Coronavirus Update

Our primary priorities for college members are for you to keep yourselves healthy (both physically and mentally). Given the need for flexibility, we’ve granted blanket approval for college chapters to be able to conduct necessary business, operate virtually and during times that work for them. If you need to conduct essential business this summer, please reach out to your college district director for additional guidance. Essential chapter business may include things like: 

• Votes regarding campus issues,
• Changing bylaws, 
• Handling member discipline issues,  
• Paying vendors, 
• Processing payroll.

If your chapter has new members to initiate—whether or not your school has imposed restrictions on meetings—please contact Madison Cannon, assistant director of collegiate services.

This will depend on how much and what business your chapter still needs to conduct. Votes may be most easily conducted via email, Survey Monkey, Google Forms, etc. Conversely, discussions might be better accomplished via web conference. Work with your chapter advisors and college district director to determine the best option for your chapter if activities and meetings are cancelled.

There are several online platforms that allow large groups to meet. Chapters have had success with Zoom, Vimeo, Twitch, and Microsoft Teams. While all platforms seem to offer a free base-level experience, you may need to upgrade if you anticipate having more than 100 participants or are meeting for a longer period of time. Your campus may also provide some free resources for online gatherings.

Kappa Alpha Theta Fraternity Housing Corporation (FHC) is committed to maintaining a clean environment, but we also want to acknowledge that it is up to each member to do her part to prevent the spread of the virus. We will provide the tools needed for members to create a safe living environment. Regarding community living, the FHC recommends that each house follow the university directives about the number of members living in each room. In some cases, this could mean single rooms, and in other cases there may be no change to the number of members living in. The FHC will work with each of our chapters to find a solution that fits their campus. A separate food service plan will be shared for each house that has a meal plan.

The FHC will incorporate the following protocols in our managed facilities and we recommend that local facility corporation boards (FCBs) do the same.

• Installation of hand sanitizing stations in entryway and dining areas and any additional high-traffic areas.
• Increased cleaning of high-touch surfaces in common areas including bathrooms.
• Increased availability to antibacterial wipes so members can clean door handles and faucets after each use.
• Where possible beds will be at least six feet apart and we ask that members sleep head to toe if sharing a room.
• Posting one-way directional signs for staircase and hallways to encourage social distancing.

The following are resident requirements.

• The FHC requires members self-screen (take their own temperature) daily. Each member is responsible for bringing her own thermometer.
• The FHC requires that members and non-members wear a mask in common areas of the house. Each member is responsible for bringing her own mask.
• Out- of-house members can visit the facility: they are also required to self-screen for a fever and wear a mask.
• Each member should sign the COVID-19 Member Agreement prior to returning to campus.
• Each member living in the facility must submit her individual plan for where she will go if she gets sick. The plan should be submitted to the facility management director and saved so that officers and advisors have access.

If a member, or someone she knows, is experiencing symptoms or tests positive for COVID-19, she should take the following actions. First, the member should follow all state and university guidelines for reporting and report the information to the advisory board chairman, chief executive officer (CEO), and FHC property manager (or FCB president if the facility is not managed by FHC). Kappa Alpha Theta will not provide contact tracing.

Members will not be able to self-quarantine inside a Theta house. The following steps are recommended in this order:

1. Member returns to permanent home for at least two weeks and until symptoms are gone.
2. If permanent home is unavailable, member works with the university to move to a spot designated for students to self-quarantine.
3. If the first two options are unavailable, Theta will require alternative accommodations. This could include but is not limited to a hotel, an Airbnb, or VRBO accommodation. The room and board fee will be prorated daily if the COVID-19 test is positive. The member will be responsible for the cost of the alternate accommodation.

GUEST POLICY
For guests to visit the facility, the chapter would need to vote unanimously to allow visitors. The FHC highly encourages chapters to adopt a no-guest policy to reduce the chance of the virus entering the building. FHC acknowledges that out-of-house members will need to visit the facility for activities such as meetings and picking up their meal. Out-of-house members can visit the facility, but they are also required to self-screen for a fever and wear a mask.

EMPLOYEE POLICY
FHC has prepared its employee COVID-19 policy. 

At this time, members should plan on fulfilling their spring room license obligation. We will be monitoring the situation throughout the fall and will be sure to communicate if that decision changes. Just as many universities have only announced their fall plans, Theta has also posted plans associated with the fall semester only.  

This feels like an extraordinary time, and your family, your Theta sisters, or yourself may need help coping with ongoing uncertainty as campuses and communities take steps to prevent the further spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19). This blog provides several resources to navigate your emotional wellness during this time. Active Minds is also providing webinars and live chats (registration required).

Here are more resources for you:

• AllOneHealth webinars
• Talk One2One webinar schedule
• Lead & Learn webinar schedule
• Caring for the Elderly During COVID-19 (Talk One-2-One resource)
• What to Do If You Are Sick with Coronavirus (CDC resource)
• Stop the Spread of Germs (CDC resource)
• Stay Calm and Reduce Fear (coronavirus.gov resource)
• Helping Children Cope with Uncertainty (Talk One-2-One resource)
• Navigating Through Personal Finances with COVID-19 (Talk One-2-One resource)
• Free Resources on Calm
• Love is Louder

If your event must be cancelled altogether, we recommend contacting your donors/supporters asking if they would be willing to allow your chapter to give their donations/ticket sales/apparel purchases/etc. directly to the charity.

If you can postpone your event instead of cancelling it, contact your donors/supporters to let them know that the event is postponed because of COVID-19 concerns. If you cannot establish a definite future date for the event, let your donors/supporters know that you’ll be in touch when you have rescheduled.

Consider pivoting the campaign by organizing an online fundraiser for the charitable organization. See the next question for ideas on how to still host an online fundraiser. You may also contact philanthropy@kappaalphatheta.org for more information.

Here are some options to consider:

• Personal Page Competition. Each member creates a personal fundraising page within the general fundraiser website. Ask every chapter member to create a personal page and share it with at least five family members or friends not from campus. One group increased the amount they raised from $8,000 to $40,000 this way!

• Chapter Challenge. Chapters have been incredibly successful running a chapter challenge competition in CrowdChange. A chapter challenge involves asking every chapter on campus to create its own team fundraising page for a specific philanthropy. Team pages are ordered in a leaderboard format to spark friendly competition. Optional: offer a prize to the chapter who raises the most.

Grand Council voted on July 24 to help alleviate this distress by decreasing the per capita fee for current active members and the initiation fee for new members who are initiated into Kappa Alpha Theta during the 2020-2021 academic year. Note too there has been a reduction to the National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) national fee as well.

Kappa Alpha Theta also is granting a one-time payment extension to members with a balance due that is less than $500. This means members with outstanding balances of less than $500 will have that balance carried forward to the fall and will not have their membership terminated for financial reasons at this time.

For details regarding these short-term changes, please refer to the letter sent July 27 to chief financial officers, chief executive officers, finance advisors, advisory board chairmen, budget district directors and college district directors.

Chapters may prorate new member dues for the end of this semester or quarter. Please contact your budget district director or Theta staff if your chapter needs help with calculating a prorated amount. New members who cannot be initiated this spring should not be charged an initiation fee.  

If new members have already paid their initiation fees, you can decide to refund them now and re-bill in the fall, or simply carry over until the fall. New members will not also be charged a per capita fee in the fall. New member dues for this term should not be cancelled completely. If your chapter votes to prorate/refund dues, this applies to new members as well. If you have questions regarding how your new members or recently initiated members should be billed, please reach out to your budget district director.

Yes! We believe that the sorority experience is more relevant than ever right now. Young women across the country are seeking opportunities to feel a part of community, to have a positive impact on their communities, and to build connections that will last a lifetime. Theta is poised to offer this experience to so many.  

Recruitment may not look the same as it has in the past. Theta and all of our peer organizations are considering many different options for recruitment. Those range from operating a primary recruitment as normal as possible to an entirely virtual recruitment. As our new normal continues to take shape, we are working hard to develop resources that will help you navigate these changes.  

The National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) has recently published a report from the Recruitment Contingencies Task Force, which was appointed in early April to develop tools and resources to help college Panhellenics plan for fall 2020 recruitment. Here are the resources they have developed:  

• Recruitment Contingencies Task Force Report for College Panhellenics 
• Recruitment Structure Decision Map  
• Setting total for Fall 2020   

Kappa Alpha Theta supports the changes to NPC policies, unanimous agreements, and best practices.  

If your college or university is considering changing your recruitment style, please contact your recruitment and Panhellenic district director (RPDD) immediately. You can find her information in the chapter portal. 

Due to all the unknowns surrounding recruitment and our members' ability to return to campus, we ask that all potential new member references be submitted using the online form.