Baker@150.CAS.Progress.014

September 3, 2003 (delayed due to e-mail virus concerns)

This is volume one, number four of an electronic bulletin designed to chronicle the planning process and organizational development within CAS as we join the rest of the University in the Baker@150 campaign for campus-wide growth and improvement. Baker@150.CAS.Progress is produced by Dr. Jamie Comstock, Vice President and Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, in collaboration with contributors from across CAS.

We’re getting the right people on the bus!

New Assistant Dean for Student Academic Services ready to focus on promoting student academic success

Lisa Johnston (ABD, KU, Education) assumes the role of Assistant Dean for Student Academic Services, effective Wednesday, September 10. She was selected from among 30 candidates, three of whom had on-campus interviews.

As Assistant Dean, Lisa will be actively involved in initiatives designed to enhance our student academic support services and promote student retention. She will provide strategic direction and oversight for the Records and Registration Office and the Learning Resource Center, coordinate the production of the University catalog, and serve as the campus contact for FERPA, ADA, and Patriot Act compliance. In addition, she will collaborate with her new colleagues in the effort to streamline registration process and launch retention initiatives focused on enhancing opportunities for academic success for all Baker CAS students.

Lisa comes to Baker with 11 years of university experience that includes a strong record of achievement in the areas of student advising, retention, and academic success programs. As Associate Dean for General Studies and Student Retention at DeVry University, Lisa provided oversight for general education faculty, academic advising, program assessment, retention, registration, student orientation, and institutional research. As Graduation Counselor at KU’s Liberal Arts and Science Undergraduate Center she served as an academic advisor, trained peer advisors, assisted students in petitioning for policy exceptions, and performed degree audits. All of this experience makes Lisa keenly aware of best practices and policies for records management, registration matters, enrollment tracking, academic advising, tutoring, and student retention. In addition, Lisa’s background makes her well suited to play a key role in our upcoming planning processes.

As an administrative faculty member, Lisa will be affiliated with the Psychology Department. She earned a B.S. in Psychology, and M.S. in Clinical Psychology from Central Missouri University and a second master’s in general psychology from KU. Her Ph.D. in Education is near completion. Within the psychology profession, Lisa worked both as a practicing therapist and university instructor teaching a variety of undergraduate psychology courses at KU. Once she settles into her new role here at Baker, you may find Lisa in the classroom from time-to-time. She enjoys teaching and does it well.

Lisa’s new office will be located in the recently renovated space in the Records & Registration area of Constant Hall. However, until the remodeling work is finished, you will find her in the LRC – that is if you can catch her standing still. She has already started working on the process of hiring the remaining LRC Coordinator. Lisa clearly aims to hit the ground running. She’s definitely “on the bus”!

Learn more about what it takes to go from Good to Great….

KAN-ED LIVE to broadcast live discussion on Good-to-Great book this Friday

As a result of our Kan-Ed membership, members of the Baker community can learn more about the Good –to-Great paradigm by listening to a live web cast this Friday, September 5th, beginning at 2:30 p.m. The web cast, which is part of the “Lessons in Leadership” series, will include a live discussion centered on Jim Collins’ book, Good to Great. Listeners to the live web cast will be able to e-mail questions to the panel during the discussion.

Panel members include Les Lacy, Administrator, Cheyenne County Hospital; Dr. Mike Neal, assistant Dean of the School of Education at Kansas University; and, Dr. John Heim, Superintendent of Schools of USD 253, Emporia. They will discuss the book and relate how its lessons may apply to their particular constituencies.

Be sure to check out http://www.kanedlive.org at 2:30 on Friday if you can.

CLOSE TO THE MARK!

The unofficial headcount is on target; shape of the student body nearly matches our goals

You may have heard that our enrollment headcount topped the 900 mark this week. That is the kind of good news worth spreading around. As we celebrate this key milestone, it is important t compare this number to our expected enrollment numbers, and consider the impact the discount rate has on net tuition revenues. The unofficial “actual versus expected” numbers are listed below. Official enrollment numbers and net tuition budget implications will not be available until after September 20, which is when we will conduct our official enrollment census. For now (and these numbers can change), here is how the enrollment picture looks:

ACTUAL EXPECTED

NUMBER OF NEW FIRST-TIME FRESHMEN: 231 245

NUMBER OF NEW TRANSFERS: 39 35

TOTAL: NEW FULL-TIME STUDENTS: 270 280

NUMBER OF FULL-TIME RETURNING STUDENTS: 581 598

NUMBER OF PART-TIME RETURNING STUDENTS: 20 40

NUMBER OF NEW “SPECIAL” STUDENTS: 30

TOTAL NUMBER OF STUDENTS (HEADCOUNT): 901 918

TOTAL NUMBER OF FULL-TIME STUDENTS: 851

TOTAL NUMBER OF PART-TIME STUDENTS: 50

RETAINED SOPHOMORES (COHORT N=231): 172 (74.5%)

RETAINED JUNIORS (COHORT N=250): 161 (64.4%)

RETAINED SENIORS (COHORT=216): 144 (66.7%)

RETAINED TRANSFER STUDENTS

(2002 COHORT N=118, RETURN ELIGIBLE N=76) 55 (72.4%)

[Prepared by Dr. Rand Ziegler, Associate Dean for Faculty and Administrative Services, with input from Ruth Miller, Director of Registration and Records, Sep 3, 2003]

Below, the above figures (noted with *) are compared with those of the past five years …

Number of new freshmen CAS enrollment (headcount) Retention-to-graduation

rate of transfer students

Fall 2003: 231* Fall 2003: 901* (entering 1993-1998)

Fall 2002: 231 Fall 2002: 886

Fall 2001: 250 Fall 2001: 902 59.0%

Fall 2000: 216 Fall 2000: 828

Fall 1999: 184 Fall 1999: 763

Fall 1998: 199 Fall 1998: 810

5=Yr Avg: 216 5-Yr Avg: 838

Freshman to Sophomore Freshman to Junior Freshman to Senior

retention for the past 5 yrs: retention for the past 5 yrs: retention for the past 5 yrs:

Fall 2003: 74.5%* Fall 2003: 64.4%* Fall 2003: 66.7%*

Fall 2002: 72.4% Fall 2002: 69.0% Fall 2002: 65.2%

Fall 2001: 81.5% Fall 2001: 70.1% Fall 2001: 60.3%

Fall 2000: 81.9% Fall 2000: 62.8% Fall 2000: 58.8%

Fall 1999: 72.9% Fall 1999: 61.5% Fall 1999: 57.8%

Fall 1998: 69.2% Fall 1998: 62.2% Fall 1998: 64.7%

5-Yr Avg: 75.4% 5-Yr Avg: 65.1% 5-Yr Avg: 61.4%

[Report prepared by Rand Ziegler, Assoc Dean Faculty & Administrative Services, Sep 3, 2003]

Records Coordinator search re-opened

The selected candidate for the Records Coordinator position in the Office of Records and Registration decided to accept a position elsewhere. Therefore, effective Tuesday, September 2, Ruth Miller, Director of Records & Registration, re-opened the Records Coordinator search. Ruth already has identified a few viable candidates from our applicant pool and is optimistic that we will find the right person for this position soon.

In Context

The preliminary stages of our Strategic Planning Process got underway last Friday when I huddled-up with Associate Deans Bonnie Postlethwaite and Rand Ziegler for nearly five hours to outline the steps in the planning process. As you can tell, participating in the planning process is not for light weights. It is challenging work that requires critical thinking, analytical skills, a willingness to let go of the past, and a commitment of present time, so we can have a greater future. It requires brainstorming, data gathering, systematic analysis, and teamwork. It requires an attitude of immediacy, risk-taking , entrepreneurship, and the courage to think BIG! It requires much of the participants…but the results are worth it. If done well, strategic planning facilitates institutional renewal and long-term positive implications for all stakeholder groups.

We are currently forming the CAS Strategic Planning Team and will soon formulating smaller task force groups to identify critical issues and gather pertinent information related to our performance in the areas most likely to have the greatest impact on our success. If you want on the bus, now is the time to let me know. I’ll make sure there is a seat for you and that you have a voice in plotting our course from good to great.

-- Dr. Jamie Comstock