Office of Greek Life Policies

• The Office of Greek Life is part of the University’s Center for Student Involvement and is responsible for ensuring compliance with MSU policies for student organizations officially recognized by the University.
• The Greek Council is a student-led body that includes representation from each of the chartered Greek lettered organizations. It is responsible for coordinating the activities of fraternities, sororities, societies, and their members, and for overseeing the six Greek sub councils that operate on campus.
• The Office of Greek Life and the Greek Council work collaboratively to promote scholarship, leadership, community service, social interaction, athletics and alumni/ae engagement among the Greek organizations operating on campus.
• The policies presented in this document are the policies of Montclair State University and may be changed or updated by the University in its sole discretion, with or without the consent of the Greek Council.

• All first semester freshmen and transfer students cannot go through recruitment/intake or participate in a new member process until they have completed 12 Montclair State University credit hours.
• To be eligible to go through any Greek recruitment/intake or new member processes one must be a Montclair State University undergraduate student.
• All students interested in joining must have the minimum cumulative grade point average established by the Office of Greek Life. Additionally, all Greek members must meet the minimum GPA requirement. If a member does not meet the minimum requirement they will go on Greek Life Academic Probation:
  • Minimum cumulative GPA requirement 2.7

• To be active, hold a recruitment/intake, or events on campus, all organizations must have completed an organization registration on Engage which includes proof of insurance (certificate of liability) and the most up-to-date organizational roster.
  • Any organization that fails to complete the organization registration through Engage before the assigned deadline will immediately go inactive.
• All organizational fliers/calendars or other advertisements must be approved for posting according to the University posting policy.
• Tabling (or the process of mandating members, new members or interests to sit at a location for a specified length of time while completing mandatory tasks assigned/hazing activities by members of the organization) will not be permitted at any location. Greek organizations will be allowed to register for a table to showcase their organization during the first week of recruitment at events such as Meet the Greeks and the Greek Organization Fair.
  • Tabling, as stated above, does not include approved tabling through CSI which includes fundraising, informational, etc.
• Marching in lines will not be permitted on campus; this includes “cutting corners.”

• In order to have a recruitment/intake events or new member process, an organization must have an active status and be in good standing with the University, the Office of Greek Life, and the Greek Council. If at any time the organization’s active status changes, your recruitment process will immediately be stopped.
• Recruitment/Intake events will be permitted to start after the first full week of classes and will conclude one full week before the last day of classes (established by the University calendar.)
  • Each semester, the specific days will be sent out to the Greek community by the Coordinator for Greek Life.
• In order to start a new member process, you must submit a “REQUEST TO START” form via Engage. The form requires you to submit start/end dates along with the list of those going through the process. In order to start the process, every new member, the chapter president, and the new member educator/intake advisor must attend ONE hazing prevention workshop/Intake Academy and complete the Individual/Potential New Member Registration and Grade Release form on Engage. Once all members and chapter officers stated above complete this and eligibility of new members is confirmed you will be notified by the Coordinator for Greek Life and will be allowed to start your process.
  • In order to be approved for a new member/intake process all those responsible (President and New Member Educator) are required to attend the Office of Greek Life’s New Member/Intake Educator Academy held once a semester
• New member processes may not exceed six weeks.
  • No events or processes can occur over any breaks established the University calendar (Summer Vacation, Winter Break, Spring Break, etc.)
• FALL 2022: ALL recruitment/intake events and new member processes can occur in person and must follow University COVID-19 related policies and protocols (e.g., masks are highly encouraged indoors). Hosting programs online is highly encouraged whenever possible.
  • If for any reason, an event needs to be held off campus you must submit a written request to the Coordinator for Greek Life no less than 5 days before the requested date. Off campus events are not guaranteed to be approved; it is at the sole discretion of the Coordinator for Greek Life to approve any such event.
  • No activities can occur in Residence Halls
  • No activities are permitted past midnight Monday – Sunday
• Organizations that require “study hours” must follow these mandated guidelines.
  • If study hours are mandated for those joining an organization, they must be mandated for ALL members, they cannot be required of only new members or those looking to participate in a new member process
  • Mandated study hours cannot exceed 20 hours per member in one week (Sunday-Saturday). If for any reason an organization mandates more than 20 study hours for one member in a week’s time they must give applicable reasoning and then receive written permission from the Coordinator for Greek Life before it is permitted
• If your organization mandates an alumni/ae advisor participate in your new member processes please see the Alumni/ae Involvement
• Pre/Post pledging is prohibited
• Cross pledging is prohibited
  • Cross pledging is defined as allowing members of another organization (fraternity or sorority) to view, question, or in any way participate in your organization’s member intake/new member process
• Uniforms will be permitted on campus, subject to any applicable campus dress code or other safety considerations as determined by the Office of Greek Life; however, organizations are prohibited from requiring uniforms outside of campus, or during working hours for potential members who are also University employees. Students are advised that such uniforms may not be permissible in University workplaces and should consult the MSU Employee handbook or discuss with their supervisor.
• Social Probation is not permitted

The Office of Greek Life shall have final decision regarding all recruitment, new member education/intake practices.

Hazing is illegal in both the state of New Jersey and punishable under federal law. Please see State of New Jersey Hazing Law 2C: 40-3 for more information.

• Anyone looking to join a Greek organization is mandated to attend one Hazing Prevention Workshop during the semester they are joining. In order to be eligible, they must attend the workshop, sign the Greek Life Member Acknowledgment of Anti-Hazing Policy and complete all post-workshop requirements.
• In order to be approved for a new member/intake process, all those responsible are required to attend the Office of Greek Life’s New Member/Intake Educator Academy held once a semester.

• New Member Presentations/Probates will resume, but can be subject to change. Organizations will receive communication regarding these events. Policies for New Member Presentations can be access on Engaged and reviewed prior.

• If your organization mandates an alumni/ae advisor serve as your new member educator/intake advisor, there still needs to be an undergraduate representative as the new member educator/intake advisor in conjunction with the alumni/ae advisor
  • Organization must submit a written request with their “Request to Start” paperwork to the Coordinator for Greek Life to have an alumni/ae assist with any processes
• Alumni/ae, including graduate students, are not to be included on active rosters submitted to the Office of Greek Life
• Alumni/ae are welcomed to attend events on campus organized by their individual organizations or the Greek community, however they are not allowed to participate in events such as Homecoming, Greek Week, etc. as they are deemed only for the current active members of the Greek community

Greek Council occurs every Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. in Student Center 411 or on Zoom

• To maintain the integrity of voting on decisions made for Montclair State University the Greek Council representative for every organization must be Montclair State undergraduate student and an active member of their organization.
• The organization’s representative for Greek Council must be the same person from week to week unless they email the Executive President of Greek Council with their replacement 24 hours in advance of a Greek Council meeting
• The organization’s representative cannot sit on the council if they just completed the first semester of their initiation process unless otherwise approved by the Director of Greek Council and the Coordinator for Greek Life
• Refer to the Greek Council Handbook, the governing document of the Greek Council, for more information in regards to exceptions of Greek Council meetings, representatives and expectations

• All active organizations must complete Red Hawk Accreditation to be in good standing with the University and the Office of Greek Life
  • Outcomes of Red Hawk Accreditation will be reviewed and decided by the Coordinator for Greek Life and the Executive Vice President of the Greek Council
• Metro chapters must complete all expectations of the accreditation process
  • Organizations must complete mandated programming requirements (via the accreditation process) here at Montclair State; programs held on another campus will not be accounted for as a requirement for accreditation

• If your organization has zero membership of Montclair State students, the organization will be deemed inactive
• If at any time your organization is deemed inactive by the Office of Greek Life, the following applies:
  • Not permitted to attend Greek Council or respective sub-council meetings.
  • Not permitted to attend Greek events.
  • No space will be approved to hold events on campus.
  • All events approved before the inactive status will be canceled until status is changed.
  • Not permitted to hold chapter meetings.
  • Not permitted to start and/or continue intake process.
  • No longer be permitted to place flyers on campus.
  • Not allowed to request funds through Greek Council.
  • SGA chapter account will be frozen.
  • Engage page will be deactivated.
• Organizations who have been inactive within the last academic year are eligible to apply for reactivation. The complete reactivation policy and request form are on the Office of Greek Life Engage page.

All organizations must carry proof of liability insurance to maintain active status. An organization will not be allowed to function without insurance. Every organization is required to provide a Certificate of Liability outlining their insurance policies to the office upon the start of the new academic year and/or whenever the office mandates it. Every organization is required to carry a minimum of $1,000,000 for each occurrence and $2,000,000 in general aggregate coverage. Insurance policies are required to list the following entities as the certificate holder or additional insured, Montclair State University, the State of New Jersey and the New Jersey Educational Facilities Authority (NJEFA).

If your policy expires prior to the conclusion of the academic semester, you are required to submit a new certificate prior to your insurance lapsing. If your certificate is not current, all activities for the organization are required to cease until your new certificate is submitted and the organization will be deemed inactive. The Office of Greek Life may reinstate an organization after a valid insurance certificate is provided, subject to all other requirements noted in this policy.