Greek organizations are preparing to complete different parts of the annual accreditation process, including the academic section, which is being enforced fully for the second year.

Greek organizations go through accreditation every year, but the process only has been in place for the past six years.

“Accreditation is the process by which Greek organizations are measured against a set of standards developed by Greeks for Greeks,” said Michelle Emmett, associate vice provost for Student Affairs.

Accreditation remains in its early stages for Greek organizations, Emmett said.

Chris Juhl, the Greek Affairs activities adviser, said the university wanted to get the chapters accustomed to the process before placing certain requirements on them.

“This is the first year the chapters are actually held accountable for the academic portion of accreditation,” Juhl said. “We had to be somewhat lenient the first four years.”

The average grade point average for fraternities must meet the all-men’s average of NIU, and the average GPA for sorority houses must meet the all-women’s average. If a chapter’s average GPA does not meet the university average, it must show at least a .2 increase from the previous semester.

“Academics have risen substantially since 1998,” Emmett said. “Most chapters have increased their GPAs, and most are in a better situation.”

Each section measured through accreditation serves as an evaluating factor that is measured in points. The goal for houses is to stay above a 70 out of 100 year after year, Juhl said.

There are five categories in addition to academics: community service, social responsibility, membership recruitment and retention, chapter leadership and chapter education.

However, Juhl said, the recently tightened requirements for academics did cause scores to decline.

Last year, no group scored more than 90 out of 100 on its application. Eight groups scored between 80 and 90, nine between 70 and 80 and 12 below 70. If any of the groups that scored below a 70 last year scores below 70 again, action may be taken against them to be sanctioned or removed from campus, Juhl said.

Accreditation is about maintaining your stance at NIU as a house, said Ghassan Khoury, president of Phi Kappa Sigma.

There are five weeks left until accreditation applications must be turned in.

“If they haven’t already started preparing, there’s not much they can do,” Juhl said. “They’re aware of what their position is, of what they need to do.”

Juhl also mentioned a few things groups can do and should be doing consistently to receive a higher score. Performing community service, participating in fundraisers and partaking in leadership conferences can contribute to chapters’ scoring, he said. Eighty percent of each chapter’s members should attend speakers and educational programs, he said.

The Greek Life Standards Board reviews the applications and decides on each chapter’s continued recognition at the university. Each chapter usually is considered on a case-by-case basis.

Accreditation applications must be turned in by April 19. Each day they are late is a five-point penalty, Juhl said.