NPC appoints Community College Task Force

[NYCMS]

Originally Posted by 33girl

My question is, has this come up because there is a groundswell of women at CCs contacting NPC about establishing chapters? Or has it come up because NPC is afraid of losing members due to the crappy economy and amount of people out of work, who won’t be able to send their kids to a 4 year college let alone pay sorority dues.

My question as well. And this: when I was in college, the people I knew who went to CC's did so for financial reasons - big cost savings plus they often lived at home. If kids are going to CC's often to save money, will they have the money for sorority membership? (without a house, of course). And if they've living at home (sometimes up to 30-45 minutes away from what I've seen) or working part-time, will they have time for membership while in a CC?

[Cheerio]

Originally Posted by NYCMS

My question as well. And this: when I was in college, the people I knew who went to CC's did so for financial reasons - big cost savings plus they often lived at home. If kids are going to CC's often to save money, will they have the money for sorority membership? (without a house, of course). And if they've living at home (sometimes up to 30-45 minutes away from what I've seen) or working part-time, will they have time for membership?

I feel fortunate to have lived during an economic time when working to save money while attending a CC meant I could afford to join a sorority once I enrolled at a four year institution, instead of having to work during college to help my family pay for life necessities.

[navane]

PRO:

1) More opportunities to women to have a sorority experience

2) Financial benefit to the GLOs by having more members


CON:

1) This is my #1 issue: Women who join at CC, transfer to a 4-year university and then re-rush and join a different sorority. No. No. and No.

2) Women who try to join a chapter at a CC and then attempt to affiliate at a flagship university with a highly-desired "top tier" chapter of that organization. This creates potential for even more attempts to game the system than we see already.

3) Affiliation at any transfer chapter is usually not guaranteed and this can cause upset. Then....see "Con #1" women then trying to rush somewhere else.

4) There's no guarantee that a woman who joined at the CC would continue on to 4-year university afterward. So we would then see a bunch of 2 year members disappear. Further, some (not all!) CC students are a bit aimless. They weren't ready for university and are still trying to find themselves. CC is a great strategy for those students! They may try out a few classes and realize college is not for them. That's totally ok; but, it does impact member retention and experience.

5) CC tend to have a higher proportion of non-traditional students. For example, we might see some middle-aged women trying to rush or whathaveyou. This isn't "terrible" in and of itself, but as we've all pointed out many times, what does that woman have in common with a bunch of 18-22 year olds? These students may also not have the time to commit, the financial means, etc etc etc.

6) CC are usually commuter campuses and don't have a traditional series of events such as sports, homecoming, etc. I'm not sure how GLOs would plug-in.

7) What about NIC fraternities? Are the sororities supposed to exist in a CC vacuum? Now, NPC doesn't "need" fraternities to operate; but, mixers and such are part of the Greek Life experience and NPCs at CC would be a bit lopsided.

8) Oversight. Who is going to be supervising these chapters? Many of our GLOs are already stretched thin on volunteers.

9) Where do we draw the line in terms of scholarship? If a woman who is studying for a professional certificate in culinary arts or auto body shop or private pilot's license allowed to rush even if those programs of study are not available in a 4-year university program? Or do we limit recruitment to women who are only currently enrolled in a university transfer pattern?

10) Finishing with my #2 issue: Liability. I can foresee having additional risk management issues from members who just figured that Greek Life is what they saw on TV. Sometimes, we need the greater Greek Life community to help us develop norms for conduct and behavior. Yes, of course there are RM problems at university, even with large Greek systems and a Fraternity and Sorority Life Office in place. But, I still feel concerned that the CC would be something of a new frontier where there's not enough structure or community norms to inform these chapters on acceptable behavior.