INDIANAPOLIS (July 14, 2016) – Recruitment, retention, and chapter identity were the subject of a recent webinar led by 2015 Academy Fellow and current chapter advisor, Patrick St. Clair, Towson ’13-Life. The webinar is the first in a student led summer series, which had more than 190 registered attendees.
St. Clair dove into what hardships his chapter faced when discussing recruitment and how to maintain a steady amount of members. The main issue that plagued the chapter and ultimately led to deeper problems, was their indistinguishable identity. No one knew who they were as a chapter – which led to many different views on who exactly was the Omega Kappa Chapter. Once the officers realized the members did not share the same views of the chapter, they decided to look inward and create a new, unified identity.
“Creating and maintaining an identity is a never ending process,” said St. Clair. “As membership changes, so does the identity, and it’s the leadership’s role to make sure you always have a finger on the chapter’s pulse in order to adapt as the chapter evolves.” Throughout the Omega Kappa Chapter’s process of re-identification, recruitment came easier to the chapter – in part because regrouped and felt a sense of pride in who they were. Retention also come naturally, as the members continued to connect with the mission of Alpha Kappa Psi and see a value in their membership.
“The important thing to remember as you aim for progress is to try and have controlled growth. […] You can’t have communication with an 80 person chapter the same way you did with a 29.”
The chapter began the fall 2014 semester with 29 active members. Just three semesters later, they ended the fall 2015 semester with 82 active members. Their numbers speak waves about the true dedication they have for their chapter.
Register and watch St. Clair’s webinar and many more on akpsi.org/webinars.
