Stanford issued a new, university-wide policy governing fraternities and sororities at a meeting with Greek leadership today. The Standards of Excellence (SOE) program will govern the self-evaluation process of all chapters of the African-American Fraternal and Sororal Association (AAFSA), Interfraternity Council (IFC), Intersorority Council (ISC) and Multicultural Greek Council (MGC).

Under the new policy, Greek organizations will be evaluated for “commitment to fraternal organization, commitment to the Stanford community, commitment to responsible citizenship, and commitment to stewardship.”

Although Greek organizations will conduct their own evaluations, all findings will be presented to the university. The Fraternity and Sorority Life division of Residential Education will score evaluations on a yearly basis. Any chapter given a “needs improvement” score will be placed on probation and given one quarter to address concerns. According to the policy, any chapter that doesn’t meet expectations following probation will result in the removal of an organization.

The SOE stipulates a number of requirements for Greek organizations under the new evaluation program. All Greek chapters must host two events each on inclusion and diversity and sexual assault prevention. Chapters must also conduct at least one program per year on “health and wellness, hazing prevention, and alcohol and drug education.”

Fraternities and sororities will report the GPA of their membership as a part of the new evaluation process.

The SOE text states that the program aims “to improve the quality of Stanford’s Greek letter organizations and the experiences these organizations provide to their membership.” It comes following the recent announcement that Stanford’s chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE) will lose its housing for two years, and amidst increasing nationwide scrutiny of Greek organizations.

The full text of the SOE policy:

https://staging.stanforddaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Greek-Standards-of-Excellence.pdf