Literature Review

Introduction

Kappa Delta represents an ideal example of a subculture. This sorority includes characteristics such as, having a broadly agreed set of common public goals, containing intercommunication among its members, and sharing similar values. Kappa Delta is a sorority at several universities such as UCF, where the members make great things happen in women's lives, on campus and in communities across the country. The demographics of this group are female college students, who want to enhance each members college experience through many opportunities provided through Greek life. Sororities are social organizations for women who pride themselves in their involvement in philanthropies, academics, and doing their parts in multiple other on-campus activities. Being a member of this sorority has greatly impacted my college experience. Joining Kappa Delta has given me the privilege of a high level of camaraderie with my fellow members, an endless stream of learning opportunities, and a wide range of networking. Being a fulltime member of Kappa Delta requires an efficient amount of time and effort and there are many obstacles that Sororities may be faced with and must overcome such as; balancing academics with sorority demands. This is where I would like to begin my research to fully answer this question, “Are sororities too time consuming and demanding for college students to succeed in the classroom?”

Time Spent on Greek Life and School Work

Being in a sorority takes a lot of time and effort, not to mention all the other responsibilities of being an active college student! Is it possible to be a full time member, maintain your GPA, have outside interests, attend mandatory events, and a dozen other responsibilities? According to the sorority of Kappa Phi Gamma at Austin, Texas it is obtainable, “Being a sorority member is a time commitment, but one of the core values of sororities is academic excellence and time management. Each chapter/colony maintains a certain grade point average that members must maintain during their college experience” (Kappa Phi Gamma). In most sororities, academic achievement always comes first. Kappa Delta at UCF provides members with the opportunity to opt out of certain mandatory events and use that time to get back on track with their academics. Parallel to Kappa Phi Gamma, using expert time management skills keeps members on track and helps students stay successful each semester. For example, “Members who struggle or fall below the required grade point average often are offered additional study programs to improve academic performance. In this way, chapter members encourage one another to be the best students they can be” (National Panhellenic Conference Inc). According to Garcia, Justin, Greek organizations have higher graduation rates than non-Greeks; 71 percent of fraternity and sorority members graduate college, while only 50 percent of non-members graduate. This provides proof of how the majority of sororities do succeed in college while taking part of Greek organizations.

In confirmation of the NPC, Sororities not only help students gain confidence, but ease the transition of high school to college. In college the work load is a much heavier amount, more preparation outside of class is needed, and more time is required for studying. Many students find the transition to be difficult, but agree that sororities help greatly; “Sororities have proven to impact the first year’s student’s intent to return immensely to the University the Following Year” (Benefits of Greek Life). Along with this statement, Lorena Zamarripa includes how it is possible to manage your time successfully in college and continue to obtain a high GPA, “The participants in this study were given the experience of being in a sorority and then asked if they would rejoin. The participants said that they would definitely join again because the sorority had made them who they are now and they had learned skills that they can use in the long run.” (Sorority Life). Sorority members are given the opportunity to grow and provided with more resources and study groups. “Workshops were scheduled with University resources such as the Career Center to provide resume workshops and study abroad forums. By providing these resource directly to my chapter, sisters had the opportunity to seek information about academic options with ease and more individualized attention” (Lucy DeLisa). These workshops give sisters several more ways to stay focused and complete their work in a timely matter. “Academic fraternities and sororities base their membership around specific majors or areas of study, or they may require members to have achieved academic honors or a high grade point average” (García, Justin D). Sorority ladies consider scholastics important, and all National Panhellenic Conference part gatherings anticipate that each lady will endeavor to satisfy her scholarly potential. Numerous parts oblige individuals to keep up a base GPA with a specific end goal to partake in social occasions or hold office (National Panhellenic Conference Inc).

Other Theories

On the other hand, other research demonstrates the opposite, proving that sororities do negatively affect student’s academics. Since many students are not prepared for the high demands and obligations that come with Greek life, grades may progressively drop. Becoming acquainted with college life is difficult and can be overwhelming for freshman. Incoming students must familiarize themselves with the campus, find their classes and learn how to study for their tests. Adding Greek life to the To-Do list creates unnecessary stress and demands. Shirley Zachary details the intensity of organizational involvement between Greeks and Non Greeks, this investigation revealed that out of eight perceptions about Greek life, four of those perceptions; lack of values, lack of diversity, poor academic attitudes, and time commitment were cited as significant perceptions that may have influenced students to remain unaffiliated with a fraternity or sorority at this particular campus. In contrast to the research of Kappa Phi Gamma, sisters are expected to attend relevant functions like Greek Week events and pledging activities, which runs the risk of overshadowing their academic life. When first joining a sorority, new members may not be aware of how high the demand is to become part of a sisterhood. This can lead to members focusing their time mainly on Sorority obligations over academic needs. Late night meetings, socials, and events may lead to a student’s loss of sleep. College students have early classes regularly and missing a class or two could hurt their grade. “Students who spent more time studying with peers showed diminishing growth and students who spent more time in the Greek system had decreased rates of learning, while activities such as working off campus, participating in campus clubs and volunteering did not impact learning” (College Students Not Learning Much).

In an agreement with the Richard Arum in the “College Students Not Learning Much” study, a decrease in GPA’s among sororities is common and due to several factors that come along with being a sister. Some of the Greek organizations require study tables in order to help keep their members' grade point averages up, but the study also found that students perform their best when they study on their own. Social engagement by and large does not help understudy execution (College Students Not Learning Much). This could be problematic when living in a loud house with so many other people. Many people would assume that spending your time in any extracurricular would have the same negative effect on academics that joining a sorority would, but the study found that students that joined on-campus clubs, volunteered or had a job did not have the same decreases in learning as students that joined Greek organization.

Here’s what we know about time management within Sororities: there are several demands and obligations that must be completed to fulfill the position of a full time member. What we don’t know is how much is demanded from each member and how the demands differ in each sorority. UCF sororities are given a manageable amount of task/events they must go to and complete. UCF sororities also provide study groups and are understanding when it comes to missing an event due to academics. Other sororities use similar methods, but may not have the same results. What we don’t know is whether or not other sororities besides UCF sororities have high GPA’s and are successful in academics. Not all sororities consider education and academics as important as Kappa Delta at UCF does. Kappa Delta works with the girls and requires a high level GPA to remain a member. What we should consider is why other sororities put more emphasis on events and socials and less emphasis on the importance of academics. With an appropriate balance of sorority demands there can be academic achievement.

Conclusion

All in all, Kappa Delta members share similar values and goals that functionally unify the group. To continue and grow as a sorority, the sisters are expected and required to provide service to maintain their membership. Many students have trouble with balancing the expectations from both Greek life and the university, but through my research I have found that it is possible to succeed. Kappa Delta at UCF provides members with the opportunity to opt out of certain mandatory events and use that time to get back on track with their academics. The GPA’s of this sorority proves how their method of time management truly helps sisters succeed in both college and sorority. This study does show how sororities at the University of Central Florida succeeds, but falls short on proving if other sororities in the nation are conducting or benefiting from this method. Now that we have the proof of academic success at UCF sororities, my next step is to conduct the research on whether or not other colleges’ sororities are successful. Other sororities at different schools may not give their members the option to skip mandatory events or socials due to homework or academic stress. If this is the case, how do students find the time to be a successful member and maintain a high GPA? They may make academic achievement an important characteristic to maintain, but if the pressure of attending every event, participating in sisterhood events, and completing the mandatory tasks becomes too overwhelming their academics may suffer. To resolve this discussion of whether sororities are too time consuming and demanding, the research of conducting fieldwork on sororities around the nation will provide a more universal result.

Appendix I Field Investigations

Interviewing the Sorority: Alpha Phi at Alabama

How many events, socials, or any other task for the sorority does your sorority have?
How many of these tasks are mandatory?
What is your sororities overall GPA?
Is time management a problem for most of the girls in your sorority?
If so, how do sisters manage their school work with the sorority demands and obligations?
Does your sorority offer any help for sisters in need of tutoring or study groups?
Do many of your members have trouble with keeping good grades while going to most of the events?
How often do you have a social or event?
What is a valid excuse to miss or be excused from an event?
Are there any specific ways you stay on track of your academics and sorority? If so, describe them.
Do you think greek life is more demanding than any other club/sport?
Does being a member of sorority give you opportunities? If so, explain a few.
Would you recommend joining a sorority?
How many hours a week do you have to accomplish class/school work?
How many hours a week do you have to accomplish any sorority demands/obligations?

Survey Question:

Are sororities too time consuming and demanding for college students to succeed in the classroom?

Annotated Bibliography

"Benefits of Greek Life!" YouTube. YouTube. 16 April. 2011. Web. 24 Mar. 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwMacI7s_Nk>.

This YouTube video announces how being a member of a sorority increases the amount of interpersonal skill development and gains in education. This film also provides a visual of how Greek Life is a positive experience for students. Throughout this video many positive aspects of sororities are addressed; such as the benefit of gaining a sense of belonging, engaging in philanthropies, and the enforcement and encouragement of maintaining good grades. I agree with how this video presents sororities and how they help their members fulfill the expectations of a successful college student.

DeLisa, Lucy. " IMPROVING ACADEMIC SUCCESS WITHIN MY SORORITY." Digication E-Portfolio. Web. 24 Mar. 2015. <https://umich.digication.com/lucy_delisa/Example_of_Work_2.1>.

DeLisa notes how several workshops are scheduled for sorority members and provide several other resources that include more individualized attention. According to this source, individual meetings were also scheduled for each sister that was not meeting the academic requirements for their sorority. Instead of immediately terminating their membership, they were given a semester to show improvement through an academic improvement plan that DeLisa created. These workshops and meetings proved to be very effective as each sister showed improvement over the course of the semester. I believe that this method proves and signifies how students can be successful in school and be part of a sorority.

García, Justin D. "Greek Life." [MEG1] Salem Press Encyclopedia. 1 Sept. 2013. Web. 24 Mar. 2015.

Garcia discusses how some sororities have an academic focus while others are more social or professional in nature. This article announces how supporters of Greek Life point out that the positive qualities of sororities outweigh the negative. Sororities may increase sisters’ connections in social, political, or economic connections which may give members a higher chance at gaining a job position. With this article it proves how greek life is beneficial not only for the community and philanthropies, but helps increase a members chance of graduating and a well-paying job.

"Kappa Phi Gamma Sorority, Inc." Frequently Asked Questions. Web. 24 Mar. 2015. <http://kappaphigamma.com/parents-page/frequently-asked-questions/>.

Kappa Phi Gamma discusses and answers several questions such as; How will my daughter benefit from joining a sorority, What time commitment is involved in going Greek, and How will being a sorority member affect my student’s grades? This article explains how sorority members are provided with connections that can be used during their college years and after graduation. Sorority members also have faculty or staff advisors who help members with guidance and watch over their activities. This demonstrates how order and academics play an important role in sororities.

"NPC In The News." Sorority Life. 1 Oct. 2009. Web. 24 Mar. 2015. <http://thesororitylife.com/newsDetail.aspx?id=24>.

NPC In The News explains sorority life and academics. The balance of sorority demands and academics is a possible and attainable goal for members. Membership programs are offered by each chapter and the College Panhellenic provide focused education and information on academic skills, study tips, and time management. With these helpful programs time management is much easier for a sister. With the encouragement of the members and support systems each member has the chance to fully succeed as an involved member and great student.

"Study: College Students Not Learning Much." CBSNews. CBS Interactive. 18 Jan. 2011. Web. 24 Mar. 2015. <http://www.cbsnews.com/news/study-college-students-not-learning-much/>.

This study announces and addresses multiple quotes along with mentioning the book, "Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses. The findings in the book a debate over what helps and hurts students learn. One focus was aimed at how the Greek system negatively effects students learning and academic success. The explanations of how sororities create less time for studying and academics prove that Greek life demands are too time consuming for students to reach their full academic potential and success.