update Provided by NPC

The Columbus Dispatch published an editorial questioning the value of social fraternities in the college experience. “Bonds of friendship, brotherhood and sisterhood can be a powerful force for good,” writes the paper’s editorial board. “But in college Greek life they are tethered to exclusion, privilege and secrecy that too often yield bad results. Schools have to learn how to change the culture or consider moving on.”

The Wall Street Journal reports that new member education (“pledging”) season for college fraternities is in high gear, and this year they face stricter safety protocols and more state laws that criminalize hazing. States including Florida, Louisiana, Texas, Pennsylvania, and New York have strengthened laws in an effort to prevent hazing-related accidents and deaths since early 2018.

New Fraternity Health Report

As a result of interest in receiving a snapshot of Fraternity data and programs, a new Fraternity health report will be available for the workforce two times per year. The 2019 fall Fraternity health report is available in Igloo > Files > Resources > Volunteer Resources > Fraternity Health Reports. If you have any questions, contact COO Jenni Schmaltz. 

Undergraduate Assessment Project – Year Three

After collecting three years of data through our undergraduate assessment project, we have collected a great deal of information about emerging trends in the Theta experience.  The assessment measures such aspects of the undergraduate experience as learning outcomes that have been mapped to values and priorities of the organization, sisterhood, and other potentially impactful factors like alcohol use, hazing tolerance, and sexual assault mindset. 

We have the necessary data and relevant tests to determine correlations, trends, and areas where we could impact the undergraduate Theta experience for the better. So far, our data has indicated positive trends in in-person training opportunities and in advisor effectiveness correlated to member retention, and negative trends in accountability* and upperclass experience. 

To address these trends, a few noteworthy changes are being made this fall/winter.

• Member Orientation Pilot Program: Addition of small groups at all in-person meetings and junior/senior involvement in meaningful roles, such as small group leaders.
• Leadership Academy (formerly CEO Leadership Academy): Alternate executive committee officer will attend since chief executive officer (CEO) will attend Grand Convention. The academy will also add an advisor track this year.
• Junior Virtual Leadership Program: New opportunity geared toward non-officer junior members. This program will run entirely online ending in April 2020.

*Accountability is measuring a schema within the sisterhood scale. This is not necessarily formal accountability processes, but rather if members conceptualize sisterhood as holding each other to shared expectations.

If you’d like to learn more about the assessment project, you can watch this 15-minute overview (definitions of the scales and what we measure are explained) and send questions to leadership@KappaAlphaTheta.org. 

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