Office of Student Life

Sorority and Fraternity Life

Standards of Excellence

The Standards of Excellence, along with its goals, were developed by the Greek Life Task Force who, in 1998, was asked by the Office of Student Life to assess and recommend improvements for Ohio State’s Greek Community. The Greek Life Task Force set the Standards of Excellence, which went into effect March 9, 2001, as a plan to improve the condition of the Greek community. Since inception, chapters are required to establish a Chapter Plan and each year must provide written reports detailing their progress in a Chapter Annual Report.

In effort to improve the quality of life for students within the Greek community, the Standards of Excellence strives to achieve the following goals:

  • Strive to achieve an academic standard, with a minimum GPA of 2.50, for all chapters and new members and to make, on a chapter basis, the all-undergraduate average.
  • Continue in member and organizational growth, including diversity education, risk management education, and community service opportunities. Member
  • Provide safe and healthy organization environments through structural improvement in chapter facilities and improved risk management procedures.
  • Maintain a strong and connected Greek community.
  • Recruit a wide variety of advisors from the university and community, ensuring they have completed the Advisor Certification Program.
  • Continue improving the relationship between the university and the Greek community.

If any of these goals are not met, the chapter may be called before the Greek Progress Review Board.

Please contact Alaina Peters, Graduate Administrative Associate for Sorority & Fraternity Life, at peters.859s@osu.edu with any questions or comments regarding the Standards of Excellence.

Standards of Excellence Annual Checklist

Spring 2019 Semester Deadlines

  • Sunday, January 13: Annual Chapter Report
  • Monday, January 21: New Member Calendar
  • Friday, January 25: Intake Paperwork (NPHC and MCGC only)
  • Sunday, January 27: Online Rosters and Officer updates
  • Monday, February 18: 2019 Annual Chapter Plan
  • Monday, April 22: Semester Recruitment/Intake Report
  • Monday, April 22: Semester Safety, Health & Wellness Report
  • Monday, April 22: Semester Diversity Report
  • Prior to extending a bid: Online New Member grade checks for eligibility 
  • Within 10 days of New Members accepting a bid: Online New Member Registrations
  • Prior to starting your New Member process/education program: Online Calendars submitted to SFL Liaison and approved 

Annual Item Deadlines

  • Monday, April 22: Yearly Housing Report
  • Monday, April 22: Annual Citizenship Report 
  • You can continue to update your rosters and officer contact lists with any additional changes throughout the semester, however you must submit the initial changes by the dates listed above for each semester for our records.

Autumn 2018 Semester Deadlines

  • Friday, August 24: Roster and Officer updates online 
  • Friday, September 7: Intake Paperwork (NPHC and MCGC only) 
  • Friday, September 7: New Member Calendar 
  • Monday, November 26: Semester Recruitment/Intake Report 
  • Monday, November 26: Semester Safety Health and Wellness Report 
  • Monday, November 26: Semester Diversity Report
  • Prior to extending a bid: Online New Member grade checks for eligibility 
  • Within 10 days of New Members accepting a bid: Online New Member Registrations
  • Prior to starting your New Member process/education program: Online Calendars submitted to SFL Liaison and approved 

*For SOE requirements that involve individual member participation (Safety, Health & Wellness, Diversity, Citizenship, and Housing), please note that 75% of your chapter needs to participate in each required category.*

Click here to access SOE opportunities within each category:

Safety, Health & Wellness

Diversity Commitment

Housing

Citizenship

Frequently Asked Questions

First of all, you do not have to—and should not--limit yourselves to only one program per semester. (See other FAQ below about counting multiple programs towards your requirements.)  

Think about your members, the needs of your chapter, and your national organization’s values (if applicable). Are there knowledge gaps you’d like to fill in your members or specific risks you have noticed? If so, SOE programs are great opportunities to address these.  

While the pre-approved programs above are excellent educational experiences, we encourage you to work with campus or community partners to craft your own programs if you have a specific topic you want to address. Then, simply submit the SOE Program Approval Form to peters.859s@osu.edu 3 weeks ahead of time in order to make sure your program will be approved as an SOE. 

Yes; you should always be recruiting and thinking about the future of your membership even if you are not bringing new members into the organization. Just write “N/A” (Not Applicable) in sections that do not apply to your chapter. 

Yes you can! If your inter/national organization has programming that fulfills one of the SOE educational requirements, feel free to count that towards your goal. Please send an SOE Program Approval Form or a program description from your organization's headquarters to peters.859s@osu.edu 3 weeks ahead of time so we have detailed information about what this program will entail. 

No. Educational programs that are already required sanctions through Student Conduct may not be counted for SOE credit. 

In place of a traditional Housing program, your chapter should complete one additional safety-related program per year. This could look like a Housing program, Safety, Health & Wellness program, or a different type of program focusing on member wellness and/or safety. We encourage you to be creative and design a program that fits the unique needs of your members, but feel free to reach out to peters.859s@osu.edu if you have questions regarding whether a certain program meets these requirements.

You can count multiple programs towards meeting each SOE requirement. For instance, if 40% of your chapter attends a program on drugs and another 40% attend a program on mental health, your chapter would meet the Physical/Mental Health & Safety requirement. Just make sure all events have been approved by SFL, and then submit all programs within the appropriate semester in the SFL portal! 

With this in mind, you can also count events that only a very small number of your members attend. Even if only one person attends a certain program, if it fits the description of an SOE requirement, that event can be counted towards your chapter 75% goal. 

Please email Alaina Peters at peters.859s@osu.edu and also CC your chapter’s SFL Liaison so we can determine who can best assist you.