8:30 – 10:30 a.m., Virtual Meeting via Teams
Attendees
Voting Members
- Martin Abraham
- Mike Andriatch
- Lexi Bradley
- Monica Brasted
- Austin Busch
- Michael Doyle
- Kristin Hartway
- Tom Hernandez
- Stephanie Learn
- Yin Liu
- Theresa Martinez
- Carl O’Connor
- James Onley
- Kathy Peterson
- Heather Raczkowski
- Elliot Weininger: Co-Chair Elect
Non-Voting Members
- Priya Banerjee
- Julie Caswell
- Jackie Clark: Co-Chair
- Steve Cook
- Eileen Daniel
- Damita Davis
- Crystal Hallenbeck-McPhall
- Mike Harrison
- Darson Rhodes: Co-Chair
- Melissa Wight
Guests
- Jennifer Blood
- Nathan Bull
- Mustapha Ceesay
- Jennifer Green
- Scott Haines
- Jennifer Haytock
- Debbie Jacob
- Rachael Killion
- Jose Maliekal
- Frank Mancini
- Pamela O’Keefe
- Karen Podsiadly
- John Sapienza
- Megan Sarkis
- Katherine Schaal
- Brad Schreiber
- Rey Sia
- Sarah Unger
- Susan Wielgosz
- Aaron Wilkinson
- Robert Wyant
Regrets
Voting Members
- Lorraine Acker
- Frances Dearing
- Sara Kelly
- Gavin Miller
Non-Voting Members
- President Macpherson
- Skye Paine
The meeting was called to order at 8:30 a.m.
Approval of the Minutes
Dr. Rhodes asked the committee to review the minutes from the October 12, 2023, meeting. Mr. O’Connor motioned to approve the minutes; Dr. Peterson seconded the motion. 12 members voted to approve the minutes. Therefore, the minutes were approved.
Announcements
Dr. Rhodes made the following introduction:
- The Campus Climate survey information has been released. Please attend a forum and encourage others to attend as well.
Advancement & Communications Division Budget Update
(Presentation is available in Teams)
Mr. Andriatch provided an update on the Advancement and Communications Division budget. The following questions, answers and discussion points occurred:
- Appreciation was extended for the budget update.
- The question was raised regarding if Gradaway is no longer going to be used. It was stated that Gradaway is going to go away. It was a big expense and did not provide what was expected. There will be pieces within the new system we are procuring that will assist with the mentoring.
- The question was raised regarding what the effectiveness has been with combining Advancement and Communications. It was stated that it is going well. It is a natural pairing because there is so much overlap with the areas.
- The question was raised regarding if Slate was considered to be used as the new system as it does have the capabilities, instead of procuring a new system. It was stated that Slate was reviewed, but several of the other Advancement functions use Blackbaud NXT and it was important to add this piece for an internal overlap.
Global Education and Engagement Social Hosting Program
Mr. Andriatch announced that the program has had more students indicate they are interested and need additional families to be a social host. The program gives the student a contact in the community. It involves meeting the student on occasion for lunch, having them over for dinner and helping with transportation when needed to doctor’s appointments or Wegmans. Mr. Andriatch is currently a social host for two students. Anyone that is interested in becoming a social host should contact Mr. Andriatch.
Student Affairs Division Budget Update
(Presentation is available on Teams)
Ms. Podsiadly provided an update on the Student Affairs Division budget. The following questions, answers and discussion points occurred:
- Appreciation was extended for the budget update.
- The question was raised regarding if there were any synergies that were lost with the separating of the EMSA division into two divisions. It was stated that there hasn’t been any loss. Now there can be a true focus on Student Affairs work. There is still more collaboration out of necessity and it is beneficial for the entire campus.
- The question was raised regarding how many students or sessions have been seen by the evening counseling clinic. It was stated that the specific numbers are not available at the moment but would be obtained and shared.
- The question was raised if there are any proposals that are under review for the mental health support. It was stated that it is an ongoing process. Individuals are still able to request funding.
- The question was raised regarding the data that is being collected to review the first six-week programming. It was stated that there is a survey out to the new students through their APS courses to see what the first six weeks were like for them. The survey explores how they engaged with their peer mentors, their APS instructors, the programming across campus and their satisfaction with all of this. It also inquires about what they want and what was missing for them. This way we can incorporate it in the future.
Academic Affairs Division Budget and Transformation Fund Update
(Presentation is available in Teams)
Provost Abraham provided an update on the Academic Affairs Division budget and Transformation Funds. The following questions, answers and discussion points occurred:
- Appreciation was extended for the budget update.
- Acknowledgement and appreciation was extended to Academic Affairs for creating the online degree completion programs. It made up more of 25% of the transfer enrollment last fall.
- The question was raised regarding if there is interest in added more online degree completion programs. It was stated that there is interest. There are a couple programs in development. One of the programs in the early stages is in criminal justice. Others are in the health care and business areas.
- The question was raised regarding if the separation savings could be broken down into what are transitory savings and what are long term savings. It was stated that transitory savings sometimes result in long term savings as people that are hired are often not making the same salary as the faculty member that left. Also, there are times where interim positions are created and a current employee is promoted and given an incremental raise. The savings table would have to be reviewed to determine the amount of transitory versus long term savings. That number would not have able to be provided at this point in time.
- The question was raised regarding the status of transitioning some of the instruction from adjuncts to lecturers especially with the increase in the adjunct salary and the difficulties some departments have in obtaining good adjuncts. It was stated that this option is being examined for the reasons that were stated.
- The question was raised regarding viewing the increased enrollment as a positive budget item instead of a negative budget item. It was stated that increased enrollment is positive but there is an impact in terms of the cost to have personnel to teach the students.
- The question was raised regarding the increase in adjunct salary next year to $4,000 for a three-credit course and if this is the cap of the increases. It was stated that it is believe that $5,000 is where the salary cap is for the contract.
- The question was raised regarding the SUNY Investment Funds due to the personnel costs being covered by the funds and if they are one-time funds. It was stated that the incremental funds are expected to be continuing. If SUNY cuts the allocation, then we will have to continue doing the work of reducing the deficit and growing the enrollment.
- The question was raised regarding if space will be expanded for the Nursing program due to enrollment numbers. It was stated that we have a plan to add space to the Nursing program. It was added that state legislation has been passed that there can be up to 30% simulation in pre-licensure clinical. This will allow us to bring in more students. This is going to take a couple of years because we are going to need to expand space, hire more faculty and develop the curriculum.
Administration & Finance Division Budget Update
(Presentation is available in Teams)
Ms. Clark provided an update on the Administration and Finance Division budget. The following questions, answers and discussion points occurred:
- Appreciation was extended for the budget update.
- The question was raised regarding if there is a control in place to review purchase expenses on campus to help reduce spending. It was stated that there are many checks and balances on campus to vet an expense. In terms of overall cost savings, SUNY is looking at shared services. This would reduce spend, reduce redundancies and make processes more efficient.
- The question was raised regarding SUNY’s announcement in terms of campuses not having to pay for the STARS participation and how much cost savings this would be for the campus. It was stated that the savings is around $6,000.
Managed Print Update
Ms. Clark provided an update on managed print. The following questions, answers and discussion points occurred:
- The question was raised regarding as the costs are reviewed will there continue to be an implementation of a reduction in costs or an increase if necessary. It was stated that the cost will be adjusted as needed.
- The concern was stated that there are times when students do better with paper reading instead of screen reading and there needs to be a change in the communication around the managed print initiative that there are times where printing is necessary and that there are not just budgetary cost benefits to consider. It was stated that cost benefit should never be sacrificed for academic freedom or students’ learning abilities. This initiative is a cost saving measure and to bring awareness around levels of printing. The question should not be should I stop printing, it should be is the departmental budget accurate.
- The statement was made that if the problem is the messaging, it is best addressed by department chairs and deans. The message should be that faculty need to be reflective about printing not that they shouldn’t print under any circumstances.
- The concern was stated that in the early stages of the initiative it was not clear that departments would be charged for printing. Departments have already had to cut their budgets and this method of charging the departments is not sustainable for paper heavy departments like Math. We need to find an alternative way to charge for the printing.
- It was stated that the Provost has been working with the Deans to see what the printing expenses have been and what the OTPS budget has been. It varies across the campus with some department spending less than 10% of the budget on printing and other departments exceeding their total budget just on printing costs. The purpose of collecting the data is to get a sense of where we are across the board. Over this fiscal year, we are going to look at what we are spending and try to understand what we need to be doing for the various programs. Then, make adjustments in budgets temporarily so that the costs can be covered. These adjustments would then be made permanently for next fiscal year. We are midway through the process.
- It was stated that this program allows us to review data to better understand where the money is being spent in printing because we didn’t have this ability before.
- It was stated that the billing for printing should be centralized to be consistent with the billing for the toner and paper. This would eliminate the need to watch departmental budgets and provide departments some budgetary relief.
Additional Items from the Committee
The following items were discussed:
- In December, there will be a staffing update, and this will provide us a holistic view of the changes in headcounts by division and how it has impacted the budget.
- Members were encouraged to wear their Brockport apparel tomorrow for Green and Gold Friday.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:30 a.m.
JC/DR/mw