What makes a successful colonization?

[PsychTau]

For those who were/are part of a colony, recolonization, or reorganization of a chapter,

What makes it successful?
Not necessarily from the “recruit good members” standpoint, but from the National Staff/Support standpoint. What do staff, local alums, volunteers need to do (or not do) to make a strong, successful chapter from the ground up? What did they teach you to insure that they wouldn’t have to return next semester or next year to see you struggling?
What have you seen other chapters/colonies on your campus do?

I’ve seen GLO colonies have drastically different results, so I’m curious. Looking for any and all ideas, please.
Thanks!
PsychTau

[FuzzieAlum]

These mostly apply to new groups, not colonized locals, just because I know more about that.

- Make sure the campus really wants a new colony. It's heartbreaking, but sometimes Panhellenic commits to a chapter and then proceeds to tear it down the moment it materializes. Look at the history. Have other young chapters failed there recently?

- Get the alums involved. The chapter will rely on them financially and for volunteers long after the colonization period is over. Make sure they are behind the colony. Make sure they are willing to be advisors. And make it clear to them that their involvement will be ongoing - they aren't just there to help until the new chapter pops out its first bunch of alums in a year or two.

- Ensure they have competitive housing, whatever that is on the campus.

- Sniff the winds of change. Are any kinds of restructuring, new housing or new policies on the way, especially of the kind that might place you at a disadvantage?

- Information, information, information! Fraternities typically take a couple of years, whereas sorority colonizations frequently happen in under a semester. Either way, the group needs tons of information from nationals. What do we need to do? What next? What do we need to do to get our charter? You can't communicate too much.

- Give them a strong advisor. He/she needs to be flexible enough to know campuses A and B are different, and firm enough to know what Something is the XYZ way. The advisor needs to put in serious time and effort - and to know when he or she can no longer handle the position.

- Teach them to rush. Maybe a few of them have gone through formal rush, but none of them have ever done it from the other side. (Similar for guys, too. Informal rush is a learned skill.) A sorority that is only good at COB will eventually find itself working too hard for members.

[dakareng]

I have been involved in several new chapter colonizations both as a local chapter advisor and as a regional officer. The first comment that I'll make is that Pi Beta Phi has a graduate consultant live with the colony for at least a year from the time of installation and has a new chapter assistance officer usually for two years... so the question for us is not whether you 'have to return next semester"... it's whether the new chapter needs repeated visits 5 years out.

From that standpoint, I would say the things the local advisors need to learn/ teach is conflict resolution, communication, motivation and organizational issues. Even the best chapter has issues with members not getting along, or not doing what we ask of them. Good chapters know how to approach, and motivate their members.

When you are taking a group of virtual strangers and molding them into a sorority the emphasis needs to be on the fundamentals. What values does your group espouse? How do different activities reflect that? Building traditions is more than teaching ritual and a few songs... it is an attitude and a spirit. What is acceptable behaviors (and I'm not talking about what members do on Friday nights) and what isn't?

[33girl]

STICK WITH IT! STICK WITH IT! STICK WITH IT!!!!

It breaks my heart and drives me nuts when I see new chapters closing after not even being open for 5 years. If I had my druthers I'd enact an NPC law that says this is unacceptable. It might make GLOs think out their expansion philosophy a little more. Especially if it's a huge Greek system, do not just deposit your ritual manuals there and then trust it to run on its own. It's a BIG undertaking. If you aren't willing to follow through with REPEATED follow up and REPEATED visits (preferably, a live-in consultant from a similar system) and are just going for the quick buck, don't bother.

If you start a re/colonization and realize you're running to stand still before you are even out of the gate, put your pride in your pocket, cut your losses and get out of Dodge ASAP. Don't make women start out in a struggling chapter. If you can't come in strong, don't come in at all.

Also, check out the campus climate. Don't just go by what the administration or faculty says - talk with students and alumnae. For example, if the admin is forcing the local sororities to go national and the majority of the student body is against the idea - RUN AWAY! RUN AWAY! Don't profit from someone else's misfortune - it's bad karma. You will always be "the group they made us take when they got rid of poor XYZ" even if they didn't give 2 craps about XYZ previously.

It's the same advice we got about crossing the street - stop, look and listen, and then do it again!!

[pinkyphimu]

Originally posted by dakareng
I have been involved in several new chapter colonizations both as a local chapter advisor and as a regional officer. The first comment that I'll make is that Pi Beta Phi has a graduate consultant live with the colony for at least a year from the time of installation and has a new chapter assistance officer usually for two years... so the question for us is not whether you 'have to return next semester"... it's whether the new chapter needs repeated visits 5 years out.

interesting. what would you do if the school didn't have a grad school? or if they didn't have a house when they first started.

i think that a lot of the things that were mentioned sound like all chapters need them. how do you as advisors bring these things to chapter without sounding like you are trying to take over?

[FuzzieAlum]

I can't speak for Pi Phi, but Alpha Xi Delta doesn't have a grad student on campus - we use a dedicated Educational Leadership Consultant who lives with the chapter. The ELCs are sisters who graduated in the last year or two. Most of them travel around, but for colonies one stays with them, in their house or dorm, or even in just some dorm room on campus.

[dakareng]

To clarify... we call them Resident Graduate Consultants. Lize FuzzieAlum stated that AZD does, she is not a graduate student, she is a recent graduate who is there to assist and mold the new colony/ chapter. She has her own apartment, which often is where the officers meet, where the chapter keeps their archives until they have housing equivalent to the other groups on campus. Sometimes, in the second year, she might make a visit to another chapter that is fairly close, but not during the first year.

If done properly (and RGCs are well trained) it is not "taking over" but rather is a mentoring process. The RGC is also helping the chapter advisors, who often have been away from chapter operations for a number of years, to guide and advise but not run the chapter.

I'm with you 33girl... giving up after only 5 years to me means that someone dropped the ball. Either the situation was not a good fit (the campus shouldn't have expanded in the first place) or the support wasn't there.

[Kevin]

As a member of a colony that was doing crappy with one advisor and then succeeded under another, I can say that a good recruitment/expansion director can go a long way!

Director #1: Came down, recruited 12 guys, gave us some books, taught us some classes and then visited once per semester to follow-up.

Director #2: Stayed in constant communication, had a plan of action for success, had us keep a schedule and dammit.. we're a chapter now.

Now, I'll tell you the biggest surprise to us after getting our charter was insurance and national dues! A *HUGE* expense that we were really very unprepared for.

Make sure that they give you the information more than 2 months before it's due.