Fraternity Recruitment: An Overview

From 1972 until 1992, total undergraduate fraternity membership in the United States increased steadily. However, after 20 consecutive years of growth, total membership has dropped steadily. Fraternities stand at a crossroads. Is it busines as usual or has the time come to jump-start the recruitment process? Passive IFC and chapter recruitment efforts must be transformed into active, direct practices. Friendship, the principal benefit of joining a Greek organization, has not gone out of style and is still very much in demand on every campus, but our market demands a more personalized and individualized conversation about the benefits of our organizations.

Interest in friendship-based groups will always exist among students. Fraternity members need to take their product, their friendship, directly to the potential buyer, the unaffiliated student. When face-to-face dialogue takes place on campus between an unaffiliated student and a fraternity member, a planned encounter creates a relationship between two people. Continued dialogue develops the relationship into a friendship. A friend jumps at the chance to join a brotherhood!

The North-American Fraternity Conference membership recruitment strategy, therefore, is based on friendship. Since recruitment is nothing more than making friends, chapters which embrace the friendship approach during recruitment will attract a larger pool of students. The American Freshman, a national annual study by the Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA, continues to indicate a primary concern of new students (both freshman and transfers) is fitting in and making new friends. Fraternities can meet this need to belong when our message is friendship.

Understanding the Recruitment Pool

In analyzing the pool of men on campus, three types emerge. First is the 'always join' group. These men will join fraternities with very little effort on the part of either chapters or Interfraternity Councils. These men are legacies, friends of current members, or acquaintances of alumni, and have been positively influenced on the benefits of Greek affiliation. This pool, however, has dramatically decreased over the past 30 years.

The second type is the 'never join' group. Men in this category philosophically do not agree with Greek organizations or have no interest in campus involvement. No matter what the chapter or IFC effort, these men will not join the Greek community.

The third type is 'maybe join' and on most campuses, is the largest group, potentially 30-60% of the male population. These men do not have complete information on the Greek experience, nor do they have positive acquaintances in chapters.

When fraternity men develop individual personal relationships with these men, fraternity is no longer an abstract concept but an organizational opportunity with a name and a face. These men generally don't seek Greek mambership, but many are ideal candidates for membership. The IFC and chapter recruitment effort must be personal, one-on-one, and active. These men will gain a favorable impression of Greek life only through meeting current members; a publication will not cut it.

Public relations is important, but recruitment goes beyond it. A publication or video will raise awareness about fraternities, but fraternity members, themselves, engaging in everyday dialogue with these 'maybe joiners' will create friendships that produce new members.

Nothing else will accomplish that desired result as simply ... or effectively. (http://www.nicindy.org)

In the fall of 2008, KDR unveiled a new membership development program entitled The Path. This program is designed to integrate our new members into KDR's culture and tradition, to assist in their college success, and in their current and future personal and professional growth. The program builds on what we have learned over the past 100 years to bolster the strengths and to buttress the ever-changing needs and challenges of today's college student

The Path is broken into four stages (Orientation, Kappa, Delta, and Rho) with each stage consisting of about a dozen phases. All new members are required to finish the Orientation Stage and to complete the first half of the Kappa Stage. At that time, Brothers will have completed all required phases of The Path. Should they desire, Brothers may continue through the remainder of the Kappa Stage and to the Delta and Rho Stages. The program becomes increasingly self-directed, personalized, and more individually centered as each member progresses. It will challenge them and serve as a perfect complement to their KDR membership.

The program is formatted such, that each stage and phase is completed through interactive PowerPoint presentations, making The Path nearly paperless, environmentally friendly, and technologically enhanced. The program is available through the KDR national website and is facilitated on a chapter level by two chapter officers (the Junior Tribune and the Pontifex) and by the mentoring of a KDR Big Brother. From the Orientation Stage of The Path: "The goal of the Orientation Stage is to educate new members on the history, mission, and values of the Fraternity and to assist in their own personal growth and development, as well as in a greater understanding of the breadth and depth of their commitment to KDR as their fraternal obligations and vows of membership are for a lifetime. "

The Orientation Stage is designed to last approximately five weeks in length, culminating with initiation, which is followed by the required phases of the Kappa Stage which bridge the pledge to initiation to Brother period. The intangibles of The Path are probably the most important aspects of the program. Brothers will be able to see, understand, and live life through a strong commitment to our ritual and core values. The Path embraces our heritage and tradition and holds tight to what it is that makes us uniquely KDR. The Path is designed to build upon our principles, values, and standards with practical knowledge that Brothers can use to enhance confidence, develop leadership, create connections, grow socially, and build a skill set for the future.

We welcome you to speak with a KDR Brother, chapter member on your campus, or the National Office concerning KDR and The Path.

In an effort to build men of character, Brothers of the National Fraternity of Kappa Delta Rho are expected to incorporate the following ideals into their daily lives. Therefore, as an initiated Brother of the National Fraternity of Kappa Delta Rho:

I shall know and understand the values expressed in the ritual of Kappa Delta Rho and I shall incorporate those values in my daily life.

I shall pursue academic excellence and practice academic integrity.

I shall respect the dignity of all persons; therefore I shall not physically, mentally, psychologically or sexually abuse or haze any person and I shall do my best to protect the health and safety of all people.

I shall respect my property and the property of others; therefore I shall not abuse, nor tolerate the abuse of property and I shall do all in my power to see that any and all chapter property is cleaned and well maintained.

I shall meet my financial obligations in a timely manner.

I shall not use, nor support the use of illegal drugs; I shall not abuse, nor support the abuse of alcohol.

I shall challenge all members of Kappa Delta Rho to abide by these expectations and I shall confront those who violate them.

I shall place Honor Above All Things in all I do.

Adapted from the NIC’s Nine Basic Expectations for Fraternal Members