Get Interactive With Fraternity’s Pledge Education System!

While Sigma Chi’s pledge education system is continuing to catch on on at chapters across North America, the Fraternity hopes that the new resource for Magisters and pledges experiences increased usage from its undergraduate chapters as the year progresses.
Since being unveiled to undergraduates at the 2012 Balfour Leadership Training Workshop, 77 chapters have signed up to use the pledge education system, and 757 pledges have been registered to use the interactive online resource that is designed to make the pledge process more organized its users, mainly for Magisters who face the daunting task of preparing a pledgeship for their pledge classes.
A scheduling tool and chapter rosters; pledge exams; a database of chapters’ best practices; a chapter’s past pledge program information and multimedia featuring Fraternity leaders are just a few of the system's features.
Order of Constantine Sig Jon Miller, OKLAHOMA STATE and TULSA 1966, lead developer for Sigma Chi International Headquarters, is a former Magister. He helped plan this system so it will make the lives of pledge trainers much easier. “Part of the pressure of being Magister was being prepared and having appropriate material for each pledge meeting,” Miller says. “[The pledge education system] provides additional material for pledges to learn and grow on their own.”
Miller is a valuable resource for Magisters looking to use the pledge education system for their chapter’s pledge program this year and next year, when the resource becomes a requirement by the Fraternity. Miller hosts feedback/training sessions every Wednesday night for Magisters to learn the many features of the sytem, and they can ask questions and provide feedback in a focus-group atmosphere.
Meetings begin at 9 p.m. EST. To join a session, go to sigmachi.com and click on the GoToMeeting Info under the Pledge Education System tab. “We cover mechanics of the system — the features of the system in chronological order of use,” Miller says of the chats each Wednesday. “We discuss the system’s features and any questions they may have. Occasionally, we get into if they do something wrong in the system, what’s the best way to fix it.”
Miller is also looking for Magisters to point out content that is not included on the current system, and he asks that Magisters email material to headquarters@sigmachi.org or document any issues in the program’s comments section about what they would like to see in the pledge education system.
Questions regarding the pledge education system can also be directed to Special Projects Coordinator Lucas Peralta, NEW MEXICO 2012, at lucas.peralta@sigmachi.org or Director of Undergraduate Services and Special Projects Kent Shackelford, VIRGINIA TECH 2009, at kent.shackelford@sigmachi.org.