Scholarship

It is the duty of the scholarship chairman to oversee the scholastic progress of the chapter members, to inform the membership of cultural events in the community, and to supervise a scholarship program designed to help each chapter members reach the highest scholarship rating consistent with their ability.

A strong scholarship program is a must and should include all aspects of the Scholarship Chairman’s office, not just enforcing study hours and collecting grade point averages. A strong program has many advantages. Here are four good reasons why a scholarship program is important to a chapter:

• Good, efficient study habits can enable a student to achieve more in a shorter period of time, thus leaving more free time for fraternity activities, campus activities, etc.
• Good grades lead to higher individual morale that leads to higher chapter morale.
• Good grades lead to a lower turnover rate for the chapter, which will put less pressure on the members to affiliate a large number of new members to take the place of those who had to withdraw from classes due to poor grades.
• When there are sound scholastics, the chapter leadership is usually stronger and more organized which strengthens the chapter’s program and also enhances the chapter’s reputation with the administration, faculty and student body.

The first step to improving chapter scholarship is for the membership to recognize the need for improved scholastics. Whether your chapter has a sound program or no program at all, there is always room for improvement. It only takes a desire on the part of the members to do their best. A strong program should provide each member with the best opportunity to achieve his or her individual educational goal.