8:30 – 10:30 a.m., Virtual Meeting via Teams
Attendees
Voting Members
- Martin Abraham
- Lorraine Acker
- Mike Andriatch
- Lexi Bradley
- Monica Brasted
- Austin Busch
- Frances Dearing
- Michael Doyle
- Kristin Hartway
- Tom Hernandez
- Cathy Houston-Wilson
- Sara Kelly
- Stephanie Learn
- Yin Liu
- Theresa Martinez
- Carl O’Connor
- James Onley
- Heather Raczkowski
- Jamie Spiller
- Lily Wegerski
Non-Voting Members
- Julie Caswell
- Steve Cook
- Eileen Daniel
- Crystal Hallenbeck-McPhall
- Mike Harrison
- President Macpherson
- Jim Wall: Co-Chair
- Elliot Weininger: Co-Chair
- Melissa Wight
Guests
- Jennifer Blood
- Sophia Buenviaje
- Lee Coletti
- Keith Davis
- Kandie Gay
- Jennifer Green
- Scott Haines
- Jennifer Haytock
- Seth Johnston
- Rachael Killion
- Karen Logsdon
- Jose Maliekal
- Tammy Jo Manz
- Gary Morog
- Sandy Persons
- John Sapienza
- Megan Sarkis
- Katherine Schaal
- Rey Sia
- Nina Smith
- Bonnie Swoger
- Brian Wallenhorst
- Susan Wielgosz
- Aaron Wilkinson
- Tristin Wilson
- Robert Wyant
Regrets
Voting Members
- Gavin Miller
- Kathy Peterson
Non-Voting Members
- Skye Paine
The meeting was called to order at 8:30 a.m.
Approval of the Minutes
Dr. Weininger asked the committee members to review the February 1, 2024, meeting minutes. He motioned to approve the minutes. 15 members voted to approve the minutes. Therefore, the minutes were approved.
Announcements
Dr. Weininger made the following announcements:
- Jim Wall was welcomed back to his role and will serve as Interim Vice President of Administration and Finance and the Co-Chair of the committee.
- Jamie Spiller was introduced as the replacement for the School of Arts & Sciences Faculty Representative.
- Our next meeting on March 14, 2024, will begin at 8:00 am. This is due to the agenda being the Fee-Based Budget presentations and needing additional time to allow for question and answer sessions for each presentation.
Undergraduate Admissions Update
(Presentation is available in Teams)
Mr. Wyant provided an update on Undergraduate Admissions. The following questions, answers and discussion points occurred:
- Appreciation was extended for the event update.
- The question was raised regarding what the average GPA is for admits. It was stated that the average GPA is 90.78. A year ago, it was 90.92, and two years ago it was 90.23. We also have 1500+ more admits than we did last year at this time.
- Confirmation was requested that the FASFA deadline change will impact schools equally. It was stated that is correct.
- The question was raised if the change in the FASFA deadline will result in a backlog of work for the Undergraduate Admissions Office. It was stated that it would be the Financial Aid Office that is impacted.
- The question was raised if this FASFA change will impact the amounts in the financial aid packages that could impact admissions or if we are just anticipating the delay with the same aid we have seen in previous years. It was stated that it is believed the reason behind the new federal process is to expand PELL eligibility, but we haven’t seen any of the PELL tables to classify where the students will be yet. It was added that a big part of Financial Aid’s work is communicating with our current students about this change and our prospective students. They have done several different things this year to help ease the stress on families. We are also trying to promote completing the FASFA because some families are waiting to do it because they know we won’t receive it right away. We have done individual meetings with families. There are a couple of federal calculators that families can use. The problem with these is that if it doesn’t exactly match, it might not be the same thing. There are estimators that we are helping families use so they can get a sense of the aid. Some private institutions are doing packages right now with the old information. We are trying to educate families even if you are receiving information, it may not match what’s happening. We are trying to ensure them and help them through the process because it is a big stress for everyone. If you see the Financial Aid staff in the next month, thank them because it is going to be a big lift when we start getting the data coming in.
- The question was raised regarding what the enrollment trends are for the community colleges in terms of college preparation students for transfer opportunities going forward. It was stated that it is believed that the trends are still the same. Especially for our local community colleges. The exact numbers are not available, but they are all down or some may be having a flat year. A troubling metric we are tracking is the number of students taking dual enrollment or dual credit classes. These are the high school students who are “enrolled” in a community college. These are not real transfer eligible type students. These are students that are likely to attend a four-year institution when they graduate. This number is growing, therefore decreasing their college bound/transfer bound population even more.
In terms of market shares, in Fall 2023 we brought in 38.55% of MCC’s SUNY Bound population. The next closest was UB at 8.24%. At FLCC we brought in 20.59%. The next closest was Empire State at 8.09%. At Niagara, we were third behind UB and Buffalo State. At GCC, we are the largest market share at 26.7%. The next closest was UB at 10.14%. At ECC we were fifth at 4.17%. We were behind UB, Buffalo State, Niagara and Empire.
- The question was raised regarding how Brockport and other comprehensives compete against the university centers in terms of enrolling more state students. It was stated that it is still a trend for university centers to enroll more state students. The comprehensives still have a place for some students. An institution like UB may be too big for a student and we are a better fit. Some students want a bigger size institution in a bigger city, which will be hard for us to compete with.
Graduate Admissions Update
(Presentation is available in Teams)
Mr. Harrison provided an update on Graduate Admissions. The following questions, answers and discussion points occurred:
- Appreciation was extended for the update.
- Concerns were stated regarding the potential proposed changes to the teacher certification program in New York and how removing the requirement of a master’s degree would impact the students and the university. It was stated that one of the reasons for the change is due to the paraprofessionals that have been substitutes for a long time and do not have the qualifications to become teachers. This would provide them with a route to obtain certification. These paraprofessionals and long-term substitutes often share more demographic characteristics with students than our teacher certification candidates. It would also help diversify the teaching base.
- The question was raised regarding what proportion of our students are seeking certification. It was stated that the exact number was not available, but the Department of Education and Human Development has all teacher preparation programs except for Instructional Design which go different ways. The department offers the most programs and the greatest number of graduate students enrolled. In addition, KSSPE and Public Health also have teacher preparation programs.
- The question was raised regarding if the enrollment projections reflected the potential proposal changes to teacher certification. It was stated that the projections did not include the potential proposal because we don’t know what the specific impact will be. If the proposal is enacted the institution will take action if there is an additional pathway option for teacher certification. We will try to build opportunities for those individuals. We already have various different teacher certification programs. We have programs for individuals that have never been a certified teacher but have a bachelor’s degree. Depending on the program, we have options that are a full master’s degree or something that is shortened from a full master’s degree. Then we have programs that are already certified teachers and are seeking to get their professional certification.
- The question was raised regarding the timeline for the proposal. It was stated that it is unknown, but there are many people involved that are actively participating in conversations regarding the proposal.
Transformation Fund Progress Report Announcement
Provost Abraham provided an update on the Transformation and Incremental Funds progress. The following questions, answers and discussion points occurred:
- Appreciation was extended for the update.
- Clarification was requested regarding the students that are doing unpaid internships and if the funding was a one-time fund or ongoing. It was stated that it is part of the incremental funds and is supposed to be ongoing from SUNY.
- The question was raised regarding the unpaid internship funding and if it is considered a grant or will it be reimbursement for expenses incurred. It was stated that the $3,000 level for paid internship funding is a grant. They have to apply and be registered. On the $2,000 level, they will have to demonstrate the need for the funds, but it is believed they will not have to provide It was added that the students will be paid via a voucher system with Procurement. The need-based stipend will have a bit of a financial aid component to it. The unpaid stipend is considered as income based.
Dr. Kelly provided an update on the Transformation Funds progress. The following questions, answers and discussion points occurred:
- Appreciation was extended for the update.
- The question was raised regarding the number of veterans we have in our student body. It was stated that we have numbers around who used the military benefits for financial aid, but the exact number is not available for the meeting. It will be provided at a later date. There is opportunity to increase our veteran student enrollment. Once we have some of the items in place, we are talking about doing some additional marketing and recruitment at military bases.
- The question was raised regarding what the timeline is to start the veteran recruitment. It was stated that the search for the position is ongoing. It is believed that it will be filled by the end of the semester. We have started some of the work. This aligns nicely with our partnership with MCC. They have a robust veterans’ program. We are hoping we can have that partnership and pipeline from MCC. We have been discussing some additional marketing around veterans and partnership opportunities with agencies even before we have this position hired.
Additional Items from the Committee
No items were discussed at this time.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:02 a.m.
JW/EW/mw