Board of Visitors

Student Life Committee Meeting September 15, 2023

Present from the Board

• LTC (R) Boris G. Robinson
• Brently K. Archer
• Terri M. McKnight, CPA
• Kelli Purdy Meadows, CPA, CCIFP
• Christy Morton

Absent from the Board

• Sean Miller
• Lee Vreeland, Ed.D.

Present from Administration, Faculty, and Students

• Dr. Lisa Duncan Raines, Vice President for Enrollment and Student Success
• Dr. Kevin Hughes, Vice President for Student Affairs
• Dr. Rob Lange, Dean of Admission
• Dr. Hussam Timani, Faculty Senate Representative
• Kate Bennett, Student Government Association President

Visitors

• Vidal Dickerson, Special Assistant to the President and Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer
• Julianna Wait, Assistant Vice President for Enrollment Services
• Logan Gill, Student

Call to Order

Committee Chair Robinson called the meeting to order at 8:31 a.m. After roundtable introductions, the June 2023 Student Life Committee minutes were approved.

Chairman Robinson addressed a change in the Committee meeting format, explaining that past meetings involved highlights from the different areas. Moving forward, challenges will be reported to provide the Board of Visitors with the information needed to best serve and advocate for Christopher Newport University.

Enrollment and Student Success

Dr. Duncan Raines began her presentation by discussing fall programming to include the six career-related fairs scheduled this semester and enhancements to the student support services, many of which cross divisions and involve campus-wide collaborative partnerships.

Dr. Duncan Raines highlighted the state’s higher education efforts to make Virginia the most educated state by 2030. The primary effort comes from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia’s (SCHEV) request for a number of Virginia public universities to increase enrollment of low-income students. Christopher Newport University’s current Pell-eligible enrollment reflects 14.9% of the total enrollment; SCHEV’s goal is an incremental increase to 26%. Additional state funding will be needed to progress with this initiative. One of three proposals Christopher Newport University submitted to SCHEV to help meet this goal, one was approved and will provide $161,000 over four years. Dr. Duncan Raines indicated that advocacy from the Board to secure additional funding in support of this initiative would be appreciated.

First-time-in-College (Freshman) Admission

Dr. Lange greeted the Committee and discussed recent data as of the fall census, September 4; the incoming class consists of 1,163 students, 410 of whom are in the President’s Leadership Program. Overall, students earned an average high school GPA of 3.8 and scored 1,200 on the SAT. Twenty-four percent of freshmen are first-generation college students, 18% are recruited student-athletes, 13% are CNU legacies, and 6% are from out-of-state. President Kelly has mentioned recently that he would like us to set our short-term sites on increasing the out-of-state freshmen to 10% of the class, and Dr. Lange confirmed that active out-of-state recruitment efforts are in the works.

Dr. Lange addressed positive early indicators for next fall and described enrollment challenges including the enrollment cliff. He discussed plans to expand the regional reputation of the University through recruitment and marketing and asked that the Board keep in mind the factors affecting recruitment such as program offerings and cost. Dr. Lange reported that of the admitted students who responded to withdrawal surveys, nearly one-third indicated the factor that most influenced their decision to enroll elsewhere was related to academic program offerings, while 17% and 11% noted financial aid/scholarship offers and academic reputation, respectively.

Dr. Lange explained that the institutional distinctives we often refer to here - small class sizes, sense of community, and faculty mentorship - are identical to what many other schools advertise, and therefore do not distinguish us in the minds of prospective students and their influencers. He highlighted legitimate academic distinctives related to our model – studying STEM disciplines like computer science and engineering, and the fine and performing arts, in a residential liberal arts setting like ours as truly distinctive. Following a strategic finance discussion, Ms. Morton said that our actual distinctives needed to be advertised and communicated.

Student Affairs

Noting continued mental health challenges, Dr. Hughes initiated his presentation by reporting that summer utilization of counseling services nearly doubled, and clinical sessions nearly quadrupled as compared to last year. As of the first week of September, students accessing clinical services were up 19% as compared to the same time last year, with a 50% increase in clinical sessions. Students have reported issues relating to homesickness, unmanageable feelings of being overwhelmed, and an overall difficulty connecting with other students.

Dr. Hughes asked the Committee for the Board’s support in this area. The grant received last year for additional clinical support was helpful, but the pilot program needs to transition into a permanent program by SCHEV. He thanked Ron Tillett for mentioning Christopher Newport University’s presentation about mental health challenges to the state.

Dr. Hughes noted an increase in the number of accommodations that our students are seeking to access their educational program offerings. At the end of last year, 12% of the campus population had some form of accommodation. As of the beginning of the first week of classes this semester, 9% of students had requested accommodations, and not all students had renewed their accommodation as of that date. The number of students in need of additional support continues to grow, and the small high-touch environment Christopher Newport offers is attractive to students who need this type of assistance.

Resolution 3 – Human Trafficking Awareness and Prevention Training for Students

Dr. Hughes introduced Resolution 3 and provided a copy of the Code amendment, §23.1-808.1, which states that the University is required to educate students through orientation programs. This training will be provided during Welcome Week and administered online to accommodate tracking. Due to time constraints to comply with the Code change, the inaugural training was limited to a panel speaker. Chairman Robinson read Resolution 3 to the Committee for approval. Christy Morton made a motion to approve the resolution as written, and Brent Archer seconded the motion.

Student Government Association (SGA)

Kate Bennett reported that anchor organizations are up, running, and hosting events. She is excited to attend her first SCHEV meeting next week and will provide an update to the Committee at the next meeting. She said that students appreciate the concern the administration shows regarding mental health as it is a very important issue to her fellow Captains.

Adjournment

With no further discussion, Committee Chair Robinson adjourned the meeting at 9:26 a.m.