Academic standards will no longer be a factor for freshmen interested in joining a fraternity, the Ball State University Interfraternity Council decided Thursday.
The IFC is putting more trust in the fraternities, allowing them to set their own academic standards, Jamie Manuel, president of the IFC, said.
The academic index is a measure of a student's grade point average based on his high school curriculum.
At the meeting, members of the IFC brought up the issue that a 2.6 academic index did not accurately represent the GPAs of the men in the fraternities. Each chapter has specific academic requirements already in place, Manuel said.
Johnny Karch, public relations and publications chairman of the IFC, said he supported whatever the delegation voted on, but personally felt a standard needed to be kept so a general guideline was present for all fraternities.
"Though each fraternity has its own standards and have stressed the importance of good grades, there have always been stereotypes," he said. "The decision [to get rid of the standards] is just something else that fraternities will have to show we have quality men and are not just taking anybody."
Just because the IFC eliminated academic requirements does not mean the fraternities will not have consequences for not keeping high standards, Manuel said.
Fraternities are required by the university to have a GPA of 2.6 or higher, he said. If the university standards are not met, the fraternities will lose their charters, Manuel said.
Dave Klein, president of Zeta Beta Tau fraternity, said he supported the decision because it makes the fraternities take academic responsibility.
"The IFC should be a last resort," he said. "Who are they to tell the fraternities who they can or cannot let in the chapters?"Zeta Beta Tau will continue to recruit the same way and if the men have a GPA below 2.4, they will not be allowed in, Klein said.
The IFC wants to make it clear that although there are no longer academic standards for recruitment, there are still standards for good standing and doing well on campus, Manuel said. If the IFC finds the new decision does not work, the problem will be corrected, he said.
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