Text of President McCormick's June 10,
2010 Response to the Senate Academic Standards, Regulations and
Admissions Committee's March 2009 Report and Recommendations on Charge S-0605, on Admissions and Financial Aid Assessment:
I am writing in response to the Report and
Recommendations on Charge S-0605, Admissions and Financial Aid Assessment, as
adopted by the University Senate on March 27, 2009. The members of the Admissions and Financial
Aid Assessment Committee have my appreciation for their thoughtful report.
As the report asserts, a critical problem facing the
university is the lack of a modern integrated student database system. In the spring of 2008, under the leadership
of Courtney McAnuff, Vice President for Enrollment Management, the university
hosted system vendor overview presentations.
A project services vendor was hired to produce a project budget
estimate. The Office of Information
Technology and Enrollment Management staff are continuing budget and system
analysis. Given the importance of this
matter, it was included in my administration’s 2009-2010 Areas of Emphasis and
Effort document with the directive that a long-term plan be prepared for
implementation of a student information system for administrative computing.
I have made note of the Committee’s concerns regarding
the challenges derived from the largely devolved administrative structure and
its impact on University Undergraduate Admissions. However, I do not accept the recommendation
that a New Brunswick Admissions Office be established as a separate entity from
the Office of University Undergraduate Admissions. The Vice President for Enrollment Management,
along with the Chancellors and Deans, provide direction for the Admissions
Offices on all three campuses. In 2008, the
Vice President for Enrollment Management also formed a separate unit, Research
and Enrollment Information Systems, in order to provide computing and data
analysis support to the entire Enrollment Management area, including Newark and Camden.
It is more economically and logistically feasible that Vice
President McAnuff continue to convene the Enrollment Council with
representatives from key student service and academic areas from across the
university. This council
provides a forum where best
practices and challenges can be openly discussed. A subcommittee of the Enrollment Council has recently
been charged to examine the undergraduate application
form and credential review processes for the coming year.
In order to coordinate and enhance communications across
the campuses, last fall the Administrative Council was charged with the
responsibility of sharing all prospective, admitted, and enrolling student
communications with the Vice President of Enrollment Management for his review
and approval. This policy will
facilitate coordination of messaging across units and project a consistent and
coherent image of Rutgers as one major
research university. The Communications
and Marketing group within Undergraduate Admissions will take primary
responsibility for the review and scheduling of recruitment and enrollment
communications in collaboration with deans, directors, admissions
personnel, and University Relations.
However, because the philosophical constructs that propel
each campus as they pursue an entering class are decidedly different, and because
there is a high degree of overlap within the applicant pool, I agree with the
Senate report recommendation that there should be a dotted line reporting
relationship between the Associate Chancellor for Enrollment Management in
Camden and the Admissions Director in Newark to the Vice President for
Enrollment Management. This arrangement
will facilitate Vice President McAnuff’s efforts to develop a cohesive
undergraduate enrollment management plan for the university and to ensure
adherence to the University Senate’s policy on Undergraduate Admissions.
Regarding the recommendation that University
Undergraduate Admissions make greater use of cutting-edge information
technology, I believe significant progress toward this recommendation has been
made recently. A new website was
launched in March 2009 with extensive video content, student blogs, and a social
network: Go-Rutgers. The Financial Aid
website now includes Financial Aid TV providing video presentations of vital
information to prospective and current students. I expect upgrades in this area to continue as
Vice President McAnuff and his staff explore appropriate use of podcasts,
YouTube, and virtual tours. Current exhibits at the Visitor Center
feature each regional campus. As fund raising efforts continue, future
interactive exhibits will include virtual tours of our campuses. Members
of the public can make reservations for in-person tours at any time online or
at the Visitor Center front desk.
With strategic deployment of existing resources we will
continue to make progress in supporting the missions of both the University
Undergraduate Admissions and Financial Aid Offices.
Sincerely
yours,
Richard
L. McCormick
c: Courtney McAnuff, Vice President for Enrollment
Management
Philip Furmanski, Executive Vice
President for Academic Affairs
Steve Diner, Chancellor-Newark Campus
Wendell Pritchett, Chancellor-Camden
Campus