American University Panhellenic Council Formal Recruitment Policies and Procedures Please note that this an inclusionary document. Anything that is included herein is permitted during formal recruitment. Anything that is not explicitly mentioned within this document is forbidden from formal recruitment. For questions please see the Panhellenic Vice President of Recruitment and/or the Director of Fraternity and Sorority Life. I. General Recruitment Rules A. A Potential New Member (PNM) will be eligible to go through recruitment if she has obtained at minimum a cumulative GPA of 2.5, has completed at minimum 12 credit hours at any accredited 2 or 4-year institution and is in good standing with the University. This does not include any credit hours earned through AP, IB or concurrent enrollment programs. B. Total chapter cost of recruitment is limited to $1800.00. 1. This budget includes items donated or purchased by collegians, alumni, chapter headquarters, etc. 2. Any donated or previously used item will be accounted for at 50% of the original value. 3. A full report including support documents shall be submitted to the Panhellenic Council Vice President of Recruitment on December 1st. C. Chapters will submit a one page summary of their organization no less than thirty (30) days prior to the start of formal recruitment. This summary should include estimated financial obligations in the first year and subsequent years, minimum GPA requirements and chapter/fraternity history. D. The promising, directly or indirectly, of bids by any initiated member of any women’s fraternity is strictly forbidden. E. No event that is open to PNMs shall occur between the close of grades for the fall semester and the beginning of formal recruitment. F. Outside of formal recruitment, a period of silence shall go into effect between all initiated members of women’s fraternities (with the exception of disassociated women) and PNMs from the start of Recruitment Orientation. The only permitted communication between these two parties during the period of formal recruitment shall be within the confines of recruitment events. G. Alumni may provide background support to chapters throughout the recruitment process. Collegians are the only women permitted to hold conversation with PNMs. H. National headquarters-approved methods of recommendations, referrals, sponsorships, etc., must be brought to the attention of the Panhellenic Updated: 6/13/2014 1 American University Panhellenic Council Formal Recruitment Policies and Procedures Vice President of Recruitment and Director of Fraternity and Sorority Life before December 1. I. For dues information, please see the Panhellenic By-Laws. J. Women’s fraternities participating in formal recruitment are not to discriminate in membership selection practices on any basis prohibited by law. K. Those persons stated in the National Panhellenic Conference Honor Code, as well as those who read and sign this document, will be held accountable for maintaining these rules. II. III. Formal Recruitment Schedule A. Formal Recruitment shall be held over Martin Luther King weekend during the Spring Semester. B. Formal Recruitment shall consist of an orientation session, open house round (30 min. events) , service and philanthropy round (45 min. events), preference round (60 min. events) and bid day. C. The orientation session shall be one hour long and split into two parts. The first 30 minute session will be a in a large group setting and will serve as the kickoff event for Formal Recruitment. The second session will be Sorority Recruitment Counselor (SRC) facilitated small-group meetings. D. Potential New Members will attend eight (8) parties during the open house round, up to five (5) parties during the service and philanthropy round and up to two (2) parties during the preference round. E. It is the responsibility of the chapter to keep time for all of their events. PNMs must be invited into the event and dismissed from the events during the allotted time for each event. F. PNMs are required to attend all events to which they have received invitations. If extenuating circumstances present themselves, the PNM may appeal for alternative scheduling through the Panhellenic VP of Recruitment and/or the Director of Fraternity and Sorority Life. Recruitment Party Regulations A. All Rounds 1. All regulations set forth by the American University will be strictly enforced by the Panhellenic Executive Council as well as the University. a) This includes but is not limited to the use/presence of alcoholic beverages, tape, glitter and/or flame candles. 2. The use of balloons is forbidden. Updated: 6/13/2014 2 American University Panhellenic Council Formal Recruitment Policies and Procedures B. Open House Round 1. The purpose of this round shall be to showcase the sisterhood within each chapter and the values that each chapter upholds. 2. Each event within this round will last for thirty (30) minutes. There will be fifteen (15) minute breaks in between each event. 3. Each event space will contain eighty (80) chairs, large wooden chapter letters and one large table decorated with fraternity regalia. Minimal decoration on chairs is permitted and must be approved by the Panhellenic Vice President of Recruitment by December 1st. 4. Exit/entrance songs and a live performance that is directly related to sisterhood will be permitted. 5. Chapters will serve ice water only. The dispenser may contain garnish however there is no garnish to be placed in or on the serving glass. There must also be at least one dispenser that has exclusively plain water. 6. PNMs will wear casual bottoms such as denim or leggings, and the Panhellenic Recruitment t-shirt that will be provided to them at orientation. 7. Collegians will wear casual bottoms such as denim or leggings, and the designated Panhellenic Recruitment t-shirt. 8. Advisors, alumni and chapter headquarters staff will wear clothing that distinguishes themselves from the collegians. 9. The Panhellenic Council will provide nametags for the PNMs. 10. Chapters are required to wear name tags, which they are responsible for providing. The name tags should clearly distinguish collegians from advisors, alumni and chapter headquarters staff. Name tags should be simple in design and easy to read. 11. There will be a scheduled lunch period during which no recruitment events will be held. Lunch will be provided by the Panhellenic Council to PNMs and Sorority Recruitment Counselors. Chapters are responsible for their own lunches. C. Service and Philanthropy Round 1. The purpose of this round shall be to showcase the service events and philanthropic causes that the chapter participates in. 2. Each event within this round will last for forty-five (45) minutes. There will be fifteen (15) minute breaks in between each event. 3. Each event space will contain eighty (80) chairs, large wooden chapter letters and one large table decorated with fraternity regalia and service/philanthropy related items. Minimal decoration on Updated: 6/13/2014 3 American University Panhellenic Council Formal Recruitment Policies and Procedures chairs is permitted but must be approved by the Panhellenic Vice President of Recruitment by December 1st.. 4. Exit/entrance songs and a video that is directly related to sisterhood, service and/or philanthropy will be permitted. All videos must be approved by the Panhellenic Vice President of Recruitment seven (7) days prior to the start of formal recruitment. 5. Chapters will serve ice water only. The dispenser may contain garnish however there is no garnish to be placed in or on the serving glass. There must also be at least one dispenser that has exclusively plain water. 6. Collegians will wear casual bottoms such as denim or leggings, and their chapter letters or an appropriate philanthropy t-shirt. 7. Advisors, alumni and chapter headquarters staff will wear clothing that distinguishes themselves from the collegians. 8. The Panhellenic Council will provide nametags for the PNMs. 9. Chapters are required to wear name tags, which they are responsible for providing. The name tags should clearly distinguish collegians from advisors, alumni and chapter headquarters staff. D. Preference Round 1. Each event within this round will last for sixty (60) minutes. There will be thirty (30) minute breaks in between each event. 2. Exit/entrance songs and a fraternity ritual will be permitted. 3. Chapters may serve beverages of their choice within NPC guidelines. The dispenser may contain garnish however there is no garnish to be placed in or on the serving glass. There must also be at least one dispenser that has exclusively plain water. 4. Minimal decorations that are related to the chapter’s ritual will be permitted. A detailed outline of all decorations, to include chapter attire, must be submitted to the Panhellenic VP of Recruitment for approval by December 1st. IV. Voting Regulations A. For every voting round of formal recruitment, each chapter must submit all voting lists within 4 hours of the scheduled end time of the chapter's final recruitment event. 1. Failure to meet this deadline will result in a fine of $5 per minute. V. Sorority Recruitment Counselors A. In order to participate in formal recruitment, each chapter must submit Updated: 6/13/2014 4 American University Panhellenic Council Formal Recruitment Policies and Procedures B. C. D. E. applications for at least six (6) viable candidates to be Sorority Recruitment Counselors. Sorority Recruitment Counselors (SRC) will become disassociated from their chapter beginning December 1st and ending at calling out. The level of disassociation is at the discretion of the Panhellenic VP of Recruitment. SRCs will be initiated women in any of the 8 women’s fraternities at American University. SRCs must keep all information regarding their assigned PNMs confidential. Should they deem necessary, they may report recruitment infractions or potential issues regarding their PNMs to the Panhellenic VP of Recruitment, the Panhellenic President and/or the Director of Fraternity and Sorority Life. Chapters may report potential infractions to the Panhellenic Vice President of Recruitment, the Panhellenic President or the Director of Fraternity and Sorority Life. By signing this document, I acknowledge the following: ● I have been provided with the full rules and regulations regarding formal recruitment. ● Any actions or items not specified as permissible within this document are to be considered forbidden. ● The Panhellenic VP of Recruitment and Director of Fraternity and Sorority Life reserve the right to alter these rules at any time and will provide significant notice to my chapter should they choose to do so. ________________________________________________________ Chapter Recruitment Chair Chapter Name Date ________________________________________________________ Chapter President Chapter Name Date ________________________________________________________ Panhellenic Vice President of Recruitment Updated: 6/13/2014 Date 5