FSL Policies
- All University of Iowa students are responsible for upholding the code of student life, which can be found here.
- A full copy of the policy can be found here.
- A process "how to" sheet can be found here.
- To report an arrest or citation, click here.
The University of Iowa
Office of the Vice President for Student Life
- Adopted: November 2011
- Revised: July 2013
- Revised: January 2014
- Revised: January 2015
- Revised: January 2013
- Revised: August 2018
- Revised: August 2019
Purpose
This policy is designed to support the success and accountability of the University of Iowa fraternity/sorority community. The policy provides both incentives and sanctions to reduce negative behavior that results in members of the community being arrested or cited for criminal acts.
Policy
Each social fraternity or sorority is responsible for holding members (new and active) of their organization accountable if they are arrested or cited during the reporting periods outlined in this policy.
Standards
Each chapter is responsible for maintaining a rate of below 5% or 5 members for IFC fraternities or 3% or 5 members for PHC sororities, NPHC and MGC organizations
Implementation
Definitions
- Reporting Period. The reporting period for fall semesters is from August 10 through fall commencement day. The reporting period for spring semesters is from January 10 through spring commencement day. Arrests and citations occurring outside of the reporting period are not covered by this policy.
- Member. A member of a chapter is any student who has signed a new member (“gold”) card and therefore is listed on the official chapter roster with Fraternity and Sorority Life and has not officially resigned or been removed from the chapter through the organization’s internal accountability process.
Recognition
- Chapters that are in compliance in a given semester will be recognized as follows.
- The chapter will be eligible to request permission to hold an event at which alcohol is served in a university building providing the chapter is eligible to host such events.
- Chapters will be eligible to apply for grant funding through Leadership and Engagement to be used towards non-alcoholic events of their choosing.
- Chapters receiving sanctions from their respective Council’s Judicial Board will have said sanctions listed on the Fraternity & Sorority Life website.
Process
Chapters must promote peer accountability. Chapter leadership should be the driving force in self governance, correcting member behavior, and holding them to the standards of their national organization. Therefore, the process is as follows:
- If a chapter member is arrested or cited that individual member is expected to report said arrest or citation to their chapter’s executive board within 24 hours.
- The chapter must follow their judicial board process within their specified timeline (typically no more than 1-2 weeks).
- When a sanction is given to an individual by the chapter’s judicial board, a chapter advisory board member or national organization representative must be present physically or via electronic medium (i.e. Skype or FaceTime).
- If an individual member has no prior arrests/citations and has no other violations within the chapter, the chapter should not remove said member from the organization due to their first arrest or citation, barring extreme circumstances.
- If an individual member received an arrest or citation and has been seen by Chapter Judicial Board Hearing previously as a result of a violation/arrest/citation, the chapter may remove said member from the organization under such grounds, but must provide evidence of prior Chapter Judicial Board Hearing(s).
- The chapter will report the outcome of the internal judicial board process to the Office of Student Accountability via the Fraternity / Sorority Chapter Arrest & Citation Accountability Action Report Form (https://dos.uiowa.edu/fsl-reporting-form).
- At the end of the semester when the list of arrest and citations are compiled, the Office of Student Accountability will cross-reference the official list with the completed the Fraternity / Sorority Chapter Arrest & Citation Accountability Action Report Form submissions.
- If there are inconsistencies between the lists, the chapter will receive an invitation to a Judicial Board hearing through their respective councils. Chapter sanctions may be issued if/when a chapter is found responsible for not following this process, or otherwise not meeting the expectations of this policy
- If it is apparent that the chapter has met the threshold of arrests or citations based on their Council’s requirement (as noted in the standards section of this policy), a Judicial Board hearing may be held to discuss chapter culture and accountability measures. Chapter sanctions may be issued if/when a chapter is found responsible.
- If there are no inconsistencies with the list and the chapter doesn’t meet the threshold for further action, no additional action is required and chapter national organizations will not be contacted.
- If an individual member has no prior arrests/citations and has no other violations within the chapter, the chapter should not remove said member from the organization due to their first arrest or citation, barring extreme circumstances.
- When a sanction is given to an individual by the chapter’s judicial board, a chapter advisory board member or national organization representative must be present physically or via electronic medium (i.e. Skype or FaceTime).
Sanctions
- No Hearing: Chapter is in compliance with council specific percentage; no hearing
- Judicial Board Hearing: Chapter did not complete the process, has a rate of arrests and/or citations above the council specific rate, or did not complete sanctions assigned in a prior Judicial Board Hearing for the arrest and citation process.
- Sanctions may include:
- Education opportunities
- Limitation of social activities
- Other sanctions as deemed appropriate by the Judicial Board
- Sanctions may include:
- Show Cause Hearing: (4 consecutive semesters out of compliance)
- Chapter will appear at a “show cause “hearing to explain why it’s relationship with the University of Iowa should not be terminated.
Appeals
- Appeals must be filed following the process for appeals outlined in the Judicial Board manual.
Show cause hearing
- Show cause hearings will be heard by a board consisting of the presidents of the Panhellenic, the Interfraternity, the National Pan-Hellenic, and the Multicultural Greek Councils, or their designees. The assistant director of the Office of Student Accountability will serve as an advisor to this board without vote. The board will hear evidence and arguments presented by the chapter and reach a decision by majority vote.
Revision
- The vice president for student life may revise this policy following consultation with the leadership of the Panhellenic, the Interfraternity Council, the National Pan-Hellenic, and the Multicultural Greek Councils, the Office of Student Accountability, and Fraternity & Sorority Life staff.
Purpose of Policy
Fraternity and Sorority Life (FSL) at the University of Iowa (UI) recognizes the importance of the connection between social, service and philanthropic events, and we support your efforts safely implementing these focus areas into the operation of your chapter. As students continue to seek membership in Greek letter organizations on our campus, it is important that the Fraternity and Sorority Life establish a system of accountability to ensure the success of the organizations for which it has oversight.
Each of the affiliate organizations of the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC), Panhellenic Council (PHC), Multicultural Greek Council (MGC), and Interfraternity Council (IFC) exists on the UI campus because of a collaborative partnership. It is important that each chapter understands this relationship and operates within the policies and procedures of their respective national bodies, the governing councils, and the University of Iowa, as well as federal, state and local laws. In addition, it is equally important that chapter leadership make clear that each member must adhere to these same policies and procedures during the tenure of their membership/affiliation with the organization to make sure there are no instances of unauthorized activity.
Set forth below are the procedures required by the UI Fraternity and Sorority Life designed to assist in creating a healthy and safe event. It is important that it be understood that if this policy is not followed it will result in actions being taken by the UI Fraternity and Sorority Life, Office of Student Accountability (OSA), as well as contacting the respective chapter’s advisor and national headquarters. Please take care to handle all socials, events, and programs with a sense of integrity, civility, and respect.
Social and Events Policy
For any activity or event sponsored or endorsed by the organization, including those that occur on or off organizational premises, the following rules apply:
- Your chapter must be in good standing with their respective council and the University of Iowa Office of Student Accountability to host an event.
- For organizations affiliated with a national/international organization, when the national/international policies overlap the policies of the organization’s applicable governing council, chapters are required to follow the stricter policy.
- The organization, members, and guests must comply with all federal, state, and local laws. No person under the legal drinking age may possess, consume, provide, sell, or be provided alcoholic beverages.
- Organizations, members, and guests must follow federal and state law regarding illegal drugs and controlled substances. No person may possess, use, provide, distribute, sell, and/or manufacture illegal drugs or other controlled substances while on organizational premises or at any activity or event sponsored or endorsed by the organization. Drugs include controlled substances and substances that may be detrimental to health, even though not subject to state and federal laws.
- All events must follow the event registration/notification process. a. Please note the Administration of Registered Student Organizations 6. All events in which there is consideration of the use of alcohol must follow the Policy regarding the use of illegal drugs and alcohol and all federal, state, and local laws.
- Any event or activity related to joining an organization (e.g., recruitment, intake, rush, etc.) must be drug and alcohol free.
- Events must follow all Fraternity and Sorority Life guidelines as outlined in the Fraternity and Sorority Life Resource Manual and all policies and regulations affecting students.
- To assist in hosting a healthy and safe event, University of Iowa Fraternity and Sorority Life recommends using the Event Planning Guide.
Event Planning Guide
There is an optional event planning guide that can be used in the planning of any event. It can be found within the Social and Events policy.