| ACTIVE | An undergraduate sorority member who has been initiated by her chapter. |
| ALUMNA | A sorority member who is no longer a member of a collegiate chapter. [plural is Alumnae] |
| BID | An invitation to join a sorority or fraternity. |
| CHAPTER | A membership unit of a national or international sorority or fraternity. |
| CONTINUOUS OPEN BIDDING (COB) | COB bids may be extended and accepted at any time during the school year other than formal recruitment. (COB is also called open bidding and informal membership recruitment.) |
| FORMAL MEMBERSHIP RECRUITMENT | A designated membership recruitment period during which a series of organized events are held by each NPC sorority; membership recruitment is organized and implemented by the Panhellenic Association. |
| FRATERNITY | Greek letter sisterhood or brotherhood. |
| GREEKS | Sorority and fraternity members. |
| FRATERNITY AND SORORITY STUDENT LIFE | Fraternity and Sorority Student Life is a Division of the Center for Student Life at the University of Oklahoma. Fraternity and Sorority Student Life is comprised of the following four umbrella organizations: Latino Greek Council (LGC), Interfraternity Council (IFC), Multicultural Greek Council (MGC), National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) and Panhellenic Association (Panhellenic). |
| INITIATION | Ritualistic ceremony during which new members receive life long membership privileges. |
| INTENTIONAL SINGLE PREFERENCE | When a woman only lists one sorority on her Membership Recruitment Acceptance Card. |
| INTERFRATERNITY COUNCIL (IFC) | IFC is the men's counterpart to the College Panhellenic Association. It is membership is comprised of fraternities belonging to the North-American Interfraternity Conference (NIC). |
| LATINO GREEK COUNCIL (LGC) | The Latino Greek Council represents two Latino sororities and one fraternity on campus. |
| LEGACY | A woman whose mother, sister or in some cases grandmother is an alumna or active member of a sorority. |
| MULTICULTURAL GREEK COUNCIL (MGC) | The Multicultural Greek Council is the most recent council to join the Fraternity and Sorority Student Life. There are three sororities and four fraternities under the MGC umbrella. |
| NATIONAL PANHELLENIC CONFERENCE (NPC) | NPC is a Conference body, comprised of 26 national women's fraternities, each of which is autonomous as a social, Greek-letter society of college women, undergraduates and alumnae. |
| NATIONAL PAN-HELLENIC COUNCIL, Inc. (NPHC) | The National Pan-Hellenic Council is the official coordinating agent of the nine constituent member Greek letter, historically African-American, fraternities and sororities. |
| NEW MEMBER | A woman who has accepted a sorority bid but is not yet an initiated member. |
| PANHELLENIC ASSOCIATION | The College Panhellenic Association is a cooperative campus organization of collegiate members of NPC sororities. |
| POTENTIAL MEMBER | Any woman interested in becoming a sorority member who is matriculated and eligible to join according to the Panhellenic Association's requirements. |
| PHILANTHROPY | Community service or fundraising effort to promote human welfare. |
| PREFERENTIAL BIDDING | A system used at the conclusion of formal membership recruitment to match sorority and potential member preferences. |
| QUOTA | The number of women that may join an NPC sorority during Formal Recruitment. |
| RECOMMENDATION/ REFERENCE | A form written by an alumna member recommending a potential member to a sorority. |
| RECRUITMENT GUIDE (RHO GAMMA) | A Panhellenic representative who has no contact with her own chapter during formal membership recruitment and is available to guide women through the recruitment process and answer questions. |
| RECRUITMENT | An organized activity to meet potential members. |
| SISTER | A term used within a women's fraternity when referring to other members. |
| SORORITY | A Greek letter sisterhood. |