Staying Connected: The Online NPC Story
Indianapolis, IN — The National Panhellenic Conference has launched a new Web site called “The Sorority Life” aimed at changing attitudes, misperceptions and common stereotypes.
Targeting young women between the ages of 16 and 18, NPC executives opted to set up various phases of a resource-rich site where women can make educated choices about the paths they take in college that can affect social and in-person networking choices for decades to come.
The site, thesororitylife.com, launched Monday, November 17. The project was slated to be completed before January when deferred recruitment begins on many of the nation’s college and university campuses.
“There is no doubt our online presence needs to grow and provide accurate data, not only to young women entering college, but also to parents, high school advisors and others who play an important role in shaping life-long goals of emerging adults,” said Julie Cain Burkhard, chairman of the National Panhellenic Conference.
“We intend to be proactive and define the experience,” Burkhard said.
A number of research studies by the influential Pew Internet and American Life Project in recent years also underscore the need for an online and easy-to-find presence, according to NPC’s advisors in the project.
For example:
- Nearly 60 million Americans have turned to the Internet for help with major life decisions
- 52 percent of married-with-children households go online together at least a few times a week, and another 34 percent of those families have “shared screen moments” at least occasionally
- 64 percent of online teens (ages 12 to 17) engage in at least one type of online content creation
- And girls continue to dominate in online content creation; 54 percent post photos, 35 percent of all teen girls blog and 10 percent post videos
As teens continue to grow in the ranks of “super-communicators” Burkhard said NPC will continue to evolve with a clear and consistent message.
“We wanted to do something collectively that member groups alone couldn’t do,” she said. While each of the NPC’s 26 member groups has existing Web sites and other “advocacy” sites exist for affiliated Greek organizations, this site promises to be a “first.”
“This is our first opportunity to reach and make contact with unaffiliated women.”
A small group of beta testers were asked to review content, navigation and functionality of the new site prior to public launch and included communication specialists, academics, other fraternal groups, and college students.
“We hope to change some perceptions out there and tell the clear, honest truth about the sorority experience. That means also informing some visitors to the site that a sorority choice may not be the right one,” Burkhard said. “We’ve never defined the experience this way, educated people this way, dispelled stereotypes this way.”
The first phase of the project, completed by MediaSauce in Carmel, Ind., will eventually include three new sites that will include information and interactive capabilities for parents, alumnae and unaffiliated women who are looking for specific information about sorority life.
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The National Panhellenic Conference provides support and guidance for its 26 member inter/national sororities/women’s fraternities and serves as the national voice on contemporary issues of sorority life. Founded in 1902, NPC is one of the oldest and largest women’s membership organizations representing more than 3.9 million women at 655 college/university campuses and 4,500 local alumnae chapters in the U.S. and Canada. Each year, NPC-affiliated collegians and alumnae donate more than $5 million to worthy causes, provide $2.8 million in scholarships to women and volunteer 500,000 hours in their communities. For more information visit www.npcwomen.org.
