RECRUITMENT RULES OF KENT STATE UNIVERSITY PANHELLENIC ASSOCIATION I. Statement of Positive Panhellenic Contact We, the women of Kent State University, will promote panhellenic-spirited contact with all potential new members throughout the year. Discussion Strict silence will begin on Saturday, September 19, 2015 after the last round of preference and last until bid distribution on Sunday, September 20, 2015. No sorority member, including alumnae and new members, may communicate with potential new members regarding recruitment during this period. Strict silence is defined as verbal, nonverbal, written, printed, text message and electronic communication or communicating through a third party. If potential new members live with sorority members, only casual greetings and contact are permitted. II. Statement of Adherence to NPC Unanimous Agreements and Policies Regarding Recruitment All NPC member organizations represented at Kent State University believe in strictly adhering to NPC Unanimous Agreements and policies. These valued and non-negotiable policies will be followed by all organizations during the recruitment process. III. Formal Recruitment Structure A. The recruitment process will be structured in three rounds over one week. B. Two chapter members may step out of the recruitment facility per room (including alumnae) in order to greet the incoming potential members. C. Rounds 1. Round 1: Philanthropy Round a. Philanthropy Round will be held Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, September 15-17 of 2015. b. Events will be 40 minutes in length, with 20 minute breaks in between. c. No food or drink is permitted during this round, unless it is necessary for the health of the Potential New Member. d. Activities and themes must be approved by the Panhellenic Recruitment team. 2. Round 2: House Tour Round a. House Tour Round will be held Friday, September 18, 2015. b. Events will be 45 minutes in length with 40 minutes in between. c. Only drinks will be permitted during this round. d. Activities and themes must be approved by the Panhellenic Recruitment team. 3. Round 3: Preference Round a. Preference Round will be held Saturday, September 19, 2015. b. Events will be 60 minutes in length, with 40 minutes in between. c. Food is limited to one drink and one food item. d. Activities and themes must be approved by the Panhellenic Recruitment team. 4. Bid Day a. Bid Day will be held Sunday, September 20, 2015. IV. Statement of “No Frills Recruitment” Kent State University recruitment events shall consist of maximum conversation time, tables with displays pertaining to the event. No skits shall be permitted during the Formal Recruitment period. Chapter made videos must be no longer than five minutes in length, provide valuable content for the Potential New Member to take away after her experience, and must only be shown during House Tours on Friday, September 18, 2015. Any chapter made videos must be approved a minimum of one week in advance by the Panhellenic Recruitment team. Videos during Philanthropy Round must be no longer than eight minutes in length and must pertain directly to the individual chapter’s national philanthropy. Purchase of special membership recruitment outfits are discouraged, with the exception of Bid Day on Sunday, September 20, 2015. All decorations are to remain as simple as possible during the recruitment period, and be in compliance with the “no frills” recommendations of NPC as well as the guidelines distributed by the Panhellenic Recruitment Team. The Panhellenic Recruitment Team will perform inspections prior to each round. The Panhellenic Recruitment Team will ask a chapter to remove decorations that are not in compliance. Each chapter will spend no more than $2,000 on formal recruitment activities, $2,500 on bid day activities, not including apparel, and they must spend no more than $30 per shirt. Bus fees will be divided evenly amongst the seven organizations and will not exceed more than $1,800. All activities and fees will include all rounds of recruitment including bid day activities. Chapters with two rooms during the first round of recruitment will be permitted an additional $400 for expenses related to having two rooms in the Student Center. This additional funding must only be used for round one expenses for recruitment. V. Statement of Membership Recruitment Acceptance Binding Agreement The Kent State University Panhellenic will uphold and use the membership recruitment acceptance binding agreement (MRABA) for each potential new member interested in joining a women’s sorority, whether during fullystructured or continuous open bid (COB) recruitment. We agree to all policies and steps pertaining to the MRABA. VI. Statement of Values-Based Recruitment We, the members of Kent State University Panhellenic, pledge to promote the following practices during membership recruitment: 1. Engage in values-based conversations. 2. Choose recruitment activities and behaviors that reflect the core values of our organizations. 3. Make informed choices, based on shared values, about potential new members. 4. Educate potential new members about the chapter’s values, and connect to these values. VII. Statement of Automatic Reset of Total and Meeting Quota & Total A. To allow organizations to achieve parity as quickly as possible at the conclusion of primary recruitment, the Kent State University Panhellenic Association shall automatically reset total upon the completion of bid matching under the direction of the RFM specialist and the Greek Advisor. Total will be determined by the average chapter size (ACS) rounded down to the nearest whole number. B. A chapter may exceed its total and fill its quota after the completion of formal recruitment, continuing for one school year. C. During Formal Recruitment, each sorority may accept women up to quota, even though it may bring a sorority chapter above the established total chapter size. D. A chapter not reaching total during formal recruitment may commence continuous open bidding after formal recruitment bid distribution has occurred, starting on Monday September 21, 2015. VIII. Infractions, Penalties, and Fines A. National Panhellenic Conference encourages any potential violations of policy to be resolved through informal conversation prior to exploring a formal mediation or judicial process. Therefore; if any member of any organization witnesses an incident, they should be encouraged to explore conversation through chapter executive boards before pursuing options outlined below. B. When a sorority believes there has been a recruitment rule infraction, a written report signed by the accusing sorority or party must be submitted to the Vice President of Recruitment & Retention within 30 calendar days after it has occurred. i. Infractions are to be filed by chapter presidents only after she has discussed the potential infraction with the accused chapter president. C. All Recruitment violations will be referred to the Vice President of Recruitment and Retention. The Panhellenic President will arrange a mediation consisting of the accusing parties and the accused chapter president, recruitment chair, and advisor. The mediation will follow the guidelines outlined in the NPC manual of information. D. If mediation is not successful, the issue will be referred to the Panhellenic Council Judicial Board and follow the guidelines outlined in the NPC Manual of Information. E. Penalties for tardiness of invitation and bid lists will be $250 for the first 15 minutes, and $10 for each minute thereafter. F. Other penalties may include, but are not limited to, requiring chapters to complete educational programs or restricting social activities. All penalties imposed will follow the guidelines for infractions as outlined in the NPC Manual of Information.