Fraternity and Sorority

For a number of years, NASPA has served as a convener of important stakeholder conversations about fraternity and sorority life (FSL) and the challenges and opportunities connected with it on college and university campuses. In October 2019, NASPA hosted the Fraternity and Sorority Life Summit at the University of Houston; the Summit was attended by nearly 280 representatives of colleges and universities, inter/national organizations, and professional associations.

As an outcome of the Summit, NASPA established five “Excellence in Fraternity and Sorority Life” working groups to develop recommendations for action to improve Fraternity and Sorority Life in higher education. Four working groups are coordinated by NASPA, and the fifth is led by the Association of Fraternity/Sorority Advisors (AFA). The working groups’ foci, which reflect the highest priority topics for Summit participants, include:

• New Member/Recruitment Process
• Health, Safety, and Well-being
• Fraternity and Sorority Life Staffing
• Designing the Disciplinary Process for Chapters
• Communications Standards between Organizations and Institutions

The topics of equity, inclusion, and social justice received much attention during the Summit, and participants determined that each of the five working groups must attend to these critical topics in their work rather than establish a separate, potentially “siloed” working group for those topics.

Working groups began their work in January 2020 and, with some fits and starts due to the challenges presented by the pandemic, have continued to meet for the past year. Their work and recommendations were shaped not only by the deep expertise of working group members but also by invited resources submitted for consideration by FSL stakeholders, broadly defined.

• Association of Fraternity and Sorority Advisors (AFA): AFA provides exceptional experiences, a vibrant community, and essential resources for the success of fraternity/sorority advisors. The vision of AFA is to be the catalytic force in aligning the fraternity/sorority experience with the changing dynamics and enduring principles of higher education. AFA is committed to professional development, academic and applied research that examines the entire spectrum of the fraternity/sorority experience and the advising profession, and collaborations within and between the higher education and interfraternal communities.
• Interfraternity Institute: Many campus fraternity and sorority advising professionals are graduates of IFI, an intensive summer training institute held in Bloomington, IN, and coordinated by Student Affairs staff at Indiana University and the Fraternity Executives Association. For more information, contact Dick McKaig at mckaig@indiana.edu.
• Fraternity Executives Association (FEA): The Fraternity Executives Association is the professional association of men’s and women’s fraternity executives. It is dedicated to the common interests of its members and promotes, supports, and encourages the free discussion and exchange of ideas relating to college fraternal organizations. 
• Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Drug Misuse Prevention (HEC): The Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Drug Misuse Prevention and Recovery provides colleges and universities the tools and resources to launch alcohol and drug misuse prevention and recovery programs on their campuses. The website offers resources for college students and their families, as college is an important time of transition for over 21 million young adults every year.

• Coalition of Higher Education Associations for Substance Abuse Prevention (CoHEASAP): Founded in 1983 as the Inter-Association Task Force on Alcohol and Other Substance Abuse Issues, The Coalition of Higher Education Associations for Substance Abuse Prevention (CoHEASAP) is an umbrella organization dedicated to promoting education, prevention, research, networking, and national initiatives to help eliminate substance abuse and the problems it causes on our college and university campuses.

• Living the Ritual: National resource for Ritual education for fraternities and sororities. Site contains: Ritual Resources, Products, and Contact Us
• National Center for Higher Education Risk Management: Organization dedicated to helping colleges and universities reduce liability and create safer learning environments. In particular, the organization offers services and publications related to sexual misconduct, sexual harassment, hazing, alcohol and other drugs, and campus security.
• Stop the Hate: Campus hate crime prevention for colleges and universities. Site contains: Resources, Partners, Related Links, Volunteer Opps, and About Us.
• StopHazing.org: Focused on educating to eliminate hazing, this site offers information on many aspects of hazing including fraternity, sorority, athletic, high school and military hazing. Check out the latest hazing books, find anti-hazing speakers, read the latest hazing news or look up some alternatives to hazing or get another viewpoint by reading some pro-hazing email. Site includes general information, hazing types, resources, activism options, and other information.
• TIPS: The TIPS (Training for Intervention ProcedureS) program is designed to teach servers, sellers and consumers of alcohol to prevent intoxication, drunk driving and underage drinking. Site contains: TiPS Trainers, Organizations, TiPS Server/Students, Universities, Alcohol Research, etc.

North American Interfraternity Conference (NIC):

The North American Interfraternity Conference (NIC) is a trade association representing 58 inter/national men’s fraternities. NIC member organizations also represent a diverse range of fraternity men and interfraternal interests, including fraternities founded for leadership and business interests as well as faith-based, multicultural, historically black, and new or emerging fraternities.

National Association of Latino Fraternal Organizations, Inc., (NALFO)

The National Association of Latino Fraternal Organizations, Inc., (NALFO) is an “umbrella” coalition established in 1998 to promote and foster positive interfraternal relations, communication, and development of all Latino fraternal organizations through mutual respect, leadership, honesty, professionalism and education.

Today, NALFO’s 16 fraternities and sororities are bound by a shared commitment to fraternal unity, family values and empowering Latino and under-served communities.

National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC)

The National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) was founded on May 10, 1930 at Howard University in Washington, DC. The purpose of the NPHC shall be to foster cooperative actions of its members in dealing with matters of mutual concern. To this end, the NPHC promotes the well-being of its affiliate fraternities and sororities, facilitates the establishment and development of local councils of the NPHC and provides leadership training for its constituents.

National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) 

Made up of 26 women’s-only inter/national member organizations, the National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) is the world’s largest umbrella organization specifically charged with advancing the sorority experience. Through its advocacy, NPC seeks to enlist nearly 5 million sorority women in its efforts to showcase the transformational power of the sorority experience.