Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
Call to Order
Raquel calls the meeting to order at 6:01 PM
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V.
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Monica: What are the detriments of moving forward with the merger when the data of the campus climate survey hasnt been
fully considered?
Michele: We have a lot of data from multiple sources and can reasonably surmise what the results from the campus climate
survey will be.
Monica: So with regard to the data, the merger is being made in anticipation of the results.
Michele: The changes in Student Development are bigger than the OMA-ISC merger and the process has been in place for
quite a while.
Monica: My concern is that the smaller picture within the bigger picture is being swept away.
Braden: Would you make changes if the survey data represents an alternative to what youre anticipating?
Michele: Yes, we have room to do that if we need to.
Person: When will we be having the larger conversation youve references about inclusivity and diversity? We havent been
included previously.
Michele: Last Thursday, during the open hour, people in student development met with people from OMA and ISC and I felt
like there were two or three meetings taking place. One was about the information about changes with OMA and ISC. The
second was about the student experience at Seattle U. We need to continue to have these conversations on a monthly basis.
We never really got a chance to talk about the change because the student experience was so prevalently discussed.
Person: Can we request some transparency surrounding the merger?
Michele: Yes, I can give you this years exact numbers.
Person: Can we see the difference between last years funding and this years?
Michele: Yes, I believe so.
Daniel: How will the merger not be limited if there is going to be a 4% budget cut?
Michele: I can answer that.
Amanda: If were cutting our budget, then why are more positions being added?
Michele: We arent adding any new positions
Monica: Okay, so Sabina is leaving and her position is not being filled. How will that change be played out in the coming
merger?
Michele: Let me answer that in my presentation
Guest Speakers Dr. Michele Murray, VP of Student Development.
Michele: I am very appreciative of you being here for public comment! For folks who dont know, this is a divisional status
report for SGSU and this is Monica Nixon. Weve been involved in updating the Division and now its time to bring it to you.
Student development is responsible for fulfilling the promise of the Redhawk experience. Were focused on an understanding
of an integrated Jesuit education for leadership, encouraging SU price and community, and a holistic student well-being. We
focus on retention and on-time graduation related initiatives, setting data informed priorities, and pursuing organizational
objectives rather than personal preferences. We seek to solve the problem of the Golden 200. This is some of our data
concerning involvement in co-curricular organizational participation and service, learning communities, satisfaction, first-year
retention, engagement with diversity, and graduation rates. *Explains statistical breakdown of data* In Student Affairs there are
many programs that aid in student graduation rates. The most effective of these programs is the learning community model.
Satisfaction with regard to the student experience is super important to us. Were ranked 18 th among 28 Jesuit institutions. If
college students dont get comfortable living and working in a diverse environment in college, then they never will. Studies
show that students tend to replicate their experiences. Our graduation rates and our first-year retention rates really drew our
attention to the need to reorganize things. I would urge SGSU to be concerned about these rates as well. It would be a great
partnership for us to be on the same page with regard to these data points. Okay, these are the summary points of things
were looking to prioritize: student success and engagement, operations, student services, and innovation. We want to create
a comprehensive transition experiences for all students and build a culture of student empowerment and leadership formation.
We need to develop the necessary but absent capacities such as family engagement, fundraising, etc. We will be
implementing a no wrong door policy for student success and engagement, following a comprehensive health and wellness
strategy, and developing a comprehensive housing strategy. Additionally, creating an innovation culture focused on innovation
domains, reimagining learning communities, and developing and implementing new Redhawk Experience programs.
Innovation domains include a variety of things: understanding our students, preparing students for change, integrating
effective and adaptive technologies, creating high-value student experience, and operationalizing the search for meaning and
purpose. All of this brought us to a restructure of our organization! We are merging New Student and Family Programs and
Commuter and Transfer Student Life to create a Center for Transitions and Family Engagement. Student Activities and
Leadership Development will merge to create Student Involvement and there are two more changes as well. This is the
division of Student Developments new structure. I do want advice from SGSU, but let me get to some of your questions first.
Starting with money in the big picture. So, a 4% cut in Student Development this year equated to roughly $318,000 which is on
top of a $400,000 budget cut we received a few years ago. All told, weve endured about a 9% budget cut. With the first cut we
trimmed all operational expenses. We preserved SGSUs funding. Decreasing staff didnt make sense because we have the
same number of students. With this years cut, there was no way to cut operational spending without creating a detrimental
dent in the student experience. In making cuts this second round, we had to cut staff. I made the decision to cut open
positions instead of firing existing employees. It was the more humane thing to do. It meant that there was an open position in
OMA that didnt get filled. There were two positions open in UREC and they only got one. There were two in CAPS and they
only got one. There was an open position in the Student Health Center and that could not be filled. In the interest of full
disclosure, if I was faced with the same problem again I would do the exact same thing. To put things in perspective: a 1%
change in first year retention is 9 students and a quarter of a million dollars. Thats a baseline reason to be concerned about
retention but beyond that we need to take into consideration the student experience. This is why I want to partner with SGSU.
Myra: I dont see how I can boost retention. There are other factors at play. In order to make changes a lot of other things
need to change.
Michele: I dont intend to place this pressure of SGSU. I intend to partner with SGSU. There are a lot of underlying reasons as
to why students leave SU aside from the affordability of the institution.
Luke: Is the retention problem nationwide?
Michele: Yes. Technically speaking a 77% six-year graduation rate is terrific. We do pretty well with our six-year graduation
rate, considering the stats of our incoming students. The point of comparison that is important is the type of institution we are
along with the will and intent of all of the people who work here would indicate that we should have better results.
Mark: I am a freshman here at SU and I really like it here, but its been really unfortunate to know that Im not sure that Im
coming back next year and for me its largely due to the financial component. I feel like its been digging your staff into a bigger
hole being in your position and having to make the kinds of decisions you have to make. I know you have a lot going on, but
its hard to ask the students who arent necessarily involved in the full conversation to be asked to bring up the retention rate.
Michele: Thank you for sharing your story. I believe there are many students in your position. If it is a financial thing, the
person you need to speak to is Josh Krawzyck and if there is someone you need to talk to, its him. Hes the director of
retention initiatives. We need to keep you on campus and we need to incorporate the student voice into the conversation
about merit and need based aid. Marilyn Crone is pulling together a task force on the topic of financial aid and this task force
is one in which your voice needs to be heard. Youre all asking really good questions and if you want to know more, please,
ask me and I would be more than happy to talk with you more. Okay, more money questions. So, about the 4% cuts. Where
you saw a merger of departments, you will see that they bring their budgets together. There will not be two offices operating
with one budget, there will be two budgets combined.
Gabriel: My concern is that OMA keeps being cut. If were focusing on the wellness of students, then why are we leaving
students who are systemically oppressed and institutionally marginalized left out of the conversation? A great many first year
students are not even aware of OMA which plays an important role in the open door policy you mentioned. If were going to
talk about improving student wellness then we need to look into/address the needs of minority populations.
Michele: I understand the feeling of having the OMA space taken away and that taking is not the intention of the change. By
moving into the new PAVL 180 space we want to give students of color and our LGBTQ students into a place where a lot of
living happens on campus. This is a change in space but it is not a shrinking of space. Ultimately there will be two lounges in
the new space. This brings me to the question someone asked earlier concerning student involvement. The question were
asking to students is what are your hopes for this space? What should we name the office? How do we lay out the office?
Both lounges upstairs will remain student lounges. How theyre used will be left up to students.
Eric: So, Michele, what are going to be the tangible processes and ways by which these changes will take place in which
students can communicate their preferences to you?
Michele: Last Thursdays meeting was supposed to address the student engagement part. We have two meetings. One with
transfer and commuter students and the other with the same group we met with last week to continue that conversation and I
imagine that those meetings will take place every Thursday in the coming month or so. SGSUs funding was preserved
because theyve been asking for a budget increase for many, many years and we were already behind in their ability to serve
as many student organizations as possible. Regarding the MPF, remember what I said about what budget cuts look like? Well,
this year the MPF was a part of the old budget cuts model. The new, cautious model weve incorporated this year is very
different. The decision regarding the cutting of the MPF last spring was never actually made. We began talking about it, but
never made a decision. So, the OMA lounges. The lounges themselves will stay, but the office space will be inhabited by
Laurie Prince, Nichole Hoyes-Wilson, and Michelle Etchart. Because of the poor design of this building, it seems to make
more sense to move the offices upstairs and then move the student space to the more prime location. Raquel, I will leave you
with these questions and I look forward to discussing them with you in the future. As you think about the reorg, there are some
exciting partnerships that can evolve from the different mergers. Some of the offices on campus have asked to sponsor
different learning communities.
VI.
VII.
New Business
REPA 20150408 SGSU Project Chart Update (Steering Committee)
Raquel: I seek a motion to table this item.
Jordan: So moved.
Braden: Seconded.
Raquel: Motion passes unanimously.
Jordan: I move to add a new business item.
Jarrod: I second
Raquel: Motion passes unanimously.
VIII.
Committee Reports
A. PAB:
a. First-ish Friday donuts!
b. Weekly meetings are Thursdays from 12:30-1:30pm
B. Steering:
a. Retreat on April 25th!
b. Transition retreat on May 17th
c. June 3rd is the last Rep. Assembly and it will be a banquet
d. Meg and I are going to a breakfast at SPU with SPU and UW on Friday
C. Finance:
a. April 18th is appropriations
D. University Affairs:
a. Nothing to report.
X.
Announcements
- Raquel: I have drag show tickets and Myra will be the point person for that event
- Manuel: Please go to tomorrows meeting.
- Luke: I need Nikkis old office tomorrow at 10am.
XI.
Adjournment at 7:57 PM