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SUNY Oneonta Institutional Planning


Posts: 26
Darren Chase 2022-03-21T17:50:22-04:00

3/2 Dialogue Session Notes, President's Office

March 2, 2022  Dialogue Session Notes:

“Recruitment – Distinguishing Oneonta”

  • We have the opportunity to develop programs to help students understand and value the impact of an education. Let’s connect that work to their experience of SUNY Oneonta.
  • Need the whole college to promote and support recruitment.
  • College-wide learning outcomes could be a link to planning and resource allocation.
  • What we do to give students a successful experience is what will not only retain them, but attract them.
  • First year and transfer experience should get support and gain momentum.
  • The more we can live and surface the values of sustainability and others, not just through a first year seminar but other curricular & co-curricular activities can engrain it as part of the Oneonta experience.
  • Establish learning priorities – five things all Oneonta students will have at graduation.
  • Maybe our distinction among SUNY isn’t necessarily our priorities (sustainability, inclusivity, service), but what we do with them.
  • Can we add accessibility and access to the list of possible distinctions. We have the only CAMP program in NY, our accessibility resources are widely used and we offer good support.
  • For middle states we need to show ways we connect the process of institutional obligation to other focal points.
  • Same for first year experience – it can’t be just that it exists, but what we do with it to be distinctive.
  • Our Access & Opportunity Programs offer knowledge and skill building to the students in the programs that would also be useful to other first year and first-gen students. Can we replicate some of the programming and support and offer it to all students?
  • Let’s get students out in the community more. Make things that our students are doing in class visible on and off campus – like a film festival, a community garden for use by the Restaurant Administration program, mobile pantry put together by Family Service students, public art and music, outdoor programs.
  • Purposeful connections between curricular and co-curricular is an opportunity for recruiting new students and retaining them.
  • Experiential learning is a strong message for prospective and current students. Something that says “through your Oneonta education you’re going to have three/five experiential learning opportunities – and at Oneonta you can get funding!”
  • Opportunities for us to better serve latinx population – faculty and staff who speak languages other than English can help connect with prospective families – if we could provide a translation service it can go a long way to help families feel more comfortable with Oneonta than other colleges.
  • Admissions gets a lot of questions about Honors Program – it is a negative that we don’t have one.
  • Can an honors program include a way for people to join/apply later in their career? Or have graduation pathways to get in so it is not a one-shot in the first year when a lot of students aren’t prepared, interested, etc.
  • Maybe have honors program pathways to participate through service, scholarship or sustainability classes and activities?
  • An inclusive honors program for any interested student could help them achieve things they maybe didn’t think of. Instead of a closed elite program, ours could be different and more open.
  • Need to keep faculty workload in mind when thinking about new initiatives like an Honors Program.
  • Do we have the capacity to re-think the honors curriculum now – being down 900 students?
  • Perhaps we don’t put pressure on faculty for honors program, but call it the Red Dragon Program. Maybe it is just extra seminars that reinforce certain values – this becomes or already are part of the faculty load.
  • Can we distinguish ourselves with a robust first-generation support program? Featuring mentors, alumni, networking, first year experience, etc.
  • Experiential learning focused honors program – students graduate with x number of experiential learning experiences.
  • Keep in mind and promote the things that make living on campus nice.
  • We need more structure and processes for graduate students. Needs and expectations are very different from undergrads. Support just for them.
  • We have funding for AOP students to go to graduate school, but we don’t have the programs they are looking for generally here at Oneonta.
  • Downtown vibrancy affects recruitment. What is our role in economic development?
  • Can we have the college open in the summer so people can see the beauty?
  • Micro credentials and certificates for programs/courses offering life long learning experiences could help.
  • We have an example for local partnership with a high school through our education program and Oneonta HS that could be replicated with other schools and majors.
  • What does the city need to succeed? We could be more welcoming with parking and signage for events. What venues do we have that could offer interaction with town?
  • Events and programs that appeal to people of color would be helpful.
  • We need to serve adult learners locally. People want to finish their degrees, to take night classes, to get certificates. We could fill this need easily, but need to change some long-standing structures and lower the barriers.

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