Achievement Expectations Program History

In 2012 the Michigan fraternity & sorority community completed a new strategic plan.  As students, staff and alumni reviewed the goal areas of the Strategic Plan, it became apparent that in order to effectively implement the goals, chapters needed to be held accountable in a consistent and reasonable manner.   A group of students from all four councils met weekly with staff and assisted with developing chapter expectations in seven (7) areas.  Thus, the Achievement Expectations Program (AE) was established and launched in Fall 2013.

Fraternity & Sorority Life at the University of Michigan is dedicated to upholding the values and principles of our respective fraternities and sororities, along with the standards of the greater community. These values include: unity, academic success, human dignity and respect for all, responsible behavior, service and philanthropy, accountability, integrity, and lifelong commitment.   The Achievement Expectations (AE) Program provides guidance and support to chapters as they commit to fully living into their values. The program evaluates the overall performance of the fraternity & sorority community by encouraging chapters to reach their highest potential. The AE program outlines a set of expectations that chapters are responsible for meeting (and hopefully exceeding) on a regular basis.

The detailed requirements in each category allow the staff and council officers to assess the performance of both the chapters and the community.  The AE program allows Fraternity & Sorority Life Staff and governing councils to celebrate chapters that are meeting and exceeding expectations, while also working with chapters that need additional support in reaching the expectations.

When launched, chapters were categorized in each of the Achievement Expectation areas as “meets expectations”, “exceeds expectations”, “does not meet expectations”, “did not submit information”.  Chapters that did not meet the expectations are referred to a Fraternity & Sorority Life staff member, who then worked with the chapter on improving their status for the following semester. 

The program has undergone assessment and evaluations since its launch in 2013.  During the Covid-19 Pandemic, adaptations were made due to shifts in programming, learning and service opportunities.