Expansion & Reorganization Support

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Fraternity and Sorority Affairs (FSA) believes in the autonomy of national organizations to manage their own expansion process. Our office will guide you through the university registration expectations and council requirements for membership. We are committed to providing expansion-focused support and transparent information based on previous and future expansion projects.

Policy

Organizations seeking to start a new or returning chapter must follow the process outlined in the Expansion and Reorganization Support document which outlines the procedure and expectations. Information about council-related processes and requirements for student organization registration are not outlined in this document.

Initial Interest Email

Organizations that are interested in starting a new or returning chapter should indicate their interest by emailing Fraternity and Sorority Affairs at fsaffairs@illinois.edu.

  • The following information should be included in the email:
    • National organization name
    • Contact person for expansion efforts
    • Preferred semester of expansion
  • A member of the FSA staff will be in contact with you regarding other planned expansion projects to best inform your organization’s timeline. This email will also look to establish a future conversation to talk through the university and council processes.
  • Our office will support a maximum of one expansion per council per semester. The exception to this will be any organization who has received approval from the Subcommittee on Organizational Conduct. This judicial process dictates the earliest possible semester a chapter can choose to return for organizations that have previously lost recognition with the university for student code violations.

Statement on Pre-Pledging or Interest Groups

Fraternity and Sorority Affairs will not work with organizations who are utilizing pre-pledging or interest groups. Organizations should only establish groups for undergraduate students who have been offered and accepted an invitation to membership.

Reorganization versus Expansion

Organizations currently at the University of Illinois may decide to reorganize their chapter at any point. Should an organization decide to do this and do not close their chapter, they will not need to participate in the expansion process. Reorganizations will be supported by the FSA office however reorganizations do not receive the same support as an expansion. Reorganizations will be supported through room reservations related to recruitment and providing space at Quad Day. Mass email on behalf of the organization will not be provided for reorganizations. Reorganization support is provided for two semesters.

FSA Support to Expansions

Expanding organizations will be assigned a staff liaison/point of contact within FSA.

Organizations wanting to make a pre-expansion campus visit can coordinate this with their assigned staff liaison. This is not required but allowable at the interest of the national organization. During this visit a national organization can market themselves as an organization coming to the university to faculty, staff, or students. Organizations making a pre-expansion visit must refrain from extending any offers of membership (or bids) until the official semester they are returning to campus.

Communication/Marketing

  • Expanding organizations will receive Quad Day placement
  • FSA will assist in the advertisement of the organization
    • FSA will send one mass email on behalf of the organization during the first year of expansion efforts on campus. The email content will need to be approved by FSA prior to being sent and the intended audience will need to be within predetermined scope.

      Scope of the data request message can be sent to:

      • Non-affiliated, undergraduate students
        • Two academic year groupings and new transfer students. (First-year, Sophomore, Junior, Senior)
      • GPA (if desired by requesting organization; only for sophomores, juniors, and seniors)
    • FSA Digital Recruitment Flyer Board can be utilized free of charge
    • * Digital Marketing in Campus Recreation, Illini Union, and University Housing can be explored for a fee. Signage must be approved by FSA prior to submitting.
    • * Banner on Illini Union Exterior Quad Side can be explored for a fee. Signage must be approved by FSA prior to submitting.
    • At the request of the national organization, FSA is willing to do a Collab post through Instagram with the national organization announcing the return/expansion to the University of Illinois. This one-time post would be created by the organization, both the post and the caption would need to be submitted to the staff liaison for review before posting. This would be posted by both the national organization and the FSA account. Collab posts can announce the return of the organization and indicate ways to learn more.
  • Logistics
    • FSA will assist with room reservations and potential related payments until the organization becomes a Registered Student Organization (RSO) as defined by Student Org Development and Administration (SODA) office.
    • Space Reservations
      • 2 weeks’ notice is required for space reservations.
      • *If you reserve a space that incurs a fee you will be required to reimburse FSA within 30 days.
      • All final reimbursements must be submitted prior to the to the end of the spring semester.
  • Staff Liaison Support
    • FSA will provide three continuous semesters of expansion support
    • FSA will provide contact information/connection to council officers
    • FSA will direct you to appropriate university contacts upon request
    • FSA will guide organizations through the registered student organization process
  • Campus Expansion Staff
    • FSA can provide limited organizational storage
    • FSA can provide office space (available in summer only)
    • FSA can provide a campus orientation/tour
    • Additional resources for residential expansion staff who will stay one semester or more
      • University Net Id and Password
        • Illinois Net Wireless (wi-fi)
        • Allows access to classroom technology
      • University Identification Number (UIN)
      • **Family/Graduate Housing sponsorship
      • **Campus Recreation membership, sponsored at the university rate

* = indicates a fee might be incurred. In most cases FSA will pay this fee with the expectation that reimbursement will be provided within 30 days.

** = indicates a fee that will need to be paid by the organization directly by the service provider. FSA will not pay for this fee.

Chapter Expectations during Expansion Process

Required

  • Fraternity and Sorority Affairs will provide access to the identified Chapter President who will have the ability to update the Chapter's Roster & Officer Listing on the Fraternity & Sorority Affairs Roster System.
  • Once a President has been identified the Chapter Officer Listing should be updated to reflect this change in leadership on the online Roster system. At this time, you should also email this change in leadership to fsaffairs@illinois.edu.
  • Completion and submission of New Member Rights & Grade Release Forms. It is an expectation for each new member who joins the fraternity and sorority community at Illinois to complete and have on file in our office a New Member Rights & Grade Release Form. While our office has an expectation for each member to complete the "Guaranteed Rights of Members," we encourage chapter leaders to have all members complete the Fraternity & Sorority Grade Release Form for our office to list each member's grades on the academic grade report. Our office is unable to provide semester academic information for members who do not release their grades through this form.
  • Read the Fraternity & Sorority Affairs (FSA) Newsletter. The FSA Newsletter is sent to all chapter presidents and other stakeholders and consists of general updates in the following areas: Upcoming Events; Fraternity & Sorority Affairs Events, Programs, and deadlines; Campus and Community Announcements; and Volunteer Opportunities.

There are additional expectations to be met by chapters after they have been approved to join their respective council. All expectations of Illinois chapters can be found at Organization/Chapter Expectations.

Student Org Development & Administration

You must begin the student organization registration process as soon as you have at least 5 members and the appropriate chapter officers designated.


Note: The Director of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs has the authority to alter any item listed in this policy/procedure.

Created 11/15/2022

Edited 6/13/2024