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Offices/President/Cabinet and executive council/Cabinet meeting notes/Cabinet meeting notes/July 21, 2015

July 21, 2015 Cabinet Meeting Notes

Tuesday, July 21, 2015
9:00 a.m.
President's Office Conference Room

Cabinet was called to order by President Turner at 9:00 a.m. President Turner acknowledged Mr. Koehn for his years of service to NSU and to Higher Education. He thanked him for his service to the students and Oklahoma. President Turner welcomed Dr. J. Aaron Christopher to the group and to NSU.

Members present were: Dr. Steve Turner, Dr. Mark Arant, Mr. David Koehn, Mr. Hardcastle, Dr. Jerrid Freeman, and Dr. Aaron Christopher

Members absent were: None

Financial Aid Disbursement Date-Fall 2015

Mr. Koehn gave a history of the financial aid disbursement plan that was implemented during the spring 2015 semester. Disbursement of funding was applied to student accounts earlier than in the past to assist students receiving refunds with funding for personal expenses. Mr. Koehn stated that the best thing about this plan is that it allows some students to stay in school because they have access to funds much earlier. The group discussed the challenges of the plan and realizes that staying with the earlier disbursement date will place a financial obligation on the university. They also discussed opportunities within Banner to have multiple disbursement dates. Dr. Freeman reported that NSU's current 3 year cohort student loan default rate is at 14.1% which is down from recent years. It is expected that this number will decrease at the next reporting cycle in September 2015. Mr. Koehn, Dr. Christopher, and Dr. Freeman will discuss plan options and bring a proposal to the July 28th Cabinet meeting. More information will be provided on this topic when it is finalized.

Enrollment Update

Dr. Freeman reported that overall enrollment numbers are down 1.1% as compared to last year. This shortfall is expected to decrease as Orientation sessions continue to admit and enroll students. Dr. Freeman reported that the SOAR sessions are going great. First Time-Full Time numbers are up by 3.0% with overall admits up by 5.0%. Student retention numbers are up by 3.0%. Efforts continue to contact current students that have not yet enrolled for the fall semester. Dr. Freeman reported on efforts made by Dr. Julie Sawyer and Dr. Richard Reif to track all cohort groups in Banner. This new reporting structure will provide data on class levels that has not been possible in the past. There continues to be a trend of students enrolling in fewer courses each semester. President Turner asked Dr. Freeman to report to Cabinet: (1) trends on impact of last two days of enrollment and (2) impact of first two weeks of enrollment.

Freshman Convocation

Dr. Arant announced the idea to add a freshman convocation program. This program will be implemented during Orientation and the Coin Ceremony. The idea is to provide information to freshmen and to help them understand the reason they are here. The date for the fall semester freshman convocation will be August 18th beginning at 4:00 p.m. Information will be made available as the program and location are finalized.

New Student Housing Naming Process

Mr. Hardcastle began discussions regarding the process for naming the new student housing building. The goal is to have a decision made by October 1, 2015. Information will be made available as plans get underway for this project.

RUSO Board Meeting/Items

President Turner reported to the group that the RUSO board members, along with Vice Presidents for Finance and Provost/Vice Presidents for Academic Affairs, will be visiting campus and will hold their annual Retreat and Board meeting on our Tahlequah campus beginning Thursday, July 23 through Friday, July 24, 2015. He provided information on items being submitted on behalf of NSU and invited Cabinet members to the Thursday evening dinner and Friday morning breakfast.

Fall 2015 Opening Meeting

The group continued discussions regarding the Fall Opening Meeting to be held on Tuesday, August 11, 2015 beginning with refreshments at 8:30 a.m. and the program at 9:00 a.m. This meeting is expected to last approximately two hours and will be held in the Center for Performing Arts. More information will be made available in the next few days.

Announcements

No announcements.

The meeting was adjourned at 11:00 a.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Robin Hutchins