President’s Update- September 2024
Dear College Community,
Welcome to the 2024-25 academic year. It’s hard to believe that it’s October already! Time is flying and the semester is moving quickly. After a quiet summer, it has been great to see our corridors, classes and myriad of events and meetings come to life with students, faculty and staff. I am grateful to have Marcia Comrie rejoin the Office of Communications to capture the best parts of our academic year. Please join me in welcoming her back. I am pleased to share with you the following updates:
State of the College
Speaking about meetings, please mark the date of Thursday, October 24 for our State of the College meeting. In my past lives, Convocation was a welcome back to the semester, a review of the previous year, and a presentation of major goals/ initiatives for the coming year. Since York also has a State of the College, there will be a more comprehensive presentation of the latter two areas in addition to feedback from University’s Annual Performance Management Process (PMP) then. Each of the Vice Presidents will present for their division.
Enrollment Update
When I last wrote to you in August, I indicated that fall enrollment reflected a steady and increase in freshmen, transfers and re-admit students; and unfortunately, declining continuing student enrollment. While we did not meet our overall target of 6300 students at the time of the final University enrollment report, for the first time in 5 years we were not skilling on slopes of Vail, Colorado, we were on a hike up Mt. Kilimanjaro because we increased total enrollment over fall 2023 by 1%. This is a tiny win, but I want to express big gratitude to the staff in Division of Enrollment Management and Academic Affairs, Academic departments, Marketing, the Welcome Center, faculty and all those who helped to make this happen. I encourage you to review the final registration report which provides greater detail about each student cohort: https://www.york.cuny.edu/institutional-effectiveness/facts/intranet/fall2024_weeklyregistrationdashboardasof20240918_forma.pdf
2024- 2025 Priorities
As you know, continuing student enrollment is a challenge. There are many reasons why students do not return (for a semester or even more). I am pretty sure everyone at York, has their own ideas as to the reasons why students don’t return. We know that for every student who didn’t return, there is a reason or multiple reasons why. For us, there are also multiple questions: What should we do, how should we do it and who should be involved. I do know that whatever we do, it must be a college-wide and shared effort.
Among our many priorities this year, is a comprehensive review of our advisement structure and practices. It’s time for us to rethink how we do advisement and how we can support the retention and persistence of our students. In the spring, I convened a meeting of the Advisement Committee to get a sense of existing challenges. I also know that some time ago, there was a review of Advisement with recommendations. We need to caucus once again, and I have asked VP Williams to help to lead this effort so we can move from recommendations to implementation. More information will be forthcoming.
A second retention-related priority is centered on our need to increase online course offerings. This semester throughout CUNY there are approx. 7000 students enrolled in online programs at Senior Colleges and 1200 enrolled in online programs at Community Colleges. Increasing the number of online courses (especially in high demand courses) for our students improves access for our students, and helps us to stay on par with other institutions. It is my hope that we will be able to increase online course offerings in the Spring 2025 schedule for high demand courses. It goes without saying that as we strategically create these opportunities, we have to ensure that there is no difference in student outcomes in online programs compared to in person classes and we have to ensure that there is adequate virtual support for students.
We are gaining traction colleagues. Our Master of Science in Clinical Trial Management was our first fully online program, and I am pleased to share that we recently received approval offer a fully online Bachelor of Science in Community Health starting in the fall 2025 and there are degrees in Finance and Health Administration on the horizon. Thank you to the faculty for all your efforts in this area. I look forward to these critical additions to our program roster in the near future.
What also plays a significant role in attracting and retaining students are the degree programs we offer. The time has come for us to develop a new Academic Master Plan (AMP), one in which we take a critical look at our program offerings and outcomes and determine what programs are needed or need to be enhanced to meet the workforce needs of the next 5-10 years. It is important to note that the AMP will be used to drive the development of a Facilities Plan (which is also overdue for York), which will help us ensure that our programs are supported by adequate, appropriate and state of the art facilities. More information will be forthcoming on next steps.
VP Rios will provide an update about facility upgrades, current capital projects and the status of the cafeteria and other projects to be funded by NYCFC funds in his report. However, I am pleased to share that the call for proposals for the $150,000 from the New York City Football Club will be shared next week. I am in the process of assembling a small, but mighty committee to review submissions and provide recommendations for funding to me.
An important aspect of both the AMP and the FP is understanding what is happening around us. The current Jamaica Neighborhood Plan will be critical to our work and future. It provides a vision for housing, jobs, green and public spaces and investments in the local community. There is currently a proposal on the table for the development of a mixed-use building which would have affordable housing on the top, and several floors on the bottom for York College, and we will need to decide what we will do with this space. Just like the AMP, the Jamaica Neighborhood Plan is not one we are creating for ourselves, it is one we are creating for the generation of students and graduates.
As I shared previously, many of our students stop out for any number of reasons. Some of those reasons are tied to finances, because even with the relatively low cost of attending York, it is still expensive for many students. And even if they are able to handle their tuition, the cost of living in NYC, transportation, unexpected emergencies, and any other number of situations that empty their wallets, are often enough for them throw in the towel. That’s why our fundraising efforts are so critical. We are committed this year to improving Advancement efforts, by enhancing donor relations, seeking out partnerships, pursuing naming rights, and increasing auxiliary revenue by pursing new opportunities . Also critical to these efforts is re-engaging alumni. This fall we will host the first annual Red, Black and White: Alumni Night to do just that. More information will be forthcoming.
Colleagues, the time has come for us to develop our protocol for identifying candidates for honorary doctorates just like every other senior college in CUNY. I am committed to working through governance and with the college senate to bring this to fruition.
The Leadership Council will be reconvened this fall and serve as an additional forum for sharing opportunities for improved college operations. The date and call for agenda items will be forthcoming.
Reaffirming our Values
Colleagues, we are approaching October 7th which marks a year since the senseless Hamas terrorist attack on Israel and the war in Gaza. The day also falls within the Jewish High Holidays of Rosh Hashanah (beginning the evening of October 2) and Yom Kippur (ending on the evening of October 12). October also will be the final stretch of the US presidential election. Tensions are high, but our commitment to the safety of and respect for each member of our college community is higher. I recently shared with you York’s annual Reaffirmation Statement. It reiterates our commitment to diversity and equal opportunity in all aspects of employment. It also includes our policies for a number of areas and important resources. Should you require any additional information please do not hesitate to contact Arlene Peterson, CDO at apeterson1@PROTECTED. I would like to share that our search for a CDO is underway and I anticipate interviewing four finalists in the coming week.
Last week the findings of Judge Lippman’s Review of University’s Anti- Discrimination Policies were released. We are navigating unprecedented times, and such times calls for us to assess our approaches and efforts. I believe the feedback about the direction we should go regarding increasing resources, redesigning the portal, and increasing coordination are important. Equally as important is ensuring that we create more spaces for active dialogue that helps to bring people together. I look forward to engaging this work with you to combat hate, eradicate discrimination in all its forms, build bridges of respect and tolerance, and create spaces for the exchange of ideas.
Thank you!
Thank you to the Office of Student Activities, and the CUNY Coalition for Students with Disabilities at York College for creating such a space by hosting both a Presidential Debate Watch Party and Q&A with Dean Dr. George White and Dr. Michael Sharpe, Dr. Robin Harper, and Dr. Anthony Sparacino and virtual watch party emceed by Distinguished Professor and former NYC Council member James Vacca.
Thank you also to the Cardinal Crew-- all the students, faculty and staff who participated in the 3rd Annual JamaicaQ 5K. Word on the street is that there were over 500 registrants. While I did not run the route, I did spend time running my mouth greeting guests and congratulating runners, among them our own Gila Acker, Reinold McNickle, Earl Simon, Greg Vega, Joery Francois, Nicholas Jones, members of the student Nursing Club and many other members of our college community
I look forward to a productive year working shoulder to shoulder with all of you to advance student and institutional success and I extend wishes for a Happy Rosh Hashanah. May the New Year bring peace, good health and prosperity for you and your family as you make room for the sweetness to come.
Schrader