[Important Information for Employees] September Campus Update

[Office of the President]

Dear Cardinal Community,

The end of September traditionally signals our move toward the busy time of
the semester. Events, activities and the work of campus all pick up
momentum. This year is no different.

CommUNITY Night at Hawkins Pond last Friday was a wonderful time of
engagement with our neighbors and campus, with Dr. Dexter Criss honored
with the Freedom Award by North Star Underground Railroad Museum. Today
and Wednesday, we host a campus visit by Distinguished Visiting Alumnus Dr.
Tim Spofford '71, an author whose writing career has focused on racial
issues in education. We held the first "I've Been Admitted to College"
event for area eighth-graders on Monday, with a total of 1,000 coming to
campus this academic year, thanks to many faculty and staff who are
assisting. And in a little more than two weeks, we will celebrate
Homecoming and the gatherings it presents for faculty, staff, and alumni.

Add to this the difference-making in each classroom, the progress of each
student organization, and the attention paid to each student inquiry that
comes to campus offices, and there is no better time to be at SUNY
Plattsburgh. Even the disruption in Kehoe Administration Building just a
week ago was handled with distinction from offices ranging from janitorial
and ITS to those that have had to relocate for a time. The hard work and
sacrifice by so many is what makes us who we are -- Cardinal Strong.

In writing this, though, I also understand how unsettling the news from
last week was about financial and program challenges at SUNY Potsdam. While
they are not a clone of us and serve a different mission and focus, we see
what is happening there and it raises important questions and concerns
close to home.

*We Are Doing the Work*

As we process and look to understand what some peer institutions face, it
is important to note that while we face many of the same macro-challenges
we are not at risk in the same way as some and not at the same crossroads.
It is important we stay on the course we have set as we face a competitive
student recruitment market for a decade or more, a market in which we are
competing with others for a declining pool of traditional students.

What is the course? As outlined from the advent of Plattsburgh Next,
through the Fall Welcome, and in regular conversations across campus, our
focus is on future-proofing this campus through the programs and services
we provide, embracing the changing landscape and doing this work together
-- building on the commitment, capacity and the care we share to make it
happen. This is what sets us apart from others and sets us up for success.



*Revenue, Expenses and Planning*
We have a clear strategic plan organized around four pillars. Our plan
reflects campus stakeholder input and was built using a collaborative
process. We have also been doing the necessary budget work to align
available resources to expenditures for the past six academic years. SUNY
system classifies our university as a “financially sound” institution, with
appropriate cash reserves of about 25 percent to annual general fund
spending. We had a $14 million cash reserve balance at the end of the
2022-23 year, nearly the same as a year earlier. Preliminary projections
show us with about $12 million to $13 million in reserves at the end of
this current fiscal year, depending on how much budgeted is actually spent.
We will have updated projections after the first of the calendar year.

Our university received record investment of $4.3 million more in general
fund support (fifth highest among the comprehensive universities) this
fiscal year; $3.3 million is permanent on-going funding. We continue to be
an investment center for the system, with the state construction fund
putting an estimated $34 million into the Memorial Hall renovation and just
approving a $6.7 million design phase for a new welcome and alumni center
at Redcay Hall. Other projects include $5.7 for masonry work at Kehoe, $8.3
million for Field House gymnasium renovations and a new roof, and almost $4
million for heating and air conditioning upgrades in Myers.



*Enrollment and Program Growth*
Our semester census is being finalized now. It appears we will have about
4,425 students this fall. That would be roughly 50 students, or just about
1 percent below a year ago. The good news embedded in that number is it
flattens the enrollment decline we have seen in the past several years,
which was steeper and more dramatic. It also gives us a strong foundation
on which to build. Our incoming undergraduate class is about 96 percent of
our goal of 1,410 new students. New graduate enrollment, where we continue
to develop programs and pathways, is 126 percent above our goal of 290.

Our strategic goal of 4,800 students by Fall 2025 is realistic and
attainable. Meeting this and growing in the future has many layers. These
include our academic portfolio, the amenities we offer from facilities to
services, and graduates with careers and connections that help feed the
next generation of Cardinals.

Gray Associates helped produce one aspect for future consideration through
its review in the spring of our academic program portfolio and strategies.
This work will continue under the leadership of Interim Provost and Senior
Vice President Brent Carbajal and in partnership and collaboration with
faculty leaders. Shared governance is critical to this success and will
ensure we avoid any pathway that leads to surprises or decisions where
conversation and examination was not a fundamental aspect. This will
include the need to develop new offerings at the graduate level and with
online modalities while we also maintain our core as a liberal arts
university.

*Meeting the Needs of Generation P*

Perhaps the greatest understanding we are embracing is the requirement to
future proof ourselves by better knowing who our students are and better
meeting their needs to retain them to earn degrees. At the Fall Welcome, I
cited a recent report from the Education Advisory Board on our current
students as they emerge from the pandemic. Among the findings:

• Mental health concerns shape their college search, which occurs later
than ever;
• They are more academically unprepared than their predecessors, affected
by learning loss and nervousness about success;
• They are eager for in-person events and experiences yet have higher
standards for digital experiences;
• They question the overall value of a college education, as do their
parents, with a clear focus on potential career outcomes.

Anxiety, depression, and fear are part of the culture. We must collectively
solidify student success and the wrap-around services this will require.
The good news is we have special, ongoing targeted funding we are putting
to use. These dollars are being directed to several areas, including food
insecurity, mental health support, accessibility resources, and
internships. In total, nearly $1 million will be invested in these enhanced
wrap-around services. Money the state is entrusting to us with the
confidence they have in us.



*Retaining and Understanding Our Students*Better and more focused efforts
to retain students isn't just the right thing to do. It is also necessary
to meet the goals outlined above. Fortunately, we are ahead of the curve on
this, too.

Our campus was encouraged by SUNY leadership to apply to be among those
using a new program to increase retention and degree-completion. We were
among just 12 SUNY campuses to be given funds for ACE, or Accelerate,
Complete and Engage. The use of evidence-based strategies through ACE will
build on other campus efforts focused on student success, such as the
Cardinal Achievement Program. We will receive $300,000 per year for three
years to advance this program.

Second, we are expanding the use of data dashboards, a drill-down tool that
will help faculty gain a better understanding of the backgrounds and
academic patterns of their students in order to engage in productive
discussions and planning with all stakeholders who are interested in
promoting student success. These include:

   - Who Are My Students?
   - How Quickly Do They Progress?
   - In Which Courses Do They Struggle?
   - What Are Their Academic Outcomes?

Coming soon are these dashboards:

   - What Paths Do They Follow?
   - Which Courses Have the Largest GPA Equity Gaps? T
   - Once Students Achieve Junior Status, How Long Do They Take to
   Graduate?
   - Which Students Leave Before Graduating?

Additionally, an equity gap dashboard is being developed. A college degree
can lead to a lifetime of increased access and opportunity. This dashboard
is meant to help faculty engage in productive, action-oriented discussions
with all stakeholders that hold a vested interest in student success. We
are also interested in providing information about other subsets of
students, such as off-campus housing, athletes vs. non-athletes status,
international vs. domestic, etc.

All of these are tools to future proof our campus and serve Cardinals today
and ahead, work when done successfully will ensure a strong future.

I hope this month's update gives you a more detailed picture of where we
are, what we are doing, and how we are going to get there. Nothing about
this is easy for a regional public university in the Northeast. We will
continue to see challenges that require the ingenuity of campus to solve.

But, as we do this important work, we know it is not just our words that
will advance us, it is our collective actions. Thank you for all you do to
support this university and help each student attain their educational
dream.


Alex Enyedi
President
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