Bid: An invitation to become a member of a fraternity or sorority.

College Panhellenic Council: A council for all of the National Panhellenic Conference sorority chapters on a campus. This council serves as the governing body for all NPC chapters on campus and organizes the recruitment process. Each chapter chooses a delegate to sit on its College Panhellenic council. 

New Member Class: All potential members of a chapter who accept their bids to join the fraternity/sorority in the same semester.

Philanthropy: A cause devoted to raising money/awareness for national charities/organization that has a personal meaning to the organization itself.

Legacy: A daughter, sister or granddaughter of an initiated member of a sorority. Typically, different groups have different definitions of legacies. Being a legacy does not guarantee a bid to a particular sorority. Each inter/national organization has its own policy for invitations to legacies during recruitment 

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Potential new member (PNM): A non-affiliated woman on campus who is able to receive a bid. This includes first semester Freshman. 

Recruitment: The time when fraternities and sororities sponsor activities seeking PNMs and PNMs seek fraternal membership.

Total: The allowable chapter size on a campus, as determined by the College Panhellenic, including new and active members. Chapters that fall under total may be allowed to participate in continuous open bidding until they reach total. 

The last day of recruitment, when potential new members receive bids to join chapters and become new members.  The Unanimous Agreements state that there is to be no alcohol use or men associated with recruitment or Bid Day. 

Chapter: A term used to describe the collegiate group of a fraternity and sorority.

Continuous Open Bidding (COB)- An opportunity for chapters to extend bids. The continuous open bidding process is less formal, and not all chapters will participate in continuous open bidding. 

Intentional single preference: When a woman lists only one chapter on her membership recruitment acceptance binding agreement following preference round. 

Only occurs during Spring Recruitment.

New member: A person who has accepted a bid from a sorority but is not yet an active member of that chapter. Chapters will have some sort of new member process during which the new members learn more about the sorority and prepare them for initiation.

Recruitment counselor: A sorority member who is disassociated from her sorority to serve as a recruitment guide. Each PNM will be assigned a recruitment counselor during primary (Spring) recruitment. 

Ritual: The private traditions and practices of a sorority deeply rooted in the shared values and purpose of the members. Ritual serves as a reminder to each member of her responsibilities and inspires her to fulfill them. Rituals connect the past with the present and the future.