YEAR: 1999-2000

CHARGE: In coordination with the Professional Development Committee, examine and make recommendations on the orientation of students and staff to the Brookdale Governance system

RECOMMENDATIONS:

Recommendations from Student Development and College Life on Increased Involvement of Students in Governance.

Kathy Pultar and Cecilia Castro-Abad, for Student Development, and Don Dickson, for College Life, presented a set of recommendations designed to increase student awareness of and participation in Governance. This is the text of their joint recommendations:

It is recommended that the following areas be considered as charges for committee work for academic year 2000-2001 so they can be fully developed and implemented.

1. Identify and implement marketing and promotional strategies to create a Governance presence on campus.

2. Examine and identify student incentives to increase student participation.

3. Implement additional leadership and training opportunities for campus community.

4. Examine and identify strategies to increase connection between the student life board and governance.

5. Develop a script and prepare governance information/ orientation packet for faculty. Currently in development phase targeted for pilot Fall 2000.

6. Create a student application/tracking form for governance participation.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS

1. The campus community will be provided with a recruitment script and governance information.

2. All faculty will present a suggested three to five minute presentation on the first day of classes (or course orientation) orienting, motivating and recruiting students to participate in governance.

3. As students are identified, an application/tracking form will be sent to the student life board for tracking and election/appointment to committees.

4. Each committee member discusses governance at all department/division meetings with an emphasis on student recruitment. Governance will be an agenda item at these meetings.

RESULTS:

VOTE:

No vote.

PRESIDENT’S RESPONSE:

No response in Gazette.

OUTCOME:

YEAR: 2000-2001

CHARGE: Examine the steps/processes that new students go through from point of first contact to first day of class. Make specific recommendations for improvements.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

Principles Guiding the New Student Experience

1. Students should be made to feel welcome when entering Brookdale Community College. We would like to create a first impression that supports the student's decision to come to Brookdale.

a. Rationale – Often students feel overwhelmed when first arriving at Brookdale’s doorstep(s). Currently, there is no one, central location where students can go, where they may find important information, answers to their questions, and a friendly face.

b. Suggestions - Welcome Center, Student Ambassadors (“Greeters”)

2. Students should receive necessary support services to make their transition into Brookdale smooth. We would like to assist students in experiencing an increased connection in their first semester and provide an environment that meets the needs of our diverse student population as they move through the educational process.

a. Rationale – Students are usually unaware of the procedures that they need to follow when first entering Brookdale, as well as the support services that are available to assist them during their stay, such as Orientation, Counseling, Financial Aid, EOF, Disability Services, and Veterans Affairs.

b. Suggestions – ensure that all students are aware of each support service that is available, do frequent internal evaluations to ensure that students are adequately informed and if not, adjust procedures.

3. Students should be able to plan for their future at Brookdale well in advance. We would like to see an increased effort in and commitment to preparing new students to become more independent in planning their educational experiences.

a. Rationale – Many students get frustrated when we place limitations on how independent they may be. Current procedures limit how far in advance students may plan their future, which essentially fosters a state of dependence on support services that Brookdale offers.

b. Suggestions - year-long master schedule, degree audit, development of a program plan screen in colleague for counseling, early delivery of schedule to community.

4. Students should be able to register and pay for their courses with few obstacles.

a. Rationale – Registration, Counseling, and Accounts Receivable were listed as three frustrating steps that students currently must go through. While each step is vital, there may be ways to ease the “bottleneck”.

b. Suggestions - web-registration, registration in counseling areas, revise priority pass process, decrease wait for students to see their counselor to no longer than two weeks, incentives for staff volunteers, allow credit card payments for the duration of the registration process, develop e-commerce capability with web-registration, explore discounts for those students who pay early.

5. Brookdale should focus on retention and follow up on the causes of attrition.

a. Rationale – While Brookdale currently does a great job of tracking the number of drop-outs and stop-outs, there is not much understanding of why these people leave Brookdale. Increasing knowledge of the causes of attrition will then allow us to make the Brookdale experience more positive for new students, as well as improve retention rates.

b. Suggestions – Implement an exit interview procedure.

RESULTS:

VOTE:

The New Student Experience: David Stout of the Student Development Committee presented the recommendations of the committee. Discussion included announcements that the new catalog will contain a recommended sequence of courses for each program. In addition, a carefully selected group of students is being allowed to register on-line starting this semester. The committee’s recommendations will be forwarded to the President.

PRESIDENT’S RESPONSE:

No response in Gazette.

OUTCOME:

*From Mid-May 2001 Gazette* “Several of these recommendations have since been seen to fruition. In December, Basic Skills Testing was moved back to LAH from the Library. The release of a year-long schedule of classes on Colleague and WebAdvisor took place just in time for Priority Registration this spring. Registration has posted a list of "steps to enroll" outside of their doors for students to see as they enter the office. Computers have been placed in the Counseling areas for students to view open course sections. Also, in March, the Counseling Offices became centralized in Larrison Hall.”

YEAR: 2000-2001

CHARGE: Follow up on the recommendations from April 2000 with an action plan for carrying out these recommendations

RECOMMENDATIONS: See 2001-2002 Recommendations.

YEAR: 2001-2002

CHARGE: Develop Guiding Principles on communications with students

RECOMMENDATIONS:

ISSUES

The Student Development Committee has reviewed various types of correspondences to students and has identified the following problems:

A. Inconsistency of correspondence formats – standardized letterheads are not always used

            B. Excessive correspondences – several areas of the college communicate similar messages separately

            C. Inaccurate/Inconsistent/Redundant Data – some areas of the college maintain their own information and do not share their data with departments that may be affected

            D. No centralized review of correspondences – letters have been sent out from different departments out of sequence thereby confusing students

DRAFT GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR COMMUNICATIONS WITH STUDENTS

         1. Correspondence with students should be clear, consistent, correct, concise, current, and courteous (the 6Cs).

         2. Correspondences should use standard Brookdale Community College letterhead. Templates for various types of communications should be created and utilized.

         3. Similar correspondences should be combined and others eliminated.

         4. Related areas of the college should review data and share data where possible.

         5. Each office that sends out correspondence to students should review these documents each academic year to ensure that the above principles are followed.

         6. Communications with students should be reviewed on a regular basis by a centralized area to determine the effects on other areas of the college. A sub-committee of the Student Development Committee shall be formed for the purpose of reviewing correspondence on a regular basis. This committee shall advise the Department Chair, Division Chair, or Senior Administrator of each office if issues of concern are found in their correspondence.

         7. A report will be prepared by the Student Development Committee at the end of each academic year detailing sample problems discovered in correspondence, as well as the ways in which these problems were rectified. This report will be delivered orally before the Forum and in writing to the Steering Committee.

RESULTS:

VOTE:

David Stout and Bernice Eng, co-chairs of Student Development, presented their committees recommendations on Communications with Students, which passed with a vote 98-0 with 2 abstentions.

PRESIDENT’S RESPONSE:

In his memo, Dr. Burnham stated, “The Guiding Principles for Communications with Students is a wonderful framework for establishing – and maintaining – positive relationships with our students. Bernice Eng and David Stout and the entire Student Development committee deserve a great deal of credit for attacking this “messy” problem with candor and honesty. Their document will serve as the launching platform for a consistent, high-quality plan for student communications.” In response to these guiding principles, Dr. Burnham has charged Jim Palumbo, Dean of Enrollment Management and Student Affairs, Steve Nacco, Executive Director of Marketing Services, and Steve Curto, Division Chair for Counseling, with formulating “a plan which focuses on accountability and a timeline for implementation.”

President Burnham has formed a task force to continue the work that the Student Development Committee started on Communications with Students. The members of the task force are: