In a changing world where college students face unprecedented financial and social pressures, it’s never been more important for SigEp to understand the needs of our young brothers. To ensure we’re consistently providing a healthy, robust Fraternity experience, SigEp must make decisions that reflect the evolving needs and interests of the undergraduates we serve.

Like any successful organization, SigEp relies on data about its constituents to drive smart decision-making. For the past five years, SigEp’s annual Brotherhood Questionnaire has surveyed undergraduate brothers to gather feedback on their beliefs and behaviors, as well as how they view their Fraternity experience.

The survey, which is conducted each fall, was developed for SigEp by Dyad Strategies, a consulting firm that helps universities and organizations evaluate the student experience. More than 53 percent of SigEp undergraduates participated in 2022, providing data on how current brothers feel about their SigEp experience.

Using this data to understand chapter and national trends will enable the Fraternity to continue adapting recruitment and programming as the needs and interests of members change. SigEp’s results were compared to responses gathered from nine other fraternities that also participated in Dyad’s survey, allowing a picture to emerge, through quantitative data, of just how SigEp is different.

A key takeaway from the 2022 survey: Although a sharp decline in satisfaction is typical for all fraternities as members advance from freshman year to senior year, SigEp saw dramatically lower declines in this area than other fraternities.

The data we’ve gathered from the Brotherhood Questionnaire over the past five years confirms that our belief about what makes for a positive member experience aligns with the kind of brotherhood and leadership development today’s students are looking for. Collecting data on the changing needs of our brothers, and students in general, will continue to play an important role in our ability to build balanced leaders.

Gentry McCreary, Ph.D., the CEO and managing partner of Dyad Strategies, observed that SigEp does “a better job than other fraternities maintaining engagement and maintaining high levels of satisfaction” across the four-year college experience.

He added, “I think that’s a very strong indicator of the fact that the things you’re doing with the Balanced Man Program — particularly around keeping upperclassmen engaged — is really having an impact. We can see really a distinct difference between SigEp and some of the other fraternities we’re working with.” Although the survey indicates SigEps are experiencing a similar level of satisfaction as other fraternities, McCreary noted that SigEp offers a much healthier experience.

Data from the most recent survey underscores that the 2017 vote by undergraduates to make housing substance-free continues to have a positive effect on reducing risky and unhealthy behaviors that often occur with alcohol use. Our brothers are below the national average on all measures of alcohol use, including binge drinking frequency and overall consumption — a trend that has continued over the past five years.

Similarly, when asked about their attitudes toward hazing, SigEp undergrads expressed a lower tolerance for this behavior than members of other fraternities. SigEp has seen declines in hazing tolerance since 2018.