Greek Life

1
Greek Life

• Greek Life and the Student Experience
  11.10.2008

2
Introduction

• What type of student joins Fraternities and
  Sororities?
• How do Greek students differ from non-Greek
  students on pre-college characteristics?
• How do Greek students differ from non-Greek
  students in terms of their extra-curricular
  participation?
• How do Greek students differ from non-Greek
  students as seniors?

3

• Data
• Greek Membership Data from the HARLD database
  (member/non-member) was provided to IR by Student
  Affairs
• Greek Life data was merged with transcript and
  survey data, precollege characteristics and
  senior year data
• Unless otherwise stated, data is from students
  who became Greek members, not just those who
  pledged a fraternity/sorority
• Data is from students entering Case from 2000 to
  2006

If you are interested in where a specific data
point comes from, please ask.
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Who chooses Greek Life?

• Using survey and transcript data to better
  understand our students

5

• Pre-College plans
• Approximately 33 of the students who entered
  Case from 2000 to 2006 joined a fraternity or
  sorority
• Before arriving at Case only 15 of future Greek
  students said there was a very good chance that
  they would join a fraternity or sorority
• 37 of future Greeks said some chance
• 34 said very little chance
• 14 said no chance

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• Gender
• The majority of Greek students are men (65)
• A higher proportion of men at Case become Greek
  members (37) than do women (30)

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• Race/Ethnicity
• Almost all members of the Greek system are U.S.
  citizens (98), and only 17 of non-citizens
  become Greek members
• 37 of all Caucasians at Case become Greek
  members, compared to 34 of Hispanics, 28 of
  Native Americans, 26 of Asians, 20 of African
  Americans, and 30 of students identifying as
  other

This represents 5 of 18 Native American students
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Greek student population
Non-Greek student population

• There is a smaller percentage of minorities in
  fraternities and sororities (25) than in the
  general population (36) these numbers remain
  similar even if looking only at U.S. citizens
  (24/34)
• Sororities (70 Caucasian) are significantly more
  diverse than fraternities (77 Caucasian)

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• Background Characteristics
• From Ohio 49
• Greek students live, on average, 115 miles from
  Case
• Urban/Suburban/Rural
• 52 Suburban
• 11 Rural
• 37 Urban
• (16 small city, 8 medium city, 13 large city)
• From a public high school 85

Significantly lower than non-Greek students
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• Background Characteristics
• Average high school class size 309 students
• Graduated as one of the top 15 students in their
  high school class 49
• Average SAT scores 680 Math, 647 Verbal
• Case was the first choice for 44 of Greeks
• 25 said 2nd choice
• 18 said 3rd choice
• 13 said 4th or lower choice
• None of these figures differ significantly from
  the general Case population

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• Family Life
• Most (86) come from homes where both parents are
  alive and living together
• The majority (75) of students fathers have a
  college education or graduate degree
• 43 have fathers with graduate degrees
• Most (78) students mothers have a college
  education or graduate degree
• 33 have mothers with graduate degrees
• Over half (71) of students come from homes where
  both parents have college or graduate degrees
• Over half (53) say their parents have an annual
  income of more than 100,000/year

Significantly higher than non-Greek students
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Intended Major Among Greek Students
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Ratio of Greek to non-Greek Students in Each Major
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What do we know about Greek students from
pre-college surveys?
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• Self-Rated Abilities
• Incoming first-years have a very high opinion of
  some of their abilities
• 94 think they are above average in academic
  ability (50 report being in the top 10)
• 81 have an above average drive to achieve (43
  say they are in the top 10)
• 70 have above average intellectual
  self-confidence (28 say they are in the top 10)
• And a more reasonable opinion of others
• 58 of students say that their social
  self-confidence is average or below average
• 53 say their self-understanding is average or
  below average
• 56 say they have average or below average
  computer skills
• 61 say they have average or below average
  artistic ability

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• Academic Expectations
• Percentage of Greek students who say that there
  is some chance or a very good chance that
  they will
• Maintain a B average or better 98
• About 78 actually do
• Change major field (48), or their career choice
  (59)
• Transfer to another college 15
• Approximately 13 of students leave Case
• Be satisfied with Case 98
• 89 say the entire educational experience at Case
  was good or excellent
• 83 say that, if given the opportunity to start
  over, they probably or definitely would
  choose to attend Case again

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• High School Experience Academics and
  co-curricular
• Compared to their non-Greek peers, those who join
  a fraternity or sorority were significantly more
  likely, as high school students, to
• Work with other students outside of class
• Work with other students in class
• Participate in co-curricular activities
• Compete on an athletic team
• Hold a leadership position
• Be a member of an honor society
• Participate in a service club

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• High School Experience Non-academic
• Greek students, as high school students, spent
  more time in a typical week partying and
  socializing with friends than did non-Greek
  students
• Likewise, Greeks were more likely to have tried
  alcohol in high school than were non-Greek
  students
• Self-Rated Abilities
• Greek students rated their leadership ability and
  their ability to work effectively with others
  higher than did non-Greek students

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• College Expectations
• Greek students plan to spend more time at Case
  participating in co-curricular activities and
  socializing with friends than do their non-Greek
  peers
• Additionally, Greek students are more likely to
  say that, while at college, it will be important
  for them to
• Attend campus events
• Work with classmates outside of school
• Work on a community based project
• Discuss career plans with faculty
• Work with faculty on projects outside of class
• Participate in varsity athletics
• Study abroad

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• Political Beliefs
• Greek an non-Greek students hold, on average,
  very similar political beliefs when starting
  college however, Greek students are
  significantly more likely to say that they think
  marijuana should be legalized
• Future Plans
• Greek students are significantly more likely than
  their non-Greek peers to say that they eventually
  plan to owning their own business and become
  community leaders

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• Summary
• Greek students are significantly more likely than
  are their peers to
• Be male, Caucasian and from outside of Ohio
• Have been active in high school
• Believe themselves to be leaders
• While at Case, Greeks are more likely to plan on
• Being active members of the campus community
• Interacting with faculty and other students in an
  academic context
• Spending more time socializing and partying in
  college

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How involved are Greek students in
extra-curricular activities?

• A work in progress

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• A work in progress
• We know which students
• Participated in the Emerging Leaders Program in
  the last 3 years
• Visited the Career Center last year
• Visited one of 4 Free Access Program museums
  last year

24

• Emerging Leaders
• Students who participated in the Emerging Leaders
  Program (ELP) as first-years were significantly
  more likely than their peers to join a
  fraternity/sorority
• 56 of those who participate in ELP go on to join
  a fraternity or sorority compared to 35 of those
  who do not

25

• Career Center
• Greek members were significantly more likely to
  have visited the Career Center last year than
  were their peers
• 43.3 of Greek students
• 34.9 of non-Greek students
• Free Access Program
• Greek students were significantly more likely
  than their peers to take advantage of the Free
  Access Program last year
• 42.2 of Greek students
• 34.4 of non-Greek students

Rock Roll Hall of Fame, WR Historical Society,
GL Science Center, Museum of Natural History.
Other museums participate but do not provide
utilization data.
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How does Greek membership affect student outcomes?
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• Greek Life Learning Goals
• As part of the Greek Life mission, learning goals
  were created
• IR has data that can help to determine if these
  learning goals are being met by Greek Life
• Next few slides will take each major goal and
  match to items in our surveys

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• Goal 1 Scholarship
• The Good Compared to their non-Greek peers,
  those in Fraternities and Sororities were more
  likely, as seniors, to say that they
• Have given presentations in class
• Have written long (gt20 pages) papers
• Have discussed grades with faculty
• Have worked with faculty members on projects out
  of class
• Had learned to communicate well orally
• Had learned to think analytically and logically
• Had gained an understanding of their own
  abilities, interests and personalities

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• Goal 1 Scholarship
• The neutral Greek students were no more likely
  than non-Greek students to say
• They had learned to establish a course of action
  to achieve their goals
• They had gained in-depth knowledge in a
  discipline or field
• They had asked questions in class
• They were able to learn effectively on their own
• Greek and non-Greek students were equally
  satisfied in their relationships with faculty
  members

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• Goal 1 Scholarship
• The Less Good Compared to their non-Greek
  peers, those in fraternities and sororities were
  significantly less likely to say that they
• Had learned a foreign language
• Had learned to appreciate art
• The average Greek students GPA is significantly
  lower (statistically) than the average non-Greek
  students GPA
• Average Greek student 3.340
• Average non-Greek student 3.431

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• Goal 2 Citizenship
• The Good Compared to non-Greek students, those
  in fraternities and sororities are significantly
  more likely to
• Volunteer in the community
• Tutor other students
• Say theyve worked to improve the welfare of
  their community
• Have conversations with students who have
  different religious beliefs, political opinions,
  or personal values
• Greek students are significantly more likely to
  participate in
• A racial or cultural awareness program
• A sexual harassment workshop

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• Goal 2 Citizenship
• The Neutral Greek students were no more likely
  than non-Greek students to
• Have had serious conversations with students of
  another race
• Understand people of other racial/ethnic
  backgrounds
• Join a social action group
• Vote
• The Less Good Greek students are significantly
  less likely to participate in
• A cultural or ethnic group
• A religious group or organization

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• Goal 3 Leadership
• The Good Greek students are significantly more
  likely than their non-Greek peers to
• Report greater gains in learning to work
  effectively with others
• Say that their time at Case has given them a
  better understanding of themselves and their
  abilities
• Made judgments about the value of information,
  arguments, or methods
• Function as a member of a team
• Lead or supervise tasks or groups
• Function independently
• Be elected to USG
• Be inducted into an honor society

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• Goal 4 Ritual
• Unfortunately, very little in our surveys
  addresses the idea of ritual, as it is outlined
  in the Greek Life learning goals
• The one result we do know would be neutral
  specifically, Greek students were no more likely
  than non-Greek students to
• Develop a personal code of values or ethics
• That said, IR would be happy to work with Greek
  Life to further investigate ritual in the
  future

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• Interpersonal Relationships
• Though not explicitly listed as a Greek Life
  learning goal, we also know that Greek students
  tend to have more (and better) interactions with
  their peers
• Specifically, compared to their non-Greek peers,
  those in Fraternities and Sororities were more
  likely, as seniors, to
• Work with peers on schoolwork outside of class
• Have discussions with students from different
  backgrounds
• Report higher satisfaction in their relationships
  with other students
• Say that they will remember their college years
  more positively

36

• Retention
• Again, retention is not an explicit goal of Greek
  Life, but one implicit to all aspects of the
  university.
• Students who pledge a Fraternity or Sorority in
  their first year were 1.8 times more likely to be
  retained to their second year than those who did
  not
• Pledging predicts sophomore retention rates even
  after statistically controlling for SAT Math
  scores, SAT Verbal scores, and first semester GPA
• Students who become a member of the Greek
  community while at Case are 2.6 times more likely
  to graduate within 6 years than those who do not
• Membership in the Greek community predicts higher
  graduation rates even after statistically
  controlling for SAT Math scores, SAT Verbal
  scores, and first semester GPA

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• Dilemma
• Does being a member of the Greek community
  improve leadership and interpersonal skills, or
  is it that students drawn to the Greek community
  have higher leadership and interpersonal skills
  to begin with?

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• Even after statistically controlling for
  first-year levels on many of these outcomes,
  Greek membership predicts higher levels on
  learning outcomes
• Specifically
• Work effectively with others
• Quality of relationships with other students
• Work with faculty outside of class
• Give class presentations
• Two Examples

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• Case has contributed to my ability to work
  effectively with others
• Low score very little or some
• High score quite a bit or very much
• 49 of non-Greek had low FY scores, compared to
  42 of Greek students

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• Quality of relationships with other students
• Low score Below the median (5 or lower on a
  7-point scale)
• High score Above the median (6 or 7 on a 7-point
  scale)
• 33 of non-Greek had low FY scores, compared to
  43 of Greek students

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• Causes for concern
• Greek students are significantly less satisfied
  with many of the administrative offices and
  facilities on campus (i.e., recreational
  facilities, accounts receivable, office of
  financial aid, registrar)
• Greek students are significantly less satisfied
  with the social life and sense of community on
  campus

42

• Jobs
• The Career Center asks each years graduates
  about their future plans
• In 2007, 88.8 of Greek students said they were
  either going on to graduate school or had found
  full-time employment
• Compared to 81.5 of non-Greek students
• Greek students are somewhat more likely to go on
  to full-time employment (51.2) than are their
  non-Greek peers (40.3)
• Non-Greek students are more likely to go on to
  graduate school (41.2) than are Greek students
  (37.6)

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• Salary
• The median starting income for Greek students was
  50-54k
• The median starting income for non-Greek students
  was 45-49K
• Job Search
• 64 of non-Greek students started their job
  search six months or less before graduation
• Only 53 of Greek students waited that long

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Odds and Ends
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• More on retention
• One of the biggest risk factors for dropping out
  before graduation is something called a Retention
  Risk (RR) flag.
• Students are flagged RR if something about their
  application indicates that they may struggle
  while at Case.
• Students with RR flags are about 2 times more
  likely to drop out. Students with RR flags in the
  Greek system graduate at the same rate as those
  without RRs

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• Fraternities vs. Sororities
• Though Greek membership predicts many positive
  outcomes, the differences are driven primarily by
  gains made by men
• Specifically, women in sororities are much more
  similar to women in the general population than
  are men in fraternities compared to men in the
  general population

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• Thank You!
• For a copy of this presentation, please contact
  me at Cases Institutional Research office
• Tom Geaghan
• Senior IR Analyst
• trg9_at_case.edu
• 368-1500
• www.twitter.com/caseIR