Greek academic performance up at WVU

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia University officials say academic performance among the school’s Greek community is now higher than the student population at-large.

During the fall of 2019 Greek average was 3.240 for students in the Interfraternity Council, National Pan-Hellenic Council, Panhellenic Association and Professional Greek Council. The average GPA WVU undergraduate students was 2.969.

Director of the office of fraternity and sorority life, Dr. Matthew Richardson says the numbers are up and appear to continue rising.

“We’ve seen a significant increase in the academic performance of our Greek students and it has steadily climbed to be over the all undergraduate average,”Richardson said,”Now, this semester we’re looking at a 3.24 collective which is pretty fantastic.”

Phi Sigma Phi Fraternity led Interfraternity Council with a 3.2 gpd, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. led the National Pan-Hellenic council with a gpa of 2.843, Kappa Kappa Gamma Sorority led the Panhellic Association with a gpa of 3.47 and the Phi Beta Lambda Co-Ed Business Fraternity led the Professional Greek Council with a 3.7 gpa.

“I think what we’re seeing is Greeks being able to collaborate with one another and learn some skills from one another,”Richardson said,”What we’re hoping is our academic service and professional Greeks, some of their good study habits will rub off on our social Greeks.”

Dr. Richardson says Greek life has experienced a culture change over the past five years.

“I think our students have realized that with the privilege that comes with being a member of a fraternity or sorority comes with a level of expectation,”Richardson said,”Greeks are often relied upon by administrators and community members to be role models and change agents.”

Richardson says a policy to not allow freshman to join a Greek organization during their first semester on campus is also a contributing factor to the positive performance.

The GPAs for both fraternities and sororities have consistently improved since 2.91 in 2016.