“It’s All Greek to Me!” Panhellenic Recruitment Vocabulary
Throughout this Recruitment experience, you may encounter a number of terms and aspects of Greek life that are new to you. This overview of Recruitment vocabulary will help you to define many of the words and phrases that are common in this process.
Potential New Member- A person who is interested in joining a Greek letter organization, and will participate in rush, intake, or recruitment. Also abbreviated PNM.
Bid- an invitation to membership in a chapter.
Chapter- a local group of a national organization, designated by its own Greek letter name.
Continuous Open Bidding- an opportunity for chapters who are not at quota or total to extend bids to women who did not join a sorority during formal Recruitment
Interfraternity Council (IFC)- an umbrella organization that presides over men’s fraternities, each of which is autonomous as a social, Greek letter society of college men, undergraduate and alumnae.
Legacy- the immediate family member or student of an initiated member (daughter, sister, granddaughter, etc.)
National Panhellenic Conference (NPC)- a conference body composed of delegates from the 26 women’s national sororities, each of which is autonomous as a social, Greek letter society of college women, undergraduate and alumnae.
National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC)- a national conference body composed of the nine historically, predominately African American Greek letter organizations at both the college and alumni level.
