In order to assess strengths & weaknesses, in terms of academic achievement on your campus, complete the Fraternity/Sorority Community Academic Report Card. This report card is easy to complete and can be done during a one-on-one meeting with an advisor or during an executive council meeting. It can also be translated and used by each chapter on your campus if desired. The report card divides scholarship into five categories: Standards & Policies, Scholarship Program, Resources, Faculty Advisor/Relations and Community Culture. After completing the report card, review each category and determine successes & challenges and determine a single change in each category that could be implemented into the community.

Try to ensure that the change can be translated into a SMART goal. This is easily defined as a goal that is:

• Specific
• Measurable
• Action Oriented
• Realistic
• Timely

Eva Ryan, A 2011-2012 Gamma Sigma Alpha Scholarship Recipient

Eva Ryan is a recipient of a Gamma Sigma Alpha Graduate Student Scholarship for the 2011-2012 academic year. She is currently a full-time graduate student at the Manhattan School of Music taking classes towards a Master of Music degree in Orchestral Flute. Ryan was an undergraduate student at Northwestern University where she served as president of the Beta Tau chapter of Gamma Sigma Alpha. She is a proud member of Kappa Kappa Gamma and was recognized at Northwestern as a Greek Emerging Leader.

An accomplished musician, Ryan decided to forgo the opportunity to attend a conservatory or traditional music school in order to attend Northwestern. One of the reasons she made this choice was to be involved in fraternity/sorority life and other campus activities. She volunteered her time at local schools and retirement homes throughout her undergraduate career.

During her time as President of Gamma Sigma Alpha, Ryan coordinated the first-ever Leadership Reception with the University President. She also continued the tradition of hosting intimate faculty dinners with Gamma Sigma Alpha members each quarter. In addition to playing a pivotal role for Gamma Sigma Alpha, Ryan co-taught the Greek Emerging leaders class. Her co-teacher in this role, wrote her recommendation letter and stated, “Eva believes in the values of Kappa Kappa Gamma and the true purpose of sisterhood…She did not shy away from challenging topics and on many occasions would speak about how she has combated hazing, alcohol abuse and stereotypes within fraternities and sororities.”

The Board of Directors of Gamma Sigma Alpha recognized Ryan as an extraordinary student, leader, scholar and role model. We wish her continued success. For information on the graduate student scholarship application process, please visit our website and plan to apply by April 1, 2012.

Council leaders & advisors, these tips can be distributed periodically via social media sites over the course of the semester or presented during an “academic focus” portion of a council or chapter meeting. It may be a great way to get Gamma Sigma Alpha initiates involved in helping the academic culture of the campus.

Students occasionally make the mistake and ‘learn’ to study when exam time comes around, but the best time to make changes to your schedule and preparation activities comes at the early part of the semester to allow you to get ahead of the game.

Here’s how you do it…

Consistent Preparation–Needs to happen throughout the semester and is the MOST important:

1. Go to class (we know you knew that)
2. Take notes in class. Know the kind of notes you should take…do you learn best sharing notes with a friend to review the ‘take-away’ lessons? Do you like flash cards? Hand-written or electronic? Make these choices and stick with them.
3. Take notes as you read. Highlight the book, or use your classroom note-taking strategy as you review the text.
4. Participate in class. Close facebook and listen!

Preparing to get the grade:

1. Reverse planning: Take a look at the course schedule and work backwards. Make your own plan to spread out the assignments and readings so that you don’t get overwhelmed or behind.
2. Make lists: This is a great way to consolidate your responsibilities in each class and know which topics you should focus on each week leading up until mid-terms, then final exams. Include a ‘goal sheet’ that you can reference over the course of the semester to see if you are on target.
3. Know your professors: Discuss class issues throughout the semester. Do not wait until after grades are released. If you are struggling, ask for resources. An introduction early in the semester can go a long way.
4. Every day is important. It’s easy to fall into that habit of ‘blowing off’ the first couple weeks of the semester, but when you do, you’ll spend the remaining time just trying to stay afloat. Do the opposite and work just a bit everyday.

Maximize your study time:

1. Use active studying techniques: flash cards, online tutorials, roundtable studying with friends.
2. Know your memorization strategies: You may find success reading out loud, using acronyms, trying to visualize what you are learning or using association to tie the new subject with something you already know in your mind. All these techniques can be found in online resources with a quick internet search and may make the difference for you.
3. Focus on the goal sheet: keep it updated and use it to know if you are keeping pace with what you want to accomplish this semester. Think about doing a buddy syster so that you have a friend keeping you accountable and you do the same for them.
4. Keep alert: There’s a reason teachers forced you to do calisthenics in middle school. Take a brisk walk or break to stay alert and on task when studying.

Follow these tips for a successful semester & don’t forget to join Gamma Sigma Alpha!

Our thanks goes to The Student Academic Resource Center at the University of Central Florida for sharing some of these tips with us.

Our Potential. Your Move. 

Notice the first descriptor is STUDENT. This, I’m sure, was very intentional. Let’s not forget! Good luck with end of the semester exams, papers, presentations and all!

We’ve all been in meetings with student organizations and Gamma Sigma Alpha chapters where some great ideas are discussed only to be squelched because some financial resources are needed and the organization’s account isn’t overflowing with available monies.

We heard you and this Spring, Gamma Sigma Alpha national headquarters is hoping to help. Mini-Grants will be available to active chapters seeking to sponsor or co-sponsor programs, host events and/or recognize students/faculty.

Important things to consider when discussing applying for these funds:

1. 1. Any school that hosts an active Gamma Sigma Alpha chapter is eligible to apply for a mini-grant. An active chapter is defined as a chapter that has initiated students into Gamma Sigma Alpha during one of the most recent three semesters.
2. The completed application form must include signatures by the originator and approval from the Department of Student Life and/or Fraternity and Sorority Life.
3. Mini-Grant applications deadlines will be as follows:
   1. February 1, 2012 with notification by February 28, 2012
   2. October 1, 2012 with notification by October 31, 2012
   3. December 1, 2012 with notification by December 31, 2012
4. The Mini-Grant Committee will review proposals and may recommend funding at, below or above the request based on review committee consensus.
5. The minimum request amount will be $100 and the maximum awarded amount will be $500.
6. Projects in progress or completed are not funded. Project start date should be AFTER notification date and within six months of the notification date.
7. Compensation to individual student, faculty and/or staff will not be considered.

To apply, download the application here.

Questions: Contact director(@)gammasigmaalpha.org

Kayla Aprile is one of four scholarship recipients for the 2011-2012 academic year

The first student we would like to spotlight is Kayla Aprile, a 2009 Gamma Sigma Alpha initiate from the Chi chapter at Albion College. Aprile graduated in May with a major in Biochemistry and was accepted into medical school at the University of Michigan where she is currently in her first year of the program. During her time at Albion College, she excelled in the classroom and in extracurricular activities. She was a leader within her Alpha Xi Delta sorority chapter, worked at the campus library and volunteered at the local elementary school and with Habitat for Humanity all while achieving high academic honors.

Aprile’s former fraternity/sorority advisor said this about her: 

Kayla has a high level of moral reasoning and has exemplified her own standards for personal conduct in a consistent way. Kayla leads with integrity in everything she does and serves as a great role model for the entire Albion College campus community.

Aprile served as President of the Gamma Sigma Alpha chapter during her senior year. With the goals of increasing the chapter’s visibility on campus and raising membership numbers, she had her work cut out for her. She was able to exceed her own goals and triple membership in Gamma Sigma Alpha!

The Gamma Sigma Alpha Board of Directors and staff wishes Kayla Aprile much success as she pursues her medical degree! Congratulations on your accomplishments!

By the Fraternity/Sorority Campus Office

1. Publish grades

2. Conduct assessment with university research office

3. Assign interns, graduate students, or practicum students to work on academic projects or initiatives

4. Help fraternity/sorority community showcase their academic achievements to the university community

5. Obtain budget incentives from tutoring companies

6. Begin to impose initiatives

7. Reach out to headquarters

8. Email grade reports to the chapters

9. Create resource packets on academics for chapters

10. Contact NPHC chapter advisors if members/chapters are below 2.5

11. Ask Counseling Center to assist with academic support

12. Put grade report on website

13. Provide chapters with academic workshops

14. Set community wide academic goals

15. Share the Fraternity/Sorority Community academic report card with all chapters

16. Empower the student leaders in this area

17. Provide job descriptions and resources for faculty advisors

18. Talk with chapters about their academic profile and performance

19. Show students how to hold their peers accountable academically

20. Meet regularly with all chapters about scholarship

21. More incentive based plans

22. Hold academic integrity conversations

23. Work with schools/departments to recruit/designate chapter faulty advisors

24. Publicly “brag” on exceptional chapter/student academic achievement (newspaper, facebook, twitter, etc)

By the Councils

25. Host special event for scholarship chairs whose chapters met or exceeded the respective all-campus GPA

26. Chapter challenges for grades/grade improvement

27. Have stakeholder discussions

28. Have an academic aspect of recruitment

29. Post chapter GPA’s during orientation and/or recruitment

30. Co-host fraternity/sorority awards and faculty appreciation dinner

31. Talk with chapters about their academic programs

32. More faculty recognition programs, especially for influential faculty

33. Hold scholarship banquets

34. Select a faculty member of the month

35. Set an academic goal together

36. Improve Council academic programs

37. Voluntary round tables at Starbucks or other on-campus location

38. Re-allocate budget for scholarships

39. Establish chapter standards and requirements

40. Skills workshops for scholarship chairs

41. Take officers on tour of campus resources

42. Faculty/staff advisor recognition

43. Council to council contests

44. Establish peer expectations

45. Raise standards by council

By the Chapters

46. Allocate a percentage of the budget on academic enrichment

47. Put academics into recruitment conversations and expectations

48. Recruit new members with high GPA’s

49. Ask for input from the student leaders on new member programs and what is working and what is not

50. Make sure new members achieve good grades during new member period

51. Assess chapter time spent on academics as related to time available, budget and values

52. Elicit ideas from members

53. Develop an individual member academic probation period, have those members file an action plan with scholarship chair

54. Enforce quiet hours in the house—all semester or during exam periods

All Constituencies

55. Help every chapter maintain or raise its GPA

56. Help chapters with academic achievement awards

57. Give faculty recognition

58. Assessment of academics/academic achievement to peer averages

59. Training for chapter scholarship chairs

60. Reach out to faculty advisors

61. Budget for academic programming

62. Start/support a Gamma Sigma Alpha chapter

63. Strengthen the faculty/staff programs; create relationships

64. Improve cultural aspects

65. Share academic research with chapters

66. Share honor society information

67. Support fraternity/sorority campus office on what they are trying to do

68. Parity in message about academics is important

69. Create a list of faculty and staff with their fraternity/sorority affiliations

70. Appreciation baskets to colleges/departments/faculty

71. Photo opportunities with deans and/or senior administration

72. Academic excellence dinners

73. Develop individualized chapter plans—one size do not fit all

74. Create point systems & incentives

75. Use the Academic Achievement Report Card to evaluate & improve (Available: HERE)

For complete details of the various scholarships available, click here.

To apply for a scholarship, click here.
Deadline to apply is August 26, 2011.

Dues Increase:  Effective August 1^st, 2011, national membership dues will increase to $35 per student. Please plan accordingly. Many of our chapters add a ‘local dues’ option when collecting payment from students, this is a great for building some resources to support academic achievement or other programs on your campus. We know that each chapter is different and only you know what rate students on your campus will pay for membership in an honorary and we ask that you keep this in mind when adding a local dues to the national fee. This is the final stair-step increase our Board of Directors approved three years ago. Honor cords will remain $10. We will do our best to keep this fee consistent over the next few years and avoid another increase. The primary reason for the increase is heightened costs for services, increased number of services provided and the growing cost for operational expenses.

You Spoke…We Listened: Based on feedback from our Member Services Survey we conducted in the Spring, we will be undertaking a few projects this fall. The first will be an online submission tool that will allow advisors to input names electronically and pay via a secure site to enable the fastest and the most accurate processing we can provide. We are partnering with WebGreek to use cutting-edge technology and are hoping for a seamless piloting of this processing option in August. More details on this will be distributed in the next couple of weeks.

In addition, we will launch a newsletter to communicate with advisors concerning scholarship processes, award deadlines, chapter profiles, program ideas and other valuable information. Stay tuned for the debut of this new communication tool.  If there is something specific you would like to see highlighted in an upcoming newsletter, let us know!

We will continue to grow the Gamma Sigma Alpha website and blog with resources to help you differentiate Gamma Sigma Alpha with other organizations on your campus, grow your chapter and excel academic achievement within your fraternity/sorority community. We know that many of our chapters operate as a recognition society and that serves our mission and is a great program for some schools, but many others want to develop the chapter into something more than that and we want to help. Friendly reminder: our membership should never be ‘capped’ at a certain number of students—if they meet the qualifications and pay the membership fee, they should be granted membership–our goal is to recognize as many academic achievers as we can.

Andrew Robinson, Gamma Sigma Alpha Scholarship Recipient 2010-2011

This Scholarship Spotlight rounds out roster from the 2010-2011 scholarship recipients, highlighting our 6th scholarship recipient (in no particular order). Andrew Robinson graduated summa cum laudefrom Valparaiso University with a major in Music Performance and a minor in Theater. He had a passion to pursue his Masters of Music Teaching at Oberlin Conservatory of Music.