Active Member—An undergraduate sorority or fraternity member who has been initiated by her chapter.
Alumna/Alumnus—A sorority/fraternity member who is no longer a member of a collegiate chapter (plurals are alumnae and alumni).
Bid—A formal invitation to join a sorority or fraternity
Chapter—A local membership unit of a national or international sorority or fraternity.
Continuous Open Bidding (COB)—COB bids may be extended and accepted at any time during the school year other than Formal Recruitment (COB is also referred to as Open Bidding and Informal Membership Recruitment).
Formal Recruitment—A designated membership recruitment period comprised of a series of events hosted by each NPC sorority, scheduled and governed by the Panhellenic Council.
Fraternity—Greek-letter organizations that are characterized by a ritual, badge, and a strong tie of friendship. Informally, women's fraternities are called sororities.
Initiation—The formal ceremony that brings a new member into full membership.
Interfraternity Council (IFC)—The IFC is a cooperative campus organization of collegiate members of NIC fraternities.
Legacy—A man or woman whose mother/father, sister/brother, or in some cases grandmother/grandfather, is an alumna/alumnus or active member of a sorority or fraternity.
Multicultural Greek Council (MGC)—MGC is a cooperative campus organization of Latino and Multicultural fraternities and sororities.
National Association of Latino Fraternal Organizations (NALFO)—NALFO is the national governing body composed of the 24 Latino Greek-letter organizations.
National Interfraternity Conference (NIC)—NIC is the national governing body composed of the 64 member organization fraternities.
National Panhellenic Conference (NPC)—NPC is the governing body composed of 26 national women's fraternities.
National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC)—NPHC is the governing body composed of the 9 national historically African-American fraternities and sororities. NPHC also is the name of the cooperative campus organization of collegiate members of NPHC fraternities and sororities.
New Member—A man or woman who has accepted a sorority or fraternity bid but is not yet an initiated member. Also called an associate member.
Panhellenic Council—The College Panhellenic Council is a cooperative campus organization of collegiate members of NPC sororities.
Philanthropy—A service project undertaken by Greek organizations at the campus, community, or national level. Each fraternity and sorority has a designated cause to which they serve.
Potential New Member (PNM)—Any man or woman interested in becoming a member of a social Greek-letter organization who is eligible to join according to specific council requirements.
Recruitment Counselors (Rho Gammas)—Greek women carefully selected and trained to guide potential new members through the Panhellenic formal recruitment process.
Showcase—An opportunity for NPHC and MGC fraternities and sororities to "showcase" their individual chapters to Potential New Members. Both NPHC and MGC host annual Showcase events.
Sister/Brother—A term used by members of a sorority or fraternity when referring to one another.
Sorority—A Greek-letter sisterhood.