[Important Information for Employees] Plattsburgh Next | January Update

[Office of the President]

Dear Campus Community,

I hope each of you had a wonderful holiday season and time to reflect on
the past year and think about the one ahead. With you, I am looking forward
to the start of spring semester. Classrooms, residence halls and sidewalks
full of students are why we are here and give us the ultimate joy of what
we do each day.

Last semester I shared my plan to send monthly email updates with a focus
on enrollment, budget, and strategic plan implementation. These updates
will be supplemented with in-person visits and conversations through the
semester. Today's update provides details about how we are 1) on track to
exceed our projected Spring 2023 enrollment, 2) ahead about 40 percent so
far on acceptances over a year earlier, 3) have met 99.7% of our projected
tuition revenue for the current fiscal year, and 4) have earmarked $837,000
in additional investments to support the Plattsburgh Next plan.

I also have a fresh set of office hours for the semester. *You can see
details and request a time to meet here*
<https://www.plattsburgh.edu/about/president-leadership/office-hours.html>.

*Enrollment*
Sustaining and growing enrollment is pillar one of our plan and sits at the
center of our ability to serve our students and community. As we head into
the spring, there are early signs of success for the coming semester and
next fall.

For spring '23, we are on pace to achieve our target of 350 new students --
this includes 30 new international students who arrived this past weekend.
As of yesterday, we had 347 deposits. This, along with other historic
enrollment data, indicates the university is on pace to reach and likely
exceed our original spring target of 4,005 students. This total is due in
part to an increase in enrollment in online graduate education programs and
movement toward better retention.

For the fall 2023 semester, the admissions office has worked hard to take
advantage of the record increase in early applications seen from the SUNY
"free application" initiative and other outreach. Currently we are at 7,832
applications (vs. 5,305 a year ago) and 3,982 acceptances (vs. 2,836 a year
earlier). Several factors drive the difference between applications and
acceptances, including incomplete applications that require direct
followup with
students. It is too early to report trends in deposits; we will see more of
that as the calendar turns to April. I can share that we started to send
financial aid award summaries in December to new students admitted to the
fall 2023 semester with a FAFSA on file. As of mid-January, we had sent
726 award summaries to new students. This is two months earlier than last
year.

It has been said that recruitment, retention and overall enrollment is
everyone's job. That is not cliche -- recruiting and retaining students at
regional public colleges in the northeast is challenging for all of our
peers. We are focused on meeting that challenge in all of what we do and I
am encouraged by our early success with applications and acceptance
activity.

*Budget*
The university's enrollment drives nearly two-thirds of our total overall
revenues. Our current enrollment trend being above last year's
projections/expectations is the first step in meeting the Plattsburgh Next
strategic plan goal. Turning the total numbers around is the next step. Our
total billed tuition revenue target for this fiscal year is $32.9 million.
As of mid-January, we have achieved 99.7% of this target ($32.8 million).
The increase in graduate student headcount is having a proportionally
larger impact on tuition revenue since graduate tuition is higher than
undergraduate tuition. This, as well as a minimum of $2 million in vacant
lines for positions we do not expect to fill immediately, keeps us on track
to conserve at least half of our funds in reserve for the 2023-2024 fiscal
year.

As described last month, we are spreading planned spending cuts over the
next three fiscal years (2023-24 through 2025-26). We will combine
permanent and temporary savings, both to achieve the $5.2 million number
next year and the overall reduction over that three-year time period. As we
follow our usual budget process, each division is identifying their
reductions over the next two months and the cabinet will discuss progress
later this month and throughout the semester.

I continue to encourage advocacy by our state representatives, local
officials, and College Council members on behalf of SUNY Plattsburgh. As
has been shared on the campus, flat state appropriations and tuition,
increased costs, and fewer students present us with deep structural
challenges. Gov. Kathy Hochul is expected to release her executive budget
next week. This is a starting point for work on the state's next spending
plan and ultimately how much we receive for operations and construction. In
the State of the State address, the governor suggested a tuition increase
of up to three percent annually and other investments in SUNY.

*Academic Affairs*
We continue to develop new academic options for students. Several are
seeing progress.

Our plan to roll out a human development and family relations program at
Queensbury has been approved by SUNY; it is now awaiting approval from the
state. SUNY Adirondack has been asking for this applied program. Psychology
has the largest enrollment at Queensbury and we believe this program will
appeal to a similar student demographic. Additionally, an agreement has
been completed with Clinton Community College for an integrated dual degree
program in nursing. Students who apply to our program but not initially
admitted will be dually admitted hear and at Clinton. These students will
have the opportunity to live on campus and will complete their first two
years primarily at Clinton, but begin taking specified courses here in each
semester. Both are on track to be available for fall 2023.

Further out, our social work faculty have completed their master course
outlines for a master or social work program and will be submitting their
proposal to the school curriculum committee shortly. This will be followed
by a shared governance review committee. Also, we are in the process of
identifying and contracting with a consultant who will assist us in
building an accelerated nursing degree program. Both are targeted for
students beginning in fall 2025.

I appreciate the leadership of Anne Herzog in advancing this. Her role as
provost and senior vice president for academic affairs places her at the
head of what we do in offering premier academic programs for current and
prospective students and in working with faculty and other campus leaders
to hone our portfolio.

*Strategic Plan*
I outlined last month our use of $770,000 in one-time money invested in us
by SUNY for this year and *how this was dedicated to enrollment, academic
programs, student services, diversity initiatives, and
operational efficiencies*
<https://www.plattsburgh.edu/_documents/plattslife/120222-suny-plattsburgh-incremental-funds-listing-10-13-22-sheet-1-3.pdf>.
We have begun to spend this, as well as the HERFF funds dedicated to
student mental health resources.

Additionally, we have allocated more of our own institutional funds we
earmarked to support Plattsburgh Next. This includes innovative programs as
well as positions both this year and in the future. It includes:

*Programs*

$75,000 - Continuing contract for student mental health services in
2023-2024

$75,000 - Enhanced student recruitment marketing in 2023-2024

$75,000 - Expanded athletics rosters for 2022-2023 through 2024-2025

$54,000 - Diversity and equity initiatives, including attention to employee
retention, equity advocates, and community outreach


*Positions*

$130,000 - Institutional advancement gift officer annual giving position
for two years to increase scholarship funds

$110,000 - Slate technology recruitment support position for two years

$108,000 - Online accounting support position for two years

$108,000 - Academic advising support position for two years

$62,000 - Cardinal Achievement Program success coach

$40,000 - Temporary staff to support recruitment marketing via live video
streaming and other video content across campus


Over the spring semester, we will be adding to our team of campus
accountability partners, who are tasked with assisting my leadership team
with the implementation of the strategic plan and choosing priorities
within the framework. Ken Knelly, chief of staff, will be leading this work
as well as tracking progress and developing an online presence for these in
his additional role as the director of strategic initiatives. Look for more
updates online through the semester on the university website.

And one more reminder / request: If you have not already, please read the
Self-Study Report prepared for our Middle States re-accreditation. *You can
read it here*
<https://www.plattsburgh.edu/_documents/plattslife/middle-states-report-2022.pdf>.
It is the single best source to understand where we have been, where we
are, and where we are going. The peer-review team complimented this work,
but its most important achievement was in holding a mirror up to ourselves.

Thank you again for all of what you do on behalf of our students. Each
contribution matters, creating a ripple effect across campus. I am
continually inspired by each of you and to lead this campus.


Sincerely,

Alex Enyedi
President
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