Fraternities rush formal recruitment process
Published June 6, 2007
Greek Life will be more prominent at the Summer Welcome program this year in an attempt to increase recruitment. Formal recruitment for fraternities will take place in June rather than August this year.
The Interfraternity Council, the governing body of 28 fraternities at MU, moved its formal recruitment process from August to June after evaluating the statistics from the previous years.
IFC Vice President of Recruitment Luke Miller said the people involved in making a proposal to create a solution consisted of the Greek Life staff and the IFC executive board.
A major reason for the move to an earlier date was because of the number of men who go through the formal recruiting hasn't met the expectations of the IFC in the past.
"We saw that our numbers were not as high as we would like them to be," Miller said.
The numbers have been low because the majority of the men join fraternities by the informal process, called rushing.
During formal recruitment, students have a chance to meet, greet and tour each of the 28 IFC chapters. Informal recruitment involves men being in contact with fraternities over a period of time in which they get to know each other.
The Greek Life Coordinator Andrew Hohn said he thinks the formal process is the best option.
"From the guys I've spoken to and general assessments, the men going through the process enjoy seeing all the fraternities," he said. "They can choose what fraternities best fits their values and personalities."
Because of the move from August to June, the formal process has changed in a few ways. The week of recruitment has changed from four or five days to three days, and marketing and registration will start earlier.
Miller said the move was a necessary process to get out-of-state students involved who are normally not able to participate in the same numbers as the students from Missouri.
"By moving recruitment closer to Summer Welcome, we will be able to attract out-of-state students," Miller said.
Formal recruitment will be during Summer Welcome sessions 12 and 13. Miller said this would hopefully stimulate an increase in the number of men participating in formal recruitment.
Hohn said 34 men went through formal recruitment last year.
IFC members are looking for high returns from the changes.
"We don't know what to expect this year because of the changes made," Hohn said. "We are hopeful that we can get 100 men this summer."
The impact of the move in recruitment is already being recognized by IFC. Miller said IFC has already seen an increase in the number of formal recruits, including out-of-state recruits, which is exactly what they wanted.
The new approach to drawing men to formal recruitment will be analyzed at the end of the process to see if improvement has been made.
"After this year, we will ask different chapters and stakeholders for their thoughts," Hohn said. "We will make assessments and see what worked and what could be improved."