COMMENTARY
Virtual Chapter Advising and Chapter Management During COVID-19
By Alvin L. Barrington, National Chairman, Chapter Advisors’ Training Cluster, Senior Subject Matter Expert, Redline Global LLC, Dorado, Puerto Rico
T he college experience changed suddenly and drastically as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. It has become clear that we are in uncertain times, and in many ways, uncharted ter- ritory with the required responses that have and will continue to create new realities associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. The areas of focus below are intended to assist chapter advisors and our undergraduate chapters navigate the era of virtual engagement. It is our hope the following practices will benefit our undergraduate members in maintaining a strong sense of belonging, connection, and passion as they navigate a virtual fraternity experience.
most interested in doing.
fraternity direc- tives.
• Consider hosting virtual study sessions or have a standing open Zoom room specifically catered to study sessions, based on major or with chapter members who have the same classes or major. This will give you that great feel- ing of being in the library and encourage you to look at your books more than your timeline. • If your chapter participated in the Membership Training Acad- emy this semester, think about how you can intentionally reach out to the new members during this time. Excitement is often high after initiation, and you don’t want them to feel lost. Get them engaged with some virtual committees early on. See if there are any of them that want to continue to lead engagement for their new member class through- out this virtual period. Encour- age them to utilize some of the same resources the chapter leadership are using to maintain chapter engagement. • With New Member Presenta- tions being cancelled due to Co- vid-19. This has truly obstructed the introduction of many our newly initiated members to their respective campuses; under- standing this is the culmination of the MTA for our undergradu- ate chapters. We must work with universities, our provincial and national leadership to explore virtual opportunities to facilitate their formal introduction to their campuses while not compris- ing Covid-19 protocols an/ord
Communication
• Work
with your chapter mem-
bers, international headquarters, provincial team, and/or advisory team members, when appro- priate to ensure that official updates and communication are vetted and appropriate. • Consider free software that can help manage segmented communication. For example, Mailchimp can help you create specific communication to vari- ous groups (chapter members, executive board members, prov- ince leadership, and stakehold- ers, etc.). • Utilize preexisting forms of chap- ter communication (GroupMe, Facebook, email, Group text, etc.) whenever possible to make the communication as seamless as possible.
Brotherhood
Staying Connected with Meetings:
• One-on-one meetings: Face- time, Android Video Calling, Skype, Google Hangout are all great for one-on-one video calls. • Group Meetings: Zoom may be used by the chapter for partici- pating in video conferencing, web conferencing, virtual meet- ings and more.
Member Engagement
Operations–Chapter Officers
• If your chapter have a brother- hood/retention chair or commit- tee, encourage them to check in on chapter members in the coming weeks. Consider hosting small virtual get-togethers. Split the chapter into smaller groups or even by new member intake/ line. Assign an executive board member to each of the groups and have them host/create pro- grams for each of those groups based on what members are
• The chapter’s executive board should continue to meet regu- larly [no official business can occur] via Zoom or other video conferencing software. Chapters are encouraged to establish a set time that works around every officer’s schedule and make sure everyone attends from week to week.
112 | SPRING 2020 ♦ THE JOURNAL
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