EMT MINUTES
October 26, 2006

Present:  N. Karpinski, K. Leybold-Taylor, L. McClusky, C. Patella, S. Sloan, A. Staples, C. Speaker,


General Discussion

Chair, C. Patella explained that EMT was in the past (5) members and now due to the increase in membership, she felt that the best way to actually “get work done” was to divide the members into “work groups. “ These “work groups” would gather the group’s feelings and perceptions on a particular project and report back to the group regarding their progress.  From the discussions EMT has had thus far, two work groups have been formed:  A. Lundquist and her staff would be reviewing Wells Warm-up, Orientation, and the communication materials we send to new students.  S. Sloan, N. Karpinski, and C. Patella would be assigned to review the College’s scholarship programs.  

Wells College Scholarship Programs

Seasoned members of EMT gave a general overview of the scholarship programs we offered:  Junior Leadership Award, Henry Wells Scholarship, and the Scholarship for Leaders.  S. Sloan outlined the criteria for each scholarship and the connection the Admissions Office has with alumni, school counselors, and friends of the College in making these programs work.

The group discussed why the Henry Wells Scholarship was changed when we lowered tuition.  It was noted that HWS as a tuition reduction scholarship was not having the retention results that the committee felt it should have.  Very few students stayed till graduation, EMT was given the impression that they used the “funds” then left to pursue their degree elsewhere.  These students are the most “coveted” and competition to enroll them is very strong.  C. Patella also pointed out that besides a tuition reduction there really was nothing else for these students, especially in the academic area.  Other institutions have “honor programs” and Wells was very opposed to creating a “two-class” system among its students.  Faculty and staff were very concerned that an environment of “have and have-nots” would appear on campus.

S. Sloan shared the statistics she had gathered on the scholarship programs we now offered.  They offered (390) Junior Leadership Awards of which (13) students enrolled.  There were (500) Henry Wells Scholars nominations of which (58) students enrolled.  There were (79) Scholarship for Leaders offered of which (18) students enrolled.  EMT felt that the yield rates of offer/enroll on these programs was not what they should be.  However, in S. Sloan’s data it was noted that when Wells College had a successful Henry Wells Scholarship year, the College also had a successful enrollment year.  

C. Patella reported that in her conversations with Scannell & Kurz, they felt that our packaging policy could be “tweaked” but they did not feel significant yields or significant increases in tuition revenue could be made by drastically changing our financial aid packaging policies.  They did feel that we needed to review our scholarship programs.  They also felt that these programs were not producing sufficient yield rates.  They believe that Wells College should maintain our Henry Wells Scholarship program since it is the only scholarship program we offer that is “academic” in nature.  

EMT members felt that one of the reasons we were not successful in our tuition reduction scholarships was that the amount of the scholarship was not appealing to students.  Student and parents look solely at the dollar amount and not the amount the award is covering tuition costs.  The more expensive institutions are offering the same reduction in tuition, but because they may cost close to $40,000 their percentage is larger.  N. Karpinski also explained that students do not fully understand how and for what the HWS scholarship can be utilized.  Faculty also felt that the restrictions on this award are not beneficial to the students.  A. Staples suggested that the award be used for off-campus study.  

Admission Data-Class of 2010

S. Sloan shared with EMT the annual statistics she derived for the Class of 2010.  We would like our application to enroll yield rate to be greater than 21.7%.  Susan will be looking at the Early Action applications next year in particular.  The profile of the Class of 2010 demonstrated that academically our enrolled coed classes are very similar to our all women classes when you review GPA and SAT.  S. Sloan explained that they had changed some recruiting strategies in New York City and that she felt this had an impact on our lower percentage of students of color.  This year they would be going back to NYC.

Respectfully Submitted:
Cathy Patella