Our story of sisterhood By Leslie J. Pedigo, Coordinator of Education & Curriculum Design Data can help us tell our story as an organization, as a sisterhood, as Zeta Tau Alpha. For the second year in a row, ZTA has partnered with Dyad Strategies to conduct a thorough assessment of our collegiate membership experience. This survey, distributed each spring semester, allows us to better understand what our collegiate members are gaining from their ZTA experience and the overall strengths and areas of improvement for our 169 collegiate chapters. Our story begins with knowing our members care about ZTA; more members took this survey than any past national assessment with a response rate of 79.6 percent, amounting to more than 16,500 collegiate members. This year, we had the opportunity to compare the data from 2016 to 2017, further enriching our story and giving us more information about our members’ development over time. The survey questions revolve around four main themes: the Nine Key Values of ZTA, the Five Areas of Sisterhood, Health & Safety, and Overall Satisfaction with the ZTA Experience. Our sisterhood story is one of Leadership, as collegiate members drastically increased their interest in leadership opportunities, personal development and serving others. This Key Value on the assessment is based on the Five Practices of Noble Leadership, a unique leadership model created by Zeta Tau Alpha based on The Creed. The survey questions measure each of the Five Practices, which include authenticity, caring for others, building others up, giving back to the community and thinking critically to solve problems. However, the plot wouldn’t be interesting without some challenges we must overcome. We learned from the survey that our members’ sense of sisterhood declines each year of their membership—from new members to graduating seniors. Seniors indicated they are less interested in being engaged as alumnae and are less committed to the organization than first-year members. This shows us that our newly revised Zeta Is Forever New Member Experience is engaging new Zetas more than ever before, but maintaining that level of engagement throughout their time as collegiate members is an area of improvement for the Fraternity. The key takeaway from this data point is that a member who does not experience a strong sisterhood based on the Five Areas of Sisterhood is also likely to be less satisfied with her overall ZTA collegiate experience.
Nine KE Y VA LU ES These values, derived from The Creed of Zeta Tau Alpha, are what every Zeta should strive to live by. Collegiate chapters host a program on the value of their choice each semester.
FI VE A REAS of S I STERH O O D This model helps our chapters identify ways to improve their sisterhood, whether it’s by having fun, holding each other accountable or connecting with ZTA’s purpose.
H EALTH & SAFET Y These measures allow our chapters to better understand their members’ actions and beliefs about tough topics including alcohol use, hazing, mental health and sexual assault.
overall ZTA EXP ERI ENC E These questions tell us about our collegiate members’ dedication to the organization as a whole through their interest in staying engaged after graduation. Fraternity News · Fall 2017 · 23