In this day of budget shortfalls and idealogical opposition, I read an interesting opinion article written by David Brooks (that you can read here) called "The New Normal." He talks about the importance of smart government budget cuts. I was impressed because, unlike some of my more progressive compatriots, he is a firm believer that not only has the economy permenantly changed, but that government is going to have to change with it.
However, unlike some of my more conservative friends, he does not believe in wholesale (yet politically appealing) cuts. Instead, he focuses his efforts on linking budgets to concrete measureable improvements backed with a comprehensive strategy to improving the competitiveness of our society.
Mr. Brooks is basing his article on a speech made by Arne Duncan which is an interesting read for anyone interested in education policy.
So how does this relate to fraternities and sororities? Many of my posts have dealt with (many times in a high holy manner, for which I apologize my loyal reader) the relevancy of fraternities and sororities, and having concrete achievements is a cornerstone component of being relevant in today's society. I think if we want to maintain our arguments that Greek Life created great leaders we need to continue to train great leaders and prove just how valuable they are.
To train a great leader, we need to build our organizations into symbols and make our achievements greater than the sum of their respective parts.
I have said in past posts too that not everything we as a community will do will be a success, but that's not a bad thing. Like the budget battles raging across this country, chapters learn from their failures and committ to creating success the next time around. Moreover, a true leader not only accepts decent behavior but constantly challenges the process of their chapter and encourages progress through SMART goals.
So how does assessment fit into this picture of goal setting, proper communication, and execution? Too often chapters rise and fall in terms of numbers, image, and effectiveness of general operations. A strong new member class all but makes or breaks many chapter. However, if you document everything you do (and many groups do, for their university or inter/national headquarters) you can then educate and influence future executive boards as they look back at previous efforts and see what worked or didn't work.
That said, I'm not asking every chapter to run statistical analysis on everything you do, merely follow a few simple steps:
1) Create a written plan - This can be a document for resources and goals for a philanthropy or an agenda for your officer transition retreats that document essential skills you want to transfer. Every document should have a SPECIFIC and MEASUREABLE outcomes.
2) Create a set of deadlines for the implementation for your written plans - In this way, you develop solid time management skills and can learn how long you need to plan for your event. If you can't make your own self imposed deadlines, why or why not?
3) Implement - This is self explanatory, but make sure you delegate action items to as many people as possible, in this way more members of your chapter invests their "sweat equity" into the project.
4) As an executive group, assess your outcome on a mixed qualitative / quantatitve basis
Quantative Analysis is the assessment of a project on numerical grounds. Questions you want to ask are: Have you achieved the desired number of community service hours, philanthropy dollars raised, grade point average made, number of brothers who participated in an event. A quantative analysis is the easiest to measure because you can count your results and affirm whether achieved your goals or not. Again, if you have not met your specific goal, why did you not? What can you alter the next time around to succeed?
Qualitative Analysis is somewhat more difficult to measure but is just as important. This is a measurement of desired qualities such as improving the bonds of brotherhood / sisterhood, developing strong communication skills / delegation skills, being able to resolve conflict or confront brothers / guests. You will most likely do your qualitative analysis in new member education, but remember, every activity you do has a qualitative outcome, even parties. Otherwise, what's the point?
If you make a quantative goal and a qualitative goal for every event you do and find that some of your events aren't measuring up, then why continue to use those events? How do you prioritize your ideal qualities and achievements? If you can't answer these questions you will find that your members are less appealing as potential hirees to your alumni and your chapter will have less of an impact on campus and thus become less appealing to potential new members.
Just remember that as governors and congress seek to balance budgets and keep the country competitive, you are having the same discussion in your chapter (implicitly or explicitly). Every dollar you spend or hour used is a decleration of your core values and priorities. Every day is an opportunity to assess those values and priorities as you strive to make the most effecient use of your time outside of the classroom. Whether you have a budget of half a million dollars and 100 brothers or sisters or a budget of a thousand dollars with less than 10 brothers or sisters, what you do and why you do it is one of the best educational opportunities you will have.
Every campus has some outlet to find friends but how many of those friend groups prepares you for the real life in the same way as fraternity and sorority life?
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