September 19, 2002

Present: Dean K. Green; Dean E. Hall; Prof. T. Lumumba-Kasongo; Dean T.
Martinez; Ms. M. McCune; Prof. V. Mu=F1oz (chair); Prof. D. Reis; Ms. S.
Sloan; Invited: Dean Carolyn Morales (New Assistant Dean);
Absent: Ms. C. Bellomo;

The chair called the meeting to order at 12:34 noon.

Agenda Items:

(1) Upon the request for a volunteer by the chair, T. Lumumba-Kasongo
volunteered to serve as the secretary of the meeting. The chair added that
in the future she would propose a rotation service using alphabetical order.

(2) The chair welcomed Ms. Meghan McCune, the new student member, and Dean
Carolyn Morales. She introduced Dean Morales to Professor David Reis and
other members whom she has not met yet.

(3) The chair asked how the AFA connects with the functions and activities
of the new Dean in the areas of recruitment and retention.

Dean Green asked for a clarification on our charge to avoid duplication
with the Enrollment Management Team (EMT). Professor Muñoz responded by
saying that this is one of the items to be discussed in the meeting.

Dean Morales shared her thoughts, collected after she had lunches with
various student groups from different social and economic backgrounds,
including W.I.L.L, international/foreign students. She observed that there
is disparity between the W.I.L.L. students and foreign students. For
example, this can be seen in terms of how and what being offered to them as
financial aids/assistance. Although aid is given to some foreign students,
they may not necessarily need it.

Professor Mu=F1oz, Dean Hall, and Ms. Sloan agreed that there is a need to
talk with Ms. Cathleen Bellomo to clarify the issue of the allocation of
financial resources. Dean Hall wondered how over a 1 million dollar
endowment fund fits into this general picture. However, Ms. Sloan concluded
that although there is an account for the W.I.L.L students, their financial
aid is limited. Everyone suggested that we have a conversation with Ms.
Bellomo upon her return.

Ms. Sloan stated that one of the issues related to the W.I.L.L. students is
the fact that they did not attend the orientation days. She also added that
they are eligible for internships and transfer scholarships up to $3,000.

The issues of information and retention are directly related. Thus, Dean
Morales proposed to produce a brochure concerning the greater market and
information concerning institutional resources. In fact, she is working on
gathering the information/data on campus about the identification of
resources and where they are located for students, faculty, and the staff.

Professor Muñoz asked about the situation concerning the retention of the
18% of students of color on campus. Dean Morales does not know yet. She
believes that identifying and sharing information is necessary in the
retention process. The transition of students from high schools and/or
other institutions to the learning process at Wells must be made clear and
open. There is an impression that there exists a history or culture of
distrust that must be changed.

Professor Muñoz brought a concern that some faculty members have raised
namely, the perception that the college tends to pay more attention to
students with problems ("bad students") and thus tend to neglect "good"
students. Dean Green, Dean Hall, Dean Morales, Professor Muñoz, and Ms.
Sloan think that perceiving and defining problems as "bad" versus "good is
not an accurate perception of things as they are and thus there is a need
for changing the language. Dean Green characterized what her office does as
"learning about life" process. She stated that "we are a learning
community" and that there is also a curriculum in the residential areas.
Professor Muñoz was curious to know further about this community, as this
concept seems to be new at Wells.

Professor Reis commented that in Wells 101, it is articulated that
education does not end in the classroom. The continuation of learning
outside the classroom is highly encouraged and promoted in this class.
Professor Lumumba-Kasongo asked if it would be possible for the faculty
members to also know more about the learning process that has been taking
place outside of the classroom. Professor Muñoz added that this was the
next issue or the second item in our agenda.

Ms. McCune expressed some concerns about the retention rate and different
students with different backgrounds who leave the campus because Wells has
not developed yet the concept of a learning community. She clarified this
by stating that it is very hard to be a good student at Wells, that is to
say that it is difficult to be motivated outside the classroom for high
achievers. It was added by Professors Muñoz and Lumumba-Kasongo that high
achievers need continuous support as well. "We have to have a clear picture
of our students' need," said Dean Morales. It was commented and agreed upon
by Dean Hall, Professor Muñoz, Ms. Sloan, and Dean Martinez that there is
a faulty assumption that high achievers are not getting proper support.

Dean Morales asked how high achievers are "defined." GPA, connection with
intellectual life, academic and social engagement, consistency, and
persistence (Dean Hall and Dean Martinez) are considered part of the
criteria of defining the high achievers. Dean Green stated that there is
misconception that Wells is losing more students of color. That must be
corrected.

Professor Muñoz raised an issue that some faculty members have raised
before, which is, the perception that hiring in the administration area has
increased while in the academic area it is decreasing. For instance, 3 new
positions related to the office of Dean Green were created. Dean Green
clarified the issue in pointing out that two of these positions are
replacements and only one position is new.

Finally, Professor Muñoz raised the issue of the AFA relationship with EMT.
Professor Lumumba-Kasongo stated that as an elected faculty member of the
AFA, we cannot project the fusion between this committee and the EMT. We
can only suggest to closely work on a consultative and invitational basis.
4 members out of 7 of the EMT are members of the AFA. Ms. Sloan is the
chair of the EMT. Although it was concluded that Ms. Sloan would make a
report dealing with the questions that faculty members have posed
concerning recruitment and retention, Dean Martinez thought that the role
of the AFA has to be redefined and re-clarified in relationship to what the
EMT does. Ms. Sloan requested that faculty members clarify what exactly
they would like to know. It was concluded that in the planned open meeting,
we should start with the questions already asked by some faculty members.
Next time we will include the financial aid and Henry Wells scholarship in
the agenda. Ms. Sloan will e-mail the proposed date for the open-faculty
meeting to be chaired by Professor Muñoz.
 
 

The meeting adjourned at 1:41 p.m.

Respectfully submitted.

Tukumbi Lumumba-Kasongo

Secretary Pro tem