Parents Council Meeting Minutes

Parent Council Meeting Minutes
Friday, September 18, 2009
Clark Alumni House

Present: Cindy Banchy, Cathy & Perri Carnes, Danny Chang, Becky Crouch, Gregg & Jane Hess, Katie Kozisek, Sally Nordstrom & Kent Cooling, Janet Schupbach, Tony Wickham & Kate Rose

Welcome by Patty Mraz, Chair
Sally and Kent welcomed the council and especially the newest members (Katie Kozisek, Janet Schupbach and Tony Wickham) to the fall meeting. We went around the conference room table and introduced ourselves.

John Grundig, Dean of Admission
The first year (FY) class is the third largest entering class in the past ten years. The Admission staff is excited about some of the new enhancements to the institutional website that includes video interviews with students and faculty members. Social networking tools (Facebook, etc.) have been very effective for the counselors since many prospective students prefer this medium for communicating over email and telephone. This fall the admission office will unveil the new E-portal system that will allow applicants to track the status of their application as well as find out about upcoming events on campus.

For the third year in a row Coe received over 2,000 applications. The admission office received 2,223 applications with the majority coming from domestic first-year applicants (1,880). From a national perspective about 60% of this year's high school seniors applied to six or more colleges. The average academic profile continues to be strong with an average grade point average of 3.58 and ACT composite of 25. Nearly 43% of this year's entering class is from out-of-state which has improved significantly from a low of 30% in 2003.

John is excited about recruiting the class of 2014 and early indicators provide optimism for the admission staff. Student visits have been strong in July and August and the application volume is tracking well. If they can get the student to campus Admission has a much better chance of getting them to enroll. Therefore the admission office has instituted a travel reimbursement program for out-of-state students who have an ACT composite score of 24 or greater and a grade point average of 3.5 or higher.

David Hayes '93, Associate Professor of Business Administration & Economics & Louie J. & Ella Pochobradsky Associate Professor of Business Administration, Barbara Larew, Elnora H.& William B. Quarton Professor of Business Administration & Economics and Mickey Wu, George R. Baker Professor of Business Administration & Economics:
David Hayes teaches business law and business regulation courses, Barb Larew teaches accounting (specializing in tax and managerial accounting and auditing) and Mickey Wu teaches in the areas of the economics of trade and development. Public Relations is a cross major. Their goal is to teach with rigor and demand a student's best. An overwhelming number of graduates have gone on to graduate school. The blending of a business administration degree in a liberal arts environment is the best of both worlds.

There is an Investment Fund that is an extra-curricular opportunity for upper class students. They learn money management, researching business and industries on the stock market and then pick a company they recommend the Fund should invest in. Their research-based selections are presented to an alumni board for their approval. What makes this program especially unique is that the student are investing real money.

Mickey began at Coe in 1979. He circulated a flyer that has been distributed to prospective students and information about the number of students have received advanced degrees and what they are doing now. There are currently six Coe graduates who are finishing doctorates. It is not true that the only successful students are those who enter knowing what they want to do when they begin their college career. When the faculty members of this department say "they will take care of your children" they mean it. The department and the faculty look after students, track them and some times give them a nudge. Students often present papers at economics conferences.

Barb has been at Coe for 29 years. When Iowa went to 150 hours for CPAs Coe split the accounting major into a Public Accounting major and a Managerial Accounting major. These two parallel each other in the course catalog requirements. 150 hours are acquired here at Coe. Students receive practical experience in the classroom by working with nonprofits in the Advanced Accounting course. Students appreciate having hands-on experiences. One such experience is the volunteer income tax assistance program. Students work with low income individuals and prepare their income taxes.

The Coe Plan requires that students have a practicum. Accounting students usually have more hours than they need for their practicum requirements because they are in high demand. There are wonderful employment opportunities available for accounting students. Accounting interview day is next week which is an opportunity for employers to meet many students at once from several small colleges in Iowa. Students are successful obtaining internships and jobs from this event. There are numerous opportunities here in CR as well as summer internships outside of Cedar Rapids. There are a few organizations i.e., World Bank that allow only graduate students to be interns. There are Coe alumni that contact the department with internship opportunities. Students have been hired both locally and nationally. Yearly Coe has 15-20 accounting graduates.

A parent wondered how the current economic situation has influenced what has happened at Coe and to Coe's students. Mickey's opinion is that this is a business cycle, not a long run kind of experience. In answer to the question, "Does supply and demand still work?" he said, "Always." Coe instructors do not share their biases about economic theory. Coe's philosophy is to leave it to the graduate school professors to show their biases.

Coe has the Spellman Summer Research Workshop. This is an opportunity for current students to present papers based on their research. Faculty members respond and review their presentations. These are not PowerPoint presentations - - the students faces an audience, speaks from notes and practices presentation skills.

A parent asked if these departments have non-business majors in classes and the answer is, "Yes." Not all of the classes are appropriate for non-business majors but there are courses that give foundational information. Coe offers an entrepreneurial class.

Dick Meisterling, Vice President for Advancement:
"These are curious times in the advancement world," according to Dick. Between the market crash, economy and Cedar Rapids being focused on flood relief the development game is a new beast.

This summer the advancement office had a retreat and several good ideas emerged. One of the things recognized at this session was that Coe has hired many new faculty and staff. How could the advancement office supply the Coe community with information about its operation in a fun and informative atmosphere? Dick circulated a guide titled "Welcome to the Coe College Advancement Office." Guests were asked to follow the story in this guide, meet the development office staff and follow the relationship Roby "Miss Coe" Hickok Kesler '31 had with Coe when she graduated.

Defining Moment Campaign goal is $80 million; currently the campaign is at $68 million. Coe's phonathon is now in house. Students phone LYBNT (Last Year But Not This Year), SYBNT (some year but not this year) and Never Givers to Coe.

Lou Stark, Vice President of Student Affairs
Lots of housing options. Some housing situations are over-crowded but many have elected to stay with their roommate(s).

The Cosmos is on track. Front page and sports section are available online. First Year students appear to be more engaged than any class in Lou's 33 years in student affairs.

More than 90% of the FYS participated in Alcohol.edu. There are posters detailing what Coe students know about alcohol vs. perceptions. This is an advertising/PR program.

The Office of Leadership and Service Learning has seen more activity. In 2008-09, 6,674 hours of service were give by 1,250 students. Volunteer and social outreach opportunities are one of the benefits of an urban location. A Day Camp is being planned by athletic team captains for a day with Polk Elementary students.

The college has had one student with Influenza A (the student was tested for H1N1 which takes awhile to get the results so the recommendation is to be cautious). On-line there is a for students can access to review their symptoms and then Health Services will respond. Health Services have flu kits to give to those who are ill (it includes a thermometer, surgical mask and fever log). Meals will be delivered to those students who do not feel well.

Security firm has been at Coe over a year. When surveyed students positively evaluate security.

Coe College's retentionratefor the 2008-2009 school year was 82.4%. This percentage represents the number of first-time, full-time students who return for their second year of college. The national retention rate for four-year private schools averages75%.

Coe's retention rate for second-year students who return for their third year at Coe was 90%. A high retention rate helps the College keep its total enrollment number as stable as possible.

Wabash College has a Center of Inquiry in the Liberal Arts. Coe was fortunate to be invited to participate in the Wabash National Study - a large-scale, longitudinal study to investigate critical factors that affect the outcomes of liberal arts education. About 60 % of the class of 2010 took a set of surveys at the beginning and end of their first year at Coe, and will take them again in the spring of 2010. A task force is currently using the data from the 2006 surveys to identify ways to raise first to second year retention rates even higher.

All buildings that students have access to have internet access. The College's large public spaces have internet access. U.S. News and World Report ranked Cedar Rapids #5 as a place to grow up.

"Sustainability on Campus"
Chris Paasch '06, Admission Counselor and Tom Wieseler, Director of Dining Services
Topics such as Sustainability and Going Green have grown in magnitude in recent years. Visual aids enhance data-driven decisions and hopefully come to a conclusion that will help students understand why specific decisions are being recommended. The ultimate goal is to live within our ecological/resource means and improve the quality of life while supporting ecological sustainability.

President Phifer signed the ACUPCC (American Colleges and Universities President's Climate Commitment) more than a year ago. The ACUPCC also has recommendations. The major goal is carbon neutrality. There are three primary long-term commitments:

  • Create institutional structures to guide the development and implementation of the plan.
  • Complete a comprehensive inventory of all greenhouse gas emissions and update the inventory every other year thereafter.
  • Within two years of signing this document, develop an institutional action plan for becoming climate neutral, which will include:
    • Short term: initiate two or more of the following tangible actions
    • Establish a policy that all new campus construction will be built to LEED Silver standard or equivalent.
    • Adopt an energy-efficient appliance purchasing policy
    • Participate in the Waste Minimization component of the national RecycleMania competition, and adopt 3 or more associated measures to reduce waste.
  • Make the action plan, inventory, and periodic progress reports publicly available

Coe's RecyclMania goal is twofold: to not increase consumption but to enhance education of what can be and will be recycled. Students may recycle aluminum cans, magazines, paper, tin, envelopes, file folders, flattened cardboard, and plastic (bottles, yogurt containers, etc.).

Survey output and coal and energy use. The Coe/St. Luke's steam plant will be LEED certified project. The Sixth Street Steam Plant was coal fired (and was taken off-line as a result of the flood of '08); Coe's new steam plan will be fueled by natural gas. The goal of carbon neutrality may be has been approached on the issue of Commuting - the group is encouraging carpooling and riding bikes. One offset the college may have is the Wilderness Field Station.

Environmental Committee is the student component of Coe's Sustainability efforts. Eco House became a reality at Coe this year. It is "energy" focused has has its own garden, composting, etc. Sustainability is a topic in some academic courses.

Tom did campus-wide recycling for seven plus years. Sodexo received an award for being best recycling college in Iowa in 2002. When The "U" was remodeled a pulper was installed in the kitchen. The pulper chops up all garbage, food scraps, paper napkins, biodegradable paper plates, etc., adds water which is eventually extracted and re-used). Ten bags of garbage equals 1 bag of pulped, heavy garbage. With a dishroom pulper, kitchen food waste has been composted since May, 2007. Except for summer 2008 when landfill was not accepting due to the flood. 47,180 lbs or over 23 ½ tons have been composted since May 2007. When Sodexo caters picnics and midnight breakfast the plates, cups, napkins, are served on compostable plates. They recycle plastic, metal, cardboard, grease, glass and paper.

During May Term food service produced 18-3/4 lbs. of trash each day. The kitchen trash had to be hand sorted. Student waste measured in several studies indicated about 3 ounces of tray waste per student. Salad servers send their scraps to The Pulper. Students have asked for locally grown vegetables and fruit. Tom has been buying from national companies but is moving toward buying as much locally as possible. This is year three of the vegetable garden. A chef and a student work the garden. Coe has offered Tom more space for the vegetable garden. The "U" no longer offers TO GO cups; ice cream cones are available instead of bowls; at the beginning of the year students are given a refillable container from Orientation and Sodexo for TO GO beverages. Leftovers from meals that are okay to be reheated are sent to a feeding program for flood recovery volunteers and AmeriCorps workers. All recycling may be co-mingled except glass.

Before going trayless in The "U" Tom talked with athletics and admission. Tom tried both 'no tray' and ‘tray optional' at meals. Tom studied the trash over a six-week time period with both ‘no tray' and 'tray optional.' With no trays there was 285 lbs. less food waste. He also learned that a group of people wastes food more than an individual; international students waste less food than domestic students; men waste more than women. The additional bonus is that the trays do not need to go through the dishwasher.

Future Sustainability Plans
Schools with best recycling efforts are facilitated by the physical plant departments. Two VISTA coordinators are helping with Coe's recycling efforts. The biggest challenge in terms of recycling is the residential halls because students often have to carry their recycling down two flights of stairs. Last year the Environmental Club collected plastic and built a garbage bag sculpture with educational notes about how much petroleum is used to make plastic bags, etc.

The Sustainability Group sustainability committee is looking at having an energy audit done.

The group is talking about a "Green Fund." These funds would be a percentage of student fees. This money would help support green work and would be approximately $7,000. Students and campus groups could be urged to submit projects to be funded.

Melinda Brokaw '96, Dir. of Health Services and Michelle Oswood, Assistant to the Director of Health Services
Melinda has a BSN and a master's deg. in pediatrics and family nurse practitioner. The Office of Health Services has been busier much sooner than usual. Michelle focuses on the college health fair, fitness, breast cancer awareness and health and wellness programs.

Melinda's main focus is maintaining the office and dealing with the virus as well as helping students with homesickness (the honeymoon is over, classes are difficult, etc.) One student tested positive for Influenza A and this lab work has been submitted to the state to determine if the student has H1N1. The State of Iowa allows the campus to submit three flu tests a week. A lot of education regarding germs, etc. has already been on campus via e-mails, Web site and a self-report form students can complete and submit. Six students have submitted the form, been seen in the office and are none of them have been ill. The office has gotten busier every year. Students make an appointment to be seen.

Students may use the St. Luke's ER and all of the St. Luke's Immediate Care facilities. Melinda follows up when she learns of a student's illness or injury. Students also have access to the St. Luke's Family Counseling Center. Health Service needs written permission from the student to release information to their parents. Students are under more financial pressure and Melinda is hearing from more students that they do not have insurance, cannot afford a medication, etc.

President James Phifer
At the end of the 2008-'09 fiscal year Coe had lost only 1.3% of its endowment assets because of wise decisions made by the Board of Trustees. The economic turmoil has affected enrollment and the college's endowment.

Enrollment
Coe's enrollment is down by 24 students; international student enrollment is down (which is a currency issue); Coe lost a few returning students; and, in addition, the number of transfer students was lower than expected. First Year Student enrollment has been the same the last two years. The mood is good this year on campus. The goal is to keep the college's enrollment base together. Coe wants to keep a strong Coe experience by keeping academic, athletic and extracurricular programs in place.

Steam plant
The College and St. Luke's were awarded a $4.6 million grant from the federal government for a new steam plant. It should be operational in the spring of 2010. On Dec. 1, Alliant Energy will close the temporary steam plant that has fueled Coe since the 2008 flood. Two semi trailers, which are the college's temporary steam plants, are parked on the outdoor basketball court near Greene. The rental on these is $22,500/month which does not include the cost of the natural gas. Parent Council parents were appreciative of the August letter from President Phifer.

The safety and security issues and threats have decreased drastically since the police increased their presence in the neighborhood last spring. The college is methodically purchasing homes adjacent to the college to provide a buffer and to help us control our portion of the neighborhood. The eventual plan is to have A, B and C Avenues closed.

A parent wondered if the green space will be a city park? The College will share this space with the neighborhood children. The boundary on the South will be an alleyway behind the Road Ranger; the Eastern boundary will be 15th Street. Landscaping will help create the boundary lines for the college. Temporary lights have been set up. A competition field and a practice field are in the plan.

The College has been instrumental in promoting and helping develop the First Avenue Uptown College District (FAUCD). FAUCD is working to get retail shops that will appeal to students, staff and neighbors. The speed of traffic on College Drive and the number of cars driving the wrong direction are a concern to both parents and the college community.

Odds and ends - Kate
Kate reviewed the Silent Auction duties for Saturday afternoon. We talked about a couple of dates for our Spring meeting.

Kate Rose
Director of Parent Programs

Parents Council next meeting will be Saturday, March 20, 2010