Enrollment Planning Team

Minutes

September 28, 2005

Present:  Mr. Randy Duckett, Mrs. Vivian Grice, Dr. Braden Hosch, Dr. Tom Mack, Dr. Val Lumas, Mr. Randy Warrick, Mr. Corey Feraldi, Mr. Marshall Davis, Mrs. Katya Terry, Mr. Andrew Hendrix, Ms. Stacie Williams, Mrs. Lisa Lyle, Ms. Gwen Ashley, Dr. Deidre Martin, Mrs. Gail Ratchford

Randy welcomed everyone at 3:05 pm and introduced Gail Ratchford who will be serving as a resource person for the EPT, taking minutes of EPT meetings, updating EPT web pages, and serving as a member of the Communication Action Team. Randy also mentioned that Mr. Tony Ateca would be joining The Enrollment Planning Team.

Randy gave a brief overview of the enrollment figures from the fall which included.

• 118 less undergraduates.
• 125 less FTE.
• Approximately 20 less freshmen, 45 less transfers,
• Lower freshman retention rate compared to last year  (17 less freshmen)
• A slightly lower retention throughout the upper classmen

He indicated that the point is that the discussions we have and the decisions we make are very important. A few students here, a few students there, make a big difference.  He emphasized that although we have had some great discussions and covered many issues, it was time to put things into action…. We must roll out the Chevrolet which can get is from point A to point B, and bring out the Cadillac later.  He also stated that while we have scheduled monthly meetings, that as soon as an Action Team is ready to bring a proposal to EPT we will call a special meeting to take action.  EPT can not be a clog in the system, we must facilitate the process of change.

Randy then took the opportunity to discuss the meetings that took place during the summer with the chairs of the Action Teams. These meetings concentrated on completing the Action Teams’ year end reports.  Dr. Hosch then developed a common format and has done a great job in summarizing and presenting the charge, discussion topics, data, recommendations, actions and next year priorities for each Action Team. 

Randy then turned to the EPT Year End report and he and Braden made some explanations, made recommendations regarding the functioning of EPT and reviewed each Action Team Reports. 

Randy asked each Action Team to give feed-back.

Freshman Admissions Action Team – Andrew Hendrix was fine with the report and felt it appropriate.  It will help prioritize the targets for Admissions.  Tom Mack brought up the issue of “Transfer Students”, that some are not as prepared from Tech Schools.  He indicated that maybe the “At Risk Action Team” should be the one to look at that issue.

Communications Action Team – Deidre Martin recapped the meeting of the Communication Team on September 26, 2005.

• USCA list is being informed of meetings of all Action Teams and EPT.
• Braden and Jeff are working on the web-site creating “indicators” on such things as retention and recruitment.
• Committee decided to place a page in the “Post Time Notes” 2 to 3 times a year.  November will be the first month that an article will be included.
• Peggy Elliott teaches a Public Relations Class and has agreed to help get students involved in the communication process.
• Jennifer Lake is working on developing an Internal Marketing Plan using the Campus Values to help build community on campus.

Financial Aid/Scholarship Action Team – Randy Duckett indicated that this group is looking at the current scholarship strategy, will meet as an Action Team soon and then bring a formal recommendation to the EPT.  Deidre Martin indicated that it would be helpful to her staff if a decision regarding some of these issues could be settled by November 1^st, as her staff will be in the process of soliciting scholarships from some of our current donors. 

Minority Success Action Team – Stacie Williams said the objectives are to get a better picture of who our students are and find out the major needs in order to address them.  Randy agreed that it takes some time to really determine needs if we are to really look beyond the surface. For instance, it appears that we have a very good African American Freshman retention rate, but we have to dig deeper to determine if the retained students are actually becoming graduates or leaving the institution without completing their degrees.

Strategic Planning/Surveys Action Team – Katya Terry reported that this team is informing the EPT with information that relates to the USCA Strategic Plan regarding retention and withdrawal.  They are reviewing surveys that may need to be changed or add new ones. 

Program/Major Admissions Action Team – Randy Duckett reported that this Action team had made the recommendation to divide into three separate teams, Business, Education and Nursing to better address the needs of each area.

Students at Risk/SARS Action Team – Vivian Grice reported that a meeting concerning a possible provisional program had taken place and that Dr. Henson, chair of the Scholastic Standing & Petitions committee was also serving on this Action Team.  This will facilitate discussions once this recommendation is sent to SS&P, and hopefully bring quicker action.

Summary – Randy Duckett, Braden Hosch

• Call special meetings when needed to address issues that need immediate attention.
• Our next meetings will be Action meetings. Action Teams should be prepared to bring recommendations to the EPT meetings.
• Student success is what we want; retention is just an “indicator”.

The meeting was adjourned at 4 pm.