Because the University of Illinois boasts one of the largest and most vibrant Greek systems in the country, at times it can seem like Greek life is everywhere. While being in the Greek system does not necessarily define a person’s collegiate experience, those involved say it has enhanced it.

Both fraternities and sororities offer students the chance to join a brotherhood or sisterhood, make new friends and network, take on leadership roles and excel academically.

Most chapters in the Greek system have minimum GPA requirements in order to initiate or stay an active member. Some chapters have taken initiatives in order to assist their members in meeting their academic goals. Mike Wong, sophomore in FAA and vice president of Sigma Phi Epsilon’s Residential Learning Community (RLC), said his chapter has created an RLCprogram that complements the members’ goals of becoming “balanced men.”

Sigma Phi Epsilon is the only fraternity on campus that recruits professors to teach an accredited course to their members in their chapter house. Wong said between 45 and 50 fraternity men enroll in the in-house course, which is a finance course this semester.

“It’s really one on one with the professor,” Wong said. He added that the house has an office for the professor where office hours are held as well as an RLC area to study in. The chapter recently received a grant to renovate the first floor and their executive room, outfitting it with new tables, chairs and white boards to help the men achieve academic success. Last semester, the men of Sigma Phi Epsilon had the third highest GPA in the InterFraternity Council, with a GPA of 3.38.

Sororities also offer incentives and assistance so their members can find academic success in their four years here. Alpha Epsilon Phi was ranked first last year out of all the sororities in the Panhellenic Community with a GPA of 3.58. Jamie Finkle, sophomore in AHS, is the chapter’s vice president of operations and said the girls work hard to keep their grades up because scholarship is one of the columns their house was founded on.

“It’s something we’re very proud of,” Finkle said. “Scholarship is extremely important. I think Greek life is not detrimental at all (to scholarship). Some people look at what they see on TV and think it’s negative, but we really do put value our education here and put an emphasis on it.”

Finkle said there is a study room in the house that is always quiet available for girls to use, as well as incentives such as “Smart Cookie” and the “Skippy Jar” where members are rewarded at weekly meetings for doing well on exams and projects and attending classes. Sara Maeglin, sophomore in LAS, said her sorority employs a similar incentive program in order to keep the women motivated to do well in school.

The women of Sigma Delta Tau were ranked second-highest GPA last semester, and Maeglin said being in a sorority creates an environment that is conducive to academic success.

“Just being in the house, you automatically meet older girls within your major,” Maeglin said. “You can talk to these girls if you need help. Having a support system is the most important thing.”

The women of Delta Delta Delta have shown in recent years that it is possible to balance school and a social life. Becky Vlahos, sophomore in LAS and vice president of academics, said her house has made great strides in recent years academically because of steps taken by previous executive boards that placed a greater emphasis on scholarship. She said the chapter holds study hours three times per week and puts on resume workshops with people from the Career Center. Members who attend are rewarded with points, helping them when the time comes to pick rooms in the house or get parking spots.

“Above all, you’re here to do well in school, to study and succeed, and to make something of yourself,” Vlahos said.“Instilling those values very early on helps carry through as you progress in college.”

In hopes of shedding a bit of light on the life and times of a Resident Scholar, I thought it might be interesting to discuss life inside a SigEp Residential Learning Community, where a Resident Scholar is often expected to wear several hats at once:  graduate student, mentor, academic advisor, university liaison, and so on.  To be sure, to even the most committed Resident Scholar, juggling these tasks can prove daunting at times.  However, the rewarding experience of bringing faculty, mentors, and our undergraduate members together in an effort to benefit their development beyond the classroom far outweighs the daily trials one faces as a Resident Scholar.

By far, the best part of the job has to be watching our members develop a more nuanced and informed understanding of our world and society.  These are incremental changes that are hard to measure, but if you look and listen closely enough, you’ll see it as they perk up in their seats when a faculty member makes a comment that really piques their interest; you’ll notice it the next day in the hallway as you overhear a few undergraduates talking about how “cool” or “interesting” the previous evening’s faculty chat was; and it will really jump out at you, for example, when you have a guy approach you a few days after an RLC event to let you know that after the previous workshop you scheduled with the campus career center,   he has decided to pursue his life’s calling as a graphic design artist rather than sitting idly in his accounting classes while doodling in notebooks (no offense to our accounting majors!).

Interacting daily with the members of our RLCs is, in itself, one of the biggest benefits inherent in the life of a Resident Scholar.  Having the opportunity to facilitate relationships and interactions among faculty, mentors, and students with the knowledge that these opportunities would not have been provided otherwise is definitely icing on the cake, though!  A successful tenure as a Resident Scholar, then, requires a diligent work ethic, excellent time management, solid networking skills, and a warm and open attitude when it comes to mentoring our undergraduate students.  (And a bit of stubborn resolve to simply make things happen never hurt anyone…)

I welcome your thoughts as Resident Scholars, Faculty Fellows, undergraduate members, alumni, and volunteers on the role of the Resident Scholar.  What has worked for your RLC?  What could we do better as an organization to provide resources for RLCs and those involved with them?  What good advice do you have on balancing time between the often overbearing burden of graduate studies – particularly for those of us in Ph.D. programs – and our duties to the RLC?  How are you successful in reaching out to faculty?

Let’s start a dialogue on what works best and what makes life as a Resident Scholar both challenging and rewarding.  We’ll all benefit.

As students make their final course selections for spring, one schedule tidbit they should keep in mind: To boost your GPA, an 8 a.m. class might be worth waking up for.

A study released earlier this semester confirms that college students enrolled in early classes earn higher grades.  The researchers– a pair of psychology professors at New York’s St. Lawrence University– literally found a slight drop in student grade point averages for each hour a class starts later.

Specifically, the study’s co-author Pamela Thacher told The New York Times, “For every hour of class that you have later, you get about a .02 difference, so three hours of difference between class start times will result in a .06 difference in grades.”

The numbers push for a reversal of the “dreaded 8 a.m. class” stereotype, built atop the image of bleary-eyed undergrads who would rather be anywhere else.  They also argue for a striking turnabout on the traditional thinking that late afternoon or evening classes allow for more sleep and, in turn, more engaged students.

Instead, according to the study, a morning class can often be the catalyst for students to get to sleep earlier, complete work more efficiently, and, most importantly, stay sober– all of which help their grades.

In a review of the findings, The Diamondback at the University of Maryland, explained, “[S]tudents who need to wake up earlier for class tend to maintain a more practical daily routine and sleeping patterns while avoiding late-night activities. . . . On the flip side, students who take classes later in the afternoon or evening tended to go to more parties and consume more alcohol during the week, translating into less sleep and lower grades.”

Apparently, alcohol use is by far the most grade-debilitating behavior of student night owls.  “The real piece that we found is that those who are up later are drinking more and discovering their inner demons,” said Thacher in a Reuters report.  The numbers push for a reversal of the “dreaded 8 a.m. class” stereotype

The study does have its skeptics.  For example, a sophomore at Connecticut’s Sacred Heart University told The Spectrum student newspaper that it’s simply untrue that early classes always equate to early bedtimes– in part due to peer pressure.  “In earlier classes, I feel like people don’t do as well because they stay up late to keep up with their friends taking later classes,” she said.  “So they’re either tired in class or just don’t come at all.”

In addition, as a health care coordinator told the Diamondback‘s Leah Villanueva, “There are some people who are just ‘morning people’ and some who are just ‘night owls,’ and their bodies function well like this.  The important thing is that a student can be successful in early or late classes if he [or] she has the proper tools: time management, stress management, exercise and proper nutrition, and good sleep behaviors.”

What do you think?  How common and popular are early classes on your campus?   Do students find them worth waking up for?

The Sigma Phi Epsilon Residential Learning Community is designed to create a living-learning environment that strengthens the traditional fraternity experience through faculty fellow engagement, additional emphasis on academic and career development, a highly engaged volunteer group, and a closer partnership with the host institution.  The RLC is not just just a common study room or library.  The RLC and its ideals must permeate all aspects of the undergraduate experience, both inside and outside of the fraternity house.  

The statistics are clear in showing that RLCs are outperforming the chapters on their respective campuses and all other SigEp chapters in a variety of areas.

(more…)

As Member Development Manager and staff liaison to the Residential Learning Community (RLC) Task Force, I am excited to introduce you to the new SigEp RLC Blog.

This blog was created to provide a forum for undergraduates, alumni, volunteers, student development experts, higher education professionals, and other interested parties to engage one another in conversations about the Residential Learning Community philosophy and program and share best practices .  As a follower of this blog you can expect a variety of original content every week.

Task Force members, chapter presidents, resident scholars, faculty fellows,  chapter counselors, university officials, and others will be posting on this blog regularly.  If you have questions, want to share best practices, find articles you think others would appreciate reading, or would like to submit original content for posting, please contact Shane at shane.mckee@sigep.net.

Please bookmark our blog and return often.

Shane McKee