The 2024 Fraternity Awards and Accreditation Report is the chapter operations assessment tool of Delta Tau Delta. Chapters are required to submit annual reports outlining the process and programs developed by the chapter. All chapters must have their materials submitted by November 1.
The Fraternity has a responsibility to ensure all its chapters are maintaining minimum operating standards. Without universal standards, there is a potential for chapters to struggle with basic operations. By reviewing these items annually, the Fraternity is ensuring a) the chapters are managing the most basic operational components required to keep a chapter thriving and b) if the chapter cannot meet these standards, the Fraternity can intervene in an effective and timely manner that helps the chapter get back on track.
The FAAR is comprised of two components: Accreditation and Awards.
ACCREDITATION
To be an accredited chapter of Delta Tau Delta, a chapter must meet all the requirements listed under the accreditation heading.
Chapters are expected to submit their accreditation items by November 1. Chapters will have the ability to resubmit as many times as necessary to fulfill the obligations required in each accreditation item. Chapters will be given specific feedback for necessary changes to items to achieve accreditation. Chapters will have until December 1 to complete the accreditation items before any chapter sanctions are put in place.
The 2024 accreditation items are comprised of:
Accreditation Items:
- The chapter files the appropriate IRS Form 990 no later than November 1.
- The chapter presents the Code of Conduct to at least 90% of the chapter by November 1st.
- The chapter provides a sexual assault prevention education presentation to at least 90% of the chapter by November 1st. This presentation must be provided by a qualified presenter.
- The chapter provides a hazing prevention education presentation to at least 90% of the chapter by November 1st. This presentation must be provided by a qualified presenter.
- The chapter maintains an academic average of at least 2.7 on a 4.0 scale. In the instance the chapter is beneath a 2.7 on a 4.0 scale, the chapter must verify a GPA at or above the campus all men's average. If the chapter is beneath a 2.7 on a 4.0 scale, the chapter must submit an academic plan to demonstrate its commitment to hold members accountable and provide academic support for all members.
- The chapter does not have an outstanding balance with the Fraternity from the previous fiscal year. If the chapter is unable to clear the balance, the chapter must reach an agreement with the Fraternity on a Financial Action Plan Agreement (FAPA). This item is based on Central Office records. Chapters will be notified if they are expected to complete a FAPA.
- The chapter reports its new members and initiates to the Central Office within seven (7) days of the new member induction and the expected initiation date. If the chapter needs to change the expected initiation date, the chapter must contact the Central Office in advance and notify staff, providing a reason for the change. This item is based on Central Office records.
Items to Submit:
- Appropriate IRS Form 990 verification submitted to Veronica McSorley, veronica.mcsorley@delts.org
- 990-N: For chapters with gross receipts less than $50,000
- 990-EZ: For chapters with gross receipts less than $200,00 and total assets at the end of the tax year less than $500,000
- 990: For chapters with gross receipts greater than $200,000
- Additional information about the IRS Form 990 can be found here: https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-990
- Completed Code of Conduct presentation verification form to dtdfaar@gmail.com
- Completed sexual assault prevention education verification form to dtdfaar@gmail.com
- Completed hazing prevention education verification form to dtdfaar@gmail.com
- Campus Grade Report for Fall and Spring Academic Terms to dtdfaar@gmail.com
*For chapters on campuses with quarter or trimester system, submit the fall (Sept-Dec) and spring (Mar-Jun) report.
AWARDS
Each year the Fraternity recognizes at least ten chapters with the Hugh Shields Award for Chapter Excellence and at least 20 chapters with the Court of Honor Award. The following are the areas of focus for the 202 FAAR: Academic Excellence, Financial Integrity, Recruitment Excellence, Honorable Conduct, Active Involvement, Chapter Operations, and Chapter and Member Development.
SCORESHEETS AND SUBMISSION
The Fraternity will continue to use Google folders to collect submissions from chapters. The submission folders will be shared with chapters no later than April 1, 2024. Information regarding the submission process will be emailed to chapter presidents.
The 2024 FAAR items will need to be uploaded no later than November 1, 2024, to be reviewed for accreditation and awards.
GRADING
The FAAR is scored out of 1,000 total points. Each section of the FAAR is weighted, and each item within those sections is also weighted. This is done to provide both incentive and direction to chapters to excel at the items that are deemed of the greatest importance. Worth noting, no chapter in the history of FAAR has ever recorded a perfect score.
The FAAR scoring system for items is designed with a bell curve model in mind. When considering areas of operations and those activities/programs that earn points for the chapters, the Fraternity began with the mindset of "What is most common among our chapters?" These items were placed in the 600-point categories. All 600-point scoring items are those that the Fraternity feels the average Delt chapter is currently doing. From there, the expectations and points were increased and decreased accordingly to provide a scale that awards behaviors that only a few chapters are achieving, as well as providing minimal points to those chapters that are severely underperforming. If chapters do not submit materials for an item, the chapter will receive a 0 score for that item.
For each section of the FAAR, the chapter will earn 0, 200, 400, 600, 800, or 1,000 points for the individual items. The weights for those items are then applied to the points awarded for the total score within that section. That overall section score can range anywhere from 0 to 1,000 points. To calculate the total score, the Fraternity takes each of the section scores and applies a weight to that section. By adding all the weighted section scores, the Fraternity arrives at the final total score. Again, this total score can range from 0 to 1,000 points.
WHO TO CONTACT WITH QUESTIONS
If the chapter has any questions about the 2024 FAAR, either accreditation or awards, the chapter should contact their Chapter Leadership Consultant or Holly Meadows, Director of Chapter Services.