inactive
 

Is there a process to going inactive for a semester? I accepted a co-op for the spring and really won't have time for my sorority and the costs that go with it but I dont want to quit for good. I dont know who to ask on EC about it so I figured going here first might help.

Each fraternity/sorority has different procedures. In general, though, I would think you would need to talk to the President or a chapter Advisor.

Im going inactive this semester since im studying abroad, and for me it was a fairly simple process. I spoke with our vice president of operations, but since we had 8 sisters go abroad last semester they were able to sort it out pretty quickly.

I would go right to headquarters. There is usually a deadline involved with this, and if you miss it, you may still be responsible for your semester dues.

Good luck with co-op!

I disagree. I'd think that the chapter would have to be the one to initiate the paperwork involved in change of membership status.

To the OP, as you can see, there are differing opinions here. I'd still consult with your EC because they're your closest resource. Start with your chapter advisor, and she'll know who to direct you to. I'm thinking VP Membership and/VP Finance (or whatever your sorority calls them).

How long have you known about this co-op? Did you just find out or did you know for a while already? I only ask because of the deadline RaggedyAnn mentioned.

We had several girls study abroad over the years, and they still had to pay dues (a lesser amount). But again, each sorority handles their membership differently, so please talk to your EC ASAP.

While each will handle the situation differently, the best thing is to contact your HQ!

In most instances, the local Officers are not familier with this situation! So, what do they do? Contact your HQ!

They will be better at letting you know than on the local level!

Tom, there is a "chain of command" that should be followed - unless you're completely out of touch with the chapter, it's best to contact the appropriate chapter officer or the advisor rather than going over their head and straight to HQ. If we went straight to HQ for everything, what would be the point of electing officers to run the chapter?

While I don't doubt that the HQ will be most familiar with the situation, I'm fairly certain that the process must still be initiated at the local level. If the member contacts HQ directly, my guess is that they'll just send her back to her local EC anyway. Oftentimes it's also difficult to get a hold of someone at HQ right away.

Chapter advisors and EC officers should be aware of membership procedures. If they're not, that's what the membership handbook is for. If the handbook didn't help, then EC would be the one who'd contact HQ on her behalf. That's how it always worked for us.

Great, some are not as it may not be a common thing!

I will speak for my sorority (Alpha Delta Pi) and say absolutely not! Our Executive Office does not handle inactivity requests, they are reviewed on a local level and pass through several levels before PAPERWORK goes to EO from international officers. Never phone calls. Never never never.

I believe that most of the women in this thread have given the best advice - contact a member of Exec or the Chapter Advisor. On the campuses that I have worked with, almost every NPC chapter has had multiple inactive members at any given point in time. If you multiply that across the country and consider what would happen if all of those women called their HQ/EO to find out how to go inactive, you can surely see that it would be overwhelming!

OMG. Never never never call!

AMEN!

you make it seem like your IHQ would extremely condescending if not abrasive if someone called with a trivial question; like IHQ is an entity to be feared. i don't mean to offend by pointing that out, but I'm curious, to the other gc'ers, would your IHQ's tear your head off if you called in with a situation like this or just simply defer you toward the right answer?

i know at DU, while it is not best to constantly bug the officials with trivial questions, they wouldn't mind a friendly phone call from a member. Alot of our top directors have direct contact with undergraduate members. after all, were all supposed to be family, right?

Also, not every sorority has inactive status...mine for one. Our collegiates that study overseas are usually asked to pay international dues, but not always local dues. When anyone in my chapter asked about going "inactive" for a semester - or for senior year - the response was always the same from chapter exec/regional execs/IH: Gamma Phi Beta does not have an inactive status. All sisters are expected to be active sisters.

Mmmmm. I can see where you would come to that conclusion. I would not say "feared." But I would say "respected" and "understood." Meaning that just like 33girl said, there is a chain of command to be followed in these procedures. Alpha Delta Pi does not employ women at its Executive Office that assist chapters with matters of policy and procedure. That is why we have a very extensive volunteer network with women who work only in specific areas: Finance, Recruitment, Membership Development, etc., as well as women who work with specific chapters and have a basic understanding of all the individual areas of chapter operations.

Had a member of a chapter that I advised called Executive Office asking how to go inactive, I would feel that I had not done an adequate job in my position. Part of our educational programming is not only to teach chapter policies and procedures (which includes being inactive) but also to educate the women on how our organization functions, i.e. the chain of command.

You wouldn't call the International Vice President of Finance to ask how much your dues are. So why would you call HQ/EO to ask how to be inactive? When collegians call HQ/EO without being specifically instructed to by someone from the chapter or another International Officer, to me it suggests that there is a serious lack of basic policy education at that chapter. (The only exception I can see is if a collegian needs to report a hazing violation.)

To answer your question, no, the women at EO would be very friendly and helpful even if they were asked a local-level question. I'm sure they get them anyway. But I for one would rather they spent their time working on the job they were hired to do than the jobs of elected chapter officers. And I think that on a public message board, we should not encourage collegiate women to just call their HQ/EO for every little thing without first speaking to local officers and advisors. Even in Tri-Sigma, as KSUViolet has pointed out, the process starts on a local level before going to Executive Council at HQ. Or at least that's how I interpret it when an advisor must first sign off on the paperwork.