Alumna Here- SEC schools and online recs?
 

Good evening ladies,

I am getting ready to write some recs for a few PNMs going through recruitment at various SEC schools (Alabama, LSU, FSU, etc). My org has an online submission form through its national website that sends the rec and attached photos, resumes, etc., directly to the chapter, and that is the medium I used last summer for all of the Fall 2015 recs I wrote. However, this year two PNMs have specifically asked me to mail a hard copy of everything directly to the chapter, stating that their schools either prefer hard copies or do not accept online submissions of recs.

Are hard-copy recs the standard protocol for SEC schools? I don't want to jeopardize the girls' recruitments at these cutthroat schools because of the way I submitted their recs.

I'm going to try reaching out to some of the individual chapters to see if I can get some clarification, but being that it is summer break and there are fast deadlines looming I was hoping that some of you ladies might have some insight. Thanks in advance.

Last year, my niece went through recruitment at an SEC school, and everyone who we asked to prepare recs did it online.

Not all orgs have an online rec form. Mine doesn't and we are at 12 of the 14 SEC schools. We can write the rec,scan it and email it or send hard copy.

Hard copies will be fine to send to chapters at Bama. You will probably save them the trouble of printing!

Recs and the form in which they are submitted have NOTHING to do with the school. The form used is completely dependent on the specific sorority. Some GLOs use on line submission, some still use hard copy. You use whatever your sorority prefers, not what the PNM thinks is needed!

Last year, I got a request from a PNM headed to Alabama, and in our e-mail correspondence she said that the school had said that material for references should be mailed hard copies. I replied that KD's headquarters state that online references are preferred, as did the website for our chapter there, but she was pretty firm about it. I can't remember what happened--I think I did mail it after all but thought there must have been some misunderstanding on someone's part.

If ALL the groups at Alabama prefer online recs then why does Greek Chic (the UA recruitment handbook available online) give ALL the snail mail addresses for each chapter????????

I meant preferred by Kappa Delta. Doesn't matter what others want.

I was talking to all who've asked about this....not just you. Sorry you took it so personally.

No prob. I wondered if my mention of "preferred" meant that it was for everyone, but it's just the way we want to receive them.

Pi Phi only takes hard copies. With 2400+ PNMs registered at Bama already, I can't even picture the paper piles we must have!

Carnation, I'm sure quite a few file cabinet drawers are filled right now!

On the Alabama moms Facebook page, this question has given rise to untold angst. Non-greeks (AND inactive greeks who either haven't ever written a rec or it's been years) can't seem to understand that every sorority does it differently - actually every chapter of every sorority does it differently. Or accepts both written and online equally.

I've had women insist it HAS to be online. So, I guess the precious 80-year-old ABG who writes a rec for her great-granddaughter is SOL because she can't figure out how to scan and attach to an e-mail and does it old school? Of COURSE her chapter will accept her written rec!! It's just common sense!

Which is missing for a lot of these nervous hovering nellies.

If you know your sorority does it online, do it that way. If you know that chapter prefers written, do it that way. Then you can let the PNM know it's taken care of and she can relax.

I second this.

We just launched our online reference system this summer. This will be the way it's done for all of our chapters, moving forward. As the system rolled out after many recs will have been sent this year, there will be a mix of hard copies and online this year. As of now, though, the only way we can submit is online...there is no "form" available to print and mail.

I'm sure personal letters will still be sent, but we're calling this Gamma Phi Beta's "Reference Revolution."

This should make it easier for the chapters who are inundated with recs, but any transition brings some angst. Universities have done away with paper applications, for the most part. My prediction is every group will be online before long, but there will be confusion during this mixed-bag transition.

Absolutely! And we can send an electronic copy of our sponsor form, we just don't have an online fillable one yet. typically, if I get an electronic packet from a PNM, I'll scan my form and attach her info and email. If I get a hard copy packet, I do a hard copy and snail mail.

You are absolutely right. The more I think about this, the better I feel about it. Phi Mu has an online reference form and it is soooo much more convenient for me to do it this way rather than printing out forms, photos, resumes, etc etc and trying to mail it the old-fashioned way.

A big thanks to everyone else who gave their insight to this thread, too!

Delta Gamma at Texas says they will accept PDFs of the sponsorship form via email but PREFER snail mail. And, they actually say snail mail.

Delta Gamma does not have the online form and it drives me crazy when I hear someone say, "It's easy! They're all online now!"

That's true...Alabama and Auburn chapters prefer the hard copies as well.

I'm writing two Alabama recs and both young ladies (and there mothers) have *insisted* that it must be done by mail. I know this to not be true (as Sciencewoman noted, we have moved to all online) but the young ladies/mothers are in an absolute tizzy.

One actually attached the green postage confirmations to her pre-addressed envelopes. When I explained I wouldn't be mailing them, she asked if she needed to go find another alumna who was willing to make that effort. The other mother merely lamented how her daughter was going to make the right impression if I wouldn't be forwarding on the resume and card stock mounted photos so that the chapter could appreciate the effort put into selecting her coordinating stationery choices.

I do hope the continued push towards online recs eventually tones down the crazy folders as they seem to grow more elaborate each year. I received one this year that incorporated ribbon in addition to the half-dozen usual coordinated monogrammed pieces.

Interesting. Tell me about the Way Back machine that has them rushing in 1950. Coordinated stationery for a resume and a couple head shots? Clearly this is no rush I'm familiar with.

The impetus for the Reference Revolution was not chapters like the one I work with -- which received a sum total of 6, yes 6, references last year. It was intended to help chapters who are inundated with recommendations manage/streamline what had become a mountain of overwhelming paperwork, and to help alumnae submit references efficiently. Why would anyone insist on being the snowflake PNM or PNM mama who won't get with the program that will help these chapters and alumnae? That just makes you stand out in a negative way -- no matter how coordinated your stationery is.

This system will be more efficient for chapter members. Without giving too much away, there are new questions on the reference submission that will be helpful...such as adding a PNM's social media links. This will be helpful for all chapters.

From my observation as a member of our local reference board, the new process of online references has, as you can well imagine, not only been confusing and new for the reference writer but for the pnm as well. It seems that each group has different requirements and it is almost like applying to different colleges depending on how many chapters are on the campus you are attending.
It is my understanding that for Kappa Delta online references are preferred but paper will always be accepted. This year in Dallas, we processed close to 300 references and I would say 1/3+ were online and reference board reviewed, bundled and sent the rest snail mail. Those who used the online method found it easier and less time consuming and they loved that they immediately received a receipt from the chapter that their reference had been received. I work pretty closely with two collegiate reference teams and it is my understanding from them that online is much easier to process and it is time and cost effective to have everything really filed for them and easy to use.

That practice was pretty standard even as recently as the late 1990s. My rush packet had several headshots and a résumé on nice paper, since that's what my hometown alumnae Panhellenic had me do. My hometown is a huge feeder for the SEC and SEC-style schools so I wouldn't be surprised if they still expect that.

After I rushed and was initiated, my big told me all about this package they received about me. They were quite surprised!

Recalling the 1990's resume that included an outdoor, full-length photo of a rushee wearing a skirt and shoulder wrap made from her family's tartan colors (a fact ever-so-casually mentioned within her info pack). Wonder if she wore same outfit during Open House parties?

Alabama's Greek Chic (recruitment handbook) definitely makes the statement for paper recs...that's where the PNMs are getting it. See pages 20 & 21 here:
http://www.uapanhellenic.com/greek-chic.html

I have been sending hard copies although my GLO has online forms. Why - I'm technologically outdated and do not have a printer that scans. I haven't been told by any of the schools I have sent them to that they won't be accepted. They may prefer them on line but I feel confident they will accept them "old school".

Who's going to tell a precious 75-year-old alumna who doesn't have a computer that her hand-written copies won't be accepted?
Nobody, of course.

Every year - and I do mean EVERY year - I receive at least one "fancy" packet. Monogrammed, color-coordinated stationery, card stock (which drives me nuts - the damn stuff is heavy!), color-coordinated clips and bound with a ribbon in one of my sorority's colors.
This year's gem was a pastel gem clip binding it all together.

But most are on plain paper.

Back in the day, we heard tales of chapters receiving big tins of popcorn during work week with the rushee's photo on the top. Or stacks of pizzas delivered to the house with the rushee's photo on each lid. I personally never saw it but I heard about it! :D

Interestingly, my organization moved to exclusive online submissions several years ago. We have a 75 year old member in our alum group who caught on to this process very easily. Sometimes she has a few questions, usually when a PNM does not give us docs in the correct format (JPeg photo, pdf resume). The decision to move to total online was so that the recommendations could be tracked at our HQ and then sent to the right chapter's inbox. It was a bit of a transition to go paperless but I haven't heard a chapter complain, including our Alabama girls. The girls submit to our APH in paper and online format and that way everyone can work it out as their organization requires. I still use the hard copy as a reference so I don't go blind trying to read this stuff online. Sure don't miss my trips to the post office!

Interestingly, my organization moved to exclusive online submissions several years ago. We have a 75 year old member in our alum group who caught on to this process very easily. Sometimes she has a few questions, usually when a PNM does not give us docs in the correct format (JPeg photo, pdf resume). The decision to move to total online was so that the recommendations could be tracked at our HQ and then sent to the right chapter's inbox. It was a bit of a transition to go paperless but I haven't heard a chapter complain, including our Alabma girls. The girls submit to our APH in paper and online format and that way everyone can work it out as their organization requires. I still use the hard copy as a reference so I don't go blind trying to read this stuff online. Sure don't miss my trips to the post office!

I agree about the trips to the post office. The folders are the rule, not the exception here. I had to put a basket on my front porch for overflow mail when I was our area reference coordinator as the postman couldn't get the oversized envelopes into my mailbox.

Having worked the "back room" during recruitment at several chapters, the online recs will be wonderful. Almost all campuses have moved to online applications to manage PNMs (ICS is what I have seen at all the schools I've worked with) and organizations have developed their own software and mobile apps to interface with it and manage parties, membership selection, etc.

Frankly, this makes information MORE accessible to general members of the chapter who have a greater chance now of seeing a PNM's rec than in the past where all that paperwork was managed in a back room where only a few chapter members ventured during those long recruitment days.

OOOH! All the chapter members can see all the recs???? Even the 'no" recs? Boy, that could be a can of worms!

You ain't kidding!

My 90 MIL is a member of a GLO. She can not use a computer and wants to call the "microwave man" if the clock gets turned off on her microwave so the computer is NEVER going to happen.

If she wants to write a rec or fill out a legacy form, she tells me what to say and I submit it for her.

It is my understanding, at least for us, that the references, online or not, are only seen by the "backroom" girls. They are considered confidential.

Bwahahahaha! :)

Of interesting note, just before posing this question on GC, I had reached out to my GLO's chapter at Bama to see if they would accept the online recs, and I received a response last night. Yes, they accept both ...and she emphasized that they are weighted equally. Of course, that is just my sorority, but I just wanted to share!

To clarify, it makes it easier to a) see if a PNM has a rec, b) provide information in a streamlined manner, c) ensure legacy status is tracked correctly.

As far as anything else, that would veer into membership selection for individual groups so I'd say it's important to stay up-to-date with your organization's policies. (I know in my organization, if you haven't worked directly with a collegiate chapter in the past 4 years, you likely are not up to speed!)

Thanks for slapping me upside the head! But I still don't see that the general membership would need to see a "no" rec...as someone may have put the actual reason on it and that could lead to unintended consequences at the ZZZ fraternity party....get my drift???

Exactly!

I think at SEC schools and others where chapters receive a high quantity of recs, it's likely (and reasonable to assume) that most members of a chapter will never see recommendations, particularly if an alumna follows the process set forth by her organization for submitting them.

But at smaller schools, especially those that don't regularly receive a high volume of recs, it does happen - especially when alumnae don't follow the exact process outlined by their organization for submitting them.

I personally would never put something in a rec that I wouldn't be comfortable with the PNM or her mother or any member of that chapter knowing I wrote... but that's just me. I'd rather decline to write a rec.

I think at SEC schools and others where chapters receive a high quantity of recs, it's likely (and reasonable to assume) that most members of a chapter will never see recommendations, particularly if an alumna follows the process set forth by her organization for submitting them.

But at smaller schools, especially those that don't regularly receive a high volume of recs, it does happen - especially when alumnae don't follow the exact process outlined by their organization for submitting them.

I personally would never put something in a rec that I wouldn't be comfortable with the PNM or her mother or any member of that chapter knowing I wrote... but that's just me. I'd rather decline to write a rec.