Unless I'm reading it wrong, what's exceptional in this case is that the alumna, who has worked with her GLO since graduation, here will be a current grad student at that school in a field where working closely with student organizations and campus life would dovetail with her studies.

Sure you all are right that typically one individual doesn't drive the expansion process, but oddly, it does kind of sound like the campus had merely been complacent about their number of groups and Freeverse's interest is at least causing them to examine the status of their system.

And honestly, I'm not sure it is typical for expansion to be initiated by students on campus. I think it's probably equally as likely that it comes about because Greek Life staff are well versed in the desires of NPC groups to expand and they see that the campus numbers could support another chapter. I can't think of an SEC expansion that started with an interest group, for instance. And I'd be somewhat surprised if it was the school undergraduate Panhellenic members that got the ball rolling. I suspect that it depends a lot on the size of the system and if the school even has full time greek life employees.

It's usually a combination of things but CPHs should be evaluating extension possibilities every few years anyway. If an interest group of 30 women pops up, they are hard to ignore. However, I agree that sometimes a CPH can get complacent with the status quo. Sometimes it is because of comfort with chapter size but also some CPHs know that they cannot physically accomodate (i.e. house) a new chapter.

There have been IG driven expansions at SEC schools but those were more than 8 years ago.

That's different than the average school. I think the students there (who don't already know it) are inoculated after a semester or so to know that it's a big big big undertaking.

Just some of the things the OP said threw up red flags for me - like Greek life doesn't have a good image and she thinks having her GLO back on campus would fix it. If she really is going to be in SA, she should realize that fixing what is already there is of more importance than bringing something new in - my favorite "having a baby to save a bad marriage" analogy.

Like AlphaXi1997 mentioned - she's kind of overstepping regardless of what her major is. She needs to worry about getting her degree, not recolonizing her sorority.

I know it's a hijack, but where and how did they happen. It blows my mind that it would even be possible. Was it a case in which Panhellenic was open to expansion and sort of went the interest group route?