Release Figures

reverie · #1 12-23-2006, 12:33 AM

I tried to do a search for this, but couldn't come up with anything recent so please forgive me if this has already been asked.

What campuses have switched to release figures and have seen it help their sororities?

We're hoping to switch to release figures next year, but some of the sororities are nervous that it might hurt their numbers. I was hoping for some of examples of campuses that have switched systems and seen it improve their system.

DeltaBetaBaby · #2 12-23-2006, 01:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by reverie

I tried to do a search for this, but couldn't come up with anything recent so please forgive me if this has already been asked.

What campuses have switched to release figures and have seen it help their sororities?

We're hoping to switch to release figures next year, but some of the sororities are nervous that it might hurt their numbers. I was hoping for some of examples of campuses that have switched systems and seen it improve their system.

"Release figures" are not new. However, in the past few years, NPC has come up with an alternate method of calculating them. Are you asking who uses any type of figures, or who uses the new method?

fire1977 · #3 12-23-2006, 01:14 AM

There should be something out there. I thought most people were to be using them this year. I'm assuming you are talking about FSR.

Anyway, I'm a chapter advisor and they were SO helpful - it's something that the advisors discussed after recruitment. Groups that used to carry far too many women through recruitment had to cut them early on and other chapters (not just the smallest chapter) had a chance for those women. While I'm sure that was stressful for them (we had to cut more women than we normally do) it also offered the PNM's a chance to see who was serious about them. Our parties were also more full.

Once we got to pref, they ran bid matching a couple of times to see which quota would place the most women with their choices. Quota was about the same as it had been in years past and MANY groups made quota as opposed to 3-4 out of 11 and only two chapters had to snap bid to quota and they weren't very far off, 2-3 people. Many of the other groups had quota additions as well.

I know it sounds a little goofy but I think it created more fairness between the other groups while providing women with a better idea of who is definitely considering them. Basically, I love it and wish we would have started earlier.

Just my opinion.

reverie · #4 12-23-2006, 01:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DeltaBetaBaby

"Release figures" are not new. However, in the past few years, NPC has come up with an alternate method of calculating them. Are you asking who uses any type of figures, or who uses the new method?

I was wondering what colleges use the new method.

Stef the Pef · #5 12-23-2006, 03:43 AM

HUGE ditto to fire's comments. Baylor switched to the "new" release figures last year and it's been a huge help to...well, basically everyone. Girls who probably wouldn't have considered the medium-sized or smaller chapters in previous years aren't strung along by the really big ones and let down at the end of the week. The new system made formal recruitment a lot fairer, IMHO. Girls get to see the smaller chapters more and find out what they're all about, too. Even if they end up in a different room, they're still leaving with a positive impression of groups who used to get dropped off a lot of girls' lists early in the week.

reverie · #6 12-24-2006, 02:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stef the Pef

HUGE ditto to fire's comments. Baylor switched to the "new" release figures last year and it's been a huge help to...well, basically everyone. Girls who probably wouldn't have considered the medium-sized or smaller chapters in previous years aren't strung along by the really big ones and let down at the end of the week. The new system made formal recruitment a lot fairer, IMHO. Girls get to see the smaller chapters more and find out what they're all about, too. Even if they end up in a different room, they're still leaving with a positive impression of groups who used to get dropped off a lot of girls' lists early in the week.

Thanks Stef. That's exactly what I was looking for!

AGDLynn · #7 12-25-2006, 10:55 PM

The Univ of West Ga used it for the 1st time last fall and it seemed to work fairly well.

jwright25 · #8 12-26-2006, 11:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by reverie

I was wondering what colleges use the new method.

I don't think that there is a public "list" out there of which Universities and Colleges are using the old or the new method. From what I have heard both on GC and throughout my International Organization, the Panhellenics that have switched over to the new release figure method have for the most part greatly benefited from the change. A couple of schools modified it on a local level, and the results were not as desirous.

Most large Universities and those with competitive recruitments have switched to the new release figure method. Others are following suit, though for some reason I vaguely remember seeing something about how only half of the Panhellenics across the country had implemented the new method by this past fall. Not sure about the accuracy of that though.

As someone else mentioned, the quota range aspect of the new method is quite helpful. Scary at first, but it works nicely when applied appropriately and you use quota additions.

gpb1874 · #9 01-11-2007, 11:01 AM

We used it this year and I'm a little mixed about it. I'm at a smaller school - 8,200 students with 3 chapters. Normally, we have about 70-80 women go through recruitment. Maybe 5-10 (max) will get cut due to grades or just nobody clicks with them really well. A few drop out, but not many. We usually end up with quota around 20.

Using the new RFM, quota was 20 (I think, I'm super tired right now). More women were cut during the process, which was a little disappointing. Since we're a small campus, people talk and it's not good to cut a lot of women. These were not women that were bad, but chapters were forced to cut b/c of RFM. What I did like is that we were able to play around with quota (using ICS helped a lot with that) and could maximize the number of women placed. I think only woman didn't receive a bid at all during matching, but she was offered a snap bid b/c one chapter she listed was under total.

The hard part is that I think the chapters could have retained the women they released and they could have been great members. The chapters would have been a little over total (two got right at or one over, and one chapter was under, but only 15 women accepted bids). It definitely helped out the smaller chapter and most of the women that gots bids from them were happy. The other 2 got many of their top choices.

I just to think that there are around 15-20 women who could've been great members, but maybe just didn't make a great impression the first 2 rounds.

To sum up:
Good about RFM: maxed out possibilities for quota for each chapter; smaller chapter was helped.
Bad: had to release more women than normal OVERALL from recruitment (not just getting cut from one chapter, but all)

WCUgirl · #10 01-11-2007, 11:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by reverie

I was wondering what colleges use the new method.

I was under the impression that ALL campuses who utilize fully-structured recruitment would be using it eventually. I thought there was sort of a graduated method, where x amount of schools used it the first year, then x amount of schools used it the next year, and then by the third or fourth year, all the schools were to be using it.

KSUViolet06 · #11 01-11-2007, 02:55 PM

My school used it for the first time this past recruitment. There were mixed reactions.

The system is designed to help PNMs realistically consider their options by having cuts earlier on. That way, a girl doesn't "fall in love with XYZ" throughout recruitment, then get heartbroken and drop out after XYZ releases her before pref. On the PNM end, there are heavier cuts early on (our heaviest cuts were between 2nd and 3rd party) because each chapter has to release a different # of women depending on some different factors.

On one hand, I think it forces some chapters to release women that they might just be holding on to but have no intentions of having therm back for pref just so they can have full parties. On the other hand, cutting a large number early on means you have to make cuts after meeting women only twice and that makes for a very long night of membership selection in the middle of recruitment.

In the end, I think we all got the girls we wanted pretty much and we all took about the same number of women, so it work out pretty well in my opinion.

FSUZeta · #12 01-11-2007, 04:53 PM

i know that fl. state and u of florida use that method, and have used it for a few years.

i don't understand why on gpb1874's campus there were more women who were cut than in previous years-my understanding is that quota can still be set at any point in the recruitment process-even after pref. parties, so that the maximum # of pnms may be placed.

perhaps it was just a tragic coincidence that these women were cross cut . i don't think that it is reflective of the new release figure method.