Expansion Policy | Student Life

Recognizing the social, academic, and developmental benefits of fraternity and sorority life, the Inter-Greek Council (IGC) at The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) resolves to provide and adhere to a fundamentally fair and reasonable Expansion Policy for all interested full-time TCNJ undergraduate students. Understanding both the opportunities and challenges presented by the Expansion process, the IGC will work with the Office of Student Involvement in all matters relating to Chapter Expansion.

Expansion Committee

Each Fall semester, the IGC shall accept applications and convene an Expansion Committee. Committee membership shall consist of at least four (4) and no more than seven (7) members. Members will be selected through an application process by the Vice President of Expansion. The VP of Expansion will work to ensure a diverse makeup of both organizations and points of view in the committee membership.

This Expansion Committee shall be charged with assessing the current status of the fraternity and sorority community, reviewing any petitions for Expansion, and making any recommendations regarding Expansion to the IGC each semester.

The Director of Student Involvement will serve as an advisor to the Committee.

General Expansion Approval

Although there is no limit to the number of petitions for recognition in any given semester, the IGC Expansion Committee may limit the number of groups permitted to expand each semester as determined appropriate. Factors that will be taken into consideration include, but are not limited to: the number of groups currently approved and working toward the establishment of a new Chapter, member recruitment information, administrative resources, and the campus climate. The IGC will open for Expansion pending at least a two-thirds (2/3) approval of the IGC Expansion Committee. Organizations currently under Fraternity and Sorority Conduct Sanction are not eligible to begin this process until their sanction expires.

Expansion Process

General Guidelines

An unlimited number of students may petition the IGC and the Office of Student Involvement to start a new fraternity or sorority.
Any student wishing to start a new fraternity or sorority must be a full-time undergraduate at TCNJ with a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or greater, having completed at least 3 undergraduate units at TCNJ, or having 12 TCNJ accepted transfer credits. (Advanced Placement credits are NOT counted toward this requirement.)
No Expansion initiatives will begin during winter or summer breaks. All Expansion processes will occur during the Fall and Spring semesters.
No membership initiations may take place without approval from the Assistant Director of Fraternity & Sorority Life.
All new organization memberships must be limited to TCNJ students with Chapter operations run by TCNJ students. No city, regional, or metro charters will be approved for Expansion at TCNJ.
The IGC and Office of Student Involvement reserve the ability to fairly create and enforce any or all guidelines not specifically listed herein.
Students are encouraged to meet with the Assistant Director of Fraternity & Sorority Life to review and clarify any and all Expansion questions and/or policies.

The Expansion process will consist of five (5) phases:

Phase 1 – Exploration

Students are encouraged to explore current Chapters at TCNJ before continuing in this process. Students should be prepared to explain how they explored any existing fraternities or sororities.
If, after exploring and assessing the existing Chapters, a student feels that his/her interests are not represented, the IGC and Office of Student Involvement have established the following policy for the creation of a new group.

Phase 2 – Petition Submission

Letter of Interest

Student-Driven Process
1. The interested student(s) must submit a letter of interest to the IGC and the Office of Student Involvement. This letter will detail:
  1. Stated interest in starting a new fraternity or sorority;
  2. Efforts the student(s) has/have made to explore and assess the current fraternity and sorority community;
  3. Reasons why an additional fraternity/sorority is needed, and the needs the new group would meet;
  4. Number of students currently interested in starting a new Chapter: including full names, PAWS ID numbers, and TCNJ email addresses;
  5. Any organization(s) with which the students want to affiliate; and
  6. Formal request to explore the potential of a new Chapter on campus through three (3) interest meetings.

Fraternal Organization-Driven Process
1. The interested fraternal organization(s) must submit a letter of interest to the IGC and the Office of Student Involvement. This letter will detail:
  1. Stated interest in starting a new fraternity or sorority;
  2. Reasons why their fraternity or sorority is needed at TCNJ, and what unique aspects it brings;
  3. The names of any students who have expressed interest in the organization expanding to TCNJ; and
  4. Formal request to explore the potential of a new Chapter on campus through three (3) interest meetings.

Petition Review

All petitions will be placed on file with the IGC and the Office of Student Involvement

If the Expansion Committee has determined that Expansion is appropriate, the Committee will begin a review of petitions on file (with the exception of National Panhellenic Conference Sorority petitions [see below]). Petitions may be prioritized using any or all of the following criteria:

Expressed interest from current undergraduates;
Date petition was received;
Community need;
Affiliated organizations’ membership in one of the following groups:
1. National Panhellenic Conference (NPC)
2. National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC)
3. North American Inter-Fraternity Conference (NIC)
4. National Association of Latino Fraternal Organizations (NALFO)
5. National Multicultural Greek Council (NMGC)
6. National APIA Panhellenic Association (NAPA)
An organization’s prior existence at the College:
1. Reason for loss of recognition
2. Past working relationship between the College and the alumni leadership of the organization and/or the Inter/National Organization (if applicable)

After prioritizing the petitions, the Expansion Committee will invite the student(s) or fraternal organization to meet with them to review their petition.

Any letters of interest submitted by students or fraternal organizations in reference to National Panhellenic Conference organizations will be collectively delegated to the Panhellenic Association Extension Process. Should the Expansion Committee prioritize the need for a new Panhellenic Association group, the NPC Extension Process will begin here. After an organization has been chosen through that process, the IGC Expansion process will again take resume from Phase 3.

If the Expansion Committee is satisfied with the information detailed in the letter of interest, the Expansion Committee will recognize the group as an interest group and will afford the group the opportunity to host three (3) interest session meetings.

Interest Sessions

All interest meetings must be scheduled through the Assistant Director of Fraternity & Sorority Life.
All interest meetings must be hosted on-campus and be alcohol-free.
No other organizations are allowed to co-sponsor the interest meetings, and no other events or activities may be scheduled, sponsored, co-sponsored, or hosted by the interest group.
The interest group must submit their sign-in lists after the final interest session to the Assistant Director of Fraternity & Sorority Life. The sign-in list should include:
1. Students’ full names, PAWS ID numbers, email addresses, and units completed.
After the completion of the interest sessions, the interest group or organization will submit a full list of interested members and the New member grade release forms to the Assistant Director of Fraternity & Sorority Life.

Association

If a student-driven initiative, the interest group will work with the Expansion Committee to invite representatives of the prospective organization to present to the interest group and the Expansion Committee.
1. Although not required, the IGC encourages interest groups to consider inviting more than one organization to present.
Although the Expansion Committee may make recommendations to the interest group, the ultimate decision of desired affiliation will remain with the interests.

Phase 3 – Organization

The interest group shall submit an official request to the Expansion Committee and the Director of Student Involvement that includes:
1. A complete list of all interested students, their TCNJ email addresses, PAWS ID numbers, and units completed.
2. A letter of support from a faculty/staff member at TCNJ willing to serve as the faculty/staff advisor to the group.
3. The name, address, and website for the organization with which the interest group would like to affiliate.
4. The name and contact information for the individual(s) in charge of Expansion for the affiliate organization.
5. A letter of guaranteed support from the organization with which the interest group would like to affiliate. This letter should detail:
  1. Resources available to the group as they move toward active status membership,
  2. Involvement of the affiliate organization in this process, and
  3. Any other provisions that have been made to ensure the success of the group.
6. The proposed program, policies, and procedures for the following areas:
  1. New Member Program/Intake Process
  2. Membership Eligibility Standards
  3. Recruitment Program
  4. Hazing Policy
  5. Membership Development Program
  6. Financial Policies
  7. Leadership Development
  8. Scholarship
  9. Accountability Program/Code of Conduct
  10. Community Service and Philanthropy
  11. Career Counseling/Networking
  12. Programming Resources
  13. Chapter Development
  14. Risk Management/Insurance Coverage
7. (If the affiliated organization is not a member of NPC, NPHC, NIC, NALFO, NMGC, or NAPA, students must document any reasoning for the decision, and cite how the organization would achieve the same level of support provided by these umbrella organizations.)
The Expansion Committee will schedule a new business agenda item during a regular IGC meeting to present its work and findings to the IGC.
After doing so, the Expansion Committee will answer any questions from the IGC regarding the process or its findings. This question and answer period will be moderated by the IGC president and the Assistant Director of Fraternity & Sorority Life. Any questions that cannot be answered by the Committee should be taken back to the interest group/affiliate organization by the chair of the Expansion Committee.
As per the adopted voting procedures of the IGC, the vote on the petition will be tabled for one (1) meeting.
At least a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the membership establishing quorum will be required to grant the interest group pre-active Chapter status.
All Expansion voting will be conducted vocally; each Chapter openly voting when their name is called from the roll.
Each IGC Chapter will have one (1) vote on the viability of the group’s proposed plan.
If the interest group fails to receive the required votes, the IGC will present the interest group with the reasons for the failed vote.
The interest group may request one (1) revote, two (2) weeks from the date of the failed vote.

Phase 4 – Pre-Active Chapter Status

Once approved by the IGC, the pre-active Chapter will be scheduled for an active Chapter status vote one (1) calendar year from their successful pre-active Chapter status vote.
During this year, the pre-active Chapter will be required to meet the expectations and requirements of both the IGC and its affiliated organization.
If a pre-active Chapter is able to meet these expectations and requirements in less than the one (1) calendar year given, the group must still wait for their scheduled active Chapter status vote.
If after the one (1) calendar year, the pre-active Chapter is unable to meet its expectations and requirements, the group can request a full year extension from the IGC. The IGC will grant this request pending a letter from the pre-active Chapter’s organization detailing the remaining requirements and estimated completion of its process, a letter of good standing from the Assistant Director of Fraternity & Sorority Life, and a letter of continued support from the group’s faculty/staff advisor. Although a new active Chapter status vote shall be scheduled, the pre-active Chapter may be voted upon anytime within their extension when all expectations and requirements are met.
If the pre-active Chapter fails to meet its responsibilities outlined in the IGC Expectations section of this document, engages in actions which violate the expectations outlined in the Fraternity/Sorority Privileges and Responsibilities or other TCNJ policies, or if the actions or inactions of the group prove to be detrimental to the fraternity and sorority community or TCNJ, the group may be referred to the appropriate council and/or College conduct process; including the possibility of disbanding the group.

IGC Expectations

In order to ensure a fair and equal opportunity to all Expansion efforts of the fraternity and sorority community, the IGC resolves that all pre-active Chapters will be granted the same privileges as active Chapter status organizations; with the exception of IGC voting privileges. As such, all pre-active Chapters may use TCNJ’s resources for the promotion and growth of their organization. These privileges include, but are not limited to:

Fraternity & Sorority Privileges
Full recognition form the Office of Student Involvement including:
1. Access to use Roar*, online resources, advertisement, event scheduling and file/form creations;
2. Opportunity to apply for funding eligible status through the established Student Finance Board procedures;
3. Posting approved flyers, banners, table tents, and chalking;
4. Free use of a graphic artist for design and creation of logos, flyers, and banners;
5. Mailing address and Chapter mailbox;
6. College email address and website;
7. Student Organization reservation privileges for campus space and facilities;
8. Advisement by a self-selected faculty/staff advisor;
9. Receive grade checks for all Chapter members and Fraternity/Sorority community grade summary sheets each semester;
10. College collaboration with (inter)national headquarters, regional, graduate, and alumnus/a advisor, and College faculty and staff;
11. Support and advisement for day-to-day operations of the Chapter including event planning;
12. Advisor training;
13. Post events to the campus-wide calendar;
14. Apply for storage space in the Brower Student Center (BSC);
15. Support for student leadership/officers; and
Full recognition from the Office of Student Involvement and Inter-Greek Council including:
1. Ability to establish and maintain individual Chapter membership criteria, including gender, academic requirements, and values criteria;
2. Host informational and recruitment activities;
3. Utilize New Member/Intake and membership education processes as described in Membership Recruitment/Intake Policy (APPENDIX D);
4. Nominate outstanding members for recognition through Order of Omega Leadership Honor Society and the Fraternity and Sorority Awards Process;
5. Participate in Greek Week;
6. Risk management and risk reduction training;
7. Connection to regional and national resources including: NGLA, UIFI, & AFLV; and LeaderShape;
8. Office training.

Recognizing the dedicated level of support needed for a new group to be successful at the College and the expectation of the Fraternity & Sorority Community that a new organization will benefit from their community, pre-active status Chapters will be required to adhere to the following:

Register their group online with the office of Student Involvement.
Complete the TCNJ Chapter Assessment Program with at least a satisfactory score.
Meet regularly with their advisor(s) and the Assistant Director of Fraternity & Sorority Life.
Attend all IGC meetings, programs, and events as mandated by the IGC.
Ensure the attendance of all members at the new Member Education sessions hosted by the IGC until the organization is chartered and members are initiated.
Complete all monthly, semesterly, and yearly paperwork required by the IGC, the Assistant Director of Fraternity & Sorority Life, and the affiliated organization.
Adhere to all recruitment, social event, and academic policies of the IGC.
Comply with all Office of Student Involvement and TCNJ policies.

Adhere to all other policies outlined in the Constitution and By-Laws of the IGC and the Office of Student Involvement.

Failure to adhere to these requirements may result in administrative action; including the disbanding of the group.

Phase 5 – Active Chapter Status

Vote requirements
1. The following must be submitted to the IGC before a scheduled active Chapter status vote:
  1. Letter of support and approval for chartering from their affiliated organization.
  2. Letter of support from faculty/staff advisor.
  3. Confirmation of prospective members’ academic standings.
2. Chapter Constitution
3. TCNJ Chapter Assessment Program Score(s)/Status
4. Proof of $1,000,000 liability insurance or the ability of the group to obtain this policy upon chartering
  1. “The State of New Jersey, The College of New Jersey, and the New Jersey Educational Facilities Authority” must be included as insured.
Voting
1. After the completion of one (1) year pre-active Chapter status, the IGC will review the group’s progress toward their goals and requirements, and other relevant standings (conduct incidents, academic achievement, etc.). No vote will be taken by the IGC until at least one (1) year from the formation of the pre-active Chapter.
2. The pre-active Chapter may be voted into the IGC by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of all active status Chapters of the IGC. The Executive Board of the IGC does not vote.
3. Voting will be based upon the pre-active Chapter’s adherence to College and IGC policy, satisfactory completion of and/or progress within the TCNJ Chapter Assessment Program, and progress toward the goals stated in the group’s original petition.
4. At least two-thirds (2/3) vote of the membership establishing quorum will be required to establish the pre-active Chapter as an active status Chapter.
5. All Expansion voting will be conducted vocally; each Chapter openly voting when their name is called from the roll.
6. If voted into the IGC, the pre-active Chapter will immediately be recognized as an active status Chapter and granted all the rights and responsibilities fitting that status.
7. If the vote fails, the pre-active Chapter will be presented with the reasons for the failed vote and may request a two (2) week period to remedy these presented issues; requesting a revote at that time.
8. The IGC president shall determine the feasibility of the request.
9. If the two (2) week period is denied, the process is over. The group must disband and discontinue its use of College facilities, resources, and/or property for promoting itself, recruiting members, or hosting any events, meetings, or other activities affiliated with the former group.
10. Although students in the former pre-active Chapter are still free to explore the creation of a new group, the affiliated organization that failed the IGC vote must wait at least one (1) calendar year before re-submitting to the Expansion calendar.