Academic Policy

Delta Sigma Phi Academic Policy

Mission

The mission of this document, the Academic Assistance Plan of the Gamma Zeta Chapter of the Delta Sigma Phi fraternity, is to set the rules and guidelines that will promote the Fraternity’s initiative of building better men, both intellectually and academically.

Vision

The vision of the Academic Assistance Plan of the Gamma Zeta Chapter of the Delta Sigma Phi fraternity is to define the framework and mechanisms that will enable the chapter to consistently achieve the quantitative requirements set forth herein and elsewhere in regards to academics, as well as to foster the greatest intellectual growth in areas which cannot be numerically measured.

I. Definitions

1. Academic Standing

A. Exceptional: Cumulative Grade Point Average of 3.5 or greater

B. Good: Cumulative Grade Point Average of 3.0 – 3.49

C. Probationary I: Cumulative Grade Point Average of 2.75 – 2.99

D. Probationary II: Cumulative Grade Point Average of 2.5 – 2.74

E. Probationary III: Cumulative Grade Point Average of 2.01 – 2.49

F. Deferral: Cumulative Grade Point Average of 2.0 or lower

2. Other Terms

A. Academic

i. Grade Point Average refers to the weighted Grade Point Average which, if necessary, will be rounded to the nearest hundredth.

ii. Weighted means grades from classes worth more credits will have a greater influence than grades from classes with fewer credits.

iii. Term refers to a grading period equal to one semester

iv. Study Buddy refers to one or more individuals with whom a brother meets regularly to study and prepare for classes. These individuals should, but are not required, to have similar majors and courses.

v. Section Leader refers to a member of Academic Committee assigned to take responsibility in guiding and taking precautionary measures for one or more brothers in the chapter.

B. Chapter

i. Advisor, if ambiguously used, refers to a non-undergraduate chapter advisor.

II. Criteria

1. Qualifications

A. Academic Standing

i. The five academic standing definitions are based on cumulative Grade Point Averages. However, should a brother’s Grade Point Average for any given term drop below 2.5 with a cumulative Grade Point Average remaining 3.0 or higher, the brother will automatically be demoted to the level of standing equal to a Grade Point Average .5 higher than their term Grade Point Average.

2. Academic Counseling

A. Automatic

i. The Academic Chairman will receive a grade report for each member following every term.

ii. Should a student’s cumulative and/or term Grade Point Average classify the student as Probationary I or Probationary II as defined by I.1 and II.1 (a), a meeting is to be set up between the student and his Section Leader.

a) This meeting will be used to determine the course of action most appropriate for this student in order to promote their academic success.

b) The measures incorporated into this plan of action may include, but are not limited to: assigned study hours, acquisition of a tutor (see V.2 (b) i), and mandatory attendance to Office Hours.

i. Should a student’s cumulative and/or term Grade Point Average classify the student as Probationary III or Deferral as defined by I.1 and II.1 (a), a regular monthly meeting is to be set up between the student and the Academic Chair and his Section Leader, as well as a weekly status report to his Section Leader.

a) The monthly meeting will have the same goal as II.1 (a) ii (a), as well as being a timely survey of the student’s progress.

b) The measures incorporated into this plan are the same as II.1 (a) ii (b), but with a special emphasis on reducing the student’s social activities both inside and outside the fraternity.

i. Requested

a) Any member can at any time request a meeting with the Academic Chairman and/or Section Leader. The Academic Chairman and/or Section Leader will draft a plan for the member following the guidelines suggested by II.2 (a) iiand/or II.2 (a) iii.

III. Incentives

1. Financial

A. Chapter Discounts

i. Any brother whose term Grade Point Average is 3.5 or higher will receive an automatic $50 credit towards their chapter fees

ii. Any brother whose term Grade Point Average is greater than or equal to 3.0 and lower than 3.5 will receive an automatic $25 credit towards their chapter fees.

2. Symbolic

A. Mr. Gamma Zeta

i. Any brother who puts forth exceptional effort in attending study hours and/or assisting other brothers academically will be rewards points towards Mr. Delta Sig reward.

ii. Any brother whose term Grade Point Average is 3.5 or higher will receive 2 points toward the Mr. Delta Sig award.

iii. Any brother whose term Grade Point Average is greater than or equal to 3.0 and lower than 3.5 will receive 2 point toward the Mr. Delta Sig award.

IV. Sanctions

1. All members

A. One time duties

i. Acquire student agenda at the beginning of the school year

a. Exception is made for new members

b. Repeated duties

ii. On the first day of Thanksgiving Break in the Fall semester and Spring Break in the Spring semester as defined by Rutgers University academic calendar for the given year, every brother must submit a grade report to their Section Leader.

2. Exceptional

A. Repeated duties

i. All members in “Exceptional” academic standing are required to attend 2 study hours per week held at the Learning Centers or other assigned locations.

a. Members in “Exceptional” academic standing are punished $1 for every study hour missed.

b. Study Buddy sessions count towards study hours.

c. No more than 25% of a member’s total study hours required for the current semester may count toward any one week.

d. Members in “Exceptional” academic standing are given the choice of paying $20 to void this duty for a semester.

ii. If a member in “Exceptional” standing has given noticed of a possibility of marked decrease in Grade Point Average as required by IV.1 (b) i, this option is considered void and is automatically demoted to “Good” Academic Standing.

** Academic Committee reserves the expressed rights to further demote a member if performance continues to fall. **

3. Good

A. Repeated duties

i. All members in “Good” academic standing are required to attend 2 study hours per week held at the Learning Centers or other assigned locations.

a. Members in “Good” academic standing are punished $1 for every study hour missed.

b. Study Buddy sessions count towards study hours.

c. No more than 25% of a member’s total study hours required for the current semester may count toward any one week.

4. Probationary I

A. One time duties

i. All members classifying as Probationary I are required to submit to their Section Leader a academic goal for the semester as well as a schedule of studying.

B. Repeated duties

i. All members classifying as Probationary I are required to attend 4 study hours per week held at the Learning Centers or other assigned locations.

a. Members classifying as Probationary I are punished $2 for every study hour missed.

b. Study Buddy sessions count towards study hours.

c. No more than 25% of a member’s total study hours required for the current semester may count toward any one week.

C. Other restrictions

i. There are no specific restrictions for Probationary I members.

5. Probationary II

A. One time duties

i. All members classifying as Probationary II are required to submit to their Section Leader an academic goal for the semester as well as a schedule of studying.

B. Repeated duties

i. All members classifying as Probationary II are required to attend 6 study hours per week held at the Learning Centers or other assigned locations.

a. Members classifying as Probationary II are punished $2 for every study hour missed.

b. Study Buddy sessions count towards study hours.

c. No more than 25% of a member’s total study hours required for the current semester may count toward any one week.

ii. All members classifying as Probationary II are required to present a grade report to their Section Leader on a monthly basis.

iii. All members classifying as Probationary II must meet with a Study Buddy weekly.

a. The Section Leader must be informed of the date and time of the study session before the beginning of the week.

b. Study Buddy sessions must equal at least 1 hour per week.

c. Other restrictions

iv. There are no specific restrictions for Probationary II members.

6. Probationary III

A. One time duties

i. All members classifying as Probationary II are required to submit to their Section Leader an academic goal for the semester as well as a schedule of studying.

B. Repeated duties

i. All members classifying as Probationary III are required to attend 8 study hours per week held at the Learning Centers or other assigned locations.

a. Members classifying as Probationary IIII are punished $2 for every study hour missed.

b. Study Buddy sessions count towards study hours.

c. Office Hour sessions count towards study hours.

d. No more than 25% of a member’s total study hours required for the current semester may count toward any one week.

ii. All members classifying as Probationary III must follow the schedule set up byII.2 (a) iii.

iii. All members classifying as Probationary III must meet with a Study Buddy weekly.

a. The Section Leader must be informed of the date and time of the study session before the beginning of the week.

b. Study Buddy sessions must equal at least 1 hour per week.

iv. All members classifying as Probationary III must meet with a tutor for problematic classes.

C. Other restrictions

i. All members classifying as Probationary III and/or having a term Grade Point Average below a 2.1 are restricted from running for executive offices.

ii. Additional sanctions can be enacted as seen fit by the Executive Board.

7. Deferral

A. One time duties

i. All members classifying as Probationary II are required to submit to their Section Leader an academic goal for the semester as well as a schedule of studying.

B. Repeated duties

ii. All members classifying as Deferral are required to attend 8 study hours per week held at the Learning Centers or other assigned locations.

a. Members classifying as Deferral are punished $2 for every study hour missed.

b. Study Buddy sessions count towards study hours.

iii. All members classifying as Probationary III must follow the schedule set up byII.2 (a) iii.

iv. All members classifying as Probationary III must meet with a Study Buddy weekly.

a. The Section Leader must be informed of the date and time of the study session before the beginning of the week.

b. Study Buddy sessions must equal at least 1 hour per week.

v. All members classifying as Deferral must meet with a tutor for problematic classes.

vi. All members classifying as Deferral must meet with every professor once a month in Office Hours.

a. These hours are to be reported to the Section Leader

C. Other restrictions

i. All members classifying as Deferral are restricted from running for chair or executive offices.

ii. All members classifying as Deferral are prohibited from attending fraternity social events.

iii. All members classifying as Deferral are put under review by the Executive Board.

iv. Additional sanctions can be enacted as seen fit by the Executive Board.

V. Academic Committee Duties

1. Financial

A. Scholarships

i. The Academic Committee is to assist any brother in need of scholarships in finding applicable ones.

ii. The Academic Committee shall submit to the President a list of scholarships with upcoming deadlines which are relevant to brothers.

2. Academic

A. Study Buddies

i. The Academic Committee is responsible for finding out the major(s) and minor(s) of every brother and submitting it to the President.

ii. The Academic Committee will attempt to find a study buddy for any member who requests them.

a. If no one is found suitable within the fraternity, the Academic Committee is charged with finding a non-member to study with the member.

iii. The Academic Committee has the right to randomly check in on Study Buddy sessions (see note 2).

B. Tutoring

i. The Academic Committee is to assist struggling brothers by providing tutors when possible from within the chapter.

a. The tutor will be paid by points toward the Mr. Gamma Zeta award at no cost or penalty of any kind to the member being tutored.

b. When no suitable tutor can be found within the chapter, the Academic Committee is charged with finding a non-member to tutor the member.

c. Study Hours

ii. The Academic Committee is required to acquire study hour times from theLearning Centers and keep tally of missed studying hours (see note 2).

iii. The Academic Committee must assign a location and the task of signing in brothers when the Learning Centers are closed and for brothers on campuses without Learning Centers.

C. Internships

i. Academic Committee is to assist any brother searching for an internship in finding applicable ones.

ii. Academic Committee is to inform the brothers of internship opportunities monthly.

iii. Academic Committee is to inform the brothers of resume and interview seminars.

VI. About this Document

1. Amending

A. Promoting a Functional Document

i. It is encouraged very strongly that any line in this document preceding Article VI be amended, struck, or otherwise changed whenever seen fit by the chapter for the betterment of the group.

ii. No line in this document is restricted from editing if edits are approved by a chapter majority with six (6) exceptions.

a. Those six exceptions are the six lines in Article VI.

§ Note 1: The format of the preceding document is thus: Articles are defined by upper case and bold Roman numerals; Sections are defined by bold Western numbers; Subsections are defined with bold lowercase Western letters.

§ Note 2: Brothers found misrepresenting or lying about studying hours will be sent for review by the Judicial Board.