RFMs and QAs

[KDCat]

I was not active for a really long time, too. I moved to the middle of nowhere after college. The closest alumnae chapter was 2 hours away. I donated, but didn't keep up. My chapter was 3 states away. Then I went to law school, started a career, and had two kids, one with ASD. It's only now that I've had time to volunteer. (My kid with ASD was mainstreamed last year and we stopped all of the outside therapies.)

Life happens.

[carnation]

To everything there is a season; for most of us, there have been times when we were really involved and times when we couldn't be. I mean, REALLY couldn't be. How can we judge her? We don't know what's happened.

[MaryPoppins]

Originally Posted by amIblue?

I'm the same way. I am an active adviser, but I would be lost with the ins/outs of recruitment without GC. Actually, I'm still kind of lost.

GC At least helps me to keep up a little bit with the Advisors over recruitment, that way they don't leave in the dust, entirely.

also...my knowledge won't benefit her at all now...she is VP of recruitment and very busy this week...

[KDCat]

Originally Posted by SECKDLady

Hi all. I haven't been very active with my sorority alumnae organization the last ten years . But I have a renewed interest in sorority life now that my daughter is heavily involved in recruitment at one of the most competitive universities. I also went to a much smaller university. What are RFMs and QAs? The whole process is like greek to me!

RFM = "release figure methodology"

RFM sets different release numbers for different groups at each stage of recruitment. Strong recruiting chapters have to cut more women then weak recruiting chapters. The goal is to have every group get quota. This slideshow explains more:
http://www.slideshare.net/AFLV/npc-r...-figure-method

QA = "quota additions" If a potential new member attends every party to which she receives an invitation and she lists every chapter at which she attends preference parties on her bid card, she is guaranteed a bid on some campuses. If she does not match on the first set of bid lists, she will be added to a bid list as a quota addition. This means that a chapter with a full bid list will take quota plus. Different schools decide on where to put the QAs in different ways.

[DeltaBetaBaby]

In any case, KDCat gives a great starting point, and there are tons of threads around here that give additional info.

thank you...I had simply "googled" the terms and first went to greek rank...Yikes!
I should have originally said I haven't been "active with recruitment" for ten years! I continue to write many recs every year and travel with six sorority sisters every other! I didn't realize my ignorance could launch such excitement! I will be more careful with my word choice if I ever ask another question.

[DubaiSis]

SECKDLady, there is a lot here, the good the bad and the ugly. I would start by only trying to understand the big picture and not get into the nitty gritty too quickly. The 10,000 foot version is that all the chapters have a set percentage of rushees they are allowed to invite to each round of rush based on prior performance. That number varies by recruitment strength from chapter to chapter. What it means on the ground is that most chapters have to cut far more girls in the early rounds than they used to back in the olden days. The good news is it doesn't give rushees false hope about their chances in the most sought after chapters. The bad news is it doesn't allow much room for those most sought after chapters to give out invitations to very many maybes.

And the 5 or so years later result seems to be dramatically bigger pledge classes with fewer dropouts from rush and expansion going crazy all over the country, particularly on traditional Southern campuses where pre-RFM there were a lot of girls who would get to the late stages of rush before seriously getting cut, then lose their favorites and drop out completely. Obviously that still happens, but I think 200 girls out of 1200 at Bama means a LOT more girls are seeing it through once they get their second round invitations and have time to fall in love with some new chapters.

Quota additions is a hot button issue, but in short, if you attend all of the preference parties to which you were invited, and list all 3 on your preference card, you are guaranteed a bid. Even if you were only invited to 1 preference party, you are still guaranteed a place in that chapter. What that means on the ground is if quota is 40, it is not uncommon for chapters to get 42, 45, even 50.

I hope that helps!

[MaryPoppins]

NOTE QA only applies to SOME RFM campuses, not all.

Originally Posted by DubaiSis

Quota additions is a hot button issue, but in short, if you attend all of the preference parties to which you were invited, and list all 3 on your preference card, you are guaranteed a bid. Even if you were only invited to 1 preference party, you are still guaranteed a place in that chapter. What that means on the ground is if quota is 40, it is not uncommon for chapters to get 42, 45, even 50.

[AZTheta]

SECKDLady:

the best way I can explain RFM, QA, etc is this: it's voodoo.

I'm joking.

Actually, RFM is a complex mathematically based system of managing recruitment invitations and all that is entailed with formal recruitment; that is the simplest explanation and the best way I've been able to understand it. AZ-AlphaXi and AOIIAngel and thetygerlily (and many others) have been trying to explain it to me for quite some time and I still don't fully grasp it. That is why I say it is voodoo (okay I will stop with the jokes).

How exciting that your daughter is VP Recruitment for her chapter! Send her a care package when it's over, she's going to need it. And I bet she could answer a lot of questions for you when she's finished with recruitment.

thank you for clarifying. Thank you to all who advise during rush...I have seen the advisors who stay up all night several nights in a row and the sororities are fortunate to have you!

[Titchou]

As far as I know, all groups have the NPC Manual of Information ( aka Green Book) on the member only part of their web sites. I strongly recommend you download it and read it = verbatim. You'll learn almost everything you need to know.

[KDCat]

Originally Posted by Titchou

As far as I know, all groups have the NPC Manual of Information ( aka Green Book) on the member only part of their web sites. I strongly recommend you download it and read it = verbatim. You'll learn almost everything you need to know.

Thanks for the tip. I'm starting on a CAB in January and that is very helpful.

[Shellfish]

Originally Posted by Titchou

As far as I know, all groups have the NPC Manual of Information ( aka Green Book) on the member only part of their web sites.

I don't think KD does, at least not in the section available to members not serving as advisors, national officers, etc., unless I'm not looking in the right place, which could well be the case.

SECKDLady, if you have the spring issue of the Angelos (cover story on the National Collegiate Training Academy), there's a primer on new recruitment processes in it.