Fraternity & Sorority Life Terminology
Fraternities and Sororities often use specific terminology related to their activities and membership. Here are some frequently used terms:
- Active member: the term used to indicate a sorority or fraternity member who has been formally initiated into the chapter.
- All Greek Council (AGC): a collaborative group consisting of a programming and voting body for all registered fraternities and sororities at Shepherd University comprised of all chapter presidents (voting body) and three Board of Directors (programming body). All fraternities and sororities must affiliate with AGC. Visit All Greek Council’s Instagram to see what out students are up to!
- Alumna /alumnus/alumnae/alumni: an initiated member of a fraternity or sorority who is no longer an undergraduate member. Alumna (singular, feminine), alumnus (singular, masculine), alumnae (plural, feminine), alumni (plural, masculine; customary plural term when men and women are addressed).
- Badge: a piece of jewelry given to initiation members worn to identify their membership in the organization. Typically worn to official or ritual events, it is only worn while in business-like attire, and usually worn over the heart and above all other pins.
- Bid: a formal membership invitation to join a sorority or fraternity.
- Bid Day: the last day of recruitment when potential new members receive bids to join chapters.
- Brother: a member of a fraternity
- Chapter: the term used to refer to each local collegiate group of an inter/national sorority and fraternity. Shepherd University currently has 3 social sorority chapters, 4 social fraternity chapters, 3 professional fraternity chapters, and a fraternal community of 10 total chapters.
- College Panhellenic Association (CPH): a governing body of all of the NPC member social sororities on campus. A CPH exists where there are two or more NPC member sororities on a campus. The Council’s purpose is to advance sororities on campus and provide leadership to the entire community. All social sororities must affiliate with CPH. To learn more about Shepherd’s social sororities, click here.
- Colony: a term used to describe the collegiate group of a fraternity or sorority in a new organization on the campus.
- Continuous Open Bidding (COB): An opportunity for chapters that do not reach quota during primary recruitment to bid to quota and/or for chapters that are not at total to bid to total. The COB process is not structured by the College Panhellenic, and only chapters with available spaces in quota/total are eligible to participate in COB. Also referred to as informal recruitment (see below).
- Dues: the monthly or semesterly costs of membership for fraternities and sororities
- Expansion: the process of inviting and facilitating inter/national fraternities and sororities to establish chapters on a college campus.
- Fraternity: generally, a Greek organization for men. Many of the older women’s organizations are officially known as fraternities rather than sororities. Also refers to co-ed Greek organizations.
- Good Standing: a fraternity or sorority member who has fulfilled all membership obligations, such as paying their dues, maintaining the required GPA, etc.
- Hazing: any action taken or situation created, intentionally or unintentionally, whether on or off premises owned or leased by the organization, which has the effect of producing psychological or physical discomfort, embarrassment, harassment, or ridicule. Hazing is not unique to fraternity and sorority life, and Shepherd University does not tolerate any form of hazing. Click here for more information.
- Informal Recruitment: the style of recruitment all of our social and professional/service fraternities use year-round. This recruitment style is unstructured and can consist of events or informal meet-and-greets, coffee chats, hangouts, etc. This style is more relaxed than the structured primary recruitment that Shepherd’s Panhellenic sororities follow. The Panhellenic sororities use this recruitment style during COB.
- Initiation: a ritual ceremony that brings new members into full membership of a sorority including its lifelong benefits. Once a new member is initiated into an NPC or IFC sorority, they are ineligible for membership in any other NPC sorority.
- Intentional Single Preference: when a Panhellenic PNM who attended more than one preference event lists only one chapter on their MRABA following preference round.
- Shepherd Fraternity Council (SFC): a governing body of all of the member and non-member social fraternities on campus. The Council’s purpose is to advance fraternity on campus and provide interfraternal leadership to the entire community. All social fraternities must affiliate with SFC. To learn more about Shepherd’s social fraternities, click here.
- Legacy: a person whose parent, grandparent, or sibling was/is an active member of a fraternity or sorority. Each member organization has its own definition of and invitation policies regarding legacies. No fraternity or sorority is obligated to offer a bid to a legacy. Further, potential new members are completely free to choose the fraternity or sorority of their own preference regardless of legacy status.
- Local Fraternity or Sorority: a fraternity or sorority chapter that does not meet the definition of an inter/national fraternity or sorority. Local chapters are not permitted at Shepherd University.
- Membership Recruitment Acceptance Binding Agreement (MRABA): The binding agreement signed by a Panhellenic potential new member (PNM) following the final preference event they attend. A PNM agrees to accept a bid from any chapter listed on their MRABA. If they receive a bid to a chapter they list and decline it, they are ineligible to join another organization on that campus until the beginning of the next primary recruitment period. If they do not receive a bid to membership, they are eligible for COB.
- Multicultural Greek Council (MGC)*: MGC is a legislative and programming body for multicultural fraternities and sororities recognized by the National Multicultural Greek Council (NMGC), National Association of Latino Fraternal Organizations (NAFLO), and National APAI Panhellenic Council (NAPA). It consists of an executive board and chapter delegates. The Multicultural Greek Council coordinates joint activities, programming and provides support to member chapters. All multicultural fraternities and sororities must affiliate with the MGC. *This council does not have any member chapters and needs at least two member chapters to become active at Shepherd University.
- Nationals: fraternity and sorority members often refer to their nation/international headquarters or offices as “Nationals.” These offices are responsible for making policies for the individual chapters at different colleges and universities.
- National Panhellenic Conference (NPC): an umbrella organization for 26 national women’s sororities throughout the United States and Canada. Each member group is autonomous as a social, Greek-letter society of college women and alumnae.
- National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC)*: NPHC is a collaborative umbrella organization composed of historically African American collegiate Greek-lettered fraternities and sororities. NPHC promotes interaction through forums, meetings, and other mediums for the exchange of information and engages in cooperative programming and initiatives through various activities and functions of intercollegiate Greek letter fraternities and sororities. All nationally recognized NPHC fraternities and sororities must affiliate with the local council. *This council does not currently have any member chapters and needs at least two member chapters to become active at Shepherd University.
- North American Interfraternity Conference (NIC)*: an umbrella organization for national men’s fraternities throughout the United States and Canada. Each member group is autonomous as a social, Greek-letter society of college men and alumni. The NIC provides direct support, resources and services to IFC officers, representatives, advisors and alumni to further the health and success of local fraternity communities. *Shepherd is not currently a member of the NIC.
- New Member: a person who has accepted a bid or invitation to join a Greek-lettered organization but has not been initiated yet.
- New Member Education Process: the educational period in which new members learn about their chapter’s history, values, codes of conduct, and transition into active membership through a series of ceremonies and rituals.
- Order of Omega (OoO): Greek Honor Society; consists of sophomore, juniors, and seniors who are initiated members of a fraternity or sorority and have maintained a high standard of leadership and scholarship in the Greek community. Learn more here.
- Parity: being equal or equivalent
- Philanthropy: a national and/or local charity or organization that a sorority and/or fraternity sponsors, donating time and money through service to promote human welfare.
- Pledge: a promise made by a new member. It is a verb and should not be used as a noun to describe a new member.
- Potential New Member (PNM): any student who is eligible to participate in recruitment.
- Preferential Bidding: A mutual selection process for chapters and potential new members. This is performed through bid matching with the FSL staff and Panhellenic chapter/recruitment advisors during Primary Recruitment following preference events and sorority bid lists being submitted.
- Primary Recruitment: the period of time during the academic year when events are held by each sorority for the purpose of selecting new members. The primary recruitment period is organized and implemented by the College Panhellenic. Should the College Panhellenic not host a primary recruitment, then primary recruitment will default to the earliest opportunity a student is permitted to join. NPC endorses primary recruitment held in the fall academic term. NPC also advocates women be able to join a sorority during their first academic term on campus.
- Professional Fraternity Association (PFA): an umbrella association of national, collegiate, discipline-specific professional and service fraternities and sororities. All three of our professional and service fraternities on campus as national members of the PFA.
- Professional Greek Council (PGC)*: nationally referred to as Professional Fraternity Council (PFC); a collaborative body with the purpose of promoting and enhancing professional fraternities on campus by serving as a cooperative forum for sharing ideas, information, experiences, and concerns, increasing the awareness of professional fraternities on campus; and creating a spirit of fellowship among students. This council exists to stimulate interaction among its member groups, its respective administration, and on-campus opportunities. *Professional fraternities are currently a member of All-Greek Council at Shepherd University.
- Quota: The number of potential new members to which each Panhellenic chapter can offer bids during primary recruitment. This is determined with a formula involving the number of chapters and the number of PNMs who have signed MRABAs.
- Quota Addition: a PNM who was not matched during initial bid matching but is added to a chapter’s bid list after bid matching. A PNM is only eligible to be a quota addition if she listed all available options on her MRABA. PNMs who intentionally single preference are not eligible to be quota additions.
- Recolonization: the process in which a fraternity or a sorority that was previously on campus receives another charter to recruit members on the same campus. Recolonization can happen because a chapter died out due to low numbers or had their charter revoked.
- Recruitment: the process where interested students can learn more about our Greek-affiliated organizations and be asked to join. Recruitment events take place in both the fall and spring semesters. No recruitment events or the extending of bids occur during summer terms; however, our chapters participate in year-round recruitment and are encouraged to continue promoting their fraternal experiences to promote fraternity and sorority life to potential new members. To learn more, click here.
- Recruitment Counselor: A Panhellenic representative who serves on the Panhellenic Recruitment Team and is available to guide PNMs through the recruitment process and answer questions. Recruitment counselors are intentionally selected based on their merit and accountability. They remain impartial and objective throughout the entire recruitment process to provide unbiased support. As soon as a student registers for primary recruitment, they are assigned a Recruitment Counselor.
- Ritual: private ceremonies that are part of each fraternity or sorority’s practices and history. Formal documents are provided that contain the secret principles and ideals upon which the organization was founded. Only initiated members are privy to the ritual; learning the ritual is usually a part of the initiation ceremony. Ritual is sacred and unique to each inter/national organization and is the common bond between all members of a sorority or fraternity, regardless of when or where they were initiated.
- Sister: a member of a sorority
- Sorority: a Greek-letter organization for women
- Snap Bidding: an option available to chapters that did not match to quota during bid matching. This process takes place before bids are distributed. Snap bidding is not intended to fill spaces in the chapter total and is limited to PNMs who withdrew from primary recruitment before signing the MRABA and/or were not matched in the bid matching process.
- Strict Silence: The period of time after the close of Panhellenic preference events and prior to the distribution of bids when there is no communication between potential new members and sorority members.
- Total: the allowable chapter size on a campus, as determined by the College Panhellenic that includes both new and initiated members. Chapters that fall under total are allowed to participate in continuous open bidding (COB) until they reach total.
- Values-based Recruitment (VBR): recruitment that focuses on conversations between chapter members and potential new members about organizational values and member organizations.
