Expectations of Excellence – Overview

Fraternities and sororities are an integral part of the UConn student experience through educational and social enrichment. We strive to develop the individual members of every fraternity and sorority to become values-driven contributors to a larger society. While many fraternities and sororities are providing a quality membership experience, it is essential to set expectations that challenge these organizations to continuously pursue excellence. Our goal is for chapters to spread excellence to each of their members in order for every student to grow intellectually and become a contributing member of the local, national, and world communities.

These expectations reflect the values of inter/national fraternities and sororities, the UConn fraternity and sorority community, and UConn as a whole. Fraternities and sororities will be encouraged to develop in each of these areas throughout the semester. With the support of the Center for Fraternity and Sorority Development, chapters will set goals that push their chapter to new standards. Then, throughout the semester, chapters will work to execute these goals.

Expectation Performance Levels

Fraternities and sororities will be evaluated for their ability to meet expectations in three values-based theme areas: Citizenship, Leadership, and Scholarship, PER SEMESTER. These categories are sub-divided into specific performance areas with three statuses: Navy (Exceeds Expectations), Grey (Meets Expectations), and Red (Does Not Meet Expectations).  Each semester, all organizations are expected to meet and maintain all of the minimum expectations at Grey-status, and are encouraged to strive for excellence by meeting the expectations of Navy-status. As an incentive for high achievement, there are benefits and privileges that are offered for those who meet (Grey-status) or exceed expectations (Navy-status). Groups that fail to meet the minimum expectations (Red-status), two (2) of three (3) consecutive semesters risk their organization's recognition status. The current standards are outlined below:

Citizenship

Campus Relations

Grey-Status


  • Chapter hosts one (1) event with a CFSD recognized fraternity/sorority that is a member of the same governing council OR Chapter hosts one (1) event with a CFSD recognized fraternity/sorority that is NOT a member of the same governing council. (Events with alcohol will not be considered.)
  • 50% of New Members attend New Member Social

Navy-Status


  • Chapter hosts one (1) event with a CFSD recognized fraternity/sorority that is a member of the same governing council  (Events with alcohol will not be considered.)
  • Chapter hosts one (1) event with a CFSD recognized fraternity/sorority that is NOT a member of the same governing council.  (Events with alcohol will not be considered.)
  • 75% of New Members attend New Member Social

An event/program reflection must be completed for all collaborative programs within 10 days of the program date.

Service & Philanthropy

Grey-Status


  • Chapter hosts two (2) philanthropy events
  • Complete an average of 6 volunteer hours per member

Navy-Status


  • Chapter hosts three (3) philanthropy events
  • Complete an average of 12 volunteer hours per member

An event/program reflection must be completed for all philanthropic programs within 10 days of the program date. Philanthropic contributions must be reported by USD value. Service hours are reported on the end of semester report, using the service and philanthropy template. It is a chapter's choice whether the service report is just active-initiated members or if it includes both active-initiated members and new members who joined during this semester.

Conduct

Grey-Status


  • Chapter is free from finding of responsibility during the current semester.

Navy-Status


  • Chapter is free from finding of responsibility during the current and previous academic year.
Scholarship

New Member GPA

Grey-Status


  • Associate/new member semester GPA is above 2.8

Navy-Status


  • Associate/new member semester GPA is above 3.0

Chapter GPA

Grey-Status


  • Chapter semester GPA is above 2.8

Navy-Status


  • Chapter semester GPA is above All Undergraduate GPA Average
Leadership

Advising

Grey-Status


  • Snapshot meeting is attended by the president, vice president, and risk manager
  • President attends three (3) meetings with CFSD chapter coach
  • Scholarship officer attends one (1) meeting with CFSD chapter coach (only required for organizations that did not meet grey-status GPA expectations the semester prior)
  • NME/Intake officer attends one (1) meeting with CFSD chapter coach (recruitment officer will meet if the chapter is not taking conduct intake/education)
  • President attends three (3) president forums

Navy-Status


  • Snapshot meeting is attended by the president, vice president, risk manager, scholarship officer, intake coordinator/new member educator, philanthropy chair, social chair, and recruitment officer
  • President attends four (4) meetings with CFSD chapter coach
  • Scholarship officer attends one (1) meeting with CFSD chapter coach (only required for organizations that did not meet grey-status GPA expectations the semester prior)
  • Risk Manager attends one (1) meeting with CFSD chapter coach
  • NME/Intake officer attends one (1) meeting with CFSD chapter coach (recruitment officer will meet if the chapter is not taking conduct intake/education)
  • President attends four (4) president forums

Except for new member educator/intake officer meeting, all other advising meetings are pre-determined for a 2-week period. The new member educator/intake officer meeting will be scheduled within two-weeks of submission of the new member education/intake request. If your chapter is NOT conduct intake/education, a recruitment officer or similar role will be required to meet with your chapter coach.

Administration

Grey-Status


Navy-Status


Education

Grey-Status


  • Chapter completes one (1) program of choice* per semester
  • 100% of new members complete four (4) New Member Modules on Husky CT (Fraternity & Sorority Intro, DEI, Health & Safety, Hazing Prevention)
  • 90% of  all chapter members complete the Anti-Hazing Agreement**
  • 80% of 2nd year members attend National Hazing Prevention Week speaker**
  • 80% of 3rd year members complete Hazing and Harming SOLID**
  • 80% of 4th year members complete the Lasting Impact: Leaving a Legacy**

Navy-Status


  • Chapter completes two (2) programs of choice* per semester
  • 100% of new members complete four (4) New Member Modules on Husky CT (Fraternity & Sorority Intro, DEI, Health & Safety, Hazing Prevention)
  • 100% of  all chapter members complete the Anti-Hazing Agreement**
  • 100% of 2nd year members attend National Hazing Prevention Week speaker**
  • 100% of 3rd year members complete Hazing and Harming SOLID**
  • 100% of 4th year members complete the Lasting Impact: Leaving a Legacy**

*Program of choice must be selected from a list of pre-determined categories and meet then educational program requirements outlined below. An event/program reflection must be completed for all chapter educational programs within 10 days of the program date.

**Requirement only for fall semester.

Training

Grey-Status


  • Presidents' Retreat is attended by president.
  • SOLID officer training requirements are completed.
  • New Member Education/Intake Training is attended by president, vice president, and new member educator.
  • Risk Prevention Training is attended by president, vice president, risk manager, and social chair.
  • EOE Training is attended by president.

Navy-Status


  • Presidents' Retreat is attended by president.
  • SOLID officer training requirements are completed.
  • New Member Education/Intake Training is attended by president, vice president, and new member educator.
  • Risk Prevention Training is attended by president, vice president, risk manager, and social chair.
  • EOE Training is attended by president.
  • Finance Training is attended by president, vice president, and treasurer.
  • Council Delegate Training is attended by delegate or president.
Requirements for Educational Programs

Educational Program Guidelines

The Program of choice must be from one of the following categories:


  • Academic Excellence
  • Alcohol and Other Drugs
  • Bystander Intervention
  • Career Development
  • Conflict Resolution
  • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
  • Financial Literacy
  • Health and Wellness
  • Hazing Prevention
  • Leadership Development
  • Mental Health
  • Risk Reduction/Prevention
  • Sexual Misconduct/Healthy Relationships

Each category may only be used once per academic year (e.g., if you earn EOE credit for a mental health program in the fall, you cannot earn EOE credit for a mental health program in the spring of the same academic year).

Pre-approved programs can be found online: Pre-Approved Program List.

Any program not included on the pre-approved program list must be pre-approved by your CFSD chapter coach using the Educational Program Proposal. All proposals should be submitted at least five (5) business days in advance for the program to ensure that CFSD has sufficient time to review and respond. Chapters that submit a proposal less than five business days prior to the program risk having the proposal rejected.

Educational programs must meet the following requirements:


  • 75% of chapter members must be in attendance (this number will be calculated after the first roster update is submitted and will not be recalculated during the semester).
  • Presenter(s) cannot be a current undergraduate member of the chapter.
    Alumni(ae), advisors, campus departments/organizations, faculty, community organizations, and inter/national headquarters staff are all great resources for educational content.
  • Program must be at least 45 minutes in length.
  • Programs can be live (in-person or online) or pre-recorded (online module/self-paced training)
  • Intended learning outcomes for the presentation and why the specific presentation is beneficial to the chapter must be provided.

Upon completion of the program, the chapter is responsible for completing the Educational Program Reflection  and providing documentation of attendance participation within 10 days of the program date.


75% of the chapter must attend for the chapter to earn EOE credit. The percentage represents the number of people within the organization that have completed an educational program on a specific topic. Therefore, it is NOT necessary for everyone to attend the same program. However, an educational proposal & reflection will need to be submitted for each unique program.

Some organizations, especially large organizations, may find it easier to organize programs for the chapter to participate in together. This is ideal for monitoring attendance and record keeping. However, this practice can also lead to decreased levels of engagement. Therefore, organizations are highly encouraged to choose their programs wisely and ensure that they programs that they are selecting to offer and require their members to attend are appealing to the chapter. Additionally, if members are being asked to complete trainings and other educational programs through the inter/national organization, the chapter should also consider if any of those programs can satisfy the expectations as set forth by the university. The goal here is to work smarter, not harder.

Statuses and Deadlines:

Chapters are expected to meet respective deadlines throughout the semester. All items and due dates can be found here: "Dates & Deadlines".

Chapter status is calculated by CFSD at the end of each semester and the status remains until the end of the next semester when statuses are recalculated. If a chapter is found responsible for a conduct violation they will immediately move to red status.

Chapter statuses are final and cannot be changed retroactively. Chapters wishing to appeal their EOE Status must do so within 14-days of receiving their semester status report.