Strategic Enrollment Management Committee (SEMC)
Meeting Summary
Monday, January 23, 2012
Present: Doug Allen, Gayle Arries, Amanda Blanton, Jackie Blakley, Linda Driggers, Lou Ann Martin, Gwen Owens and Lisa Robinson
Absent: Lynn Lewis
The following is a summary of the SEMC meeting which occurred on Monday, January 23, 2012.
Review/Approval of Minutes:
· The minutes of the December 6 meeting were approved, with corrections.
Spring Enrollment Update:
· Amanda gave a brief update regarding spring enrollment figures. As of the first day of the second week of class, after the drop/add period , the college’s enrollment of 6070 students compared to the same week last year is down 5.25 percent, a decrease of 336 students. With the enrollment increase in 2009, those students have graduated and are not being replaced. Also, the College made a lot of changes (earlier admission deadlines and shortened add periods), and changes impact enrollment. With the changes made in enrollment processes this year, a comparison of this year’s enrollment to last year’s may not be accurate for comparison purposes. Over time, the College expects to see improved retention of students because of these changes; however, it will take several enrollment cycles to see improvement. As we continue to implement changes, such as enrollment deadlines and more stringent financial aid regulations, we need to inform current students of the changes.
· It was suggested that the College be more pro-active in assisting students as some four-year institutions offer more help for students than Tri-County does. We keep putting more and more responsibility on the students.
Withdrawal Survey/Data:
· In December, the Divisions called students who had their RANs set but who had not registered for spring term. The top reasons for students not returning are personal reasons and financial aid issues, which is consistent with other College data. According to ISIS Report 127, 225 students who were here in the fall had withdrawn during the semester. We need to add GPA as a category on the report in order to analyze trends in withdrawals and GPA. The College may want to initiate a campaign to bring back students who have withdrawn, although some students cannot come back because of financial aid. As students withdraw, we need to ask, “What needs to happen in order for you to come back?” Also, better career counseling may be needed on the front end so students pick the right major.
Retention Updates:
· Project Charter/Materials
o A work group is meeting on February 2 to talk about developing a Project Charter for further development of the retention plan. Half of the members of the work group are on the SEMC. The committee discussed what materials from the SEMC should be reviewed by this workgroup. It was suggested that the work group look at the College’s withdrawal process and what the student experience is regarding that. Students currently just disappear – the College does not have a process to catch them. Faculty follow College policies by reacting if students miss more than 2 classes; however, some faculty teach a large number of students and contacting those students places an extra burden on them. It was suggested that the College have a retention specialist in each division to make the necessary contacts.
· FA Warning Workshops/Academic Recovery Workshops
o Lisa stated that 929 students are on financial aid warning and 302 are considered recoverable. Three Financial Aid warning workshops were held in January to provide students the opportunity to meet with academic advisors and financial aid counselors to discuss academic progress and financial aid implications. The students targeted for these workshops were contacted via mail, I-Contact, and email. Eleven students attended. Lisa said a group is meeting on Friday to assess the workshops, the lack of attendance, and what can be done further into the semester to help these students. Some students who were contacted to attend a workshop called the Financial Aid Office instead.
o Jackie suggested that when students transfer from other colleges, Tri-County should accept only the classes needed for their program. Currently, the College accepts all transferable courses on the student’s transcript, regardless of whether or not the courses are needed for their major. Once a student has taken 150 percent of their degree requirements, they fall out of financial aid graces. Fifty credits from random courses can count against students. The College may want to consider a transcript review and counseling session when students transfer in from another institution.
· eTC Portal
o Lisa gave an update on the retention portal in eTC and said that she would like to change the name to something like Retention and Student Success. Gayle suggested changing it to Strategies to Achieve Retention Success. The committee decided on the latter.
· Connection Article
o The retention article for the January issue of Connection is currently being reviewed.
· Retention Best Practice
o At the last committee meeting, it was decided to invite faculty mentioned in the video interviews to present to the committee on their retention best practices. The committee decided to ask Katy Goforth to talk about learning communities as a retention best practice at the next meeting. Lou Ann would provide an update on LC2 .
· Announcements and Updates:
o Amanda stated that a USC Leadership group is coming on campus February 13 and would like to sit in on key college meetings. Since every division is represented on the SEMC, Amanda asked the committee if they would be willing to meet on February 13 and allow the USC Leadership group to observe. The committee agreed.
· Next Meeting:
February 13 at 10:30 am
