Information for Parents
Thank you for taking the time to learn more about The Delta Chi Fraternity. We want you to be as excited and comfortable with your son’s interest in the Fraternity as he is. Delta Chi understands that the expectations of today’s college men are growing, and as a Fraternity we wish to enable your son to meet and exceed those expectations and be a successful member after graduation.
The Fraternity provides support to our chapters and individual members through leadership programs, written and online programming and Leadership Consultant visits to all chapters and colonies on a regular basis. Alumni are engaged to supervise the operations of the chapters, and minimum standards for all Delta Chi chapters and colonies are in place to ensure all brothers are having a quality fraternity experience. Below are some questions and answers that may help you understand even more about Delta Chi and how you can support your son’s decision.
What educational opportunities does Delta Chi provide?
The educational and personal development opportunities available to your son are only limited by the time he is willing to put into them. Starting at the most basic level, the associate member program includes academic skills and support as well as personal development programs like community service events, philanthropic activities, social events, intramural competition and active member and alumni mentoring. Your son can step up and take a leadership role in the chapter by becoming a committee chairman or executive officer. There are also leadership opportunities beyond the chapter that the Fraternity may be able to assist him with, such as running for office on an Inter-Fraternity Council, student government, or other clubs that have brothers as members.
Delta Chi encourages members to attend other educational programs put on by outside organizations, such as the Undergraduate Inter-fraternity Institute (UIFI), LeaderShape, regional Greek conferences (MGCA, WRLGC, etc.), and other leadership development programs.
Beyond the local chapter level, Delta Chi Law requires that the Regent, elected regionally by the undergraduate members of Delta Chi, hold annual leadership conferences for each of nine geographic regions. The Regional Leadership Conferences (RLCs) include a variety of speakers on topics ranging from chapter management to personal development to risk reduction and safety. Each RLC is attended by members of Delta Chi's International Executive Committee and/or the Executive Director, undergraduates and alumni from each chapter and colony within the region and is hosted by a chapter in that region. The zenith of Delta Chi conferences is the International Convention, which is held every other year in a major city in North America. This culmination of international brotherhood includes business sessions at which amendments to Delta Chi Law, the Ritual, and financial structure are debated and voted upon by the undergraduate delegates. It also includes a leadership college similar to the RLCs but on a much larger scale, including professional speakers and the opportunity to network with undergraduate and alumni brothers of all ages, chapters and professions. The conventions also include an etiquette luncheon and a black tie banquet and awards ceremony at which the good works of brothers are recognized.
What impact will Delta Chi membership have on my son's grades?
Delta Chi received a 3.32 average GPA for the fall 2016 semester, putting us above the all fraternity average and the All-Men's average, so we are confident that your son will achieve academic success. Your son’s academic success is paramount to any other activity he is involved with while in college, and Delta Chi”s primary purpose is to support his effort to graduate. College life is fun, so it takes personal discipline to ensure he can be successful in his social and academic endeavors. The balance between work and play that he will learn through his involvement in Delta Chi is a life skill he will carry through to his professional and family life as an alumnus. Through his associate member program and as an active member, his academic success will be the deciding factor in his continued involvement within the Fraternity.
​
There is a minimum GPA required for an associate member to be initiated into Delta Chi. There is also a minimum GPA required for an active member to be in good standing and for him to hold a leadership position. If your son wants to be an active member and eventually hold a leadership position, he will be expected to keep up his grades. If a member’s grades fall below the minimums, the chapter will address those concerns and support the brother in bringing his grades back up. Delta Chi as a fraternity has a minimum college GPA requirement of 2.5, or a 2.75 high school GPA if this is his first semester in college, to be initiated, and all Delta Chi chapters and colonies must maintain a cumulative GPA above a 2.5 to be in good standing. However, oftentimes an individual chapter will set higher minimum standards to meet the higher academic rigors of its institution. To find out the minimum academic standards for a particular chapter, you are encouraged to contact its recruitment chairman or the “A” (President). Either of those gentlemen will be more than happy to answer those and any other questions you may have.
Is it expensive to be a Delta Chi?
The Fraternity is self-sustained through dues charged to its members. Each chapter may charge chapter dues for local operations, and Delta Chi receives part of those dues in the form of a one-time associate member fee of $100 and an initiation fee of $720. Active members also contribute variable amounts depending on the amount of active members and donations per semester in dues to Delta Chi. You can ask the local chapter “A” (President) or recruitment chairman to provide you with a breakdown of all local dues and financial obligations. The financial commitment may be significant but so are the returns on your son”s investment, and as the saying goes, “You get what you pay for.”
What about pledging and hazing?
As your son joins Delta Chi, he will become an associate member through a public ceremony that will explain the benefits and obligations of membership in Delta Chi. Once he is an associate member (often called an AM for short), he will begin his associate member education program, which will include personal development activities and programming as well as education on the values, history and operations of Delta Chi on a local and international level. He will be assigned an active big brother who will work with him as a mentor and confidant if he ever has questions or needs support in his effort towards full membership. For an example of a new member education program.
Delta Chi is strongly opposed to any practices that are or may appear to be hazing. The experience of Delta Chi associate members should be one of education, challenges, personal development, and excitement. Hazing in any form contradicts these goals and is a direct violation of both the Eleven Basic Expectations of a Delta Chi and the oath that every member takes during his initiation. The Fraternity takes any actions that put any member or associate member in danger very seriously, and the incidents of hazing in all fraternities and certainly Delta Chi have been increasingly infrequent in recent years. Delta Chi’s effort to make the undergraduate experience a positive one, full of fun, personal growth and preparation for professional success is one of the reasons Delta Chi has been so successful for more than 115 years, and with men like your son living up to those values every day, the future keeps looking better.