gamma sigma alpha

Gamma Sigma Alpha

Fraternity and Sorority Academic Achievement…

Who Cares?Ms. Aimee Ash, Executive Director; Mr. Wes Schaub, President; Ms. Beth Saul, former Executive Director; and Dr. Tony Lake

Goals for the Session

Explore past researchShare the community “Report Card”Discuss current realities and community growth opportunities with colleaguesTake back 5 ideas for changing the culture at ‘Your U’

Gamma Sigma Alpha AFA, December 7, 2009

Celebrating 20 Years of Academic Excellence

So what do we really know about sorority and fraternity members and academic achievement?

ObservationAnecdoteReputationResearch Data



Target Population: First-Year Students

Much attention has been given to first-year students and their achievement resulting in volumes of published work addressing “best practices” (c.f., Upcraft, Gardner & Barefoot, 2005).

Conversely, there are mixed reports about the possible effects of membership in a social sorority or fraternity.



Research Focus: Cognitive Development

No effects as a result of membership (Pike & Askew, 1990);

Greeks regressed cognitively during their first year (Pascarella, Edison, Whitt, Nora, Hagedorn, & Terenzini, 1996);

The effects of membership dissipated by the time students completed their junior year (Pascarella, Flowers, & Whitt, 2001).



Observation, Anecdote, and Reputation

Stories of deviant behaviors are often reported in the news media - and some referred to in “academic” articles.

Little research has been published wherein academic outcomes were specifically analyzed.

So what data should a well-intentioned Greek advisor be looking at to see if “being Greek” is a good thing at ‘Your U’?



Along came a dissertation…

Membership and the First Year of College

: A comparison of the academic achievements of

social sorority and fraternity members who joined during

their first year of college and those who never joined

(with MANY thanks to Beth Saul and GSA)



“Academic Achievement” defined:

Professionals both inside and outside higher education agree that the following outcomes are important indicators of student success in college (Willingham, 1985; OBOR 1996, 2005; Perfetto, 2003; Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005; Upcraft, Gardner & Barefoot, 2005):

• Likelihood of success (predicted GPA)• Grades (term & cumulative)• Credit hours earned• Retention • Time to degree• Graduation (within 5 years & rates by

group)Gamma Sigma Alpha AFA, December 7, 2009


Group Breakdown:• Members and Non-members• Fall and Spring Semester New Members• Women and Men• Matriculation Cohort (1994-2003)

Data Collection & Source:• Collaboration with Director of Greek Affairs

and Director of Institutional Planning and Research• Institutional records – 32,000 students prior to matching

Statistical Controls:

• Matched sample of Non-Greeks compared to the population of Greeks

• Groups matched based on their matriculation cohort, gender, their Greek

status, and the semester they chose to join their respective Greek organization Gamma Sigma Alpha AFA, December

7, 2009


So… what was learned1?

• Greeks were consistently predicted to achieve significantly less than their non-Greek peers during their first year of college;

• Greeks who chose to join during their first semester of college were consistently predicted to achieve significantly less than those who joined during their second semester




• Greeks consistently achieved significantly higher first-year GPAs than their non-Greek peers.

• Greeks who joined during their second semester of their first year also achieved significantly higher first-year GPAs than Greeks who joined during their first semester.




• Both Greeks and non-Greeks outperformed their predicted GPAs. However, the differences between the Greek women’s and men’s actual and predicted GPAs were also significantly greater than those achieved by the non-Greeks.

• Greeks who joined during the second semester also had significantly greater differences between their predicted and actual GPAs than their Greeks who joined during their first semester.Gamma Sigma Alpha AFA, December

7, 2009



• There were no consistently significant differences between Greeks’ and non-Greeks’

semester-to-semester GPAs.

• There were also no consistently significant differences between the semester-to-semester GPAs of students who joined a Greek organization during their first or second semester of their first year.




• There were no significant differences between Greeks’ and non-Greeks’ cumulative GPAs at the time of graduation.

• There were also no significant differences between the cumulative GPAs at the time of graduation of students who joined a Greek organization during their first or second semester of their first year.




• Greeks were consistently retained at significantly higher rates than non-Greeks.

• Greeks who joined during their second semester were retained at a significantly higher rate to their second year than Greeks who joined during their first semester, but there were no significant differences between these groups after their second year.




• Greeks and non-Greeks did not differ significantly in the number of credit hours taken each semester.

• There were no significant differences between the semester-to-semester credit hours earned by Greeks who joined during their first or second semester in college.




• Greeks were significantly more likely than

non-Greeks to graduate within five years of their initial matriculation.

• There were no significant differences in the

five- year graduation rates of Greeks who joined during the first or second semester in college.




• Greeks graduated in significantly fewer semesters than non-Greeks.

• There were no significant differences in the number of semesters between matriculation and graduation for Greeks who joined during their first or second semester of college.





For the non - “data heads” in the room…

During the first year of college…• Joining a Sorority or Fraternity was good

…but it was better to wait until the 2nd semester

Members had a consistently higher retention rate.

There was no benefit or detriment in being a member when considering students’ grade point average over the entire college career.

Members graduated in fewer semesters, and had a higher 5-year graduation rate.

All that research stuff is good and all,

but how do I make scholarship a priority on my campus?



The Greek Community Academic Report Card

Standards and PolicyScholarship ProgramResourcesFaculty Involvement Community Culture





Small Group Discussionson the “Report Card”



A Case for Making Scholarship a Priority



What are your thoughts?1. How would you begin to change the

culture?2. How can you use the systems in

place to help (i.e., academic records, party reviews, policies, laws, and standards)?

3. What other departments could you partner with?

4. What is the role of the councils, chapters, and other orgs like the Order of Omega, RL, and GSA?

5. What is the role of the chapter advisors?

6. How will you help create a “super star” community?



Five things I can do to make scholarship

a priority at ‘My U’



Questions or Comments?



For more information on starting a Gamma Sigma Alpha Chapter on your

campus, please visit with any one of us here at AFA, or visit

us online at:

www.GammaSigmaAlpha.org



Thank you all for coming today;

enjoy the rest of your conference!

gamma sigma alpha

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