December 10, 2018 Meeting

Meeting summaries

Meeting Summary: December 10, 2018

Main topics for the meeting were a summary of state-appropriated and income fund revenues and expenses, the FY20 tuition and fee proposal, and updates on state budget issues and planning for next year. There was also a guest speaker, Jennifer DeHaemers, associate chancellor for enrollment management, who spoke about recruitment and retention.

Summary of state-appropriated and income fund revenues and expenses: An updated version of the summary was provided by Judy Marshall, chair. The summary provides a snapshot of SIU Carbondale’s actual revenues and expenses from FY14 through FY19. The estimated profit in the Income Fund for FY19 is approximately $770,000. The FY19 revenues and expenses will be adjusted on a monthly basis. It was noted that enrollment has been added to the report in order to make an easy comparison between enrollment and tuition revenue. Members were encouraged to share with their constituency groups as needed.

FY20 tuition and fee proposal: Judy Marshall will be presenting the campus tuition and fee proposal to the SIU Board of Trustees at its executive session on Wednesday, December 12, 2018. She stated that SIU Carbondale will not be requesting any tuition or fee increase. A small increase was considered for the general fee and would have been directed to information technology. While there was student support for the fee, it was decided not to increase it next year. The housing rates will also stay flat next year. The only increase will likely be the optional health insurance fee. This fee is set by the vendor based on claims data and should be available in a couple months.

To provide some perspective, SIU Carbondale waived 31 percent of its tuition in FY18. The average cost for incoming freshman was $232.92 per credit hour instead of the official cost of $315.00 per credit hour. The list price is not the best indicator of what students actually pay.

For fall 2018, 24 percent of tuition was waived for the incoming freshman class. Approximately 13%, or 151, new students were full-pay. Almost 60 percent of new freshman received merit-based financial aid. The group discussed that SIU Carbondale needs to find cash alternatives to waivers.

Updates on state budget issues: The Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE) approved its FY2020 Budget Recommendations, which included a 10 percent overall increase for public universities. Also included in the recommendation was the allocation of performance funding. For SIU Carbondale, this would be a reduction of $102,100, the highest reduction of all the public universities.

The Governor’s Office of Management and Budget (GOMB) has requested two budget scenarios: one uses a flat appropriation and another is at a maintenance budget of 6 percent. The maintenance budget would account for inflation, which is higher for universities.

The Governor’s budget address will be on February 20, 2019, and the legislators will return to Springfield on January 7, 2019.

The Capital Development Board has released some emergency funding. SIU Carbondale will receive $1.2M in capital funds for the replacement of four roofs.

Planning for next year: There are three considerations when planning for next year’s budget. The first is the total allocated to SIU as a whole from the state. The second is the possible adjustment to the campus allocation as a result of the AGB study. The AGB study is supposed to be done in April or May. Lastly, enrollment will be another factor in the FY20 budget. It is too early right now to make accurate tuition revenue projections for next year.

There is also talk about an increase to the minimum wage. This could have a huge financial impact on SIU Carbondale. Not only would it affect our student employees, it would also affect our full-time employees.

Guest Speaker, Jennifer DeHaemers, Associate Chancellor for Enrollment Management: DeHaemers discussed her position as associate chancellor for enrollment management, a position she has been in for seven months. She first talked about listening to internal and external groups about enrollment. Her goal is to grow new student enrollment.

She has set achievable goals for fall semester 2019. For fall 2018, there were 1,133 first-time college students and her goal for fall semester 2019 is 1,200 first-time college student. Her goal for on-campus transfer students is 1,300 students. This would be an on-campus goal of 2,500 new first-time college students and transfers.

There is currently a marketing and branding study being done by a consultant in University Communications. There has been new marketing materials created that feature Saluki dogs. They are receiving positive feedback on these materials. They are using more social media. This group may not see these advertisements because they would not be in the target audience profile. They are also purchasing a Customer Relations Management System (CRM) to track e-mails, mailings and telephone calls.

They will also be putting more effort into getting the students here. SIU Day was a success and they received 90 applications as a result. The next one is set for April 26, 2019. A student is more engaged once he or she reaches the campus. They will also be extending the radius in which they invite students to SIU Day.

There have been some changes to the admissions processes to better help students complete their application. They will no longer have to provide official transcripts during the application process. Now they will only have to provide it once they get to campus. Also, calls are being made to students who start their application but don’t finish it. They have found out that sometimes students aren’t hitting the final submission button.

DeHaemers said the she is taking a holistic review of students with an ACT below 18 (or the SAT equivalent). In prior years, a student with an ACT below 18 would automatically be denied admission. Some students do not do well on tests and therefore receive a score below 18 but have a high GPA. These students will now be looked at individually and may be accepted based on multiple criteria. She will be using five years of data provided by Institutional Research and Studies to back-up the decisions being made.

Enrollment Management is also investing in new technology. A new printer was purchased that can provide personalized communications. They are also working on an on-line view book where students can list the things they are interested in and a book about SIU Carbondale is instantly created based on their input. The view book should be ready in the spring. They have also purchased a predictive modeling tool and a net price calculator that can be personalized for each student.

Lastly, DeHaemers talked about retention and persistence, stating that it is just a critical as recruiting. SIU Carbondale needs to help these student come back each year. If they stay, they are more likely to refer a friend.