Student Development:History of Charges and Committee Recommendations
FY2000 – FY2005
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 BrookdaleCommunity 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- WelcomeCenter, 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 BrookdaleCommunity 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:
David Stout, Co-Chair, Stephen Nacco, Co-Chair, Laurie Bender, Cora Cameron,
Mary Christian, Tara Kelly
This task force is charged with ensuring that all communication with current and potential students adheres to the highest standards of the College consistent with its mission, vision, values and goals. The formation of this task force completes the cycle of recognizing a problem, charging the appropriate Governance Committee with the assessment of the problem and recommendations for dealing with it, College wide discussion and implementation of the recommendations collegially reached. The task force will work on the consistent and continuing implementation of those solutions proposed by Governance.
OUTCOME:
YEAR: 2001-2002
CHARGE: Develop concrete recommendations to get students involved in Governance and keep them involved
RECOMMENDATIONS:
OBSERVATIONS
1. Few students are aware that Governance exists.
2. Few students are aware that they have the opportunity to participate in Governance.
3. Most students do not recall having ever seen a Governance Gazette.
4. Most of the students polled are interested in having an impact on the future of Brookdale through Governance.
5. Of those students who are active in Governance, the majority would continue to serve without tangible rewards.
RECOMMENDATIONS
1. Every member of the campus community who is committed to Governance should make the personal effort to encourage student involvement.
2. Promotional and informational material should be developed that will inform students and attract them to Governance. These promotional materials should be distributed during Orientation and placed in strategic locations around campus.
3. The Gazette should be re-designed to be more attractive to the students. While mostly informational, this piece has the potential to recruit student involvement.
4. Governance should be advertised on the college website and in the Happenings, under the title, “Student Leadership Opportunities”.
5. A Governance information/recruitment meeting should be held each semester. The Student Development Committee will take responsibility for hosting these meetings (see implementation #2 below).
6. A mentor should be assigned to each student who becomes a member of a standing committee. The mentor will be responsible for educating the student about Governance, particularly the charges of their standing committee.
7. Student members of standing committees should meet prior to each Forum (i.e. Student Forum, resurrect the “Green Candle Club”), with a member of the Steering Committee (or other designee). These meetings may foster understanding, camaraderie, and a deeper commitment to Governance.
8. Student members should also take an active role in the recruitment process and the dissemination of information.
9. Students who have been active in Governance for a full year should have their commitment acknowledged in a letter of appreciation from the President of the College.
10. An “extracurricular transcript” should be developed on which a student’s participation in Governance (as well as other activities) may be documented.
IMPLEMENTATION
1. Dan Schroll, of the Communication Media/Design Department, has volunteered to run a contest in which students may compete for the design of the Governance information and promotion materials.
2. The Student Development Committee will host its semi-annual “Governance Information Day” meeting for interested students in late September 2002, and again in early February 2003.
3. Steering has informed Chairs of each standing committee that mentors must be assigned to work with new students.
4. The idea of an “extracurricular transcript” is currently being explored.
CHALLENGE
The Student Development Committee would like to ask all members of the campus community to show their commitment to Governance by bringing a student with you to the next Forum. It will be exciting to see a packed house as we discuss how to get these students more involved!
RESULTS:
VOTE:
No vote was taken.*From Mid-May Gazette* “Student Development co-chairs Bernice Eng and David Stout led a discussion on Student involvement in Governance. This has been a topic that permeates every discourse on collegial government. Four students gave their perceptions of Governance and the ways to involve students. Their observations as well as those of the rest of the committee were put in the form of recommendations. Some of the recommendations were general enough to be suggestions to the body on how to reach out to students and others are already in the discussion phase, such as an external transcript.”
PRESIDENT’S RESPONSE:
No response in Gazette.
OUTCOME:
YEAR: 2002-2003
CHARGE: Academic Records
RECOMMENDATIONS:
1. Department Chairs should be given the same access to information currently accessible via Colleague to Division Administrators.
2. Learning Assistant access to student academic information should be decided by the learning assistant's department, who should coordinate any efforts to give such access through the Registrar.
a) Notify *all* faculty that they must access rosters via Webadvisor, and that they must print their own rosters.
b) In particular, notify part-time faculty of this, ensure that each PT faculty member knows his/her ID and password to access Webadvisor, and make PT faculty aware of the existence of web-capable computers on campus in places like the TLT, the Bankier Library, etc.
4. Make the following available to teaching faculty via Webadvisor:
a) Always on roster - Name, Student ID#, Phone #, Counselor.
b) available via "clickable" fields - Pass/Audit, Class, Status, Credits/CEUs, e-mail address, street address
5. Eliminate use of Social Security number - use Student ID# instead
6. Delete "Rpt Crs" from all rosters
7. Due to various Brookdale policies and procedures, pre-requisite checking remains both a manual and technical process. Therefore, efforts are being made by the Educational Services area to track specific pre-requisite information for each student in the Colleague System. Until such time as this can be accomplished, we feel that pre-requisite information should not be listed on rosters.
8. Re: extended rosters (currently in use by Basic Skills areas) - we would defer to these areas and their coordinators to decide "best practices" regarding their use of these rosters.
RESULTS:
VOTE:
Student Development Co-chairs Bernice Eng and Jim Crowder noted one change their committee had made to its recommendations: each dept should determine Learning Assistants’ Webadvisor access. This vote also passed unanimously.
PRESIDENT’S RESPONSE:
As similarly noted above, the recommendations cited here require additional process and procedural development and implementation, particularly as it relates to adjuncts and their access to rosters. I’m assuming that a great deal of discussion took place outside of the committee and the Forum, in order to determine that the objectives, as outlined in these recommendations, are truly “doable”.
OUTCOME:
YEAR: 2003-2004
CHARGE: The College Catalog
RECOMMENDATIONS:
Charge 1: Clarify the process and purpose for creating the College Catalog, both printed and on-line.
The purpose of creating and maintaining a College Catalog is so that both current and potential students can have a clear and “user-friendly” tool that they can rely on as they choose courses and programs toward pursuing and completing a degree in a timely fashion. All other concerns are secondary.
Recommendations:
1. Establish centralized control of the catalog.
2. Rely on electronic media (computer disk, e.g.) for editing/revising instead of on hard copy. Ensure that those responsible for editing and revising the Catalog have the technological tools needed.
3. Investigate production of the Catalog in CD form.
• This will reduce the number of paper copies of the catalog that must be printed.
• The CD should contain online links for students to access updates and changes to the catalog.
• This will allow inclusion of materials that could prove useful from a marketing point of view.
4. Establish an online catalog.
• Initially, such a catalog may only be a list of updates and lists of errata; eventually, the catalog should be a mirror of the hard-copy catalog. Using electronic media for editing and revising should help in this regard (see above).
• An online catalog should be in a format that allows easy navigation through the document (word search, etc).
• Ideally, an online catalog would also have a “clickable” calendar, with important dates (registration, priority registration, add/drop dates, etc.) listed.
• The online catalog should also have campus maps of all Higher Education Centers.
5. Ensure that every entering freshman receives a copy of the catalog.
Charge 2: Examine the current catalog for clarity, accuracy, order and layout.
Charge 3: Recommend ways to improve the usefulness of the catalog from the students’ perspective.
The Committee sees the second and third parts of the charge as essentially one and the same. The best way to make the Catalog most useful from the student’s perspective is to enhance its organization and clarity.
Recommendations:
1. In addition to the suggested course sequences listed in the catalog, the catalog should have “checklists” of courses, which could be taken to satisfy program requirements. This would provide greater help to those students who, for one reason or another, can not fit their course of study into a four semester “mold”.
2. The catalog should include a bulleted list explaining the counseling process, with a time line.
3. The catalog should include a “How to Use This Catalog” section, at or near the beginning of the Catalog, with instructions on what types of information are available in each catalog section.
4. The catalog should include a “Frequently Asked Questions” (FAQ) section.
5. The catalog should contain a listing of online services available to students, including WebAdvisor and Degree Audit.
6. The catalog should include printed tabs in page margins to make it easier to find specific sections of the catalog.
7. An index should be included in the catalog.
8. A glossary should be included in the catalog.
9. The General Education “grid” should be included in the catalog, with a reference to it on all program pages.
10. Symbols (bullets, triangles, etc.) are confusing – devise more convenient ways to convey information about General Education.
11. The Catalog title and year should be printed on the spine of the document binding.
12. A map of the Lincroft campus should be included in the catalog.
13. Site maps of all Brookdale Higher Education Centers, with directions to each center, should be included in the catalog. The respective addresses and phone numbers for each center should be included, as well.
14. A county map showing the locations of the Higher Education Centers and the Lincroft campus should be included in the catalog.
15. Information on the tuition rates, fees, and other costs, as of the day of publication, should be included in the catalog, along with directions on how and where to check for updates.
Charge 4: Recommend detailed timelines for catalog production.
Pending recommendation:
Set January 1st as the deadline for additions/changes to the catalog to ensure catalogs are ready by April 1. This means that in order for new courses and programs to be entered into the catalog, Academic Council must be given relevant materials at the beginning of the previous academic year (i.e., if a course is to be included in the 2005-2006 catalog, it should be presented to Academic Council no later than September of 2004).
Charge 5: Define by which catalog a student is to be guided.
The committee determined that this part of the charge would most appropriately be handled by the Academic Standards Committee.
RESULTS:
VOTE:
The vote on the College Catalog charge recommendations by Student Development passed unanimously.
PRESIDENT’S RESPONSE:
While I applaud the intent of the deliberation which took place over many weeks, and the subsequent recommendations, I feel this is one area where the committee – with all good intentions – blurred the lines between Governance and administration. While the recommendations are good ones, I would have liked to have seen the work of the committee framed in a series of “Principles” to guide catalog development (and other major student-targeted publications), as opposed to (or in addition to) the laundry list of items submitted. For example: one of the committee recommendations was “to investigate production of the catalog in CD form”. CD production is extremely expensive and unlikely to result in fewer printed copies of the catalog. In addition, the requirement that the catalog be updated yearly makes this cost prohibitive: having an on-line catalog obviates the need for a CD. The committee’s recommendation could have been framed in a “Principle” requiring “365/24/7 access to current information for students, etc.”
Please don’t get me wrong; the committee rightfully identified numerous issues and made some excellent recommendations for change which will ultimately benefit the students immensely: I was quite gratified to hear of the active participation of students in guiding many of the discussions.
That said, I accept the recommendations of the committee while recognizing the need for better process and procedural development: by virtue of this memorandum I will charge Deans Kegelman and Palumbo and Executive Director of Marketing Services Steve Nacco with implementation as reasonable and ask them to report back to the committee and me their progress prior to the printing of the April 2005 catalog (time constraints forbid implementation of many items listed for the catalog scheduled for printing July 2004).
OUTCOME:
YEAR: 2004-2005
CHARGE: Students’ academic rights and responsibilities as partners in the educational process
RECOMMENDATIONS:
Student Rights and Responsibilities
Students shall enjoy all the rights and privileges guaranteed to every citizen by the Constitution of the United States and by the state of New Jersey. In addition students will have the following rights and responsibilities:
1. Academic Freedom
Right: Students have the right to develop, explore, and express ideas with the expectation that their in-class performance will be evaluated solely on an academic basis.
Responsibility: Students are responsible for respecting the viewpoints and opinions of others in an academic environment.
2. Confidentiality
Right: Students have the right to confidential and appropriate use of academic and personal information.
Responsibility: Students are responsible for understanding the circumstances under which information can be released.
3. Course Information
Right: Students have the right to know the academic requirements for each course in which they are enrolled. These requirements should be identified in the course syllabus distributed at the beginning of the semester and include the evaluation system, due dates, attendance policy, and consequences for failing to meet the standards.
Responsibility: Students are responsible for adhering to the standards of academic performance contained in the syllabus and for seeking clarification of standards at the beginning of the term.
4. Discrimination
Right: Students have the right to an academic environment that is free from all forms of discrimination.
Responsibility: Students are responsible for conducting themselves respectfully in an academic environment that accepts the diversity of all people regardless of their perceived or real differences in race, nation of origin, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability status.
5. Disruptions
Right: Students have the right to an academic environment that is free of unnecessary disruption.
Responsibility: Students may not interfere with the learning process of others by disrupting the academic environment. Disruptions may include entering class or other academic settings late, leaving and returning unnecessarily, inappropriate talking or noise, and improper use of cell phones, pagers, headphones, laptops or other devices.
6. Drugs and Alcohol
Right: Students have the right to an academic environment that is free from the unlawful use of drugs and alcohol. Responsibility: Students are responsible for compliance with Brookdale’s policies and regulations regarding the unlawful use of illegal drugs or alcohol at all Brookdale facilities and sponsored events.
7. Grievances
Right: Students have the right to a process for addressing grievances.
Responsibility: Students are responsible for identifying and following the appropriate procedures for pursuing a grievance.
8. Health and Safety
Right: Students have the right to an academic environment that is healthy and reasonably free of hazards to safety and security.
Responsibility: Students may not jeopardize the health, safety and well-being of others. Students are responsible for compliance with BrookdaleCommunity College policies and regulations regarding health and safety.
9. Program Information and Graduation Requirements
Right: Students have the right to accurate and complete information regarding program and graduation requirements.
Responsibility: Students are responsible for reviewing program material and developing graduation plans based on program and graduation requirements.
10. Student Records
Right: Students have the right to know the type of information that is maintained in their student records and have the right to view those records and petition for change.
Responsibility: Students are responsible for adhering to the rules and regulations governing access to student records as defined in the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) and any college policies defining and regulating access to student records.
RESULTS:
VOTE:
Vote concerned the work of the Student Development Committee regarding the Students’ Rights and Responsibilities. This vote was open to all constituencies. No questions were raised and the item passed unanimously with 93 in favor and one abstention.
PRESIDENT’S RESPONSE:
This committee did yeoman’s work developing the Student Rights and Responsibilities: personally, I would have liked to have seen a more specific statement made regarding transfer requirements in # 9, Program Information and Graduation Requirements, but understand the need for ‘wiggle’ room and the committee’s desire to expedite the discussion to allow for its immediate printing in the new catalog. By virtue of this memorandum, I charge Dean Palumbo and ED Nacco with developing a plan to ensure
that our students are familiar with this document, and it is shared with ALL students (not just those attending orientation) prior to the first day of class.
