Thursday, December 03, 2020
8:30 – 10:30 a.m.
Virtual Meeting via Teams
Attendees:
Voting Members: Sondra Aman, Mike Andriatch, Hannah Arp, Justine Briggs, James Cordeiro, Frances Dearing, Kandie Gay, Daniel Goebel, Tom Hernandez, Katy Heyning, Cathy Houston-Wilson, Sharon Jaramillo, Jose Maliekal, Dave Mihalyov, Kathy Peterson, Craig Ross, Janet Roy, Elliot Weininger, Katy Wilson
Non-Voting Members: Denise Copelton: Co-Chair, Crystal Hallenbeck, Darson Rhodes: Co-Chair Elect, James Spiller, Jim Wall: Co-Chair, Melissa Wight
Guests: Lorraine Acker, Steve Cook, Eileen Daniel, Richard Dirmyer, Mike Harrison, Sara Kelly, Alex Rhea, Kevin Rice
Regrets:
Voting Members: Kalista Cherry, Margaret Lane, Mark Stacy
Non-Voting Members: President Macpherson, Karen Riotto
The meeting was called to order at 8:32 a.m.
Approval of the Minutes
Dr. Copelton asked the committee to review the minutes from the November 12, 2020 meeting. Dr. Peterson motioned the minutes to be approved, Dr. Houston-Wilson seconded the motion and 16 voting members were in favor. Therefore, the minutes were approved.
Announcements
Dr. Copelton made the following announcements:
- Today’s meeting is the last JPBC Committee meeting of the semester. The one that was scheduled for December 17 was cancelled due to only having one agenda item. That agenda item was move to today’s meeting.
- The schedule for the spring semester is still being developed. Since the Task Force and JPBC meetings meet on alternate Thursdays, it is likely that there will be more Task Force meetings than JPBC meetings in the spring as there is less work for the JPBC in the spring semester.
Graduate Admissions Update
(Note: The PowerPoint presentation is available on Blackboard and Teams)
Mr. Harrison provided an update on Graduate Admissions. The following questions, answers and discussion points occurred during the presentation:
- The question was raised regarding how to compensate faculty in a zero based budget environment that are teaching courses across multiple programs. It was stated that this question was not expected to be answered now, but to be thought about as budget processes are developed.
- The concern was raised regarding State regulations regarding the education programs and the requirements that students must have a GPA of 3.0 or higher and complete a standardized test similar to the GRE. This has caused an issue for the College to accept students and impacted our enrollment numbers. There is advocacy being done to have the acceptance criteria for education programs to go back to the college level and not be mandated by the State.
- The question was raised if students can be conditionally admitted to help with the issues of the State regulations on the education programs. It was stated that currently only 15% of students per program in teacher certification can be given a waiver.
- The question was raised regarding graduate certification programs and if the mandate of post certificate employment was still an issue as it was a burdensome process in the past and made programs ineligible for financial aid. It was stated that the reporting requirement is still in place for all higher education institutions and therefore we do not have the student interest to justify the staffing hours required and the potential consequences. Before opting out of the reporting, we had three students apply for financial aid for a certificate program over the course of four years. The reporting requirement includes a report of employment of the former student for ten years. This can be difficult to track an individual for ten years and if this reporting requirement is not completed, all of the College’s financial aid can be withheld. It was also stated that a student can earn a certificate while simultaneously earning a Masters and then the certificate credits would be financial aid eligible. In addition, we are trying to market in the industry of the certification programs so that employers will pay for their employees to complete the certification program.
- The question was raised regarding the percentage of graduate students that seek to use federal financial aid to fund their education and how much of a barrier it may be to individuals wanting to complete certificate programs. It was stated that the only financial aid available to graduate students outside of federal financial aid are if the student is awarded a graduate assistantship or if their employer is funding their education. Employer funded education is on the decline. There are some students that pay out of their pocket, depending on the pace that they want to go to complete their education. Being a public institution, we tend to attract students that require federal financial aid. With that perceptive and without specific numbers it was believed that a majority of graduate students have some form of federal financial aid. In terms of certificate programs, we don’t have a large number of certificate programs so we don’t have many students enrolled in certificate only programs. There could be two reasons for this. It could be the lack of aid or it could be that the campus needs to market the programs more.
- The question was raised if we hypothetically wanted to increase enrollment from 1300 students to 1500 students, what areas would need investments to achieve that goal. It was stated that investment would be needed to support faculty and IT support to grow online learning as that is where the interest is. In addition, the College would need to market in new marketing areas in NYS. Also, there would be a need to invest in the human resource, whether it is more staffing or shifting of responsibilities of the graduate program directors that need more support to complete their tasks. Finally, investment in retention efforts. Brad Schreiber stated that is new investment is a graduate scholarship and this will be helpful to attract and retain graduate students.
Retention Update
(Note: The PowerPoint presentation is available on Blackboard and Teams)
Mr. Dirmyer and Dr. Kelly provided a retention update. The following questions, answers and discussion points occurred:
- The question was raised if there is a way to analyze the data to determine if students that are transferring out may be doing so to go to a school closer to home to save on room and board. In addition, can the data be analyzed to determine if Brockport is obtaining transfer students so that they can live at home. It was stated that the data could be analyzed to compare home addresses and the proximity to the new school. In addition, an incoming transfer student’s previous institution and their home address can be reviewed. It was agreed upon that this data analysis would be a future follow-up item for Mr. Dirmyer.
- The question was raised if there are similar factors that can be reviewed within the data to determine if a student would transfer out of Brockport to go to a different school or to stop their education. It was stated that a profile could be developed from the data. It was agreed upon that this profile development would be a future follow-up item for Mr. Dirmyer.
- The question was raised regarding certain demographic groups that had lower retention rates in the past, had a much better retention rate but the size of the groups were smaller and if the decreased size of the group impacted the retention rate. It was stated that that would need to be evaluated moving forward and it was agreed that it would be a future follow-up item for Mr. Dirmyer.
- The question was raised regarding two groups that have very low retention rates, the groups are individuals that have very high unmet financial need and individuals who deposit late. The inquiry was if there is any way to further analyze these groups to determine any further factors to assist with retention rates. It was stated that the data can be further analyzed to see if there are other factors that contribute to lower retention within these groups. It was agreed that this would be a future action item for Mr. Dirmyer.
- The question was raised regarding what can be done proactively at the time of admission to better assist students with retention, for example better support for the high risk groups or look at a different area of recruitment to obtain students with a better retention rate. It was stated that Starfish Analytics data can assist with providing this information so that we can better tailor our services for student success. It was also stated that Eagle Success can also assist early on to determine which students need extra help. In addition, we are working on ways in which to adjust the mindset from looking for a college ready student to being a student ready college.
Review and Approve Spring Call Letters for BSG, BASC and DIFR
Members reviewed the Call Letters for BSG, BASC and DIFR. There were no additions or changes requested at this time, therefore Dr. Copelton requested a motion to approve the letters. Dr. Weininger motioned the approval of the letters and Ms. Dearing seconded the motion. The following are the voting results of the present voting members:
Approve: 13
Not Approve: 0
Abstain: 0
Other Items from the Committee:
None at this time.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:32 a.m
DC/JW/mw