ZETA TAU ALPHA Accreditation Report 2011-2012 Intellectual Development Zeta Tau Alpha ranked ninth among Panhellenic Sororities in the fall 2011 semester with a 3.08862 GPA, a decrease of.01923 from the spring 2011 semester. The 3.08862 GPA placed the chapter below the All Women, All Sorority, All Greek and All Undergraduate averages. Zeta Tau Alpha ranked eighth among Panhellenic Sororities in the spring 2012 semester with a 3.18253 GPA, an increase of.09391 from the fall 2011 semester. The 3.18253 GPA placed the chapter above the All Greek and All Undergraduate averages. Zeta Tau Alpha s spring 2012 new member class GPA was 3.1724, ranking fourth out of nine Panhellenic Sororities. Zeta Tau Alpha had 28.7% of the chapter on the Dean s List in the fall 2011 semester and 29.6% on the Dean s List in the spring 2012 semester. Zeta Tau Alpha has a Director of Academic Achievement position. The student in this position must meet the qualifications of understanding time management techniques, have an interest in working with others to set and achieve goals, be a strong motivator, an appreciation for academia, and a strong desire to assist Zeta Tau Alpha members to succeed academically. The committee recommends that Zeta Tau Alpha raise their academic standards incrementally from a 2.0 GPA over a period of time. The chapter requires a meeting for those members who do not achieve the minimum 2.0 GPA. This meeting allows the member to discuss why she did not achieve the 2.0 as well as gives her the opportunity to create a plan of academic improvement. The committee would like to see the chapter work with their Inter/National Headquarters and the Center for Academic Success to ensure that the chapter is maximizing opportunities for individual assistance. The chapter has 62.5% of members studying in the STEM fields. This has created a reputation for Zeta Tau Alpha of being a supportive network for those women in the STEM fields. The committee recommends that the chapter build upon this statistic and utilize it within their recruiting and networking. The committee recommends that the chapter develop and implement a strong Intellectual Development program that includes both an academic focus as well as a common theme that is in line with the passions of Zeta Tau Alpha chapter members. Knowing the strong involvement of the women in the chapter, the committee has every confidence in the formation of this program. How can Zeta Tau Alpha use their involvement and faculty/staff relationships to create an Intellectual Development programming series that will interest chapter members?
In the area of Intellectual Development, the committee rated Zeta Tau Alpha to be a Silver Leadership Development The chapter had members attend Zeta Tau Alpha s National Leadership Convention. The theme was making the change, in order to be better people, better community members, and better sisters. Attendees learned ways to make their chapter more cohesive and become more involved in the community. The committee was impressed with the chapter s ability to glean lessons from Convention. Zeta Tau Alpha hosted an Executive Board retreat for their newly elected officers. Goal setting, communication, confronting challenging topics, and position descriptions were the focus of this retreat. The chapter was represented at the Northeast Greek Leadership Association conference in February. Samantha Karpman represented Zeta Tau Alpha and brought back new ideas for the Panhellenic community as well as for her own chapter. Zeta Tau Alpha members are involved throughout the Lehigh community. Member involvement includes the Global Union, Society of Women Engineers, National Society of Collegiate Scholars, Club sports, Women in Business, the Greek Emerging Leaders program, Student Senate, the Gryphon Society, and many more. The committee recommends that the chapter utilize members involvement with these organizations to assist with recruitment and chapter marketing. The chapter does a great job implementing Lehigh s Core Skills into their chapter programming and development. The committee was extremely impressed by this and considers it a best practice. The chapter s New Member Education plan is very well thought out and organized to include a purpose for each meeting, an ice breaker, educational components, and the learning of Zeta Tau Alpha songs. Zeta Tau Alpha stresses sister to sister conversations when issues arise. The chapter s Assistant Director of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs attended a sisterhood conversation where members voiced their opinions and felt comfortable speaking to each other. The chapter has done an excellent job of implementing positive confrontation into the culture of the chapter early on. The committee would like to see the chapter take the next steps of implanting a member development program for upper-class students. There are many great resources available to the chapter through Zeta Tau Alpha Inter/National Headquarters, The Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs and the Office of Student Leadership Development. How can Zeta Tau Alpha ensure that all chapter members are provided with leadership development opportunities based on organizational programs and practices? In the area of Leadership Development, the committee rated Zeta Tau Alpha to be a Silver
Community Development The chapter should be commended on their successes with breast cancer awareness programming and education. Programs included Kiss Away Cancer, handing out pink ribbons on campus, selling breast cancer awareness bracelets, and a cake decorating contest. Zeta Tau Alpha had five women participate in seven different Lehigh SERVE trips throughout the year. The chapter hosted multiple sisterhood events throughout the year. The women crafted handmade cards for breast cancer patients, held board game nights, attended the Vagina Monologues together, attended Christmas Vespers, and held a Secret Snowflake gift exchange. The committee commends the chapter on their efforts to build sisterhood within the chapter. The chapter boasts 236 hours of service programs and philanthropic effort. Some efforts include Relay for Life, Pi Kappa Alpha s Cycle for Life, blood drives, Spring Fling, Save Lids to Save Lives, and efforts with Broughal Middle School. The chapter s parent s weekend included a Mother s Tea, family barbeque and board games, and brunch. The committee recommends collaborating with another student organization to make parent s weekend a larger event and allow for new friendships to be formed. The chapter hosted dinners with their Faculty/Staff Advisor, Carolina Hernandez as well as Rabbi Seth Goren throughout the academic year. The committee recommends that the chapter continue to build these relationships and utilize these chapter supporters for programming and chapter development. Zeta Tau Alpha sponsored motivational speaker Karen Hoyos, who addressed overcoming adversity as a Latina woman. This event was open to the public and had high attendance. Zeta Tau Alpha members participated in Unity Week at Lehigh. The committee recommends that Zeta Tau Alpha develop their diversity and inclusion programming with the Office of Multicultural Affairs to cover a wide range of topics. The chapter faced much adversity during the spring semester with the passing of one of their members, Deborah Pearsall. The chapter should be commended on their efforts to honor Deborah with a Do it for Debbie basketball game. Zeta Tau Alpha showed the true meaning of sisterhood in the way they supported each other, as well as other Lehigh community members who were close to Deborah. How does Zeta Tau Alpha continue to implement intentional self-reflection into their community service and philanthropic initiatives? In the area of Community Development, the committee rated Zeta Tau Alpha to be a Gold Organizational Development Zeta Tau Alpha currently has an officer transition plan. This plan should be developed with the help of their Assistant Director, alumni advisors, and the Office of Student Leadership Development.
The committee commends the chapter on their Executive Council structure. It is well thought out and comprehensive. Zeta Tau Alpha does not rely on professional financial management services to handle their finances; rather the chapter s treasurer is responsible for their financial management, in conjunction with their alumnae corporation. The chapter strives to focus on having conversations about what it means to be a member of Zeta Tau Alpha, the importance of sisterhood, and how being a dedicated member will help develop each sister personally and professionally. Zeta Tau Alpha should be commended on how well they worked with their headquarters and alumnae advisors throughout their colonization and first year as a new chapter. The chapter hosted multiple Inter/National Headquarters Leadership Consultants throughout their first year as a chapter. The committee recommends that the chapter continue developing these relationships and utilizing Zeta Tau Alpha Headquarters staff knowledge and expertise. The committee recommends that the chapter grow and develop their short and long term goals for their organization. This will allow current members to look forward and plan ahead for the future. The chapter has an officer that continues to educate the membership on Zeta Tau Alpha specific information each week during chapter meetings. This officer will ask a question and the answers can be found within the Zeta Tau Alpha magazine, Themis. The committee commends the chapter on their efforts to continue fraternity education. The committee expects the chapter to be able to provide a detailed explanation of their dues structure for active and new members, as well as articulate the reasoning behind their dues for 2012-13, and how this reasoning was explained to active members during the year as well as potential new members during the recruitment and new member education processes. How can the chapter begin implementing a vision and strategic plan to ensure that the lessons learned by the chapter in 2011-12 have become rooted in chapter culture five years from now? In the area of Organizational Development, the committee rated Zeta Tau Alpha to be a Silver Facilities Management The chapter has a strong accountability process for their facilities management. Each chapter member has facility cleaning responsibilities and takes pride in keeping the space neat and presentable. The chapter does a nice job with their sustainability initiatives. Recycling, water and energy conservation, and composting are major focus points for Zeta Tau Alpha. The chapter s chef and composting committee work well together to ensure the proper materials are being composted on a regular basis. Thus far, Zeta Tau Alpha has diverted 422.35 pounds of waste.
The chapter hosts environmentally friendly challenges at their meetings. If a member completes the challenge, she can enter her name into a drawing to win a reusable mug. Zeta Tau Alpha s facility is currently over 100% occupied, and the chapter is working on contingency plans to account for chapter members going abroad. Zeta Tau Alpha s common damages for the fall 2011 semester were $12.00. Zeta Tau Alpha s had no common damages for the spring 2012 semester. The chapter did not face any opening or closing issues throughout the year. The chapter was in attendance at all Residential Services meetings and there were no paperwork deadline issues. Residential Services commends the House Managers on their job well done. How does the chapter plan to contend with upper class student Occupancy challenges as Zeta Tau Alpha continues to grow? In the area of Facilities Management, the committee rated Zeta Tau Alpha to be a Gold Overall Rating Overall, Zeta Tau Alpha has been rated a Silver chapter by the 2011-2012 Accreditation Committee. The committee could not be prouder of how Zeta Tau Alpha has positioned themselves in their first full year at Lehigh. The chapter has shown the potential to be a leader amongst not only the fraternity and sorority community, but the entire Lehigh community. The challenges that Zeta faces as an organization are normal with the foundation of the organization, and the committee believes the chapter is well poised to build upon their foundation in order to solidify the final steps in becoming an elite chapter. As Zeta Tau Alpha builds upon their success, the committee hopes the chapter takes the steps of rooting their positive practices into the culture of the organization, ensuring that the values based mission of the organization is always lived up to. Zeta Tau Alpha should be an elite chapter at Lehigh for years to come. The Accreditation committee assigns Zeta Tau Alpha an overall rating of Silver, which is considered a high level of achievement in the Accreditation process, with all the privileges that accompany such a rating. Chapter Development Questions How can Zeta Tau Alpha use their involvement and faculty/staff relationships to create an Intellectual Development programming series that will interest chapter members? How can Zeta Tau Alpha ensure that all chapter members are provided with leadership development opportunities based on organizational programs and practices?
How does Zeta Tau Alpha continue to implement intentional self-reflection into their community service and philanthropic initiatives? How can the chapter begin implementing a vision and strategic plan to ensure that the lessons learned by the chapter in 2011-12 have become rooted in chapter culture five years from now? How does the chapter plan to contend with upper class student Occupancy challenges as Zeta Tau Alpha continues to grow? Best Practices The chapter does a great job implementing Lehigh s Core Skills into their chapter programming and development. The committee was extremely impressed by this and considers it a best practice.