At Sunday’s Joint Council meeting, Director of Student Activities Tom Coy presented greek chapter officers with a revised housing release policy, which establishes GPA requirements for greek members looking to move into chapter houses.
According to Coy, the changes stem from an effort to hold greek members to a higher standard of academic success while maximizing occupancy of chapter houses.
“We hope this gives your academics chair something to do within your chapter a little more aggressively so that there is a stronger focus [throughout] the entire year on academics,” Coy said.
Bradley requires all students to live in campus housing for two years, but university policies make an exception for fraternity and sorority members looking to move into chapter houses after the first semester of their freshman year. To be eligible, students must have one or less strikes with the university’s judicial system.
With the new policies, they must also meet the GPA requirements to move and to be released from residence hall fees. The proposed updates establish three GPA requirements.
For anyone to be considered for release, the chapter must have earned an overall GPA of 2.75 the previous semester. According to Coy, every housed chapter met this standard for the past two years.
First year freshmen looking to move into chapter houses after the fall semester must have earned a 3.0 GPA, which will be verified mid-January.
The final update requires greek members looking to move into chapter houses at the end of their first year to have a 2.5 cumulative GPA.
Interfraternity Council (IFC) President Travis Cazel said the GPA standards reflect the greek community’s efforts to support the academic endeavors of members.
“We feel that we expect more from the members in greek life as it is,” Cazel said. “If you can’t go active at your fraternity because of your GPA, then you shouldn’t be able to move into that house.”
Chapters looking to have members move in at the end of the first semester have two options: release and buyout.
According to the policy, the release option allows students to be released from university housing at no cost to move into chapters with members living in house that will not return because of co-ops, study abroad or graduation. The buyout option allows chapters with spaces open in the house to have members move in, but students will still be required to pay residence hall fees and may not be charged chapter rent.
Coy shared a few reasons why students may choose the buyout option.
“One, it helps build a house for the chapter and allows them to sign a longer term lease with this member,” Coy said. “Also, it helps with food contracts and anything else.”
Overall, Cazel said all policy updates reflect the greek community’s efforts to make fraternity and sorority life better.
“If you look at other campuses, our greek life is very developed and very efficient,” Cazel said. “When the greek community puts their mind to something, it gets done. [We are] finding little events here and there that we can change, mix up and make better.”
Any questions or comments about the proposed policy updates may be directed toward the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life in Harper Hall 21.
