Minutes of May 3, 2000 Meeting
The Enrollment Management Team met on Wednesday, May 3rd, at 9:00 a.m. Present for the meeting were Celeste
Brogdon, Sandra Close, Rebecca Duncan, Gordon Folger, Ann Gleason, Mary Johnson, Sue Kearney, Carol Kercheval,
and LaRose Spooner. The minutes of the previous meeting were approved. LaRose informed the group of Mr. Taylor’s
resignation and expressed appreciation for his support of the EMT over the years. She indicated that the SMT has
approved the laptop computer initiative for the freshman class that will enter in 2001-02, and that attention will need
to be given, once details of the plan are finalized, as to how this information will be communicated to prospective
students. LaRose also announced that the College is negotiating with a firm to conduct a pricing study to consider
the issues of price elasticity and differential pricing.
Application updates were provided by Carol, Sandra and Mary for traditional admissions, the 23+ Program, and
the graduate school. Sue reported on pre-registrations for Fall 2000, which currently look strong for full-time
undergraduates and a little behind in part-time and graduate students. The EMT agreed that the members would
conduct a follow-up telephone campaign with students eligible/expected to return who have not yet pre-registered.
Sue will coordinate this effort again this year.
Ann and Sue provided an updated report on the outlook for on-campus students for next year. The housing staff
has made contact with most juniors and seniors who had not indicated their plans for living on or moving off campus
next year, and sophomores will soon be contacted. The numbers living on campus next year will not reach the number
budgeted, since so many upperclass students have opted to move off campus. Through the telephone calls, the staff
is sensing that there may be a growing trend for students to marry while in college / seek to be married as soon as
they graduate. These comments led to a discussion of messages that the Meredith community sends/wants to send to
its students about independence, self-reliance, personal growth, etc.
Ann reported that the Student Life Committee is circulating a petition to eliminate smoking in the residence halls,
and that she anticipates this issue will be on the agenda of the Student Government Association next year. She therefore
did not present a recommendation for the EMT to consider at this time (as requested at the last meeting) but will wait until
the fall semester to determine the best approach to take. She commented that students who were displaced because
of the recent fire in Heilman Residence Hall have adjusted very well to their temporary assignments. Every effort was
made to find or create spaces where roommates could be housed together, and this strategy has been very successful
in helping students deal with the disruption.
Sue reported that the Summer School Proposal, which grew out of an EMT recommendation that the summer
school calendar be evaluated, has met with some success. A faculty member has been hired to serve as an academic
adviser during the summer sessions; the Bee Hive hours have been extended during the period of the three-week terms;
and the Learning Center is seeking to arrange staffing for at least some hours this summer. The proposal for changing
the schedule to two five and one-half week sessions of four class days per week has been referred back to committee
by the Academic Council. Dr. Reichard will appoint another committee to look at the various questions raised by
Academic Council.
LaRose led the group in a discussion of possible topics to address in Dialogue Sessions next year. Evaluations of
the session on student characteristics conducted by Sue and Ann in March have been summarized and the results will
be sent to the team members. (Copy attached to official minutes) The results show a need for more discussion time
and a concern about diversity issues on campus. Several other suggestions for topics were mentioned in the
evaluations. After discussion, the EMT concluded that the diversity topic needs to be woven into all efforts of the
EMT and that a session dealing with this topic likely needs to come in a campus-wide forum (one that would draw a
larger audience than an EMT dialogue session). Ann will explore with SGA the possibility of a student-sponsored
forum that would include administrators, faculty and staff, as well as students. Possible topics for EMT Dialogue
Sessions include the Honors/Teaching Fellows laptop project and financial aid philosophy and pricing. The goal is to
offer at least one session each semester.
Sue distributed a report that included the responses received to the multicultural work group recommendations and
offered comments on some other items for which she knows action has been taken. She requested the EMT members
to review the report and to forward to her any comments about recommendations for which they can provide responses
or expand upon existing ones. The EMT did not think it would be appropriate to send out another reminder/request to
those members of the community who did not respond. Once the report is completed, Sue will provide a final report to
the EMT, to Dr. Hartford, and to other members of the Senior Management Team.
A reminder has been sent to all individuals who received the Retention Strategies Work Group recommendations
with a request for a response by May 15th. Sue presented to the group a suggestion in one of the responses concerning
an alternate approach to day care on the campus that would involve students in an after-school/evening program of tutoring
and supervised play. The group discussed the idea and raised several concerns and reservations about the desirability of
such a program.
LaRose requested the EMT members to provide by June 15th a report of activities they have undertaken this
year that support recruitment and retention for inclusion in the annual report of the Enrollment Management Team.
Another meeting of the EMT will be held in early June; LaRose will confirm the date and time. The meeting was
adjourned at 10:30 a.m.
Sue E. Kearney
Vice-Chair
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For additional information, please contact
Sue Kearney, Vice Chair of Enrollment Management Team, at 760-2364
Page created by Katie Toro, Enrollment Planning and Institutional Research
Last modified: May 5, 2000
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