Does a shorter associate program lead to more drop-outs?

[melindawarren]

First, I have a question: when did the shift from longer NM periods to shorter NM periods begin?

I ask because I wonder if maybe-just maybe-the economy of the last few years could be a cause of larger post-initiation dropouts. But I don't know when the NM period went from a semester to a few weeks, so I could be totally off-base.

I know some people who dropped during the NM period (several different sororities. I hate to sound clueless, but I only know-like, actually KNOW well enough to comment-three guys in fraternities, and I know they're all still in their respective orgs) because they realized the time commitment was too great. Unless there are groups out there where the time thing really just doesn't get mentioned until after initiation, I don't really see that as the problem.

Another thing I've wondered about-and this is just speculation, and I hope I don't get jumped all over for saying this, but it's something I've thought about-how big are the groups we're talking about here? I mean, there've been monster pledge classes in the last few years. I just think that there may be girls who drop after a certain amount of time because they just don't feel like they can make any headway in such a large group (I don't just mean leadership-wise. How can such a large group mix with a fraternity? What about sisterhood activities?). I can't really speak to it because I'm not in something very big, but I can only imagine that, with a huge group, someone could get lost in the shuffle. But this is all just speculation.

One last idea: maybe new member programs aren't targeting the important information. Maybe, if retention really is an issue, the new member program needs to address the lifelong bonds of a fraternity or sorority. My best friend and I just had a conversation about how most people our age are very focused on what's going on right now. Today's Wednesday (yes, it's very early Wednesday, but it's Wednesday nonetheless), and I've barely heard discussion of anything going on beyond Friday (she hadn't heard discussion of anything beyond the weekend, either, and she goes to another school). The concept of "lifetime membership" or, well, anything lasting a lifetime seems intangible to this generation because everything gets upgraded and re-released as new tomorrow, the next day or the day after. The concept of lifelong membership thrills me, but I get how some people just don't get the "lifelong" part.

Ok, I don't know if anything I've said links to anything else I've said. I just had some ideas/questions and the title of the thread intrigued me.