Best Practices Library
Governance and Accountability
Accountability Mechanisms
GA1 - The chapter utilizes a point system for membership, with a zero-point balance being ideal. Members gain points for missing chapter house duties or chapter events but can lose points for doing more undesirable house duties or otherwise contributing to the welfare of the chapter. Fines are only given out at the end of the semester based on how many points members have.
GA2 - The chapter has an honor system in place where if members skip a class for a non-medical reason, they donate $1 to a jar that is passed around at the beginning of chapter meetings. At the end of the academic year, the member who has made the largest improvement in his cumulative GPA gets awarded the money.
GA3 - The chapter enforces a strict attendance policy and devotes chapter meeting roll call to review which brothers are eligible to vote based on financial standing and event attendance. Quorum is established for chapter meetings based on the number of eligible voting members present.
GA4 - Our chapter has adopted the saying: see it, own it, solve it, do it. See it, is recognizing the reality of a situation. Owning it, is taking responsibility. Solve it, is finding the right solution. Do it, is the act of following through with the right course of action. Our Executive Committee has developed a program called accountability groups.
GA5 - The chapter has in place accountability groups to improve officer accountability. Each Executive Committee officer oversees an accountability group comprised of several non-Executive Board officers. The Executive Committee officer is responsible for making sure his group of officers is taking care of their duties/expectations and offer assistance as needed. The Lt. Commander oversees keeping the Executive Committee officers accountable for taking care of their responsibilities.
GA6 - Officer evaluations are held monthly to discuss plans for the future. The purpose of the meetings is to create a conversation between members and the Lt. Commander to assess progress and identify where the officer needs help. These meetings help gauge officer effort while encouraging solid work efforts. Officer expectations and criteria are made clear through officer descriptions and chapter bylaws.
GA7 - The chapter promotes accountability with chapter-level advisory boards. These informal meetings facilitated by the Lt. Commander permit a dialogue between chapter members who are in conflict, not fulfilling their goals, or deserve praise for a job well done. As stated, advisory boards, condemn wrongful behavior but also allow chapter members to thank brothers for their efforts.
GA8 - To increase accountability, once a quarter the Lt. Commander will sit and meet with all chapter officers. The meeting will cover the topics of goal accomplishments, short comings, concerns, and future plans. Much like consultant evaluations, the Lt. Commander will fill out a report based on his meeting with the given officer. The officer is then able to see where he stands and how he can improve. The Commander evaluates the Lt. Commander.
GA9 - The chapter utilizes an officer contract to promote accountability. This document outlines the duties and expectations that the Executive Committee has for the officer as well as the goals the officer has for their position. The contract also includes a behavior clause, which states that if an officer exhibits a behavior unbecoming of a Knight of Sigma Nu, he will be sent to Honor Board. If the officer strays from their commitment or duties, then they will also be sent to Honor Board. Our Chapter bylaws outline the procedure for removing an officer, which is a three-strike rule and the removal must be voted on at a chapter meeting. This allows officers to accountable for their actions and lets the chapter act if an officer fails at completing their responsibilities.
GA10 - For members who do not do their house duties on time the chapter has an accountability mechanism called the 'wheel of justice'. On the wheel of justice are the less desirable house duties that every member only does once or twice a quarter, the wheel is spun, and that member draws a name as well and he takes that member's less than desirable cleaning duty.
GA11 - The chapter uses the Spirit App (https://www.spiritapp.co/) to account for chapter attendance. They give awards to members with the highest attendance and fine those who miss more than 2 chapters.
GA12 - The chapter has created a brother safety committee of 4-5 seniors and juniors that is tasked increasing knowledge and minimizing the detrimental effects of alcohol and drug abuse within the chapter, getting members help, and increasing knowledge on warning signs.
GA13 - Sample Member Oath and Commitment Form
GA14 - Sample Point System
GA15 - Social Media Policy
Bylaws
GA16 - Sample Bylaws Amendment Request Form
Honor Boards and Trial Code Procedures
GA20 - The chapter has a Jurisprudence Committee chaired by the Recorder. The committee is responsible for annually reviewing the chapter bylaws, making recommendations to the chapter for bylaw implementation and enacting bylaw changes. In the case of a Trial Code proceeding, the Jurisprudence Committee is responsible for documenting proceedings and filing paperwork with the General Fraternity.
GA21 - Each candidate class selects one well respected member to hold the title of Life Member of his candidate class. Each Life Member sits on the chapter's judicial board until they graduate. This practice mirrors the Supreme Court in that it promotes tenured consistency of rulings and holds the chapter's most esteemed members in its ranks.
GA22 - The chapter holds a mock honor board every semester for the entire chapter to educate members on the process.
GA23 - A culture of accountability is instilled in the chapter's members through the actions of Honor Board. Honor Board tries to recognize both positive and negative actions of brothers. Positive actions are reinforced by a program called Brother of the Month/Year. In this program, brothers are nominated for their honorable actions to Honor Board. Honor Board then discusses and selects a brother of the month/year. The winning brother is recognized in general chapter and awarded with a token prize. This is a highly sought-after honor. Negative actions are reprimanded through corrective action. Honor Board operates on the mindset of corrective action rather than punitive action. This results in a culture where people are held responsible for their actions.
GA24 - Sample Honor Board Example and Bylaw Language
GA25 - Sample Honor Board Complaint Form
GA26 - Sample Honor Board Operations Manual
GA27 - Sample Honor Board Procedures
General Fraternity Resources
GFGA1 - Honor Board Structure Guide
GFGA2 - Trial Code Procedures
GFGA3 - Visual Trial Code Guide
Call for Practices
If you have a great example or resource that you think should be included in the Best Practices Library, we want to know about it. Send your examples and resources to Austin Lloyd, Director of Chapter Services, at austin.lloyd@sigmanu.org.
Additional Officer Resources
The perfect complement to the Best Practices Library is the specific chapter officer resources page. Here you can access additional resources and the chapter officer manual for each officer. Also be sure to check out the following pages on the Fraternity's service and philanthropy related resources: