Changes to financial aid, retention programs, cultural competency recognition discussed at Academic Senate meeting
Provost Gary Shapiro said federal budget cuts will affect availability for need-based student financial aid at Tuesday’s Academic Senate meeting.
“We’ve been trying to beef up need-based financial aid,” Shapiro said. “We need to know that things are not nearly as bad in Michigan as they are in other states.”
President Barack Obama presented a $3.7 trillion budget proposal Monday designed to boost the nation's economy and reduce record budget deficits.
Shapiro said there have been reductions to financial resources in all states except North Dakota and Alaska.
Wei Zhou, director of Institutional Research and Planning, and Shawn Wilson, director of student retention at Academic Advising and Assistance, presented a report on CMU retention and enrollment.
Zhou said overall enrollment of undergraduate students on and off campus has increased over the past years. Zhou and Wilson's presentation identified students’ socioeconomic status, high school academic preparedness, university engagement, academic performance and social engagement as factors that have positive correlations to retention.
Wilson said he does not want to report that a service is unsuccessful because a student did not know about it.
“If we know these leadership programs are helping students attend, we need to put more involvement in these programs,” Wilson said. “We have to do a better job of making sure students are aware of services available to them.”
Wilson noted the implementation of a timely and comprehensive university-wide retention tracking data collection system, utilization and expansion of support programs using research-based best practices, intrusive advising and other shared experiences of first-year students as steps to improve retention at CMU.
A change in requirements to graduate with a Recognition of Cultural Competency was approved, requiring students to complete a minimum of 21 credit hours instead of the 19 credit hours first proposed in 2008.
Transcripts with the recognition show students took at least five courses about cultures within and outside of the U.S., and engaged in activities with people whose cultures differ from their own. Students will now be able to double count courses toward the requirement.
“Part of what we’ve been trying to do with curriculum initiative is to provide access to all of our students, so they will be able to add cultural competency on their transcripts,” said Denise Green, associate vice president of Institutional Diversity. “We want to help our students across the board to have the opportunity to increase understanding of cultural competence.”
Green said they will try to “open it up” to colleges that do not have that opportunity available in certain majors.
University President George Ross also discussed the reason for delaying the opening of the College of Medicine until 2013.
“As we evaluate and assess where we are, our decision to delay (the College of Medicine) is the norm and not the exception,” Ross said. “It is not uncommon for the delay and it will strengthen our application.”
