Recruitment

Alcohol Free Recruitment

Position Statement on Recruitment

[The North-American Interfraternity Conference (NIC), through its President & CEO, takes a position on each of the critical issues within the fraternity industry.]

In the 1800’s the word “rush” described the various activities used by fraternity men to entice freshmen to join their chapters.  Today the word “recruitment” is more accurate in describing a carefully crafted plan of action by the more successful chapters in communicating the benefits of fraternity membership to potential new members.  Recruitment is a deliberate process that should involve every member of the chapter with an emphasis on traditional fraternity values.

There are common terms requiring a universal understanding:

Continuous Recruitment/24-7 - recruitment is a constant process that happens every day, regardless of the time of year and regardless of whether or not school is in session.

Rationale: friendships are developed continuously; therefore recruitment is a continuous process of the establishment of mutual friendships.

NIC Position: support

Summer Recruitment - coordinated either by an IFC or individual chapter and occurs when the campus is not in session.  Events can take place on the campus, in a chapter house, or at another designated location.

Rationale: Recruiting practices that bring chapter members to the potential new member are ideal for building individual friendships. Summer recruitment can and should involve the potential new members parents as well.

NIC Position: support

Delayed Recruitment - a coordinated recruitment process conducted after the beginning of the first academic period, usually between four and eight weeks after the first day of classes.

Rationale: potential new members will be introduced to fraternities after they have had a chance to begin their classes.

NIC Position: although this recruitment period is supported we strongly recommend campuses adopt a continuous recruitment plan in order to allow the potential new member to decide when it is right for him to join.

Deferred Recruitment - potential new members are required by the campus to wait a certain amount of time or complete a designated number of credits before being allowed to join a fraternity.  In many cases, this is second semester, but there are campuses that require sophomore credits.

Rationale: this allows the student(s) to become acclimated to the college setting allowing a less stressful transition from high school.

NIC Position: the NIC does not support deferred recruitment.  Independent research shows that membership in a fraternity leads to higher campus retention rates than non-fraternity men and the graduation rate among fraternity men is higher than non-fraternity men.

Formal Recruitment - a designated and coordinated “rush” period, usually organized and handled by the IFC. In most cases, potential new members are required to register for “rush,” attend a certain number of “rush” events, and cannot accept a bid until a designated date.

Rationale: the process seems to promote a “fair” approach, allowing all chapters to meet the men going through “rush.” This process is easier for a chapter, who waits for the men to come to them.

NIC Position: the NIC supports formal recruitment when used in conjunction with continuous and summer recruitment.

What is each seeking to accomplish?

The continuous and summer recruitment efforts recognize the reality of friendships.  There is no set time to make a friend or for mutual interests to begin with an investment of time and dedication to similar goals.

Delayed recruitment is designed to allow the new freshmen to get to know the fraternities before deciding which to join.

Formal rush is a desire of fraternity men to do a minimum amount of work and a university’s belief that this type of recruitment is better organized and will result in more men joining.

Deferred recruitment is usually born out of frustration on the part of the college/university administrators in dealing with dysfunctional behavior on the part of some fraternity men and the misplaced belief that this will change a campus culture that is centered on the consumption of alcohol.

There are several concerns voiced by both Greek professionals and IFC leadership:

Fewer Men Joining - The campus, as well as the individual chapters, have a tendency to measure success in terms of number of men pledged.  Number of men pledged/new members is not an accurate measuring tool.  Meaningful filters and predictors of future success are high school GPA, membership and leadership position in clubs, membership in National Honor Society, high school sport’s participation and involvement in philanthropic and community service projects.

Coaches Restrict Joining - Many team coaches were not a member of a fraternity when an undergraduate.  Consequently, they do not relate to what a fraternity is really about, instead listening and believing in the inaccurate stereotype(s).  The way to counter this is to have a plan to recruit the scholar-athlete and included in that plan should be meetings with their coach to address their fears.  A coach may view fraternity membership as an exercise in fun and games, punctuated by hazing and drinking.  Coaching is his livelihood and his family is depending on his contract to either be renewed (extended) or his moving on to a higher paying position.  Either way, a winning record leads to success in employment and he wants nothing to interfere.

Fewer Legacies - The person being recruited has a member in his immediate or extended family who was/is in a fraternity.  Each inter/national fraternity should capture this data from its alumni annually and disseminate this information to their appropriate chapter for use in recruitment.

Deferred Recruitment - Deferred recruitment can generate, and usually does, strong feelings on each side of a discussion.  There is only anecdotal data that non-fraternity men enjoy higher GPA’s than non-fraternity men during the semester of their new member period.  It should also be noted that there have been no studies conducted since the NIC Standards were enacted in 2004, which includes shortened new member programs.

Deferred recruitment is a broad-brush punitive action applied against all current members and their respective chapters whether or not involved in activities resulting in disciplinary actions against the chapter.  It represents a double standard since it does not apply to all student organizations.

The NIC’s position is that on a typical campus:

a) fraternity membership leads to a higher retention rate than the general male undergraduate population, which is in the best interests of a college/university,

b) fraternity membership leads to a higher graduation rate than the general male undergraduate population, which is in the best interests of a college/university,

c) fraternity membership leads to a higher proportion compared to the general male alumni population, of contributions to a college/university educational foundation following graduation, which is in the best interests of a college/university,

d) fraternity membership leads to higher amounts of philanthropic and community service activities than the general male undergraduate population, which bring credit to the college/university,

and furthermore:

1) deferred recruitment is a double standard that does not apply to all student organizations including sports teams that have lower retention rates, lower graduation rates and are involved in actions that result in disciplinary actions such as expulsion from the college/university and incarceration by some individuals,

2) deferred recruitment is a punishment inflicted on all without regard to whether members in a given chapter have done something wrong,

3) deferred recruitment does not change an alcohol based campus culture,

4) deferred recruitment denies a basic human emotion, the establishment of friendships,

5) deferred recruitment denies the research that shows that fraternity membership leads to higher retention rates and higher graduation rates,

6) deferred recruitment does not accomplish anything other than deny a person a basic right guaranteed by the United States Constitution in the Bill of Rights…the right to mutual association.

In conclusion:

The NIC’s member fraternities are sympathetic to the concerns of colleges and universities in dealing with the multiple challenges associated with alcohol and its relationship to dysfunctional behavior.  We are also dedicated to high academic achievement.  We favor cooperative/partnering actions that will lead to positive change in a campus’ culture.  Deferred recruitment is not such an action.