Active - an undergraduate student who has been initiated into lifelong membership of a Greek Organization

AGLO - The Association of Greek Letter Organizations is composed of the four Greek umbrella organizations; Interfraternity Council, Latino Greek Council, National Pan-Hellenic Council, and Panhellenic Association; it serves as the main programming and regulatory Greek body

Alumna/alumnae - A graduated member of a women's Greek Letter organization, plural is alumnae while alumnus is a graduated member of a men's Greek Letter organization, plural is alumni.

Associate/New Member -A person who has gone through the recruitment process and is in the process of becoming an initiated member of the organization.

Badge -A symbolic pin worn by initiated members of Greek organizations.

Bid -A formal invitation to become a member of a Greek Letter organization.

Chapter -The local campus group of an Inter/national Greek Letter organization.

Colony -A newly-organized sorority or fraternity working towards an official charter from their national organization.

Continuous Open Recruiting ( COR ) - The process the Panhellenic Association uses to give bids outside of formal recruitment. They can only COR if they have spaces available after recruitment.

Dry Recruitment -Refers to the period before and during the recruitment process where the serving and/or presence of any alcoholic beverages at a recruitment event is considered illegal; all recruitment events at UM are dry.

Dues - Fees paid to a Greek organization for membership, they are often paid per semester.

Formal Recruitment - The major recruitment process employed by the Panhellenic Association; occurs at the beginning of the fall semester.

Founders - The founding members of a Greek Letter organization.

Fraternity -A term used for men's Greek organizations; several women's Greek organizations are identified as fraternities in the official names, while others are considered women's fraternities.

Hazing - The University of Miami has an absolute prohibition on hazing. The University's strict definition may be found in the Policies section of our website.

IFC -The Interfraternity Council at UM has ten member fraternities with six elected officers to represent the fraternity community and work together to govern and strengthen it.

Informal recruitment - An open recruitment period where bids may be extended and accepted at any time. This practice differs between councils.

Informational - Opportunity for interested students to gather more information about LGC and NPHC fraternities and sororities.

Initiation - The formal ritual ceremony when an individual is accepted as a full member.

Intake - The process used by LGC and NPHC organizations to accept new members.

Legacy -When a parent, grandparent, or older sibling is in a Greek organization and you join the same one (it could be at different schools) this is called a legacy.

Latino Greek Council (LGC) -This council is composed of two historically Latino fraternities and two historically Latina sororities.

New member period -The time from Bid Day until initiation.

National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) -26 international sororities belong to this groups which guides policies, practices, and educational programs for collegiate sorority women.

National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) -Nationally, the governing body for the nine historically African-American fraternities and sororities. On UM's campus, it is the governing body and mutual meeting body of our 7 historically African-American fraternities and sororities.

North American Interfraternity Conference (NIC) - a large inter/national governing body for its 66 member fraternities. The NIC provides many educational programs and materials to members.

Panhellenic Association (PH)- Coordinating body for the seven National Panhellenic Conference sororities on campus.

Panhellenic building - Building that provides suites for meetings on campus for the seven Panhellenic Association groups and five Interfraternity Council groups.

Philanthropy - A cause for which a particular organization may raise money or volunteer time.

Potential new member -Someone who could potentially be a new member of a Greek organization.

Recruitment -The formal period during which Greek organizations are actively seeking new members. However, in many councils, it is ongoing.

Rho Alpha -Recruitment assistant that assists men during the Interfraternity Council recruitment.

Rho Gamma -Recruitment guide that helps women during the Panhellenic Association's formal recruitment.

Ritual -That which is revealed during initiation; the secret meaning that binds an organization.

Sorority -A Greek organization comprised solely of women.