Time & Location: 8:30 – 10:30 a.m., 220 Seymour
Attendees
Voting Members
- Sondra Aman
- Mike Andriatch
- Davida Bloom
- Frances Dearing
- Scott Haines
- Tom Hernandez
- Katy Heyning
- Debbie Jacob
- Sara Kelly
- Dave Mihalyov
- Kathy Peterson
- Summer Reiner
- Katy Wilson
Non-Voting Members
- Denise Copelton: Co-Chair
- President Macpherson
- Karen Riotto
- Jim Wall: Co-Chair
- Melissa Wight
- Jim Zollweg
Guests
- Dawn Footer
- Anna Hintz
- Carl O’Connor
- Kevin Rice
- Craig Ross
- Celia Watt - attending on behalf of Susan Stites-Doe
- Dana Weiss
Regrets
Voting Members
- Steven Breslawski
- Scott Haines
- Kadathur Lakshmanan
- Brooke Leddon
- Teresa Major
- Jose Maliekal
- Cherise Oakley
- Susan Stites-Doe
- Jay West
Non-Voting Members
- Crystal Hallenbeck
The meeting was called to order at 8:35am
Approval of the Minutes
Dr. Copelton asked the committee to review the minutes from the April 25, 2019 meeting. With no corrections, Dr. Peterson motioned the minutes to be approved, Ms. Dearing seconded the motion, and all present voting members were in favor, except there was one abstention. Therefore, the minutes were approved.
Announcements
Dr. Copelton made the following announcements:
- The meeting minutes from our last meeting are not yet available. They will be available at
our next meeting. - An email will be sent to all committee members that will include a MachForm survey to
assess how the committee is doing. This survey is being conducted due to one of the expectations from Middle States is to regularly assess our processes. This survey is anonymous and the feedback will be reviewed early in the fall to determine how to proceed with the feedback.
Residential Life/DIFR
Presented by Mr. Carl O’Connor, Interim Associate Director of Residential Life/Learning Communities and Dr. Craig Ross, Interim Co-Director of Financial Aid
Note: The presentation is available on Blackboard
The following questions, answers and discussion points occurred during the presentation:
- While Mr. O’Connor was discussing the room waivers that DIFR funds for some ROTC
students, President Macpherson added that this year’s ROTC graduating class has a GPA
of 3.5. - The request for clarification was made regarding what gender inclusive housing is. Mr.
O’Connor stated students do not need to pick roommates based on all males or all females.
They can live with whomever they chose. Dr. Kelly added that many schools have a building or wing designated for gender inclusive, but we provide gender inclusive housing
in all residence areas. - The question was made regarding academic retention and in what ways is Residential Life
assisting students with holds and students that are not registered. Mr. O’Connor stated that
in order to live on campus, students are required to be registered for 12 credits. In the past,
students that were not registered for enough credits were not identified until the week
before spring term. Now students are identified before winter break and are reached out to.
Some reasons why students are not registered is that they did not realize they were not
registered or that they had to register. Other times it is a financial issue, and they can be
linked to Financial Aid, Student Accounts, or the appropriate resources on campus to help
get their bills settled. Sometimes they are not successful. They are giving three weeks into
the semester to get their bills settled before they have to have a discussion about taking a
semester off. Dr. Kelly added that Residential Life staff is being utilized to assist with
retention and helping students stay. They are sent to students’ rooms when emails are
being responded to and therefore making them a captive audience. President Macpherson
asked what students’ reactions are to this visit. Mr. O’Connor stated that for the most part
it is positive and that they simply have not checked their email. We did a test run in
January with texting students and Undergraduate Admissions assisted us with the texting
software. We sent texts telling them to check their emails because we give them very
detailed instructions in the email that seemed to be successful as well. - The question was raised if students are required to clean their own rooms in Eagle Hall.
Mr. O’Connor stated they are required to clean their rooms and their bathroom. - The question was raised if empty rooms could be used as incentive to increase our
enrollment by providing more room waivers. Dr. Kelly stated that there have been
discussions about how we leveraging resources to recruit and retain students. One of the
initiatives we are looking at is a loyalty program for returning students. Some students
move off campus after their second year. So, we are looking at ways to provide incentives
to keep the students on campus. - The question was raised regarding how many students do we need to maintain the correct
cash total since we are on the edge of our debt ratio. Dr. Ross stated that we are submitting
the capital plan this year and this would be a good exercise to complete in doing the report.
Also, with delaying some projects, that will help with the debt ratio because SUNY will
not allow us to submit a report that is puts us under the debt ratio. - The question was raised regarding the room waivers for the graduate assistants, if this was
provided for EMSA graduate assistants and if there is opportunity for other divisions to
offer the room waivers. Dr. Wilson stated that they just started piloting this program to
help have more graduate students on campus. Also, sometimes there is not funding
available to provide tuition vouchers, so this was something they thought they could
provide the students instead of the vouchers. This program seems to have been successful
this year and with the goal to grow graduate students on campus, we could look into
helping other divisions with this program. - The question was raised regarding the card access system into the residence halls and if it
is 24/7. Mr. O’Connor stated students can get into their own residence hall 24/7. Other
buildings, they can only get into until a certain time. - The question was raised regarding the security cameras and if they are on all of the
residence halls. Mr. O’Connor stated that Eagle Hall has cameras on the entrances and
hallways and this was included in the capital funds to build the building. For the rest of the
residence halls, we adopted a few phase plan. First phase was entryways and vestibules.
Second phase will be lounge areas and hallways. Third phase will be elevators. - The question was raised regarding if there is a program for students that cannot use the card swipe certain days of the week due to religious reasons. Dr. Kelly stated that we have
not received that type of request. Dr. Ross stated that there is a key that can override the
swipe system if needed.
Brockport Auxiliary Service Corporation (BASC)
Presented by Ms. Dana Weiss, Executive Director for BASC and Ms. Anna Hintz, Assistant Executive Director for BASC
Note: The following presentation is available on Blackboard.
The following questions, answers and discussion points occurred during the presentation:
- The question was raised regarding the “Get App” and how many students use the app to
order food. Ms. Hintz said there is a cap placed on the amount of production that can be
done in a certain time period and we have been maxed out pretty much the entire semester.
She would have to do more research to see if it is the same group of students utilizing the
app or if it is different students. As far as subscriptions to the app, the number is the 1000s.
Next year we are going to implement the students receiving a text when their order is
ready. - The question was raised regarding if dining dollars are included with the unlimited plan
since meals are only allowed at the dining halls. The unlimited plan covers 19 meals a week in the dining halls and the meal comes with dining dollars that can be used in the Union. - The question was raised regarding the flat rate for unlimited laundry use and if there is a
revenue loss due to possible accessibility to off-campus students. Dr. Ross stated that
Residential Directors have caught individuals and asked them to stop. Ms. Leddon stated
that Residential Directors and Residential Assistants would stop someone if they tried to
come in with a laundry basket. Mr. O’Connor stated that the laundry fee is not a separate
line item on the student’s bill and that it is incorporated into the room rate. - The question was raised regarding how many non-student employees are employed by
BASC. Ms. Weiss stated they have 67 CSEA employees, 47 management employees and
70 part-time employees. The student employees outnumber the non-student employees. - The question was raised regarding the catering operations and if there is revenue achieved
there. Ms. Weiss stated that BASC loses money through catering. Other vendors may be
cheaper but a dollar spent somewhere else is money that does not support Brockport and a
scholarship. We have a team that will work with you and your budget. We have
strengthened our partnership with BSG over the past few years. We have developed more
student friendly menus and cost effective menus. With that, we are able to provide more
catering for student events. - The question was raised whether a student loses the dining dollar balance at the end of the
year or does it roll over into the next year. Ms. Weiss stated that NYS tax law says meal plans are not taxed and the intention is for it to be used for meals throughout the year, therefore the balances do not roll to the next year. Ms. Hintz added that the balances do roll from fall to spring, but not from academic year to academic year. - Dr. Peterson shared that the DNP visitors were quite impressed with the dining services
here and wanted to share that with BASC. Ms. Weiss thanked her for her feedback and
said she would share it with the team. - The question was raised regarding what services are provided for students that are in need
of food and do not have funds available. Dr. Wilson stated that we have relationships with
local food pantries that will assist in those situations. - The question was raised regarding the amount of revenue generated from the cash sales
and the closing of Kinetic Café. Ms. Weiss stated that Kinetic Café never made a profit
from the beginning. It was a wonderful idea and the thought was that people would walk
there, but in hindsight, it is probably too close to the Raj Madan Café. It just did not have
the customer flow there. Even when the occupancy changed in the building and we closed
the Fusion Café to help sustain the Kinetic Café, it did not help. With the space study, it
has been determined that there is a better use for that space. - The question was raised if there is a different location that the idea of the Fusion Café can
be used. Ms. Weiss stated they are looking at ways to use that concept elsewhere. Ms.
Hintz stated that there are similar offerings in the dining halls. - The question was raised if the other cafes and Union Square are profitable. Ms. Weiss stated some of them are and some of are not, but you have to keep in mind that the
unlimited plan shifts focus from the retail areas to the dining halls.
Brockport Student Government (BSG)
Presented by Ms. Dawn Footer, BSG Treasurer
Note: The presentation is available on Blackboard.
The following questions, answers and discussion points occurred during the presentation:
- The concerns regarding the high level of expenses for the spring concert and the low
attendance due to the difficulties around securing entertainment that were popular with the
students were discussed. Dr. Wilson discussed a possible alternative would be to sponsor a
block of seats at the major concert in Rochester or Buffalo and offer reduced tickets to the
students. Then depending on the amount of interest, rent a series of buses to transport the
students to the concert. - The question was raised regarding the graduate student activity fee and if students are
assessed a fee for each campus they attend. Ms. Footer stated that the fee is a flat fee and
therefore is assessed one time a semester.
Other Items from the Committee
None at this time.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:18 a.m.
Next Meeting: May 16, 2019, 8:30-10:30 AM
DC/JW/mw