Ad hoc Admission Committee Minutes, February 8, 2016

Ad hoc Admission Committee Meeting

February 8, 2016

8:30-9:30 a.m., Bauman 210-C

Attending: Steve Shapiro, professor of physics, Michael Dutch, professor of business management, David Hildreth, professor of education studies, Kami Rowan, associate professor of music, Heather Hayton, professor of English, Arlene Cash, vice president for enrollment management, Jeannine Harrell, student representative (traditional), Cyndie Basinger, assistant to vice president for enrollment management

Steve opened the meeting with a moment of silence.  Since Fall 2014, the Ad hoc Admission Committee has worked to facilitate communication between faculty and Enrollment Management.  The committee was formed from a perceived disconnect between faculty and the work of admission.

Today’s discussion focused on whether the group would like to proceed with the proposal to the Clerk’s Committee for standing committee approval.  If so, this proposal would be sent to the full faculty for the March meeting.  Steve suggested the sooner this is sent to Clerk’s Committee the better to allow for any questions that may need to be addressed.

Comments included:

  • Ad hoc status for the long term would result in less than optimal results.
  • Is it possible to merge this group into existing faculty committees for efficiencies sake given the recent committee reductions? If so, the focus would not always be on enrollment and retention.
  • Enrollment Management needs faculty to serve in an advisory role/partnership to develop a strategic enrollment plan. This committee is ideal since it encompasses a broad range of faculty who bring input from other departments/divisions.
  • Without a set committee focused on enrollment, Enrollment Management would need to gather ideas/research from department meetings, division meetings and other faculty committees along with individual appointments.
  • The advantage of this committee is the shared knowledge and expertise overtime about enrollment and retention processes, which is then communicated to the faculty at large. If the ad hoc group is absorbed into another committee, that advantage is lost.
  • The ad hoc committee has built momentum on campus and formed a needed relationship between admission and faculty. This momentum is crucial during this time of transition as we build our enrollment and increase retention.
  • The continuity of existing faculty from the ad hoc group would benefit the standing committee.
  • As we develop a new general education curriculum, that committee needs to be informed on what is marketable to high school students.

Heather and Steve gave background information on research they did three to four years ago about athletic recruiting and academics.  The research indicated that athletic recruiting was successful due to direct interaction with students and coaches and time spent building relationships.  This resulted in exploring ideas on how that strategy may be applied to academic departments and student recruitment.  The result was a plan (commonly called road runners) that would hire recent graduates who would then recruit by academic discipline.

Another idea generated was to use Faculty Fellows to visit high schools and act as mentors to visiting students.  This could be presented as an option whereby faculty who were interested in the program would receive a course release.

By consensus, it was agreed to pursue a standing Enrollment Committee.  Steve will update the draft memorandum to the Clerk’s Committee with comments from this discussion and send it to the group for review.

The meeting was adjourned.  The next meeting is scheduled for February 22 at 8:30 a.m. in Bauman 210-C.