Evaluate your Greek Advisor!

[James]

A quick and dirty way to judge the overall performance of a Greek Advisor in relation to your Greek System is to go back to the date they arrived and ask the following questions:

1. Are the organizations significantly bigger than they were when she started? (A clear sign of Growing Greek Life)

2. Are there more organizations on campus? (Again a clear sign of more Greek interest and good planning)

3. Have the intergreek Councils improved in operation? (More functions and less concerned with regulation etc)

4. If the answer was yes to those questions, is it because of programs the Greek Advisor started for that purpose or through their spiritual leadership (Personal influence)?

5. Do you officially hear about more interGreek intercampus conferences etc? Or is the Greek advisor setting up such conferences himself? (A sign that she is giving you more information about how other campuses perform and allowing you to network with those Greeks)

6. Has the Greek Advisor set up a series of leadership seminars that deal with "How To" issues that have left you with the ability to do things better? (a clear sign of some sophisticated leadership knowledge and an effective presentation. Oh and if you don't leave with a "tool" you can use for your problem it doesn't count)

7. Is your Greek Advisor more concerned with giving incentives than giving out punishment?

[33girl]

Oh James, is this a present for me? She's no longer in the position, but I'll be glad to evaluate our school's old Greek advisor:

1. No
2. No - there were fewer
3. Other than unified hatred of her, no
4. n/a
5. No
6. No
7. Punishment, unless you want to do something for her, if you get my drift.

[EagleChick19]

James,
Where I go to school, LHU, has two advisors. One is for the fraternities. The other is for the sororities. Anyone have something like this? But, anyways, here are the answers about LHU's greek system:

1. Are the organizations significantly bigger than they were when she/he started? (A clear sign of Growing Greek Life) No, most chapters on campus are losing numbers.

2. Are there more organizations on campus? (Again a clear sign of more Greek interest and good planning) Yes, Zeta Phi Beta is trying to install a colony on campus.

3. Have the intergreek Councils improved in operation? (More functions and less concerned with regulation etc) In 2001, we tried merging Panhell and IFC into an All Greek Council. Let's just say in the end, it didn't work. But, for the most part, both councils are trying to work their hardest.

4. If the answer was yes to those questions, is it because of programs the Greek Advisor started for that purpose or through their spiritual leadership (Personal influence)?

5. Do you officially hear about more interGreek intercampus conferences etc? Or is the Greek advisor setting up such conferences himself? (A sign that she is giving you more information about how other campuses perform and allowing you to network with those Greeks) That would be a BIG NO!

6. Has the Greek Advisor set up a series of leadership seminars that deal with "How To" issues that have left you with the ability to do things better? (a clear sign of some sophisticated leadership knowledge and an effective presentation. Oh and if you don't leave with a "tool" you can use for your problem it doesn't count) No, they haven't.

7. Is your Greek Advisor more concerned with giving incentives than giving out punishment? Only if you can get in touch with either one of them.

EagleChick19

[DeltaSigStan]

1. Are the organizations significantly bigger than they were when she started? (A clear sign of Growing Greek Life)

The bigger houses have gotten bigger, the smaller houses have gotten smaller in IFC. PHC and USFC have stayed the same.

2. Are there more organizations on campus? (Again a clear sign of more Greek interest and good planning)

USFC have grown, IFC has had more expulsions than introductions, and PHC has stayed the same

3. Have the intergreek Councils improved in operation? (More functions and less concerned with regulation etc)

Aside from Ggreek Week, the only Cultural GLO that does stuff with IFC and PHC is because they have a chapter house, giving them more exposure. They go on walkarounds and do sorority philanthropies. It might be they are the only ones who want to branch out.

4. If the answer was yes to those questions, is it because of programs the Greek Advisor started for that purpose or through their spiritual leadership (Personal influence)?

Not at all


5. Do you officially hear about more interGreek intercampus conferences etc? Or is the Greek advisor setting up such conferences himself? (A sign that she is giving you more information about how other campuses perform and allowing you to network with those Greeks)

There has only been one all greek council conference, and it was a long time ago. And in any case, Dougie didn't set that up.

6. Has the Greek Advisor set up a series of leadership seminars that deal with "How To" issues that have left you with the ability to do things better? (a clear sign of some sophisticated leadership knowledge and an effective presentation. Oh and if you don't leave with a "tool" you can use for your problem it doesn't count)

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

7. Is your Greek Advisor more concerned with giving incentives than giving out punishment?

I really don't know what Doug wants. He always look for alcohol during rush and parties but pretty much turns his back on hazing unless someone ends up dead or in the hospital. The Greek Scene has declined since the glory days of the 80s and early 90s, and many feel he has somehting to do with it.

[Tom Earp]

Damn Stan, I give you A Multidude Thumbs UP!

Five as a matter of fact!

You are so right on!

How many "Greek Advisorsers" are there to be true Greek Advisors? Is it just a slot to be filled by ? someone!

More true than not!

[SmartBlondeGPhB]

While I can't answer many specifics, the Greek Advisor at the Univ of Puget Sound is doing an awesome job.

And she's a Gamma Phi................

I do think that the effectiveness of the GA is also a function of the attitude of the University.

[XOMichelle]

Wow- these are good questions. I really want to forward these to Our greek advisor.

1. Are the organizations significantly bigger than they were when she started? (A clear sign of Growing Greek Life)
About the same, but we have lost one Fraternity.

2. Are there more organizations on campus? (Again a clear sign of more Greek interest and good planning)
No, we lost one frat.

3. Have the intergreek Councils improved in operation? (More functions and less concerned with regulation etc)
We have started to have an All Greek Formal, which was nice, but the idea of Greek Week still hasn't gotten off the ground.

4. If the answer was yes to those questions, is it because of programs the Greek Advisor started for that purpose or through their spiritual leadership (Personal influence)?
I have no idea!

5. Do you officially hear about more interGreek intercampus conferences etc? Or is the Greek advisor setting up such conferences himself? (A sign that she is giving you more information about how other campuses perform and allowing you to network with those Greeks)
We hear nothing of this.

6. Has the Greek Advisor set up a series of leadership seminars that deal with "How To" issues that have left you with the ability to do things better? (a clear sign of some sophisticated leadership knowledge and an effective presentation. Oh and if you don't leave with a "tool" you can use for your problem it doesn't count)
I feel like there are party planning workshps that didn't used to exist, but they are not very helpful and just inform you of the rules you must follow. Other than that, the chapters are left to themselves

7. Is your Greek Advisor more concerned with giving incentives than giving out punishment?
The Judicial board punushes, as well as the Dean of Students, not the advisor. But there hasn't been much to help us from not getting in trouble

[nyrdrms]

1. Yes, but there are also more residential students on campus.

2. No, three have been kicked off campus since he started (and two still have their national charters, just no school recognition) and one died out, but we have one coming on campus now.

3. I guess so

4. I don't really think so

5. Somewhat...I don't know how many we "officially" heard about to begin with.

6. I think we've had one or two of these.

7. Our Greek advisor is also the judicial affairs officer for the university, so no, he's more concerned with punishment. (Notice, three organizations kicked off campus, yet two still holding their national charter....there have been no "rewards" for those who remain)

hhmmm


1) GLO's are about the same size now... an' about the same percentage of students are greek... 4%

2)nope... less: we lost Tau Epsilon Phi, and Sigma Pi in the last two years, and Sigma Elpha Epsilon is trying to get on campus but to no avail.

3) improvement marginal

4) ::shrug::

5) we don't hear about how other places do it, nor do we hear about how other greeks on campus do it, we're kind of all on our own

6) yeah, plenty of leadership conferences, but nobody likes going to them

7) I think anyone in any position is always gung ho about giving out punishments. but hopefully I'm wrong and there are exceptions.

[Kevin]

1. Are the organizations significantly bigger than they were when she started? (A clear sign of Growing Greek Life)

Not really, about the same. Maybe slightly larger. That had nothing to do with the Greek Advisor though.

2. Are there more organizations on campus? (Again a clear sign of more Greek interest and good planning)

Nope, but I think we need to add a few.

3. Have the intergreek Councils improved in operation? (More functions and less concerned with regulation etc)

Nope but that's primarily because of stagnant leadership. Certain houses promote certain people just so they can say they have a leadership postion. Then the person does nothing -- and he was recently reelected after doing nothing. No one wants to have leadership in IFC because it's a do-nothing organization.

4. If the answer was yes to those questions, is it because of programs the Greek Advisor started for that purpose or through their spiritual leadership (Personal influence)?

n/a

5. Do you officially hear about more interGreek intercampus conferences etc? Or is the Greek advisor setting up such conferences himself? (A sign that she is giving you more information about how other campuses perform and allowing you to network with those Greeks)

What's an interGreek conference?


6. Has the Greek Advisor set up a series of leadership seminars that deal with "How To" issues that have left you with the ability to do things better? (a clear sign of some sophisticated leadership knowledge and an effective presentation. Oh and if you don't leave with a "tool" you can use for your problem it doesn't count)

Never.

7. Is your Greek Advisor more concerned with giving incentives than giving out punishment?

Our Greek advisor is VERY hands-off. He was hired by the university upon completion of his bachelors degree. He's a member (and very active alum) of a chapter on campus. He's fair as far as I know. In all his time as Greek Life advisor I've never heard of him doing anything or showing any kind of initiative. He's just taking up space in my opinion. On the other hand, things could be MUCH worse and he could be against us. So we take what we can get.

[GeekyPenguin]

1. Are the organizations significantly bigger than they were when she started? (A clear sign of Growing Greek Life)
No, most have shrunk, and one re-colonization attempt failed.

2. Are there more organizations on campus? (Again a clear sign of more Greek interest and good planning)
Yes, Sigma Alpha (a professional agricultural group) is colonizing, but that was at the encouragement of Alpha Gamma Rho brothers, not our Greek Advisor.

3. Have the intergreek Councils improved in operation? (More functions and less concerned with regulation etc)
This is hard to judge for women because we were Panhellenic when she came (due to the TPA recolonization) but then that dissolved and now we are "Women's Greek Council."

4. If the answer was yes to those questions, is it because of programs the Greek Advisor started for that purpose or through their spiritual leadership (Personal influence)?
Definitely not.

5. Do you officially hear about more interGreek intercampus conferences etc? Or is the Greek advisor setting up such conferences himself? (A sign that she is giving you more information about how other campuses perform and allowing you to network with those Greeks)
We hear about them, yes, but the people chosen to go haven't necessarily been bringing a lot back...and they're the same conferences we've always gone to. We were going to go to one extra one this year because she wants the school to host it next year "to show off our new student center."

6. Has the Greek Advisor set up a series of leadership seminars that deal with "How To" issues that have left you with the ability to do things better? (a clear sign of some sophisticated leadership knowledge and an effective presentation. Oh and if you don't leave with a "tool" you can use for your problem it doesn't count)
Yes, and they are quite frankly horrible and a waste of our time, so they don't count. Our last one was a dialogue on scholarship with the Assistant Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs and he did a great job and she then took over, and had to ask not only *what* deferred recruitment was, but also how to spell it.

7. Is your Greek Advisor more concerned with giving incentives than giving out punishment?
I would say neither.

[James]

The reason I posted some criteria is that its hard to judge someone's effectiveness without a standard. Often we go by whether we have a positive feeling about them.

But you can have a positive feeling about someone that is a cool person but doesn't do much to help you and conversely you can have a negative feeling about a person that is quite beneficial.

That is why its important to have an objective criteria.

Originally posted by SmartBlondeGPhB
While I can't answer many specifics, the Greek Advisor at the Univ of Puget Sound is doing an awesome job.

And she's a Gamma Phi................

I do think that the effectiveness of the GA is also a function of the attitude of the University.

[shadokat]

1. Are the organizations significantly bigger than they were when she started? (A clear sign of Growing Greek Life)

My sorority is larger, but Greek Life in general is not. She has been of NO help to us!!!

2. Are there more organizations on campus? (Again a clear sign of more Greek interest and good planning)

No more sororities, but one more fraternity. But fraternities there come and go very quickly b/c of risk management issues.

3. Have the intergreek Councils improved in operation? (More functions and less concerned with regulation etc)

No, the NPC pretty much does whatever the Greek Advisor wants, because the Greek Advisor decides that having votes is silly, and that she knows best.

4. If the answer was yes to those questions, is it because of programs the Greek Advisor started for that purpose or through their spiritual leadership (Personal influence)?

N/A

5. Do you officially hear about more interGreek intercampus conferences etc? Or is the Greek advisor setting up such conferences himself? (A sign that she is giving you more information about how other campuses perform and allowing you to network with those Greeks)

She doesn't provide much information on conferences. Usually our collegiates are informed by us.

6. Has the Greek Advisor set up a series of leadership seminars that deal with "How To" issues that have left you with the ability to do things better? (a clear sign of some sophisticated leadership knowledge and an effective presentation. Oh and if you don't leave with a "tool" you can use for your problem it doesn't count)

No, the workshops set up are for New Members on alcohol, hazing, date rape, sexual harrassment, etc., but no initiated members are required to go. Most new members see it as a break from getting hazed, and honestly, half of them sleep during them.

7. Is your Greek Advisor more concerned with giving incentives than giving out punishment?

Our Greek Advisor is more concerned with making friends with women from the largest sorority than in helping any one chapter grow. Delta Phi Epsilon's successes have been ours alone, and our chapter there does an incredible job under much adversity and is commended appropriately whenever it is warranted!

[James]

Also, in defense of Greek advisors, I don't think a lot of them have sophisticated performance goals for themselves that translate into consistant behaviors or "systems" and tie to real world results. Their job doesn't give it to them and its not required. So what they do outside of rule enforcement is up to them.

As a Greek Advisor you are basically a consultant to both individual organizations and a system of organizations. Thats a pretty advanced place to be if you think about it.

It also presupposes that you as a Greek Advisor has a large knowledge base of leadership/management "skills" and are able to impart that systematically to your consumers. In this case the Greeks in the "system" you have chosen to coach.

If any of those elements are missing, perspective, real world skills, and evaluation. Their perception of, and ability to give real world results will be extemely lacking.

Unfortunately this will in effect ob the students of a maximum experience and education.

[BSUPhiSig'92]

Wow, it has been really enlightening to me to read the responses posted here. Does anyone feel positive about their Greek Advisor? I did a self-evaluation (since I am an advisor) and here are the results:

1. A little bigger, but I don't know if I would call it significant.

2. Well, we've pretty much broken even. We lost one chapter for hazing ( I think you've all read that story by now!) but have gained one colony.
Our Vice-Chancellor for Student Affairs and the Director of Student Activities (my boss) have said no to further expansion. I do not agree

3. I can answer yes to this one! Our councils have improved a lot. When I first came here they did nothing, but now they are having programs, well attended meetings, roundtables and more.

4. I would like to think I have had some impact. I work a lot with individual chapters, and we have seen some significant improvement with several of these groups. I have also tried to seek out the students I thought that showed a lot of leadership potential and encouraged them to run for offices in the chapters and the councils.

5. I really try to push attendance at these conferences. We usually send students to MGCA and the Gateway Greek Conference every year. I promote the hell out of the Indiana Greek Leadership Conference since Purdue is only a few hours away, but haven't gotten takers yet. We sent our first delegate to UIFI last year, and he loved it (I'm an alum of UIFI), and I really push chapters to take more than the minimum to their own GLO conferences.

6. Yes, honestly some more effective than others.
I would like to bring more speakers and recognized
"experts", but the $$$ is a BIG factor.

7. I am totally about this. I am not directly responsible for punishment (our Dean of Students handles this), but I have not forwarded on several minor things, where I am convinced from talking with the chapter that they have learned what they did wrong. Nothing major, but little mistakes that everybody makes. I try to avoid the whole
"Our Greek Advisor is out to get us!" thing. I'm here because I benefitted greatly from my fraternity experience and because I believe and want to help others have that experience. For me this isn't just a temporary stopping point on the way to something else.

I am going to give these questions to my students and ask them for their feedback on my performance.
If I had to grade myself I would probably say C+ ~ B-. I can and will try to do better!

Sorry for being so long winded, but there are a few perspectives that I want to throw in regarding Greek Advsiors:

1. On too many campuses they are considered entry-level jobs, and most people who fill them will only stay 1-3 years in the position (and often the profession) before moving on. I know from the conferences I have attended, after only
3 1/2 years as an advsior I am rapidly becoming one of the more "senior" persons in the profession. Professionally there is very limited opportunity to move up in Greek Life and so most Greek Advisors aspire to other types of positions that offer advancement and more $$$.

2. On a lot of campuses Greek Life receives no state funding at all. My salary is the only thing covered with no money budgeted for speakers, resources, etc. To give you an example, on my campus, the Leadership Development Program/Community Service person has a budget of about $25,000, in addition to salary. Greek Life is given $0.

3. Higher ups in the administration call a lot of the shots that Greek Advisors are often stuck having to enforce. A good example on our campus is the expansion one. My bosses are adamant against bringing more IFC/Panhellenic chapters onto our campus until the existing organizations are where they want them to be. I have argued against this, but in the long run, they call the shots, so no expansion despite GLOs that are interested.

Don't get me wrong, there are some pretty crappy Greek Advisors out there. However, I also know some really great ones too who struggle with a system that doesn't really value our positions. There are a lot of factors out there and it doesn't always center on just one person.

Sorry for the extremely long post. I will be quiet now.