...

It depends on your ultimate goals and patience.

There are certain things that from this board I've percieved that only NPC groups do... like formal rush. Could be really beneficial.

Just remember that when a new group is added it usually will also increase the number of people going through rush.

On the other hand, NPC has its limitations as I've been able to figure out from reading these forums.. Very restrictive anti-hazing polices, other restrictive policies as well (at least from the perspective of a local that may not have had any policies of these types in place previously).

If they're not open now leadership tends to change every year.. So it's not an impossibility.

My local sorority was in a similar situation. A group of women went to Panhel and said that they'd like to start a chapter of AEPhi. Panhel voted no, but invited the group to form a local sorority. Two years later, we petitioned again, and this time we were permitted to go national.

I'd say it depends on a variety of factors, including rush numbers, whether all/most sororities are at/over total, and who (which specific women as well as which sororities) happens to be in Panhel leadership roles at the time.

If the sorority has been petitioning every year for several years and is consistently turned down by a wide margin, then they have a tough choice - go with the non-NPC org and lose some sisters, or stay local, recognizing that NPC membership isn't likely to happen anytime soon.

The following information will help us help you with this situation:

How many NPC groups are there?
Why are they voting down expansion?
What is the trend with recruitment numbers (up, down, steady)?
Are there chapters significantly under total?
Are there chapters that have not made quota consistently?
What percentage of the school's population is greek?
What do your panhellenic bylaws require in terms of a panhellenic vote on expansion?
What are the terms of your associate membership in Panhellenic?
Any chance of first getting a chance to participate in formal recruitment and then moving toward expansion?
Has the local contacted any NPC groups directly?
What have those groups said?

MFC

The thing the other chapters on campus have to realize ... it doesn't matter whether they want their system to expand; it already has! The fact that this local has survived for three years (I'm assuming it has a healthy number of members) means that, like it or not, there is a desire for another sorority on campus and that there are girls to join it. The Panhel can keep voting to not let them affiliate as long as they want; it won't make this chapter go away.

It does strike me as odd that members would quit, though, rather than join a non-NPC org. News flash to them: They already DID join a non-NPC org. I can understand they would object if the national, non-NPC org was had very different ideals than their own (ie, they were not mainly ag majors but are considering Sigma Alpha), but I doubt they'd be pursuing an org with ideals very different than their own. That's part of the gamble you take when joining a group that plans to affiliate ... best laid plans still don't guarantee the desired outcome.


Edited to add: GAH! Sorry that posted about a million times. GC was being very cranky today.

Coming from me, a local to national initiate:
It may be the school and its numbers and not about your local group. If the school is expanding then it would be a good idea if all the NPC groups are at or above total and can stay there.
To say that local groups numbers are taking away from NPC groups was not true at my school. If you have a separate intake process and do not recruit with the NPC groups you are using another pool of PNMs.
I would wait and "beef" up in numbers, grades....and go again next year. I would sit and talk to PH about why their advisors and such are against it and then you can see what your group can do to better the situation. It may be the system isn't strong enogh at the moment.
Good Luck!

expansion gets voted down for a reason
 

at my school greeks only comprise 4% of the population. Rush is kinda hard. Even now when recruitment is on an upswing and Sigma Pi got thrown off campus IFC voted down expansion AGAIN this year. The main reason for this is that nobody wants to have more competitors for rushees.

TEPhi is tryin' a get rechartered but they fall under the same boat. People just don't want more houses on campus. However I think we'll recharter a group before we would accept a new one.


Honestly the best luck to you.

The first thing that needs to happen is that the local needs to become a member of the panhellenic. The will be requirements the group will have to fullfill before being allowed to join, but this will give the group a step in the right direction. The local group is going to have to meet these guidelines (and probably more) if they every affiliate with a national group.

Once the local is on the panhellenic and is working with them thins may change. It is possible that the greek system is not strong enough at this time to be able to hld another group. This amy be why the local was turned down in the first place. One way or the other, by joining the council the local will be benefited.

start a new Non-NPC group!
 

Start a chapter of Epsilon Sigma Alpha or Beta Sigma Phi or Kappa Beta Gamma! All three groups are trying to expand to college campuses. All three groups rush, pledge etc. basically (not exactly) the same way. You could rush with the NPC groups or separately. All three groups have a long, rich history and are fimly grounded and have HQ and convention and all the same "stuff". A plus-these three groups would not be so quick as to cut juniors ans seniors and married ladies etc. so you really would be most diverse, you would NOT have the same NPC pressure of making totals and quota and such, so you could really rush the best for your group without worrying about taking enough people or whatever. Dues are less expensive so you may actually attract MORE women than expected! Actracting MORe to the greek system as long as they are quality is always a good thing!!!

While I think all three groups Blue Violet mentioned are great, I do want to point out one huge difference between KBG and the other two. Kappa Beta Gamma is only a collegiate sorority. It is just like any NPC group except smaller; it hopes to someday join NPC. ESA and BSPhi, while they do have and want college chapters, are composed mostly of chapters of adult women. This will make a difference in the way the organization is run and in how much experience they have dealing with uniquely college issues. Also, ESA and BSPhi generally don't want to be a part of the local Panhellenic, wheras KBG does. They may rush very differently or be significantly smaller/larger than the NPC groups on campus. KBG will be trying to conform to Panhellenic policies so it is prepared for the day when it must follow them.

Edited to add: In fact, ESA could never be a part of a local Panhellenic, since it practices non-selective membership. Any woman of age can go to their website right now and join with a credit card. I don't mean this as a negative on ESA - I just point this out to show that it is different than NPC groups, and a sorority that hoped to join an NPC org should be aware of the difference.
"Joining ESA is quick and easy with our new online application form. Simply fill out the secure online membership application below, including your credit card information, and then click submit. You will soon receive your ESA member card and new member packet."

good points
 

Hi-I wasn't trying to suggest that ESA or Beta or KBG should be used as stepping stones to joining a national NPC. I don't think that would be very ethical. I was saying that if they wanted to join a larger, national organization how about that instead of an NPC. Maybe those groups would fit their needs better. I know on a college campus Beta's and ESA's can paticipate in the college panhellenic. If they want they can join the college panhellenic and rush with them-if panhellenic chooses to let them in-different on every campus. Or the could rush separately. They will not be part of National Panhellenic of course, but maybe that isn't necessarily a goal of theirs...I dunno. I thought they just wanted to be part of something bigger and she mentioned that some of the girls did NOT want to be part of a national NPC group. Which I think is understandable. Just giving options.:)

Listen, many of you mentioned the facts that I am about to reiterate, but I want to say them again, because the same thing is happening at the school that I advise.

Chances are that the Greek system on your campus is NOT strong enough to take on another chapter. Meaning, chapters are probably not at ceiling and many are not making quota. If this is the case, then adding another NPC chapter into the mix is going to be bad for those chapters that already exist and are probably struggling. If quota is low to begin with, then chances are they are not going to want to divide the final number by another house.

Just because the house does not participate in formal recruitment does NOT mean that they are taking from a different pool of PNM's. Many chapters participate in informal recruitment which is the same thing the local chapters do. Also, if the local chapter is recruiting members upon returning to school, chances are they are pulling people from formal recruitment. PNM's can be Potential New Members for ANY house.

If the existing chapters' national organizations do not want another NPC house, it is due to the binding agreements of all NPC groups. In other words, they are not going to do something that is going to jeopardize any other house. The local group wants badly too be associated with Panhel, unfortunately, they are obviously not welcome. By continuing the pursuit of being NPC, these women are not showing respect for the system that they want to be a part of.

Personally, I believe that they probably would just like to leave a legacy behind.

xodiva1437,
Thanks for your post. I just want to say I agree with every word. The NPC agreements are meant to promote the health of the entire Panhellenic. I have seen the results of both over expansion and expansion that happened too quickly...they are not pretty. thanks for posting your thoughts.
violets

On the other hand sometimes more chapters is exactly what is needed for expansion. 4% of students? Really not a completely low number.. Could be better though. Generally the more publicized and accessible we are the easier we recruit. Adding more groups on our campus has actually really helped the entire system to grow. More people go through rush.. It's just all around better.

Generally the more publicized and accessible we are the easier we recruit. Adding more groups on our campus has actually really helped the entire system to grow. More people go through rush.. It's just all around better.
__________________________________________________ __

The more publicity we recieve the more accessible we are, but just because a new group is added on campus it does not mean that more people are going to go through recruitment. The same people will be interested in the system, and quota will be lowered. I understand that on your campus adding a new chapter may have helped, but panhel has agreements to protect itself, because it understands that occurences such as that one do not necessarily happen at all schools. I think that what happened at your school is a wonderful thing, but it is not likely to happen over and over again.

I would argue though with only 4% participating in Greek Life somehow your message and what you have to offer is not getting accross to people. I can see the other side of the things where sure the rules will protect the existing organizations but they will continue to be marginalized because of lack of new action. For the time being if the system is to grow it is entirely up to the same people that have failed to grow it for the past however many years.

I am not arguing with your theory that the Greek System may need a change on that campus. My point is that the "change" in the form of adding an additional house may come at the stake of an existing house(s) which already operates within that system. The system needs to help itself first, and then move on with expansion.

If adding a new house means disbanding another house (and in many cases it does when a particular house is low in numbers and is not making quota), then the 4% population will not grow. In fact, it will remain the same or shrink. Like I mentioned before, what happened at your school is great, but it is not likely to happen repetitiously.

You are right when you say that changing the system and making it grow is the active houses responsibility. It's their system. If they did not care about their numbers and their system, then they would not be voting the expansion down. They need to find the right leadership and promote themselves correctly. I am sorry, but they do not need a new chapter to do that.

I didn't read through this thread very carefully, so my idea might already be out there. But....why don't the members of this upstart sorority just all join the group that is the smallest on campus? If bringing another house to campus would cause the existing Greek Life to suffer, then I think this makes sense. And if the girls in the new group don't really like the existing group.....well, there might be more of them & they can take over!

I agree with XODiva...
 

>>>adding a new house means disbanding another house (and in many cases it does when a particular house is low in numbers and is not making quota), then the 4% population will not grow<<<

Forgive me if this posts twice, I had a problem the first time, I think. But I have seen this happen firsthand. Someone decides that a new NPC sorority is just the ticket for boosting greek life and they convice those in charge, despite the fact that at least one group is struggling to achieve quota every year. The new group comes to campus and does very well because a lot of people are interested in the new kid on the block and there are no preconceived reputations. Predictably, this pushes the struggling group out. The greeks at the campus that is resisting this effort probably realize very well that if a struggling GLO gets pushed out due to a new group coming in, there WILL be a group to take that last place. They are doing the right thing in trying to take care of what they have.
I agree that growth is healthy, but expanding the greek base may not be the best alternative, and the fact that the existing GLO's are resisting that expansion may not mean that they are against growth.

On the other hand, is it smart to expect different results from just doing the same 'ol thing? If they're only at 4% don't you think that they might have discussed numbers at some point prior to this? Perhaps new blood would do the system justice. I'm not saying I'm right.. but neither will I say that you're right. I'm saying that there is the strong possibility that in times like this expansion is exactly what you need to garner more positive attention for the greek system in general.

I can tell you that I personally would never have joined a fraternity.. But the opportunity to join a colony and start a chapter was VERY enticing.

Colonies play to a different audience sometimes.

NPC expansion...
 

KTSNAKE-

I agree with you that growth is always good and that if there is a need for it, then GLO's should recognize it and not be afraid of it. Also, you make a good point that some people who would not consider going through recruitment might be interested in being part of a new colony.
Once an NPC chapter is colonized, though, and that excitement is over, they are still competing with all the other NPC groups for the same pool of PNM's, only quota is now lower. IFC groups don't have as big a worry about quota and chapter total as the sororities do, so I can see how a new group might not have as big an effect on things. I think anyone who has been at a small campus and seen a new group (NPC) get formed before there was a real need for it, will agree that it will mean the certain and swift demise of any group that is struggling. This might not be true on a campus with 12-15 houses, but I know that it is the case when the campus is small (as the original poster indicated that hers is).
Campuses will (and should) resisit expansion of NPC groups if they have one or more groups that consistently do not make quota and are not at chapter total and if most of their PNM's are offered a bid during formal recruitment.
Wanting something new, or having a group of people who want to be part of a colony but not an existing group is probably not something that would be considered as a reason for expansion in the NPC world.

I completely agree with aopinthesky!!

You made the point that I was trying to avoid making, and that is that IFC i much different from Panhel. I have experienced a similar situation that you mentioned and you are exactly right. Either way, you will add another house and lower quota. Thank you for your view and explanation.