As the 2015 to 2016 school year begins, an increasing number of Sigma Chi’s 42 chapters that are participating in the Preparation for Brotherhood pilot program have returned to class. For those whose school year has begun and who have begun to implement the program, feedback has been largely positive.
“The Preparation for Brotherhood program is very cool in the sense that its approach to pledging gives Magisters and pledges more control and access than ever before to the materials they need,” says Magister Jordan Gilman, KANSAS 2017, whose chapter is participating in the pilot program and who is the undergraduate representative to the Preparation for Brotherhood committee. “For example, it allows Magisters to quickly see how much studying and reading pledges have done in a given week. This new approach will help ensure that pledges don’t just go through the motions, and that their Magisters can proactively reach out to them before they fall behind.”
The Preparation for Brotherhood program presents, for the first time in Sigma Chi’s history, a uniform eight-week plan for pledging the potential new members at all of its undergraduate chapters across the United States and Canada. Under the program’s guidelines, pledges spend their first week as new members learning about the Fraternity’s basic structure, and the following seven weeks delving into an in-depth examination of the Founders and their virtues.
“I am excited to see where the program is headed, and to continue to adjust the program as we receive feedback in order to make Sigma Chi U operate as smoothly as possible,” says Chris Brooks, COLLEGE OF IDAHO 2006, Sigma Chi U administrator at Sigma Chi International Fraternity Headquarters. “We’ve only run into one or two technical hiccups so far, and we were able to squash those quickly to ensure that they won’t pop up again.”
For more information, contact Brooks via email or phone at (847) 869-3655, ext. 266.
