5 Questions to Ask about PNMs

[fraternitynik]

New post on FM - A lot of times the advice we give to students has something to do with grading a potential member's values.

These 5 tips are based on the three most common reasons a chapter closes (size, finances and risk or some combination of the 3). If you've been told countless times to create a "values based selection process" consider this a cheat sheet.

http://fraternityman.com/ask-or-perish/

Thoughts & commentary welcome.

[carnation]

Great article! I bet that photo is from Stetson.

[fraternitynik]

Oh most definitely

Originally Posted by carnation

Great article! I bet that photo is from Stetson.

[navane]

"Instead of telling you to “stick to your values,” I’m going to tell you how to recruit people who will suck less as members of your chapter. Kay?"

LOL...tell it like it is, Nik!

I do have one discussion point regarding the "initiate before grades come in" concept you mention at the top of your article. My understanding is that pledge periods have been shortened over time, not due to micromanagement from schools or HQs as you claim, but in order to cut down on the amount of hazing. The idea was that, the quicker we can get someone into full member status, the less likely he or she is to be hazed. The trade-off here was that shorter pledge programs means that you may have to initiate a grade risk. We all did that to ourselves.

When I worked in Fraternity and Sorority Life at San Diego State University, I had to collect grade cards from the fraternity pledges. Our NIC had the fraternity pledges take a card around mid-semester to all of their professors to notate the student's current grade in the class.

[fraternitynik]

Originally Posted by navane

"Instead of telling you to “stick to your values,” I’m going to tell you how to recruit people who will suck less as members of your chapter. Kay?"

LOL...tell it like it is, Nik!

I do have one discussion point regarding the "initiate before grades come in" concept you mention at the top of your article. My understanding is that pledge periods have been shortened over time, not due to micromanagement from schools or HQs as you claim, but in order to cut down on the amount of hazing. The idea was that, the quicker we can get someone into full member status, the less likely he or she is to be hazed. The trade-off here was that shorter pledge programs means that you may have to initiate a grade risk. We all did that to ourselves.

When I worked in Fraternity and Sorority Life at San Diego State University, I had to collect grade cards from the fraternity pledges. Our NIC had the fraternity pledges take a card around mid-semester to all of their professors to notate the student's current grade in the class.

You're 100% right. It's not really "micromanagement" as much as it is broader rules enforced by schools and (inter)national offices . . . and those rules were probably very often voted on by students.

I hoped to point out exactly what you perfectly described - the opportunity cost of those rules can often be that we don't prioritize something we say we prioritize (academics) at many schools.