Release figures and smaller systems

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by Lily1909

Has anyone had any experience with release figures and small Greek systems? I am involved with a campus where there are four NPC chapters of roughly the same size (25-35 women). Total is 50.

I can see where RFM would be beneficial at campuses with many NPC chapters, but I need more information on how this can help a smaller system grow.

So every chapter COB/CORs every year?

I'm not thinking release figures would really affect much, but maybe I'm wrong. I tend to think they'd only help at campuses where things are kind of lopsided among the chapters.

You also need to have enough rounds of invite only events that PNMs would get release by the big groups early enough that they still had time to look at the other groups.

[AGDLynn]

We used it for the first time on our campus last Fall. We have 6 NPC groups. I think it went pretty smooth for the 1st year.

[Lily1909]

AGDLynn, what's the average chapter size and total on your campus? Did it make any difference?

AlphaGamUGAAlum, most every woman attends every party up to pref, unless she is cut for grades. Yes, every chapter does COR (some with more success than others).

Sueali, has your campus used RFM? What were the results?

[AlphaFrog]

If most of the chapters are 25-35, why is total 50? Maybe that's something that needs to be examined.

[aopirose]

Originally Posted by AlphaFrog

If most of the chapters are 25-35, why is total 50? Maybe that's something that needs to be examined.

My thoughts too.

[Lily1909]

You both raise good points about lowering total.

Most of the time, two of the four chapters have been very close to total, if not at total. However, in the past semester or two, chapters have been reporting numbers in the same range, plus or minus ten. It might not be a bad idea to evaluate total after this fall's recruitment.

I'm really interested to see how RFM might work on a campus like mine. Any examples would be wonderful!

[dzcouture]

My school just started using release figures on recruitment software this past spring. The numbers we have to cut are based on each individual chapter's recruitment history. When our consultant from nationals came to visit us this year, she told me that these systems are only 'fair' after a few years. The initial years try to even out the sororities.

Since our chapter was one of the chapters achieving total, the numbers we had to cut by seemed unfair. I'm not sure if these systems really work. Even though a girl may give a smaller sorority more of a chance, she might still find out the same thing. Sometimes you just don't feel comfortable in certain places.

I know plenty of girls who dropped out of rush because they were cut by their top choices. As VP of Membership, I can say that we cut a lot more girls than we would have liked, and there are perfectly wonderful girls who have gone unmatched because they didn't get a sorority they fit in with. It might be fair to give everyone an equal chance of being considered, but I don't think it will prove effective on our campus.

When 5 out of 7 of the NPC sororities are at, above, or near campus total, and the remaining two are less than half of that, it is not fair to those achieving total to not be able to raise total.

Also, statistics nationally have always shown that lowering total will only attempt to kill Greek life on a campus. It will just make everyone smaller.