Fraternity and sorority life might be perceived as a distraction, but West Virginia University has announced that members of such organizations show higher academic performance than students at large.
The fall 2019 average for such students was 3.240 compared to 2.969, according to Matthew Richardson, director of the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life.
“The high marks signify the Greek community’s commitment to academic excellence and are indicative of our students’ commitment to scholarship," Richardson said.
The following organizations lead their respective councils, according to Richardson:
- Phi Sigma Phi Fraternity (3.2) for the Interfraternity Council
- Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. (2.843) for the National Pan-Hellenic Council
- Kappa Kappa Gamma Sorority (3.47) for the Panhellenic Association
- Phi Beta Lambda Co-Ed Business Fraternity (3.7) for the Professional Greek Council
Corey Farris, dean of students for the university, says the report is a source of pride, given trouble within fraternity and sorority culture in recent years.
“The Greeks have worked hard to reframe their priorities over the past few years and these high marks point to their success in doing so,” Farris said.
“This trend of academic excellence is something we can all be proud of as Mountaineers."
The GPAs for both fraternities and sororities have consistently improved since 2.91 in 2016.
With the additional of the Professional, Academic, Service, Honorary, and Special-Interest fraternities and sororities, the Office of Fraternity & Sorority Life is now home to 70 organizations, representing 12 per cent of the undergraduate population, he said.
"Reaching the Summit" was adopted at WVU in 2018 to serve as a strategic plan to better align each Greek organization with the university’s values, Richardson said.
New community standards included increases in grade point averages for current and new members.
