After Several Years: What Do You Think of the New Release Figures?

[violetpretty]

Originally Posted by LaneSig

/Pardon my lane swerve/

Is RMF working? If I am correct, the idea of RMF is to get girls interested in chapters that they normally wouldn't look at a second time. Isn't the idea to also help chapters that have traditionally been struggling with numbers and recruitment?

I had a conversation with a GC sorority member where I asked if RMF is helping with retention. On a couple of campuses (I won't mention them publically, pm me if you want specifics) it seems as if chapters that have traditionally not met quota are now meeting quota, but not retaining their pledges. In these situations, is RMF really helping the chapters?

That sounds like a chapter problem rather than a recruitment problem if a chapter is experiencing a lot of women depledging/withdrawing. That's not something RFM can address. Those chapters need to identify why women are depledging and fix those problems. If a chapter is truly doing their best to integrate new members into the chapter, depledging should be pretty rare and for clear-cut reasons.

Or, do you mean that chapters experience a lot of no-shows on bid day, meaning women feel "forced" to rank all of their preference chapters and end up matching with a chapter they don't intend to join? I know someone from a chapter like this (not my alma mater, not my sorority). She told me that Panhellenic tells the PNMs they have to rank all of their preference chapters, so her chapter MATCHES quota, but they get a lot of no-shows come bid day. She said one year, only a third of those that matched came to bid day. That's just really deflating for a chapter that doesn't need any more blows. Panhellenic isn't doing them any favors by trying to force PNMs their way.

[VandalSquirrel]

Originally Posted by LaneSig

/Pardon my lane swerve/

Is RMF working? If I am correct, the idea of RMF is to get girls interested in chapters that they normally wouldn't look at a second time. Isn't the idea to also help chapters that have traditionally been struggling with numbers and recruitment?

I had a conversation with a GC sorority member where I asked if RMF is helping with retention. On a couple of campuses (I won't mention them publically, pm me if you want specifics) it seems as if chapters that have traditionally not met quota are now meeting quota, but not retaining their pledges. In these situations, is RMF really helping the chapters?

Originally Posted by violetpretty

That sounds like a chapter problem rather than a recruitment problem if a chapter is experiencing a lot of women depledging/withdrawing. That's not something RFM can address.

I think retention may have nothing to do with sorority membership, but to do with the kinds of people who are attending college now, and the schools they attend. Maybe there is an influence with membership, but I think a lot of under-prepared people are going to colleges with very liberal enrollment policies and just not doing well in school. I am not saying that all first time college students aren't capable, but honestly there are lots of people who shouldn't be in a four year college straight out of high school and could be helped by a year or two at a community or junior college so they aren't taking remedial english and math courses.

How many schools are opening up new Greek systems from what was a community or junior college a decade or less ago? In some areas the college or university still offers classes for the community/junior college set and those students are in school and joining orgs. I kind of wonder how many students leave after the fall semester because of failing out, because I know it happens at my University and we do have a lot of support and involvement, so other places I can't imagine how many fall through the cracks and that is just accepted.

Of course I'm supporting my idea of not letting freshmen join before school starts and giving them a semester to orient themselves and succeed with events put on by Panhellenic/Greek Life to garner interest and promote academics and for life membership.