NPC Extension Questions

[AOII Angel]

Originally Posted by IPFW Sisters

Hello!
I am the president of a sorority interest group at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW) in Fort Wayne, Indiana. I guess first I will talk about our group.

Our interest group consists of 16 girls. We started getting interest when we posted flyers around campus in February. We had to do a cut off at 16 girls in April. We consider our "class" the founders. During the Spring semester we would hold meetings every week, to discuss progress on the extension process and get any tasks done that needed to be completed. Since it is summer, we are preparing for the Fall semester, and recruitment. Since we do not have a specific NPC sorority yet, we aren't really sure if we should continue on with recruitment or not. Our reasons for recruitment are to show our school that we have interest for a sorority on our campus.

Now about our school. IPFW has no NPC affiliation. All greek life was banned in 2005 by IPFW for some unknown reason. Now IPFW wants to bring back greek life. But it isn't an easy process. We currently have 1 fraternity.

Now about the process. For those of you who don't know about the NPC extension process for schools with no NPC affiliation, our interest group has to get a letter from the dean of students saying that IPFW is open for NPC extension. That letter will go to Carole Jones, the chair of NPC Extension and she will work with our dean of students on getting a bulletin up for all NPC sororities to see. This bulletin allows NPC sororities to see that we are open for extension. From that point on, all communication is between the dean of students and NPC Sororities.

BUT WAIT, in order for our interest group to get the letter from the dean of students, our group had to complete the IPFW Greek Life Expansion Process. IPFW process went as follows: They gave us a folder of information. In this folder was a checklist of about 50 things we needed to get information on and compile in a binder. The checklist required that we pick a sorority, we picked Pi Beta Phi, and find all kinds of information on them. Here are some of the things we had to find: total number of alumnae in Fort Wayne area, explain history with IPFW, support of the IPFW alumnae in establishing a chapter, list of alumnae who have indicated commitment to working with the chapter as an advisor board (including contact info), copy of the sorority constitution, exact location of nearest alumnae association, the number of chapters lost in the past three years (when ,where, why), average size of chapter nationwide, percentage of new members initiated nationwide, membership costs, average GPA nationwide, number of traveling consultants/description of program, graduate counselor/advisor program, description of national staff assistance to colonies and established chapters, description of conventions, leadership schools/programs, what kind of commitment will the national make to this chapter, description of advisor training program, summary of organizational structure of the sorority at the national level, and five year long range goals for the national fraternity.

According to NPC, interest groups are not allowed to have any contact with alumnae, or headquarters of any sorority during extension. Thus, these requirements are impossible to meet. So we got the binder done to the best of our ability in May 2013. We informed the "Director of Special Projects" which is who we were directed to talk to about starting the sorority. Since May 2013 she has been getting a Greek Council together. Once that is assembled we have to go in and present our binder to them along with a power point on why we want NPC here and all kinds of other stuff. Only if they approve our proposal do we get the letter from the dean of students, then start the real NPC extension process. We are suppose to have our Greek Council meeting in the next week, but the Director of Special Projects has been saying that since May. So, we'll see.

I know that we are not gaurenteed to be Pi Beta Phi. We choose Pi Beta Phi because we had to pick a specific sorority and Pi Beta Phi was on our campus from 1974-2004 so there are alumnae in our area.

Now my questions to anyone who can answer:

1. What happens when a sorority decides to extend here? Will our group be notified? Will we be initiated into the sorority or will they only chose specific girls?

2. Has anyone extended to a campus without NPC in the past 3 years that has any advice?

3. Should our group start our first ever recruitment this coming Fall? If so, why? If not, why not?

Any advice would be greatly greatly appreciated.

Originally Posted by gatordeltapgh

I don't contribute that often, although I lurk daily. I am well versed with NPC expansion due to a previous but very recent volunteer roll.

Based on your description, it seems that the Director is not knowledgeable about NPC and that is fine. It can be confusing. What you were asked to do is more typical for a fraternity expansion via interest group so it isn't surprising that you were asked to do the same if that was the only recent reference point. 33girl is correct, you should have never been asked to select a group because it could set you up for disappointment. Pi Phi is a wonderful choice, as are all NPC member groups because extension is about fit. Additionally, there can be no Greek Council who can decide if your campus can proceed but that is another discussion for a different time. The proper authority remains with your student affairs folks.

The University has to be the one who says they want to open for extension and that is all about your University's student/co-curricular goals. This should really be a discussion with those who influence the student experience first. Some NPC marketing materials already showcase why our member groups contribute to the fulfillment of a University mission, increased engagement, etc.

In all honesty, I think your best bet may be to ask the NPC Office/Carole for recommendations that you can provide the Director as to how NPC expansion works with an interest group. However, NPC will not do the sell. Universities are all about the student so the "sell" needs to happen internally.

Your "should we recruit" question need to be answered by the University. Do they want you to demonstrate you have a critical mass of interest or would they rather not get anyone's hopes up.

If and when the campus opens, I believe any host institution needs to be sure they market themselves well to be attractive. Extension is expensive. Ground up Greek communities may be perceived as a great opportunity for some NPC groups and too great a risk for others. Each group has its own strategy for where they see their organization growing as well as the metrics they use for evaluating opportunities.

I do hope you have the opportunity to experience the extension process. I would say to keep an open mind. The other answers regarding offering an invitation to membership to interest group members is accurate. You won't know until you get to that step due to membership selection processes but hopefully that won't deter those interested.

Best of luck! Keep us posted

Carole Jones isn't an NPC office worker. She's the AOII delegate to the NPC and past International President. I don't recommend that you call her. Contacting the NPC may be helpful, but I wouldn't ask for Carole Jones directly.