A Virtual Revolution Is Brewing for Colleges

According to this WaPo article, colleges may be about to follow in the path of print media - a slow decline that steepens as the traditional business model becomes gradually non-sustainable.

Students starting school this year may be part of the last generation for which "going to college" means packing up, getting a dorm room and listening to tenured professors. Undergraduate education is on the verge of a radical reordering. Colleges, like newspapers, will be torn apart by new ways of sharing information enabled by the Internet. The business model that sustained private U.S. colleges cannot survive.
[...]
Both newspapers and universities have traditionally relied on selling hard-to-come-by information. Newspapers touted advertising space next to breaking news, but now that advertisers find their customers on Craigslist and Cars.com, the main source of reporters' pay is vanishing. Colleges also sell information, with a slightly different promise -- a degree, a better job and access to brilliant minds. As with newspapers, some of these features are now available elsewhere. A student can already access videotaped lectures, full courses and openly available syllabuses online. And in five or 10 years, the curious 18- (or 54-) year-old will be able to find dozens of quality online classes, complete with take-it-yourself tests, a bulletin board populated by other "students," and links to free academic literature.

This is a good article and worth the time investment to read it. As a former student of The University of Phoenix (MBA 2007) I can attest to increased availability of information online. Although I attended a "brick & mortar" classroom, all our books, reference articles, and syllabus documents were available on the UoP site, and I still have access to all the material in the virtual library.

Maybe the idea of an "Internet Alpha Chapter" is not so far fetched after all. Some of us who are thinking 20 years down the road would do well to consider what such a group would look like and how best to communicate the ideals and concepts across a virtual chapter. You can bet someone will; it may as well be SigEp.

A Virtual Revolution Is Brewing for Colleges - washingtonpost.com

Happy New Year! - Now What?

We here at the BlogCentral complex would like to send out our best wishes for a great 2009 to all chapters, alumni, undergraduates, volunteers, and staff. We often have different opinions about where the fraternity is going, or should go, and how it should get there. The one thing we all share is a drive to be a better organization this year than last - however that is defined.

To that end we really want to hear from all our readers. Please leave a comment on this post about how you think SigEp, or HQ, or S&P can be "better" this year. Those of us at S&P, at least, will pay attention; we cannot vouch for others. Our opinion is that maximum good comes from maximum communication, and this blog is definitely about communication.

Remember, we have a Conclave coming up with legislative sessions, and as the old saying goes "No man's life, liberty, or property is safe when the legislature is in session." It is not too early for those of you who wish to see material changes to get started drafting resolutions and "improvements" to the bylaws. Pay attention to items that show up at the last minute, especially the "housekeeping" ones - the devil is in the details.

Sig Ep workshop builds leadership skills

SigEps at East Tennessee State held a career-building workshop to prepare students for life after college.

Media Credit: John E. May/East Tennessean

Karen Lauderdale spoke to a crowd of fraternity and sorority members Wednesday night. She discussed issues that students will face post-graduation, such as interviews and résumés. Students enjoyed pizza, drinks and useful tips on how to live up to the Sig Ep motto "building balanced leaders of the world tomorrow."

"Building balanced leaders of the world tomorrow" is the motto of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity.

This fraternity held a workshop Wednesday to help its members, and others, to better understand what it means to be a balanced leader of the future.

"A career-building workshop is perfect for that," said Curt Collins, the vice president of programming for Sig Ep.
[...]
The Sig Ep house, which had pizza and drinks for the students in attendance, was full of Sig Ep fraternity brothers and sorority members clad in Greek letters, showing their support.

Karen Lauderdale, a preparation coordinator for Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions, led the workshop.

She started the event by passing around a packet for each student. The objective of the packets was to help the student focus their ideas and wants for the future.

"I thought it went really well," said Collins. "(Lauderdale) hit on all of the points she said she would hit on when it came to post-graduation issues."

In addition to the packets, Lauderdale hit on the key situations a student faces after graduation.

These situations include the proper way to fill out résumés and how to correctly interview for a job or graduate school.
[...]
After the seminar, the fraternity led a group of volunteers around the Tree Streets to pick up trash to show that the fraternity cares about its community.

Now that is a fantastic way to combine several elements of the Balanced Man concept into a fun and productive event. Good information, community service, plus women and pizza - what's not to like?

Sig Ep workshop builds leadership skills - News

Conclave: New Grand President's Remarks

Conclave: Alumni Awards Dinner
Originally uploaded by SigEp One.

Steve Shanklin, our new Grand President, was kind enough to provide a copy of his acceptance/inaugural speech from the Saturday night Awards Dinner.

On the Shoulders of Giants - Conclave 2007

Sig Ep Staffer Joins Central Arkansas Staff

UCA Advancement adds two to staff

The University of Central Arkansas recently added two staff to the Division of Institutional Advancement and Development.Bart Shaw of Conway is the new director of development for the College of Business. He earned a bachelor’s of business administration from UCA in 2004 and a master’s of business administration in 2007.

Shaw previously worked for Sigma Phi Epsilon National Headquarters in Richmond, Va., as regional director and then as director of learning communities. He was also a graduate assistant in the UCA College of Business.

As a student, Shaw was a member of the Association of Future Alumni, Student Government Association and Student Orientation Staff, as well as president of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity.

"I am pleased to return to UCA as a member of the advancement team," Shaw said. "I look forward to working with alumni, faculty and staff from the College of Business and meeting other alumni and friends at various university events throughout the centennial year and beyond."

Carter Walker also of Conway is the director of development for the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. He earned his bachelor’s of business administration from UCA in 2005 and a master’s of business administration in 2006.

Shaw and Walker will be responsible for raising private funds for their respective colleges through the UCA Foundation."We are delighted to have Bart and Carter join our advancement team," said Kelley Erstine, vice president of Institutional Advancement and Development.

"We also appreciate the College of Business and the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics for partnering with the UCA Foundation in an effort to secure private funding for those college’s needs including student scholarships, faculty and program endowments and capital projects."

Five Year Strategic Plan Outlines Ball State Program

Ball State U. Greeks reveal strategic plan for next 5 years
By Amanda Getchel

After acknowledging recent violent incidences at parties and a problem communicating with each other, Ball State University fraternity and sorority members have created a plan to improve their relationships and image within the Greek system and the university.

The five-year strategic plan was shown Sunday after 21 people spent 370 days planning for Greek life's future.

The university has just developed its own strategic plan and one objective is to continue the revitalization of Greek life on campus, President Jo Ann Gora told about 80 Greek members, alumni and administrative officials in her opening remarks at the unveiling. "This is an incredibly important part of the plan because Greek members make up a small percentage of the number of students on campus," she said, "but the members are an enormous percentage of those who are involved in other campus organizations."

Kay Bales, vice president for Student Affairs and dean of students, said during the last two years a lot of time was spent discussing the fraternities and sororities on Ball State's campus.

In Fall 2005, an external consultant was hired to assess the Greek community. Bales said more than 120 people looked at hundreds of documents and talked to people on campus who were both involved and not involved in Greek life.

The research and time spent resulted in a 37-page report that suggested creating a strategic plan committee."The plan provides a blueprint for a more vibrant and successful Greek community," Bales said. "We're all responsible for the future of the community and in my time at Ball State I've never found a university president or Greek administrators than the ones here who are more committed to creating a community that is beyond what we've dared to dream in the past."

Kelly Shrock, a Sigma Kappa sorority alumna, said when she was at Ball State in the 1980s, many women joined sororities, but today more students are financing their education and do not have as much time to be involved in organizations like fraternities and sororities.

She said the plan would be valuable and work to strengthen the experience and value of belonging to such organizations.

LaKisha Johnson, president of the National Pan-Hellenic Council, said she thought the Greek strategic plan was well planned out, extensive and could be accomplished if everyone in the community worked together.

She said even though she is a senior, she would encourage her members to participate in the implementation teams because the teams are necessary to make the plan work.
The implementation teams focus on issues of the plan to make sure each step gets finished.Johnson said she thought most of the goals were reasonable, but some areas, such as recruitment, might not be feasible for the NPHC.

Her council does not have open recruitment like the Panhellenic Council and the Interfraternity Council, and therefore cannot follow the same plans at the other councils, she said.

Director of Student Life Lynda Wiley said each April the plan will be evaluated to see what needs to be changed or updated and what needs to be done during the following year.

In four years, Student Life representatives and Greek community members will look at what has been accomplished in the strategic plan and what needs to be done still. Then they can begin to create the next strategic plan, she said.

"Some may see this unveiling as the finish line, but we see this as the beginning," she said.

Goals
The Ball State University Fraternity and Sorority Community Strategic Plan 2007-2012 includes eight defined goals and areas to work on.

They are:
• Academic Achievement - Goal 1:
  The Greek community will support the Ball State University mission by establishing academic standards for all Greek councils to ensure that all chapters will maintain a grade point average above the all-men's or all-women's average.
• Alumni and Advisors - Goal 2:
  The Greek community will engage alumni to ensure active participation and consistent chapter advisement and support.
• Chapter Achievement - Goal 3:
  The Office of Student Life, in conjunction with student leaders and alumni, will outline organizational expectations and responsibilities for all fraternities and sororities resulting in increased chapter and member accountability.
• Chapter Housing - Goal 4:
  The Office of Student Life, in conjunction with Housing and Residence Life and alumni house corporation boards, will provide fraternity and sorority members with living and meeting space that is safe, attractive and conducive to learning.
• Leadership and Membership Development - Goal 5:
  The Office of Student Life, in conjunction with the governing councils, will address the need for both individual and chapter leadership development in fraternities and sororities.
• Recruitment and Expansion - Goal 6: The Ball State fraternity and sorority community will create an intentional and targeted recruitment program that focuses on the values of the community. By 2016, the total membership of the Greek community will be 2,060.
• Risk Reduction and Education - Goal 7:
  The Ball State University greek community will support a social experience that is fun, safe and responsibly managed.
• Values, Vision and Relationships - Goal 8:
  The fraternity and sorority governing councils will engage in an intentional planning and goal setting process to establish a clear direction for each chapter, council and the Greek community as a whole.

Virtual Fraternities - An Idea for Tomorrow

A Second Life Online
Jason Pearce
from Lambda Chi Alpha Voices

This weekend, I spent a few hours immersing myself in the video game Second Life. While I do enjoy playing video games, I traditionally stick to the Xbox and Xbox 360 gaming consoles. This was my first time trying out Second Life, which is played on a PC.

What drew me to Second Life was an article about how universities are beginning to use the game’s virtual world as a method of distance learning. Instead of meeting in a traditional classroom, more than 70 universities have built island campuses in Second Life; enabling students to meet online to conduct class.

Curious, I wanted to see if this could also be an opportunity to establish virtual fraternities. As you can see from these screen shots, I found one (two to be exact).
One or more members of Phi Beta Sigma have created a virtual fraternity house complete with a museum, living room, bar, pool table, and dance floor. After letting myself in, I introduced myself to about six “people” who were hanging out in their living room, chatting.
They were all pleasantly friendly, had pride in their virtual chapter house, and welcomed me to stop by anytime.

So, is there a future for virtual Lambda Chi Alpha chapter’s? Perhaps. One of the biggest problems would be authentication, for anyone can create a virtual character and claim to be a member of Lambda Chi Alpha. At this time I don’t see it likely that the Grand High Zeta would charter a virtual chapter or permit online initiation ceremonies, although this could be done within the Second Life construct.

As for a creating an online presence for Lambda Chi Alpha members and friends to visit, I don’t think it will take long for a Lambda Chi to one day build us a chapter house. Who knows, maybe Second Life will even have its own Greek row.