Fraternity & Sorority Life Educational Programming

Individual and Group Meetings

Meetings with Vice President of Student Life: VP of Student Life and Assistant Director of Fraternity and Sorority Life travel to chapter rooms and houses on campus to discuss chapter performance and encourage continual chapter progress and advancement.

InterFraternity Council (IFC) Meetings: A weekly large-group meeting that gathers IFC, chapter presidents, and chapter delegates to inform each other about various events that are being planned or occurring. Additionally, chapter and community issues are discussed. This meeting is also open to speakers from campus departments to provide attendees with educational programming and campus announcements.

Panhellenic Council Meetings: A weekly large-group meeting that gathers Panhellenic Council, chapter presidents, and chapter delegates to inform each other about various events that are being planned or occurring. Additionally, chapter and community issues are discussed. This meeting is also open to speakers from campus departments to provide attendees with educational programming and campus announcements.

Advisor Meetings: Meetings held by Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life engaging both chapter advisors and national advisors in individual or large group settings. In these meetings, individual chapter issues and/or progress is discussed, along with productive conversations and preparations for Fall Formal Recruitment.

Meetings with Chapter Presidents: Assistant Director and Graduate Assistant each meet with chapter presidents individually on a bi-weekly basis to perform a general check-in and discuss chapter’s upcoming activities/events, any progress or setbacks, and the general leadership style and goals of the president.

Event Management Meetings: All fraternity and sorority events must be registered with the Fraternity & Sorority Advisor. It is the responsibility of fraternity/sorority event coordinators to schedule a meeting with the Fraternity & Sorority Advisor to complete an Event Management Form. This meeting serves as an opportunity for the event coordinator to critically think about what services or equipment is needed for their proposed event. The Fraternity & Sorority Advisor will work to provide departmental contacts to the event coordinator that may be useful in the planning of their specified event.

Greek Conduct Meetings: When chapters are found responsible for violating the Student Conduct Code, they are given sanctions to complete. These sanctions typically include assigned educational projects and community service, that may be related to the nature of the violation. The role of the Fraternity & Sorority Advisor is to engage the chapter that has committed a violation in better understanding of the student conduct code and what is appropriate behavior on the University of Maine Campus.

Chapter Success Program: This is an annual review held in the Fall Semester where every chapters Executive Board meets with the University to present on their past years accomplishments as well as articulate their goals for their term in office. Chapters who receive top ratings are eligible for award recognition, and chapters who need additional support can be put on chapter development status. Additional information can be found in the program outline.

Large Information Sessions

All Greek Meeting: Large group information session that occurs once a semester in which fraternities and sororities gather to prepare for the upcoming semester. This preparation can include speakers from various campus departments, logistical and administrative information, and reminders of upcoming events (both Greek and non-Greek).

New Member Education: In an effort to provide the same type of education to all new members of Greek organizations, the Office of Fraternity & Sorority Life coordinates a multi-day New Member Education Program with the IFC/Panhellenic Executive Councils and various Student Life Departments (i.e., Student Wellness, Title IX – Student Services, Counseling Center, etc.). The information that is covered includes but is not limited to:

  1. Alcohol education and bystander intervention
  2. Hazing prevention
  3. Sexual assault and violence prevention
  4. Mental health awareness and suicide ideation
  5. Leadership and involvement
  6. Office of Fraternity & Sorority Life expectations and guidelines

Larger Community

Chapter House Fire and Health Safety Inspections: The Orono Fire Department performs house inspections 3-4 times a year to evaluate the overall conditions of chapter housing and to provide chapter members and housing corporations with guidelines on how to maintain safe living environments per State of Maine Fire Code.  

Hazing Prevention Week: A nationally recognized week of programming focused on hazing prevention and understanding the University of Maine’s Hazing Policy. The Office of Fraternity & Sorority Life collaborates with the Student Wellness Resource Center and StopHazing.org to provide large scale information sessions as well as smaller programming events throughout the week (i.e., tabling, awareness walks, etc.).

Northeast Greek Leadership Association (NGLA): NGLA works to educate fraternity and sorority leaders in the hopes of empowering their community to align their actions with their values. Each year members from the Executive Councils of the Interfraternity Council and Panhellenic Council are sent to a leadership conference. These representatives learn about experiences other student leaders are having at other higher education institutions. They also attend sessions that focus on providing education in regards to bystander intervention, hazing prevention, and sexual assault and violence prevention, among other important topics.

Association for Fraternity and Sorority Advisors (AFA): AFA provides educational resources for the success of fraternity and sorority advisors. The Fraternity & Sorority Advisor uses these educational resources to promote the success of fraternities and sororities and their individual members on the University of Maine campus.