Campus Resources and Planning Committee
5 November, 2010

Present: Bart Finzel, Sara Haugen, Maddy Maxeiner, LeAnn Dean, Andy Sharpe, Josh Preston, Sydney Sweep, Mark Privratsky, Margaret Kuchenreuther, Carol Marxen

Guests: Jacqueline Johnson, Cheryl Contant, Mark Fohl, Gwen Rudney, Pareena Lawrence, Jim Hall, Lowell Rasmussen, Bryan Herrmann

Notes:

Next Friday (12-Nov): CRPC will take action on Sports Management major and hear about the financials/capital request for the proposed Green Living dormitory.

On 19-Nov: CRPC will hear information regarding stimulus funding and the employment positions associated with that funding.

Presentation of Information re proposed Sports Management major (Rudney)

Gwen Rudney (Division Chair, Education) presented information about a proposed structure for making Sports Management a major at UMM. Sports Mgmt it is already a popular Area of Concentration for students on campus. Rudney presented the rationale that 1) students are already in place/taking courses that constitute the Area of Concentration, 2) making Sports Mgmt a major adds support for students, and 3) no new resources are actually required (the 2 additional courses added to make the Sports Mgmt major would come from a reorganization of currently offered courses).

Jacquie Johnson wanted to know how the courses required by the proposed major would affect the capacity in those classes (e.g. Introduction to Statistics, Professional Ethics) and was worried about adding more demand in required and elective classes than could be accommodated. Rudney answered that she had consulted with Dan Demetriou and Engin Sungur regarding this issue and that it would not likely create a problem.

Margaret Kuchenreuther asked if Kevin Stefanek is in a full-time continuing position, since he is not in a tenure-track position but associated with many of the courses in this proposed major. Kuchereuther also asked about what would happen if he were to leave UMM. Cheryl Contant answered that Stefanek has a contract, is a full-time employee, and that his contract can be renewed yearly. Bart Finzel asked if the cluster of courses that Stefanek teaches would impact UMM’s ability to rehire for that position—are they too varied/specific, or general enough that a rehire would be fairly simple (were Stefanek to leave UMM and a re-hire necessary). Rudney responded affirmatively—a re-hire for Stefanek’s position would be possible—and that other current faculty are also able to teach some of his courses.

Contant underlined the importance of making Sports Mgmt a major because it being a major would add faculty support, provide institutional backing, and provide depth for students in the major. Mark Privratsky asked about the lack of PHd faculty teaching courses in the proposed major and if that had an effect/what that effect would be. Contant answered that the instructors have been and currently are teaching these courses. Rudney noted that 8 credits of the required courses in the major are taught by Masters-holding instructors.

Mark Fohl mentioned that he has seen numbers increase since the origin of the Sports Mgmt Area of Concentration. He was originally told to create the Area of Concentration and add courses when many students were taking courses aligned with Sports Mgmt. The Sports Mgmt major has been created and is now being proposed for similar reasons.

Bryan Herrmann said that adding the Sports Mgmt major will bring in few students, but will help Admissions market the package of the Sports Mgmt major better. It will help them sway interested students if it is an official major rather than an Area of Concentration. Kuchenreuther added that it is analogous to the move Environmental Studies made to become an official major—now, it is much stronger and has strong faculty oversight.

Finzel said that we will talk again about the Sports Mgmt major at our next meeting, and recommended that members bring a motion so CRPC could vote regarding the proposed major.

Enrollment Update from Admissions (Herrmann)

Herrmann presented enrollment figures for 2010 and also enrollment projections for 2011-2015. UMM’s enrollment goal for 2010 was 1603 degree-seeking students (1730 total), and our final enrollment for 2010 is at 1685 degree-seeking students (1811 total).

Based on the handout of projections provided, Finzel commented on the projected enrollment figures that the “high” estimates are similar to our current actual enrollment figures. Kuchenreuther noted that the “low” estimates are shrinking over time and asked if it was because the high school student pool is decreasing. Herrmann answered that that was the reason; the high school student pool hit its peak last year.

Pareena Lawrence asked if Herrmann had factored in the changes expected to affect financial aid. Herrmann said that financial aid packages were going to decrease in amount after this year because stimulus funds will no longer be available. Andy Sharpe added that the Promise Scholarship program on campus will lose money and that students reliant on this program will face a decrease of thousands of dollars in aid.

Johnson asked if Fall to Fall retention has dropped (from fall of a student’s freshman year to fall of his/her sophomore year). Carol Marxen asked why retention fails—is it dissatisfaction with the major program, is UMM a poor fit, etc. Herrmann said the most common reasons were social life-, major-, and financially-based. Herrmann added that although those are common factors, there is not 1 single factor that causes students to leave (retention issues are complex to solve).

Rudney asked if, since we have more students than projected, we are okay accommodating those students. Faculty had already planned their courses on the projected enrollment. Rudney also asked regarding the space available to accommodate students in classes and on campus. Marxen added that the extra students have brought about issues in her experience advising students—required/introductory classes are full, students have to go elsewhere.

Kuchenreuther asked if we had gathered any statistics or information regarding why people stay for 5 years—are they down to the wire or do they choose to have 3 majors. Johnson seconded that it would be good to have that data.

Herrmann also presented figures regarding students who attend the Community of Scholars event on campus. The committee agreed that the event is a good one and is helpful as a way of showing students the academic/social environment of UMM. From the figures presented, 50% of the students offered scholarships after this event actually enroll at UMM, and around 60% of non-recipients enroll. Finzel stated that the money is less important than the event itself. Contant asked about the possibility of holding more events, perhaps specific ones for students interested in Athletics or certain majors, so that we could expand on the success of the Community of Scholars.