Administration

Fall 2017 Greek Chapter Score Card posted as measure implementation progresses

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State today (Jan. 9) released the Fall 2017 Greek Chapter Score Card, designed to help students and families make informed decisions about membership in a Greek-letter organization.

The score card reflects critical collective chapter information from the Fall 2017 semester, including membership, academic performance, conduct and standards of excellence categories.

“The Greek Chapter Score Card continues to be an important tool for engaging students and their parents in the significant changes made to the fraternity and sorority experience at Penn State,” said Vice President for Student Affairs Damon Sims. “The Score Card serves as an important resource for all potential new members and their families as fraternities and sororities enter the spring new member recruitment period. The card also makes clear the University's expectations for these organizations and their members.”

Spring recruitment for fraternities and sororities begins later this week under the new enhanced eligibility requirements established by the University. Full-time enrolled students who have already earned 14 credit hours at Penn State and meet a minimum 2.5 GPA are eligible to participate. Additionally, every fraternity and sorority chapter must produce an individual and specific new member process and education plan to the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life for approval.

The Greek Chapter Score Card is one of several measures announced by the University on Aug. 21, 2017, all of which focus on promoting student safety in the Greek-letter community and beyond. The Fall 2017 score card is the second score card to be released by the University and reflects information from the first semester in which the University was responsible for organizational monitoring and discipline of fraternities and sororities, as part of the new measures.

At the beginning of every semester, a new score card reflecting the previous semester’s outcomes for each organization will be available for potential new members, parents and the entire Penn State community to review. Additionally, the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life also has launched a “Recognition Status” webpage to report the collective list of suspended fraternities and sororities over time.

“Penn State is doing what it can to be transparent about the status of each Greek-letter organization and to hold each chapter and individual member accountable,” Sims said. “The score card shows both the achievements and negative outcomes of these organizations. When negative outcomes occur, the University, if necessary, will take disciplinary action, including the possibility of withdrawing recognition for an organization and expelling individual students involved.”

A number of other new measures were implemented in the fall semester. In addition to the University monitoring and recruitment requirements implemented Aug. 21, the first Greek Chapter Score Card and a streamlined Penn State Hotline were announced on Oct. 13, 2017; a Greek-letter relationship statement was launched on Oct. 27, 2017; the Greek Membership Fee was established on Nov. 7, 2017; and an official signing ceremony of the relationship statement with student leaders took place on Dec. 19.

Additionally, eight new Student Affairs employees have been hired as additional resources for Greek-letter organizations — four in Fraternity and Sorority Compliance to assist in University monitoring, risk management education and neighborhood and relationship building and four in the Fraternity and Sorority Life Office to add to the staff advising Greek-letter organizations. Searches and interviews are ongoing for the remaining six positions being added to the Student Affairs staff.

“These collective, sweeping actions are a fundamental shift from the historic self-governance model for fraternities and sororities that has long prevailed at universities across the nation,” Sims said. “Above all, our priority remains student safety. It is our hope that by working with students, their parents, alumni and national Greek-letter organizations, we can achieve a successful and sustainable experience for our students, but we need all involved to dedicate themselves to achieving that outcome.”

Last Updated January 9, 2018