CONTINUOUS OPEN BIDDING

The primary recruitment period for the Villanova College Panhellenic occurs in January prior to the start of spring classes. Given that College Panhellenic Associations are only allowed to host one primary recruitment per year, the Villanova College Panhellenic does NOT host a formalized fall recruitment. Villanova does have informal recruitment opportunities, so women interested in sorority membership following the conclusion of spring primary recruitment in the fall or in the spring should watch individual sororities' Instagram pages for information on continuous open bidding.

What is Continuous Open Bidding?

Continuous Open Bidding (COB) is an informal recruitment process that Panhellenic sororities use to recruitment new members outside of the designated primary recruitment period to reach quota and/or Panhellenic Total (i.e. Median Chapter size). For example, if Alpha Alpha Alpha sorority has 250 members in the spring semester and Chapter Total is 255, then Alpha Alpha Alpha can offer 5 COBs if they are interested in admitting new members.

Who is eligible for Continuous Open Bidding?

All female Villanova students are eligible to participate in COB provided that (1) they are enrolled as a full-time student, (2) they have never been initiated into one of the 26 National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) sororities at Villanova or on another campus, (3) they have not received a bid during the most recent primary membership recruitment and declined the bid or have broken their pledge, and (4) they meet all University academic eligibility requirements.

How does COB work?

Unlike primary recruitment, COB is a very casual and unstructured. Each chapter does COB differently so the Villanova College Panhellenic does not set dates for informal recruitment events or offering of bids. Chapters individually contact a potential new member and invite her to an informal recruitment event or chapter activities in an effort to get to get to know her better.