The Lafayette College Fraternity & Sorority Life Chapter Accreditation Program is designed to measure each chapter’s performance in 10 areas: (1) Intellectual Development, (2) Leadership Development, (3) Engagement, Philanthropy, and Service, (4) Risk Management, (5) Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, (6) Recruitment/Intake, (7) New Member Education, (8) Chapter Operations, (9) Facilities Management, and (10) Assessment. It is designed to assess how chapters annually:
• Meet their priorities;
• Meet or exceed the expectations of the Fraternity & Sorority Life program;
• And implement recommendations provided to them by the evaluation panel.
Chapters will use the Accreditation Program as a roadmap to establish priorities for each officer during their term. This program will challenge students to think critically about their role within the chapter and how they contribute to the betterment of the organization to which they pledged lifetime membership. Therefore, all individuals will be equal stakeholders in ensuring that each member plays an instrumental role in developing interpersonal and intrapersonal competencies. The program allows for creativity in accomplishing programmatic elements throughout the year. Every chapter has the unique opportunity to showcase the positive contributions that it makes year-round to the Lafayette College community and your Inter/National Office. At the conclusion of the annual accreditation, chapters will be provided with constructive and meaningful feedback for areas of improvement.
How chapters will be evaluated:
Chapters will be evaluated based upon their performance throughout the year, but will be rated substantively during its annual review. This review consists of a chapter portfolio summarizing its accomplishments during the evaluation period, a presentation before an accreditation panel that is open to the Lafayette community, and a question and answer portion. If any section scores below 60% of the possible points, the chapter will not be eligible for Accredited with Distinction.
Part 1 – Chapter Portfolio (60%) The portfolio is based off of the accreditation checklist that stands as the Executive Summary of all activities, events, and programs that the chapter engaged in to meet or exceed Accreditation Program requirements.
• Expectation checklist
• 10 short answers
• 6 assessment questions
o When answering these questions think about the following:
▪ What goals did you seek to pursue?
▪ What did you learn this year in pursuit of your goal?
▪ How could your chapter have done differently?
▪ What is your plan for your future?
▪ How does this future plan lend to a stronger outcome?
All standards must provide documented evidence that the activity/standard has been completed according to the Accreditation requirements for Accredited or Accredited with Distinction. This can include photos or video clips and tables or graphs.
Part II – Multimedia Presentation (30%)
Chapters will be required to participate in a presentation (presentation blocks are scheduled for 30 minutes for presentation and 15 minutes for questions and answers) to an evaluation panel comprised of Lafayette College stakeholders. Panelists will rate the presentation on a 1-4 Likert scale according to the rubric below.
• 1 = Did not meet expectations
• 2 = Below the expectations
• 3 = Met expectations
• 4 = Exceeded expectations
The presentation can be presented by any members(s) of the chapter. It is preferred that more than one speaker is identified in order to create a more dynamic presentation. The presentation should accurately represent the chapter and its members. The presentation should focus on at least 3 of the chapter’s greatest accomplishments or areas that your chapter is proud of and at least 1 area that could use your improvement. The presentation also needs to address how your chapter has addressed/programmed/educated, etc. regarding one of the 5 areas of greatest concern to the members of our community – mental health, body image, eating disorders, alcohol abuse, or discrimination against others.
Part III – Question & Answer (10%)
The Question & Answer section provides an opportunity for the panel and other guests to ask questions about the experiences of your chapter. 75% of your chapter should be in attendance and able to provide thoughtful, evidence-based answers, reflection, context, or nuance to questions posed by the panel. A sample list of questions is provided in this document, by are not limited exclusively to those contained within the document. Panelist will rate the Q&A on a 1-4 Likert scale according to the rubric below.
• 1 = Did not meet expectations
• 2 = Below expectations
• 3 = Met expectations
• 4 = Exceeded expectations
Accreditation Ratings and Recognition
The Office of Fraternity & Sorority Life will give a rating of –
• Accredited with Distinction to any chapter that has met 90% or more of the expectations.
• Accredited to any chapter that has met 70 – 89% of the expectations.
• Unacceptable to any chapter that has met 50 – 69% of the expectations.
• Unaccredited to any chapter that has met less than 50% of the expectations.
If any of the 10 sections rank unacceptable or unaccredited, the chapter is unable to meet the expectations for distinction.
Following accreditation, the Fraternity & Sorority Advisor will compile the scores to prepare for the last President meetings of the semester, during the transition period.