Letter to the campus - Spring update
1 May 2000
Dear Colleagues, Students, and Friends:
As we approach the end of the spring semester, I write again to tell you what we have done to move Brooklyn College toward our goal of becoming a model public liberal arts college and to inform you of matters that affect our campus now and in the near future.
I would prefer to tell you all this in person -- and I do so to the extent possible. To reach beyond the possible, I use our Web site.
LONG-RANGE ACTIVITIES
(1) Five-Year Planning
The Planning Council, chaired by the provost, has fashioned from initiatives already underway, my remarks to the Stated Meeting, and ideas set forth recently ten themes that will soon be entrusted to ten working teams. The teams will analyze internal and external reviews, identify issues, solicit information from department and area heads, develop strategies, set timelines, and submit reports and recommendations to the Council.
The teams' reports will enable the Council to draft a plan to reach goals and objectives consistent with our institutional mission and values and to include measures that will enable us to chart our progress over the five-year term of the plan. The draft plan will be distributed to the college community and other constituencies for comment; we will also schedule open hearings. The Council will consider all suggestions and, as the penultimate step, will deliver a final report to me. I will respond to the campus at large with what will ultimately become our five-year plan.
(2) The On-Course Advantage (TOCA)
The first thing a student-centered college must offer its students is full and timely access to the courses required for a degree. We all know that many of our students find themselves barred from courses they need. Students with whom I have spoken cite this obstacle as their foremost difficulty at Brooklyn College.
Students should not have to transfer from Brooklyn in order to graduate within a reasonable time. Put simply, we must give our students The On-Course Advantage.
I have established a task force under Assistant Provost Eric Steinberg to examine the underlying issues and make recommendations. A preliminary report is to appear shortly. Implementing TOCA will likely require that we change our approach to class scheduling, adjunct allocations, budgeting, and resource allocation.
(3) Enrollment Management Committee
The Enrollment Management Committee, chaired jointly by the provost and the vice president for finance and administration, has been reconstituted and has set to work. In the next few weeks, the committee will confer with a consulting firm that will evaluate the content, clarity, and tone of such communications as our correspondence and materials for prospective students, our public relations, publications, and our Web site.
(4) Face Lift
I hope you've noticed the cleaner walks across the Quadrangle, the light bulbs that were replaced, and the clean blackboards. We have increased the number of custodians and litter patrols both inside and outside. In my tours of the campus, I pay particular attention to the cleanliness and orderliness of offices and grounds. I see progress every day. This is never-ending work and a responsibility we all share. I count on your help and your letting me know where we can do more.
THE HERE-AND-NOW
(1) Spring 2000 Enrollments
Brooklyn College registered 13,629 students this spring -- 9,543 undergraduates and 4,086 graduate students. This represents a decrease of approximately 2 percent in undergraduates and an increase of 1 percent in graduate students over last spring. In new enrollments, we experienced a 9 percent increase in freshmen (181 v. 166), a 15.8 percent decrease in transfer students (516 v. 613), and a 33.1 percent decrease (343 v. 513) in graduate students. Continuing graduate enrollments grew by 235 students, an 8.2 percent increase (2,874 v. 3,109). Enrollment is inextricably linked to budget. Of this year's operating budget of $70 million, the College must raise about $40 million in tuition revenue and fees. As in prior years, we expect to meet that revenue target.
(2) Fall 2000 Outlook
Applications for fall 2000 freshman admission are running 7 percent ahead of last year and the academic quality of the applicant pool is strong. Brooklyn College Foundation Presidential Scholarships have been awarded to twenty-one academically outstanding new freshmen. I've instructed the Office of Admissions and the Enrollment Management Committee to improve our rate of admitted candidates who register as students. Anyone interested in helping in this effort should call Lincoln Sessoms, ext. 5114.
(3) Fiscal Year 2001
Discussions in Albany continue and, to date, the budget has not been approved. The legislative and executive leadership is reported to have agreed to new investments in the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP). We expect that the cap on the maximum TAP award will be raised from 90 percent currently to 95 percent in the 2000-2001 academic year. Also in 2000-2001, the overall maximum TAP award is expected to increase from $4,125 to $5,000 and the income ceiling on TAP eligibility to rise from $50,000 to $80,000. P/TAP, the new part-time aid pilot program for CUNY, already highlighted in the governor's budget, begins this fall.
Brooklyn College and the University at large continue to press for additional funds for full-time faculty, College Now, SEEK, and Child Care. Many of you have written to your legislative representatives in support of this request, and I thank you for your help. Since an agreement on the budget has not yet been reached, I ask those who have not done so to write or call. If you want help in formulating your message, please contact Richard Coniglione, ext. 5882.
At a recent breakfast meeting that Bonnie Impagliazzo organized for me with the Brooklyn Delegation in Albany, I described our plans for the future and spoke at some length about our financial needs. The students who accompanied me to Albany-- Maribel Cordero, Tameka Johnson, and Jesus Perez -- enlivened the presentation with their articulate and enthusiastic accounts of Brooklyn College and stole the show. They were absolutely stunning!
CAMPUS OPERATIONS
(1) The Voice Registration System - New and Improved!
The new Periphonics Telephone Registration System (IVR) went into operation on the first day of summer registration. According to Mark Gold, our director of computing services, the new system is faster, has twelve more lines, and is less prone to failure. It uses digital phone lines for a Unix server platform and offers:
¨ Registration for multiple semesters in one call
¨ A new fina