National Committee on Expansion Policy Manual

1. National Committee on Expansion members shall assist the National Vice President of Expansion in the performance of their duties.

   1. Members may coordinate communication from Chapters to prospective schools after approval by the National Vice President of Expansion.
   2. Members shall serve as liaisons between colonization efforts and the Chapters they represent, including but not limited to National Committee on Expansion decisions outlined in this Policy.
   3. All members of the committee, as well as all Brothers involved in colonization attempts are required to sign a non-hazing contract/form that will be valid until the following September 30th.

2. The National Committee on Expansion shall assist the National Vice President of Expansion in his/her maintenance of the Expansion section of the Chapter Handbook.

3. The National Committee on Expansion shall be jointly responsible with the National Committee on Chapter Maintenance to administer and employ the Non-Functioning Chapter and Reinstatement Policy.

4. The procedure for contacting prospective schools, colonization, and initiations shall be contained in the Colonization Procedures and Informal Initiation documents.

5. The National Committee on Expansion shall approve the continuing efforts of a prospect to complete and submit a petition to become a Colony of Mu Beta Psi.

   1. The National Vice President of Expansion shall collect information about the interested school, including but not limited to:

      1. School size;
      2. Academic program; (i.e. degrees offered, quarter/semester/other system)
      3. Number of interested students and faculty;
      4. Representation of interested students by class; (i.e. freshman, sophomore)
      5. List of organized musical groups and societies;
      6. Any information the NVPE and interested school deem relevant.
   2. The National Vice President of Expansion shall specify a voting deadline for the National Committee on Expansion members, allowing time for adequate discussion. At the end of this time, a Chapter is barred from participating in the voting.
   3. Two thirds (⅔) of the participating active Chapters must agree to allow petitioning to proceed.

6. The National Committee on Expansion shall recommend to the National Executive Committee a Host Chapter or Chapters.

   1. The National Committee on Expansion shall identify Chapters who wish to serve as Host Chapters.
   2. Chapters wishing to host shall present their qualifications to the National Committee on Expansion to the level of detail specified by the National Vice President on Expansion.
   3. The National Committee on Expansion may recommend either one or two Chapters as Hosts, should they decide that the duties would be best shared between two Chapters due to distance, workload, or other circumstances. It is preferred that only one chapter carry the hosting responsibilities when possible.
   4. The National Executive Committee shall make the final decision. (as per National Constitution, Article XI, Section 3)

7. The National Vice President of Expansion and all members of the National Committee on Expansion shall appoint Host Member Educators to see petitioning and training through as far as it may progress.

   1. Depending on the timing of the colonization efforts, Host Member Educators may be assigned before or after petitioning is complete, but should be chosen in time to coordinate the training semester.
   2. Any Brother interested in being considered for the position of Host Member Educator must forward a signed latter to the National Vice President of Expansion stating that they:

      1. Have read and understood Expansion policies, procedures, and documents and are willing to work within their guidelines;
      2. Have talked with the National Committee on Expansion members at their Chapter about the time commitment and distance of travel; and
      3. Feel that they are both qualified and prepared to take on this very important task.
   3. If there is one Host Chapter, two Host Member Educators will be assigned.

      1. The National Committee on Expansion representative from the Host Chapter shall be given preference to fill the first Member Educator position;
      2. If there is an individual Brother who has organized and conducted the preliminary meetings, he or she will be given priority to fill the second Member Educator position, whether or not he or she is from the Host Chapter.
   4. If there are co-Host Chapters, there will be as many Host Member Educators as there are Host Chapters.

      1. The National Committee on Expansion representative from each Host Chapter shall be given preference to fill the Host Member Educator positions;
      2. Each co-Host Chapter shall be represented by one Member Educator, unless the co-Host Chapters mutually agree otherwise to appoint multiple Host Member Educators from the same Chapter.
   5. If the petitioning school is significantly distant from all Chapters, the National Committee on Expansion may deem it necessary to appoint several sets of Host Member Educators from different Chapters to share the responsibilities of training. If this is decided, the National Committee on Expansion shall also decide how many Member Educators to appoint from each designated Chapter.

8. The National Committee of Expansion shall review and approve the Petition to become a Chapter.

   1. The petitioning body shall submit the original Petition to the National Vice President of Expansion.
   2. A petition completed by the students with assistance of their advisors will include the following:

      1. A letter from the prospective colonists to the National Vice President of Expansion expressing the prospective Chapter's interest in receiving a Charter, including a list of specific plans the prospective Chapter has if they are granted a Charter;
      2. A working set of By-Laws (the skeletal ones should be sufficient);
      3. A membership list of at least fifteen (15) persons, including the number of semesters/quarters completed by each person in any musical organization at the prospective institution as well as the academic standing of each potential member, as per National Constitution, Article III, Section 3, subsections a and b;
      4. The name and school address of at least two (2) faculty advisors;
      5. A letter from the advisors to the National Vice President of Expansion describing why a Chapter of Mu Beta Psi at his/her school would be beneficial, and giving some goals of the Chapter;
      6. The criteria used by the petitioning body for selecting faculty advisors;
      7. Information about the prospective school, including a short history, basic facts (student population, location, etc.) a school catalogue, and any interesting or unique facts about the institution;
      8. A certified check for $100 to cover the cost of printing, mailing and framing the Charter which shall be refunded if the Charter should be refused, as per National Constitution, Article XI, Section 1, subsection b.
      9. A letter from the School's Office of Student Affairs or equivalent governing office to the NVPE indicating acceptance of Mu Beta Psi at said institution, and approval of the prospective Chapter’s By-Laws;
      10. A letter of recommendation from the Host Chapter(s) to the National Vice President of Expansion.
      11. Each prospective colonist will include a personal statement of intent and a short biography.
   3. If the petition is approved by the members of the National Committee on Expansion, training will be allowed to begin the following semester.
   4. A copy of the petition shall be sent to the National President, Chair of the Board of Trustees, and the National Secretary. Upon request, copies of the petition will be available from the National Vice President of Expansion.
   5. Fraternal response to the petition shall be reported to the petitioners within forty-five (45) business days of receipt.

9. The National Committee on Expansion shall approve aspects of the Training Program not provided for in the Colonization Procedures Document or Informal Initiation Outline, including but not limited to:

   1. Training calendar
   2. Required Fraternity Information for the Colonists to learn, including but not limited to:

      1. The name of the Fraternity;
      2. The Preamble to the National Constitution;
      3. The four purposes of Mu Beta Psi as listed in the National Constitution;
      4. The father of Mu Beta Psi;
      5. The founding dates and locations of all Chapters, including our inactive Chapters;
      6. Hail the Spirit of Mu Beta Psi, the Fraternity song;
      7. The Fraternity Seal;
      8. The Fraternity Colors;
      9. The Fraternity Flower;
      10. The National Officers and their Chapter affiliations;
      11. The Clef, the National Publication of the Fraternity;
      12. The Sweetheart Song (lyrics and composer only)
      13. The Greek alphabet;
      14. The Alma Mater/Fight Song of their school;
      15. Their faculty advisors’ names, addresses, and phone numbers;
      16. Their officers.
      17. The contents of Article IV, Section 2 of the National Constitution.
   3. Requirements for paddle design, which must include:

      1. The colors red and white;
      2. The letters MBΨ;
      3. The Greek letter(s) of their potential Chapter;
      4. The trainee’s last name;
      5. The semester/quarter of training or date of installation;
      6. Any other items are optional and their inclusion should not be influenced by the NCE or Host Chapter(s);
   4. The passing grade for the Final Exam;
   5. The minimum number of trainees to complete all elements of training shall be twelve (12) for the new Chapter to be installed. The National Executive Committee shall have the power to override this minimum and allow training and/or installation to proceed if sufficient evidence is provided by the Host Member Educators through the National Vice President of Expansion.

      1. If the training group is not installed as a new Chapter, all training materials, including books and paddles shall become the property of the National Fraternity. The training group shall be reimbursed for materials that they must turn over to the National Fraternity.
   6. Any necessary deviations from documented procedures or from a previously approved Training Program.

10. Non-Hazing Agreement Forms.

    1. All members of the National Committee on Expansion shall sign a non-hazing agreement annually. The form is included as an appendix to this policy.
    2. All Brothers who come into contact with any non-Brothers attending a prospective school or colony school shall sign non-hazing agreements prior to contacting any potential colonist. There are no exceptions to this policy and no Brother shall be allowed to contact any prospective or active colonist without a signed agreement.
    3. Each signed agreement will expire after twelve months or on September 30th of the calendar year after its signature, whichever comes first. If a Brother’s form will expire within a planned active expansion effort, that Brother must renew their non-hazing agreement prior to participating in any aspect of training.
    4. Prior to the second week of training the Host Member Educators are responsible for the following items:

       1. Ensure that all colonists have signed trainee non-hazing agreement forms, included as an appendix to this policy. Any colonist without a signed form will not be permitted to continue training.
       2. To provide the colonists and faculty advisors with copies of the Fraternal Life and Conduct Policy, all related guidelines, and information regarding the relevant state, local, and university policies.
       3. To provide the colonists and faculty advisors with the contact information for the NVPCM and NVPE to use in the event of a reportable situation.
    5. The NVPE is responsible for maintaining electronic copies of all active signed agreements. Expired agreements are to be submitted to the National Historian per the NHAC policy. The National Historian is required to maintain these copies for a period of at least 4 years.

       1. The NVPE is required to submit duplicate copies of their own agreement and those of the Host Member Educators to the PBOT Membership Advisor, who will retain copies of these forms for as long as they are in force.
    6. Substantive changes to the non-hazing agreement forms for Brothers or Trainees are subject to approval by the NVPCM and the PBOT Membership advisor followed by a majority vote of the NCE.

11. Policy

    1. This policy shall be revised as necessary by the NCE, and shall be approved by a two-thirds (⅔) vote of the National Executive Committee and presented to the National Convention for information only.

• Brother non-hazing form
• Trainee non-hazing form

As Approved January 26, 2011
As revised February 15, 2021

Change Log
2/15/21: Host Pledgemaster terminology updated in Section 7, 9 and 10 per motion approved on 3/14/20 (Nelson)