8:30 – 10:30 am, Virtual Meeting via Teams
Attendees:
Voting Members
- Sondra Aman
- Mike Andriatch
- Justine Briggs
- James Cordeiro
- Frances Dearing
- Hailey Gardner
- Kandie Gay
- Daniel Goebel
- Kristin Hartway
- Tom Hernandez
- Cathy Houston-Wilson
- Margaret Lane
- Jose Maliekal
- Dave Mihalyov
- Janet Roy
- James Spiller
- Mark Stacy
- Elliot Weininger
- Katy Wilson
Non-Voting Members
- Jason Morris
- Darson Rhodes: Co-Chair
- Karen Riotto
- Jim Wall: Co-Chair
- Melissa Wight
Guests
- Monica Brasted
- Denise Copelton
- Steve Cook
- Bob Cushman
- Eileen Daniel
- Damita Davis
- Jennifer Green
- Scott Haines
- Mike Harrison
- Mehruz Kamal
- Sara Kelly
- Pamela Kenward
- Rachael Killion
- Dana Laird
- Heather Raczkowski
- Jennifer Ramsey
- Garrett Roe
- Craig Ross
- Rey Sia
- Kevin Tate
- Taneika Thompson
- Cheryl Van Lare
- Robert Wyant
REGRETS:
Voting Members
- Linda Delene
- Sondra Aman
Non-Voting Members
- Crystal Hallenbeck
- President Macpherson
The meeting was called to order at 8:30 a.m.
Announcements & Introductions
- The meeting minutes from the September 9, 2021 meeting are not available yet. They will be shared at our next meeting.
- Dr. Rhodes announced that the meeting format will be in Teams until further notice.
- Hailey Gardner was introduced as one of the Undergraduate Student Representatives.
Instructional Technology and Classroom Renovation Subcommittee Vote
Members reviewed the amended charge for the subcommittee. The following question and answer occurred:
- The concern was raised regarding responsibilities of the three faculty members being required to obtain input and share ideas from across the schools. This is a large task. It was stated that it was agreed this was a big task and not necessarily the responsibility of the faculty members even though the statement in the charge is vague. It is believed that the responsibility of the faculty members is to ensure that adequate feedback is being sought and shared with the committee. The charge does not specifically define the mechanism that is to be used.
- With no edits, additional questions or discussion points, Dr. Spiller motioned the vote to approve the charge, Ms. Dearing seconded the motion. The following results are from the present voting members:
- Approve – 14
- Not Approve – 0
- Abstain - 1
Middle States Update
Ms. Dearing presented the Middle States update. The following questions, answers and discussion points occurred:
- It was stated that areas should review their individual web pages to ensure current information is reflected on the pages. The evaluation team will be looking at web pages to validate that areas are updating web pages and communicating accurate information.
- The question was raised if there are any parts discovered within the self-study that could be potential areas of scrutiny from the evaluation team. It was stated that the team has done a very thorough job with the help with campus area experts. We appear to be in good shape because Dr. Jenkins, Middle States Evaluation Team Chair, seemed very positive when a phone conference occurred in August. In addition, this time we have the evidence listed by criteria and sub-criteria and gives the college an avenue to have better unique evidence to support our initiatives. Some evidence may need to be inserted to support the on-going initiatives taken on by Provost Delene.
- The question was raised if campus stakeholders are aware of the importance of knowing the current processes and such to be prepared if they are called upon to meet with Dr. Jenkins in October and if not, it should be apart of Dr. Guptill’s update at the College Senate meeting. It was stated that the visit in October will not be quite as in-depth as the ones in April. It is something that the Steering Committee should address with campus stakeholders prior to the April meeting. We will also review what the self-study document says and what Middle States might be looking for.
- The question was raised that in the past faculty and staff have be advised to be prepared for drop-ins by the Middle States Evaluation Team and is there potential for a virtual version of the drop ins individuals need to be prepared for. It was stated that there will not be any virtual drop-ins during the October visit. The meeting will be very formal, and Dr. Jenkins has already approved the agenda. In addition, the evaluation team does not do that when they come for an in-person visit. The evaluation team may ask to meet with someone or to visit an area, but arrangements are made for a planned visit or meeting.
Undergraduate Admissions Update
Mr. Wyant presented an update on Undergraduate Admissions. The following questions, answers and discussion points occurred:
- The question was raised regarding if there is a projection regarding international student enrollment and how that may ease the enrollment concerns of Brockport in the coming years. It was stated that it is a trickle-down effect from the university centers with the reduction of international enrollment by 23.7% as of March. Colleges will adjust their rubric for acceptance where a student would be accepted at a university center that normally would not and would be an emerging scholar at Brockport.
- The question was raised regarding if the high school enrollment at community colleges has been analyzed to see if the majority is trade or college prep, as this would be telling for future enrollment projections. It was stated that is an analysis that SUNY has never done but there is a way to look at enrollment in majors within a certain community college and break it down by trade, career prep and liberal arts/academic prep. Once the SUNY preliminary enrollment data is updated, Mr. Wyant will research Monroe Community College and report the analysis back to the committee.
- The question was raised regarding if there is any information regarding SUNY Central stepping in with the colleges who are significantly down in their enrollment. It was stated that final census will be coming out in the next couple weeks. Campuses have just received guidance on financials and there are some campuses that are in “financial crisis”. There is a separate approval process for all of the spending for those campuses. We are fortunate we are not one of those campuses. Our spend controls are moving in the right direction even though we are down in enrollment. Also, we have not heard of any conversations regarding consolidation. There are conversations regarding reducing costs by having shared services for administration purposes amongst SUNY schools. It was added that it is difficult for a politician to see a college campus failing because of all of the jobs that would be lost. Brockport is in a good location being so close to Rochester and Buffalo and being surrounded by community colleges. Other SUNY campuses do not have that benefit.
- The question was raised regarding the Open House on October 9 and the new format. The concern is that some of the programs do better with recruiting students by showing off labs, classrooms set-ups and being able to speak one on one with students. This will be lost by the new format and just speaking to a group of students in a big area with the difficulty of being able to be heard with the masks. It was stated that the Open House location is a central location for students to know where to go to talk to someone. Departments have 90 minutes to do what they feel is necessary to showcase their programs. All Undergraduate Admissions requests is that departments designate an individual to stay at the table to answer questions.
- The request was made to discuss further the adult completion programs and the early college high school programs. It was stated that the adult students prefer flexible course offerings due to wanting to work. This population prefers evening and online classes. The online business program is taking off right now. The more online completion programs we can establish allows us to offer our courses to a particular audience. It opens the door for us to be more marketable to adult students. The early college high school program in Greece, the program has 160 students in it. The program started about five years ago. Students are taking Brockport courses as early as 9th grade. They are taking 101 level and they will take other courses once they hit 12th grade. This is a great program with great demographics. This is all free of charge for the students and some of them are graduating high school with 60 credits.
- The question was raised regarding the decrease in Brockport’s yield and if it was due to the university centers recruiting students that would typically be Brockport students away from Brockport. For example, a student who receives acceptance from Brockport and University of Buffalo may choose to go to Buffalo instead because of the prestige factor. It was stated that each student is different, and it could be a factor in the decrease in yield, but it isn’t the sole factor.
- The question was raised if yield can be broken down into groups like emerging scholars and non-emerging scholars to see if there are other reasons for the decrease that are unique to specific groups that could be addressed. It was stated that emerging scholars yield is around 19% so that is similar to traditional students. Breaking down the yield by group is an analysis that Undergraduate Admissions plans to complete to get a better sense of the factors of why students are not choosing Brockport.
- The question was raised if there are any specific majors the students are looking for that Brockport does not offer that could be an opportunity down the road for Brockport to consider offering. It was stated that engineering is the one program that is always asked about at college fairs. In this case admissions staff discusses Physics, but if the student is looking for a specific field in engineering then Brockport does not have it.
- The concern was raised that undeclared is one of the top five majors and we need to ensure we have broad range of majors to retain these students so that they can find a program that interests them. It was added that the yield rate for undeclared students is 15.8% so this means there is a potential to recruit more students out of this group.
- The question was raised if yield is looked at by program to determine if there is more that can be specifically done to create opportunities to recruit more students. It was stated that yield is reviewed by program because yield must be looked at on the micro level. Depending on the program if you shift the yield by 1-2% that could be 20 to 30 more students.
Graduate Admissions Update
Mr. Harrison presented an update on Graduate Admissions. The following question, answer and discussion point occurred:
- The question was raised regarding the graduate programs at Brockport Downtown and if there are special ways that we need to market to those students and keep them engaged. It was stated that it is recognized that those graduate students are at a different physical location. Some of the programs are online while others do meet in person at Brockport Downtown. At the beginning of the semester, the Center for Graduate Studies partnered with the Academic Success Center, Brockport Downtown and Dean’s office to find additional resources, tutoring and otherwise, to support the students at Brockport Downtown. This is not necessarily a marketing strategy, but it weighs in on how they perceive their education experience.
- Ms. Roy provided a link for members to view some of the graduate recruitment videos.
Other Items from the Committee
- Members were encouraged to attend the Middle States Open Forum on October 6.
- Members were encouraged to communicate the information that was shared today with others and to bring any questions they receive back to the committee.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:25 am.
DR/JW/mw