History & Background of
Accreditation
The Accreditation process is designed
to review and assess all facets of chapter operations and is a key process in
the development and maintenance of chapter standards. Accreditation
evaluates the contributions that each chapter makes to the campus and local
communities.
During the 2002-03 academic year, the decision was made to
undertake a comprehensive plan to recommit and strengthen the fraternity and
sorority community at Lehigh University. This plan, known as the Strengthening
Greek Life Initiative, was the result of a task force commissioned by
University President Gregory Farrington. The original Accreditation
process commenced during the 2004-2005 academic year. In 2010, the “Next
Steps for the Fraternity & Sorority Community” report was released.
One sub-committee was tasked with developing what is now known as the
Lehigh University Accreditation process for fraternities and sororities.
In 2014, a re-visioning committee of staff, students, and
alumni was charged with evaluating the Accreditation process and identifying
areas of change including metrics, requirements, ratings and timing. At
the conclusion of the re-visioning process, the committee identified common
themes derived from focus group data, student assessment results, and committee
discussion which led to the changes outlined below. Many thanks to the
individuals who served on the re-visioning committee as well as the numerous
students who provided valuable input.
Goal of Revisions
Based on the themes identified by the re-visioning
committee, the following changes have been made to the Accreditation process
for the 2016-2017 academic year. The
goal of these changes is threefold:
- To provide chapters increased clarity on metrics and reports
- To increase transparency in the evaluation and ratings process
- To incentivize improved performance year to year
What’s changed?
Metrics
Chapters will be evaluated on four or five metrics. The metrics are the following:
Leadership & Member Development
Organizational Operations
Community Service & Engagement
Academic & Intellectual
Advancement
Facilities Management (as
applicable)
The metrics largely consider the same criteria as in
previous years, but have been reorganized and renamed to create clearer areas
of focus. Additional criteria that has
been added at the recommendation of the committee: brotherhood/sisterhood
activities, exploration of post-graduate opportunities, and professional/career
development activities. Additionally, there
is also an overall rating that considers additional performance indicators. This rating focuses on the overall
performance of the chapter throughout the year. This is not an average of
the ratings received in previous metrics.
Chapters are measured
against themselves each year and are encouraged to demonstrate
growth and development in each metric. Full descriptions can be found here.
Rubric
An extensive guiding rubric has been created that all
chapters are encouraged to use. The
rubric covers each metric and rating. The
rubric is not meant as an exhaustive “checklist” but should be used for
examples and items to consider when preparing reports and presentations. Chapters are still encouraged to use organizational
values, priorities and requirements in crafting their Accreditation
submissions. To view the rubric, click here.
Ratings
Chapters will be evaluated and given one of the four possible ratings:
Accredited with Excellence
(previously Gold)
Accredited
Unaccredited (previously Poor)
Unacceptable (remains the same)
For a full description of the Accreditation ratings, click here.
Incentives
Chapters receiving an Accredited with Excellence rating will
be recognized in several ways across the Lehigh community. Chapters Accredited with Excellence will
receive preference when scheduling Accreditation presentations for the
following year. Additionally, chapters Accredited with Excellence may
select from one of the following options: An Accreditation presentation
“bye” year meaning that a chapter may choose to opt-out of presenting the year
following their Accredited with Excellence rating OR $250 towards a chapter
need. Full details regarding these
options can be found here.
Reports
Report submissions should not exceed 50 pages total. The recommend length is between 25-35
pages. Appendices should be limited and
used only if absolutely necessary as supporting documentation.
Next steps
Elizabeth Shayler, Associate Director, OFSA will be
attending the following council meetings to provide an overview and answer
questions. Chapters are encouraged to review
all the Accreditation information in advance and bring anyone involved with
Accreditation to these meetings.
- IFC: TODAY November 7th at 4:10pm in MG 111
- MGC: TODAY November 7th at 7:00pm in UC, B025
- Panhellenic: November 10th at 4:10pm in MG 101
Workshops and programs addressing Accreditation preparation
will be offered throughout the spring semester in collaboration with the
Assistant Director of Greek Leadership, Carter Gilbert. More details regarding dates, times, and
topics will be available in January 2017.
Finally, chapters are encouraged to work closely with their
Assistant Director to discuss the revisions and begin planning for the
2016-2017 process.