8:30 – 10:30 a.m., Seymour Union, Room 220
Attendees
Voting Members
Jennifer Blood
Monica Brasted
Susan Butler
Jana Craft
Frances Dearing
Scott Haines
Tim Henry
Tom Hernandez
Sara Kelly
Stephanie Learn
Nautica Queen Murray
Heather Raczkowski
Jamie Spiller
Elizabeth Thorpe
Robert Wyant
Non-Voting Members
Thomas Chew
Steve Cook
Eileen Daniel
Keith Davis
Crystal Hallenbeck-McPhall
Ian Harper: Co-Chair
Mike Harrison
Rachael Killion
Elliot Weininger: Co-Chair
Melissa Wight
Guests
Priya Banerjee
Don Bigelow
Debbie Jacob
Janet Roy
William Ruiz
Danielle Welch
Regrets
Voting Members
Lorraine Acker
Mike Andriatch
Steve Barber
Denise Copelton
Theresa Martinez
James Onley
Kathy Peterson
Logan Rath
Non-Voting Members
President Macpherson
The meeting was called to order at 8:32 a.m.
Approval of the Minutes
Dr. Weininger asked the committee to review the September 4, 2025, meeting minutes. Ms. Murray motioned to approve the minutes; Ms. Raczkowski seconded the motion. Members voted to approve the minutes. Therefore, the minutes were approved.
Announcements
Ms. Learn stated that there is updated information regarding the service for Dave Comden in today’s Daily Eagle. She also requested a moment to send thoughts to Dave’s family.
Undergraduate Admissions Update
Mr. Wyant provided an update on Undergraduate Admissions. The following questions, answers and discussion points occurred during the presentation:
- Appreciation was extended for the presentation.
- The question was raised regarding dual enrollment students and our enrollment numbers in that program. It was stated that the dual credit program applications opened on Monday, and we currently have 30 applications already. Last year we had approximately 260 students enrolled in the program. It generated over $150,000 for the university. The program is for high school students to take courses in their high school and earn Brockport credit. It is through our long standing 3-1-3 partners. It can be viewed as students pay us to advertise to them, and it really does happen. We got about 25 of those students who enrolled in the program. We added Greece to the program this year as a new school district. We already had a long-standing program with the Early College High School Program with Greece. We also have Brockport, Spencerport, Holley, Churchville-Chili, Hamilton, and Batavia school districts in the program.
- The question was raised if we will be getting an update on retention later in the semester. It was stated that it is usually presented in October or November. Institutional Research and Analysis is working on the retention analysis now that census has occurred. The presentation has not been set yet, but it will be presented at a later date.
- The question was raised if there are any discussions happening at SUNY and the State about incentives programs to discount out-of-state tuition. It was stated that we are not aware of any incentive programs, but we are marketing in other states. It was added that SUNY started the flagship program a few years ago in select states bordering NYS like New Jersey where SUNY will match the tuition of the flagship institution in the state if the student were to come to SUNY. We typically market in the kind of geography that SUNY is marketing in out of state. We have had to scale back a little bit in this past year. SUNY is marketing out of state in the surrounding states like Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Delaware, and New Jersey. They are also marketing in Florida, North Carolina, and Texas. They would like to get into Illinois and Georgia, but they are not there yet. SUNY is doing a fair amount of recruitment in the out-of-state markets. In addition, it was added that we have had the opportunity annually for the last three years to set our out of state tuition lower than any flagship institution. It was added that part of the challenge with out of state is we are trying to test and dip our toe in certain spaces but it is very resource intensive and if you see our neighboring states which would be the easiest to travel to aren’t having huge population growth but it is one of our initiatives we are hoping to dig deeper into over the next year. In addition, Mr. Wyant is doing four weeks out of state visiting select high schools in western Pennsylvania but the population at those schools is so small now. Athletics does most of the out of state recruitment. If you look at our out-of-state students, a majority of them are athletes. Shout out to them in terms of our enrolled students because we are over 900 now because they are a big part of our strategy in Admissions.
- The question was raised regarding if the proportion of transfers that are in Online Degree Completion programs (ODCs) has been climbing. It was stated that it is small, but we are usually around a third a year.
- The question was raised regarding if the proportion is consistent or has it been growing. It was stated that it is growing but it depends on the programs that we add. We still have a little bit of room for growth but if you look at Psychology that has maxed out. There is room for growth in some of them but not a lot.
- The question was raised regarding the competitive landscape with ODCSs in terms of how many other SUNY schools have them or are planning to have them and are we a head of the curve on this. It was stated that we are pretty good and there are some schools that have them. Oswego has a robust program. If you look at why our transfer students melt, the number one reason why a transfer student will deposit and not come to Brockport is because of online programming. Even if they are local like MCC, they may work full-time or have a family and there are so many different things they have to worry about. If you look at the data we have gone through, the number one reason is course availability online. Most everyone has them. It was added that we started first and we started one about 10 years ago. Once you start early you get that momentum. You get a reputation and people tell their friends. That has been responsible for our growth.
- The question was raised regarding if the college going rate were to increase could this offset the shrinking demographics of high school graduates and this could alleviate some of the challenges and is this a plausible scenario? It was stated that on the surface yes. We have seen the up and downs and the years where you had to really convince students college has value. We are getting back into that realm politically as a country. When we recruit Brockport, we have to recruit the value of higher education too. It really is a twofold part, and it is cyclical as well. It was stated that we have seen an increase in Trades, and we have discussions about how we provide pathways to people who pursue trades. So, we are looking at business certificates and things like that to try to move things forward. Those are longer types of discussions. What we have been trying to look at over the past couple of years in particular knowing that there are a limited number of traditional 18-year-olds coming out of high school and how do we get the biggest share of that and how do we share our Brockport story. One of the biggest things for recruitment is when our students have an exceptional experience, they share that story that helps fuel enrollment. In addition, it was stated that it comes down to what the student sees as value, and you can look at value in a multiple different ways. What is my bill and what am I going to get with this? Am I going to get a job right out of college?
- The question was raised regarding if we have data on why students are choosing an ODC over coming face-to-face. It was stated that we have never surveyed that population. It comes down to class flexibility and our transfer students especially if it is a post-traditional student with a family. Very rarely are they going to be able to drop what they are doing and take classes full-time with no income.
Graduate Admissions Update
Mr. Harrison provided an update on Graduate Admissions. The following questions, answers and discussion points occurred during the presentation:
- Appreciation was extended for the presentation.
- The question was raised regarding how the Graduate Assist/Teaching Assist (GA/TA) process is going now that Graduate Studies graciously took it over. It was stated that the process is going very well for us, and our partners have expressed the same. One of the dynamics is that it allows us to pull some of the marketing that we do around benefits, and it focuses on incoming graduate students as well as current graduate students. Both populations can apply for GA or TA opportunities. There are only so many positions and those positions benefit the institution in a variety of ways. Sometimes those positions even benefit recruiting students whether undergraduate or graduate and retaining students whether undergraduate or graduate. We got an extraordinary number of applications each year for GA and TA positions. Many more applications than positions available and often times we get feedback that someone applied to the institution because they saw that we have a lot of opportunities to potentially be funded. Even if it gets an application and the individual does not land a GA or TA position, they may still enroll at Brockport because they were attracted to that opportunity to begin with.
- The question was raised regarding how many GA/TA positions are there. It was stated that we have around 55 GA/TA positions. We also have partnered with Damita Davis and the Graduate Diversity Fellows. They partner with us on the application and hiring process. We are around 65 positions if you combine all three categories together.
- The question was raised regarding what the percentage of graduate students were Brockport undergraduate students. It was stated that it has changed over the years, and we have not looked at that data recently. We used to be around 35-40 percent. Even though our undergraduate numbers have increased, I do not believe it is enough to close the gap with the increase in the number of graduate students. My guess is that the percentage has decreased a little bit. Many individuals in Graduate Studies and many faculty and staff take time to talk about the graduate program. The other dynamic that has helped is that sometimes our undergraduates have loved their experience, but they may decide they want to live somewhere else in the country and well many of our programs allow them to attend from their new location, not all of them do.
- The question was raised regarding whether scholarships are offered and what the process is if they are. It was stated that scholarships are a new venture for Graduate Studies. One of the tools that we have are the GA/TA positions, but they have to agree to work here. Three years ago, we did not offer scholarships, but we do now, and it equates to about $11,000. There are about five or six scholarships that we offer. Advancement has had some donors that decided to repurpose some of their scholarships and specifically target graduate students, and they allowed that to be used for admission purposes. It is not the same system as the undergraduate level where we have dollars to attract graduate students by simply offering scholarships.
- The question was raised regarding if Brockport is still receiving funding from SUNY for diversity fellowships. It was stated that we have the Graduate Diversity Fellows and that is SUNY funded and run through Damita. She is able to award between 8-10 fellows a year. Diversity fellows operate almost exactly like GA/TAs. Their benefits are a stipend, and they receive tuition benefit, and they also work on campus in a variety of different offices.
Global Education and Engagement Update
Mr. Davis provided an update on Global Education and Engagement. The following questions, answers and discussion points occurred during the presentation:
- Appreciation was extended for the presentation.
- The question was raised regarding the limitation of online courses for international students and is there a possibility international students can enroll in an online program if they are not coming into the country? It was stated yes; international students can attend online programs from a distance.
- The question was raised regarding if distance learning for online programs is something that can be pursued for enrollment. It was stated that it is. For most markets that we are visiting apart from the Caribbean, those far most students are looking to come to the USA to study. As we have been in the Caribbean market for the past couple of years, we are seeing a lot of individuals are asking if they can complete their degree from home and they have no intent on coming to the USA. We met with Graduate Studies and talked about ways we can promote online programs to that market as well. We are working on articulation agreements with Dominica State College, Sir Arthur Lewis State College and T.A. Marryshow. These students would either come here physically or complete programs online.
- The question was raised regarding if there is anything being done to help international students from Nepal or other students that are feeling upset or have anxiety about things that are happening at home or feeling uncertainty about the Visa status. It was stated that in regards to what is happening in Nepal, Global Education messaged the students as a group, and a message went out to campus last Thursday. We had a vigil on campus for this group of students last Thursday and other campus members attended as well. We are really encouraging, with help from the Counseling Center, students to talk to us regarding their needs and how to facilitate connections back home. We are working with students on that and that pertains to students from other areas as well that might be impacted by something that is happening in their home country.
The suggestion was made to reach out to the Hindu Temple and the Community Center to help provide our Hindu students with that connection. Dr. Spiller offered to facilitate the connection.
Fall 2025 Enrollment Update
Dr. Kelly provided an update on the Fall 2025 enrollment. The following questions and answers occurred during the presentation:
- Appreciation was extended for the presentation.
- The question was raised regarding the increase in enrollment and how we are anticipating the growth in managing the increased number of applications. It was stated that there is a lot of focus on yield rate but as you grow your applications you might have an impact on your yield. Ultimately, the end goal is we have to get a certain number of students, and we want to prioritize the 88 and up GPAs. We don’t have concerns about handling the capacity in the growth of applications. The Admissions team has great processes in place, and they have done an exceptional job managing the increase in applications. We hope to meet or exceed our number of applications from last year. Knowing that as things get harder in the recruitment world we need to have a larger funnel at the top.
- The question was raised regarding UB increasing their freshmen number by approximately 1500 and is this to be expected as their new normal and do they have a capacity number? It was stated that there are gripes about this across the other comprehensives, but it is a smart move, and we would have done the same thing. We are looked at the same way with our scholarship programs and other things that we are doing among our peers. I would be surprised if they did not continue with that strategy and I would be surprised if other university centers did not follow the same. I am not sure if they will get the same number next year, they may shrink a little bit, but I would expect them to bring in larger classes than they have. Making some assumptions, they are anticipating some challenges with international student recruitment and challenges with their graduate recruitment. So, they are probably adjusting how their mix is. They are a huge school and them adding that many people is not like us adding that many people.
- Appreciation was extended to everyone with involvement and support with launching initiatives to help grow and achieve our enrollment.
Additional Items from the Committee
None at this time.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:12 a.m.