Eastern Oregon University

Student Affairs Director

Meeting Minutes

September 4, 2007

9:00-11:00am

HUB 301

Present:  Mike Daugherty, Colleen Cascio, Heather Cashell, Eric Bucks, Anna Maria Dill, Jaime Contreras, Hailey Wolcott, Dr. Marianne Weaver, Rob Cashell, Pat Arnson, Stephen Jenkins and Emily Booth

I.     Area Reports

Admissions:  Jaime Contreras, Director of Admissions, reported that the fall admissions deadline has been extended to Monday, September 10, 2007.  The deadline was extended to help a number of students who were walk ins or in process.  Cabinet decided to eliminate the advance tuition deposit and waive the application fee through December 2007.  This was done to encourage applications by removing barriers in the admissions process.  Also, the professional staff in the Admissions office will be attending a conference Monday – Wednesday of next week.  Support staff will be in the office to answer questions. 

Jaime also mentioned that there seems to be some confusion about who is taking over the High School Initiative Program.  He would like to get some clarification of Admissions role in the program.

Residence Life: Stephen Jenkins, Director of Residence Life, reported that Hall Director & RA trainings with occur this week.  There are currently 18 RAs and 3 Hall Directors this year.  Mike Daugherty will be participating in the training by leading a trust building exercise during RA training.  Hall occupancy is higher than projected with 340 students in the halls.  However, this number is lower than last year.  Stephen also reported on the Residence Hall Scholarship.  A portion of the scholarship dollars were set aside for student who had all their paperwork in and complete.  The scholarship deadline was last Friday and 150 applications were received.  Of the awarded scholarships, 12 students have not yet applied for housing.  Mindee Hayden is personally calling the students to remind them that they must apply for housing to receive the grant.  In addition, Stephen mentioned that there were fewer waivers this year due to the consistency from last year with regard to the waiver policy.

Financial Aid:  Eric Bucks, Director of Financial Aid, reported that they are in the process of gearing up for fall.  A scholarship calling campaign was conducted in July and August and $100,000 was awarded this summer.  Eric also mentioned that there have been some stories in the news with regard to Lender Lists and how the lists are complied.  EOU submitted a report indicating the relationship with the lenders on our list.  It has been past practice to automatically assign a lender to students as a processing convenience.  EOU did not receive any kick back from the lender.  The process has now changed.  Students are now required to choose their own lender.  Financial Aid has been working to get the word out to students; however they are encountering some difficulty with the notification process due to the ineffectiveness of the email system, Mach 5 Mailer.  Eric asked the directors to respond to him with any ideas or suggestions they may have regarding the system.  Colleen Cascio suggested that IT should be asked to engage in the issue as it is not just a Unit issue, but a campus issue.

Athletics:  Rob Cashell, Director of Athletics, reported that fall activities are up and running.  Cross Country, Soccer and Football will be traveling this week and Volleyball will be playing at home.  Fall sports schedules will be printed this week and delivered soon.  Dr. Marianne Weaver requested that the Counseling Center receive a poster this year.  Rob also reported that Colleen Fagan, Head Soccer Coach, has resigned and the former assistant coach, Jesse Watson, has stepped up as interim.  In addition, beginning this fall faculty and staff will be charged for a discounted ticket to all athletic events.  A message has gone out to this effect and he is getting some feedback.  Rob also informed the group that EOU is the only school in the system to charge a discounted ticket price to faculty and staff.  All other schools charge full rate.  A question was asked regarding plans for the pool space.  Rob responded by saying that there are currently no plans for the space.

Student Leadership:  Hailey Wolcott, Assistant Director for Student Leadership, reported that she will be involved in Hall Director and RA training. In addition, she is working on the Millennial presentation with Danny Aynes and Marianne Weaver.

Counseling Center:  Dr. Marianne Weaver, counselor, reported that she has seen some students and is busy planning for Orientation.  During Orientation she will be working with almost every group involved in Orientation.  She is looking forward to the fun and fellowship this time of year brings.  Dr. Thacher Carter will be back on campus on September 17, 2007.  In addition, Dr. Weaver reported that the Student Health Center is no longer considered a part of EOU.  It is now only an OHSU clinic.  Ralene Olsen has been working in the clinic full time over the summer.  Dr. Weaver, as well as other directors, has concerns regarding the way the SHC will be run with strictly an OHSU affiliation. 

Disability Services:  Pat Arnson, Coordinator of Disability Services, reported that she has had a busy summer helping student finish up with 2006 graduation as well as helping DDE students finish up with their summer classes.  Carol Balsiger has been busy working to provide students with texts on tape.  In addition, Pat will be getting accommodations in place for fall.

Learning Center:  Anna Maria Dill, Learning Center Director, started her report by complementing Pat Arnson on her focus on universal recruiting.  Pat has taken this task very seriously and has been successful in recruiting students to EOU.  In addition, Anna Maria reported that the First Year Experience seminars are in place for the first two terms of attendance.  Tutoring duties in the Learning Center are going to be reassigned to a member of the faculty who will be working in the Learning Center on a part-time basis.  Anna Maria emphasized the importance of FYE to retention and expressed her appreciation to the directors for their support with FYE.

Career Services:  Danny Aynes, Career Services Director, reported that they have the following upcoming events: Grad School Week, senior meetings, and the ASEOU retreat.  Danny will be hiring a junior or senior to be the coordinator for Service Learning.  Also, there are Students in Service Grants through Americorp available for hours of service.  Lastly, Danny will service as the temporary (12 weeks) advisor for the Ambassadors as Hailey Wolcott will be out on maternity leave.

Student Affairs:  Mike Daugherty, Vice President for Student Affairs, closed this portion of the meeting by briefly reporting on the recent Cabinet budget retreat.  Mike stated that EOU is facing a $3 million deficit.  Cabinet is looking at various ways to address the budget issues.  Temporary savings and closing the pool have already improved the situation.  In addition, he is looking at the possibility budget savings by reorganization within the Unit.  Mike has already talked with specific departments within the Unit about reorganization and is awaiting the recommendations of the Enrollment Management consultant.

II.          Orientation Presentation Discussion - Danny Aynes

Student Affairs is on the Orientation schedule for a 3 hour block of time on September 19th. The directors will lead the FEAT groups in a discussion regarding student rights, responsibilities, and opportunities.  The FEAT groups will connect with the directors on the lawn outside of Loso.  Danny will put together a guide sheet with bulleted points for each director to cover. Directors should meet in Loso lobby at 1:45 p.m. to get last minute instructions.

Faculty Orientation – Stephen, Marianne, Hailey and Danny are working on a power point presentation for the faculty on September 18th, 1 p.m.-4 p.m. in Huber.  Stephen will be presenting the power point about the Millennial student.  The presentation compares generation to generation and addresses many generalizations that are made about Millennials.  A tentative schedule is as follows:

1:00 p.m.      Millennial Presentation – Stephen

1:20 p.m.      Student Panel Discussion

1:40 p.m.      Retention – Sarah

1:45 p.m.      FYE Update – Anna Maria

2:00 p.m.      Counseling Center – Marianne

2:10 p.m.      Student Conduct – Colleen

2:20 p.m.      Financial Aid & Advising – Eric

2:30 p.m.      Academic Affairs

III.         Book Club

Student Affairs has established a book club to discuss relevant professional books and periodicals.  Discussions will take place once a month for about 1-1 1/2 hours.  All members of the Student Affairs staff are invited.  The Naked Roommate will be the first book for discussion.  There will be 1 or 2 copies on reserve in Student Affairs and a web page dedicated to the book club may be set up in the future.       

Meeting Adjourned.                                                  

The Next Student Affairs Directors Meeting – HUB 301

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

8:30 am – 10:00 am