Partnerships with Host Institutions

NIC Position:  A collaborative partnership between fraternities and host institutions aids in the co-curricular development of students while also fostering greater loyalty towards their alma mater.

Clarifying Points:

  1. NIC member fraternities maintain collaborative partnerships with hundreds of host institutions that support the conference’s Position Statements and Standards.
  2. When a Position Statement conflict arises, NIC member fraternities will advocate forcefully for a positive fraternal experience that aligns with the conference’s Standards.
  3. While the NIC advocates on behalf its members, individual NIC member fraternities retain the sole responsibility to maintain an affiliation with the host institution.
  4. The NIC can support mutually developed relationship statements that:
    1. provide equal treatment to fraternities as compared to other registered student organizations
    2. respect the sovereignty of internal processes including autonomy and privacy when selecting their membership and/or holding their members accountable to inter/national standards
    3. do not add additional liability to individuals or inter/national organizations
    4. do not add burdensome financial barriers that inhibit access to students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds
    5. require reporting of any action that results in serious bodily injury to a member or guest

Rationale:

  1. NIC members are committed to collaborative partnership especially in the areas of NIC Standards enforcement and academic excellence. Likewise, NIC members are committed to a healthy fraternal experience for students that is also free from unnecessary restrictions and/or the erosion or elimination of basic rights of freedom of association. The conference is strongly resolved that both can be achieved simultaneously.  
  2. As the NIC reviews language for statements and agreements, we look for and support language that is equitable, based in the code of conduct, and aligned with the above principles. We encourage our campus partners to communicate early and often with the NIC as relationship statements/recognition agreements are being discussed or drafted.
  3. In the event a Position Statement conflict arises, the NIC prides itself on starting with an offer to collaborate on a mutually agreeable solution. It is only after attempts to collaborate break down that NIC members may be forced to pursue other means of resolution.