Sorority Terminology

Sorority: A social Greek lettered sisterhood

Chapter: A local group of an (inter)national sorority

Panhellenic Council (PHA): Central governing body for the NPC sororities that offers services to chapters and the community as a whole; derived from the Greek terms "all" (Pan) and "Greeks" (hellenic)

Potential New Member (PNM): Student who participates in either primary or continuous recruitment

New Member: Member of a Greek letter organization who has not yet been initiated

Bid: A formal invitation to join a chapter

Bid Day: The last day of recruitment when the PNM may receive a bid

Philanthropy: Charitable project to raise money and awareness for a particular cause sponsored by each chapter on campus

Primary Recruitment: A mutual selection process that allows each potential new member to determine chapter membership

Continuous Open Bidding (COB): The time when chapters may take New Members outside of the Primary Recruitment process

Snap Bidding: An option available to chapters not receiving quota by bid matching during Formal recruitment

Dues: The monetary costs of membership in a sorority. Fees are unique to every chapter and may be used, (but not limited) to cover the costs of operation, formal events, social activities and other events

Initiation: Ritual or ceremony in which a new member begins active membership in that organization

New Member Program: Time in which new members of an organization learn about the chapter before they are initiated

Alumna: Initiated members who have graduated