Minutes Recorded by Pam Thomas
MOCC Agenda
Thursday, February 12th, 2009
1:00 to 3:00 pm, CST
605-773-2323; password = 5502#
Minutes recorded by Pam Thomas
Main Agenda:
1. Introductory items:
Y Roll call
Present: Trudy Zalud, Sandy Anderson, Matthew Aschenbrener, Barbara Dolan, Rose Hansen, Sharon Kienow, Pam Thomas, Don Ticknor, and Sarah Rasmussen (for Sharon Sopko). Also present was a guest – Amber Rost, Assistant Registrar/DSU. Andy Conley (RIS) joined the call for the Red Flag Rule discussion.
Y Agenda modifications - None
Y Review of minutes from our December meeting - Approved
The minutes were distributed in December; no feedback was received, and they were posted as is to our MOCC website.
2. Red Flag Rule - Andy Conley from RIS will join us for this discussion
Andy: The Federal Trade Commission has issued this new regulation. All creditors must demonstrate compliance. The regental universities are considered creditors; this is attributable to the fact that we allow students to access services in the absence of immediate payment in full. Additionally, our schools participate in the Perkins Loan Program; this participation also drives compliance.
This regulation is geared toward reducing the risk of identity theft. It compels us to recognize red flags – that is, cues of identity theft.
As a regental system, we must develop and implement our plan by May 1st. Through the AR Module, we have created a Task Force comprised of representatives from every campus and RIS. Our plan will feature a three-pronged approach involving prevention, detection, and mitigation of red flags. We will start by scrutinizing current operating practices and identifying possible opportunities for identity theft. Change of address presents one process example that we will examine. Upon development of the program, we will secure BOR approval.
Following initial implementation, we will periodically update the program. Our goal is to remain vigilant and proactive.
Sharon: Financial Aid discussed this situation in detail. We do have examples of programs created by other schools if the task force is interested.
Pam: Please forward this information to Larry Youngren; he will serve as chairman of the work group.
3. Round Robin/Campus Updates
BH - Pam: We are heavily involved with semester clean-up and tabulation. The majority of activity during this time of year is driven by deadlines as outlined on the system calendar.
DSU – Sandy: Our current focus relates to loading transfer work and building schedules.
NSU – Sharon: We have a new president! He officially starts on July 1st, but he already has an involved presence on campus. Our interim president (on loan from SDSU) was excellent! We will certainly miss Laurie following her departure. Our VP-AA (Clyde Arnold) will retire at the end of this fiscal year. At this point, we don’t know who will succeed him.
News from the Financial Aid module: we are closely watching the federal stimulus bill. Originally, it included many financial aid proposals. Some passed, and some didn’t. We anticipate significant increases in Pell grant and work study monies and higher tax credits for higher education. Also, EAC merged with Great Lakes Higher Ed; consequently, this organization will be much larger. Despite the increased size, however, we have received assurances of “business as usual.” Good news for South Dakota is that Great Lakes has placed $32 million in a special foundation; this money will be used to award grants and scholarships to South Dakota students (as well as promote financial literacy at the K-12 level)! The program, which starts fall 09, will generate a pay-out of 5% per year – approximately $1.5 million. As a module, we must identify parameters, eligibility requirements, etc for awarding the money to students. Laying the groundwork will be challenging, but what a good challenge to have!
SDSMT – Barb: Our new president started last July. The transition has resulted in many changes – with more in the proposal stage. Additionally, our VP-AA (Karen Whitehead) will retire at the end of June. This will necessitate a search for a new provost. Along with placing a provost, there are plans to reorganize our current administrative structure.
Next week is Engineer’s Week. This special celebration involves an array of fun activites; these range from tours to forums to luncheons. I am looking forward to it!
SDSU – Matt: We have several building projects underway. Administratively, our VP-AA (Dr. Carol Peterson) will be stepping down in July. She will stay on for one more year to assist with accreditation. Other than that, we are focusing on daily operations – very typical for this time of year.
USD – Don: Our most exciting news is that the new student center opens on February 17th! This building will provide a welcome addition to campus; both students and staff are looking forward to the opening.
ESC – Rose: For us, it’s business as usual. We are busy with processing applications and setting up testing for the new financial aid year. We are anxious for details of the consultant report; Monte will share that information in the near future.
UC – Sarah: We recently opened our brand-new classroom building! It will be called UC- North (and the building shared with SE Tech will be called UC-South). Classes will be held in both locations, but the entire staff moved to the new building. UC-North is a wonderful building that promises to attract new students. We have planned a number of events to celebrate the opening, including a ribbon-cutting ceremony in mid-March.
4. Technology update - Don
Y SDOS situation – please refer to email; as the group knows, SDOS scholars must maintain 15 credits hours that meet certain criteria. In some instances, students are dropping below this established minimum with advisor approval. To avoid this unfortunate scenario, we are seeking a solution through Web Advisor. Regrettably, however, the solution that provides a precise fit (our first choice) would require a customization. That equates to time and money. We can’t wait, so we are pursuing other doable options. The problematic time frame falls between the funding date and the last day to drop with a W. This semester, those dates are February 15th and April 6th. We plan to impose holds on SDOS scholars during that time frame. The hold would force students to seek staff assistance (as opposed to self service and counsel from academic advisors); hopefully, this procedural change will prevent students from inadvertently jeopardizing SDOS scholarship standing. I am asking this group for feedback that will guide the technology group as we finalize decisions.
Trudy: How many SDOS scholars do we have this year?
Sharon: 2400.
Trudy: That’s a significant number. One facet to consider is the message that students will see in Web Advisor when they attempt to drop classes. Students panic easily; consequently, we want to make sure that we provide a message that is readily understood.
Sharon: At NSU, we talked about this. The message is limited to 75 characters. We must make the most of those 75!
Matt: At SDSU, we plan to help this along by sending emails in advance to impacted students, explaining the hold mechanism and its rationale. Hopefully, this proactive approach will reach at least most of the students.
Pam: What is the number of students who drop below the 15 credits and then seek recourse?
Don: Information supplied by Paul Turman indicates that exemption requests have skyrocketed – from 200 per year in the past to 520 last year.
Pam: Are these requests granted or denied?
Trudy: I can’t speak to that, but will investigate and apprise the group. I do know that Paul’s goal is to remedy the situation, making sure that we don’t end up in this same place next year.
Don: One complicating factor for our hold strategy relates to the overlap between the problematic time frame (that is, Feb 15 – Apr 6) and pre-registration (which starts for graduate students on Mar 30). Without a customization, we can’t attach the hold to registration for a specified semester. In other words, the hold that precludes drops for the current semester also prohibits registration for future semesters. We are working through options to address that situation. Suzanne’s email includes several suggestions, and I would like to hear feedback from this group.
Sharon: In the email, one possibility that Suzanne suggests is that we focus on freshmen and sophomores…Don, do you know the reasoning for this?
Don: Our assumption is that students become more knowledgeable as they grow in the system.
Sharon: Keep in mind that year of eligibility may not neatly line up with credits.
Don: Agreed. We may be shooting for 99%.
Sharon: When an SDOS scholar drops below 15 allowable credits, Colleague tries to unpay the scholarship. For us, this triggers immediate communication with the student.
Don: Yes, we follow that same practice at USD.
Trudy: Can you clarify the term “unpay”?
Sharon: Yes. We run a process to apply funds on a weekly basis. Based on established rules for SDOS, a student who drops below 15 credits will fail the rules. In that event, Colleague attempts to remove monies from the student’s account. Of course, we wouldn’t attempt to collect scholarship money already awarded for the current semester. BUT unless the situation is immediately rectified, the student is in danger of losing the scholarship for the following semester.
Pam: I have concerns about this WA hold strategy. We have purposefully created a “serve yourself” environment, and then we impose a lot of holds. That doesn’t make sense to me. And shouldn’t our best and brightest students enjoy optimal access to electronic services that we continue to expand?
Matt: Administering the SDOS scholarship program should be a regental, not university, responsibility.
Sandy: As a registrar, I am opposed to holds that result in manual processing; that creates extra work for staff in the various registrar’s offices. Also, these students are adults and should assume responsibility for maintaining eligibility for this scholarship. A few abuse the rules, and all are punished.
Pam: This plan also increases “runaround time” for students.
Don: I don’t disagree. These are our best students, and we don’t want to punish them in any way.
Trudy: It is a tricky situation with issues on both sides.
Sharon: I agree with everything that has been said…however, the rules for the scholarship are numerous and complex. It’s a lot for students to sort through and understand. The price of a misstep is high. Consequently, I think we should do whatever it takes to make sure students don’t fall below the necessary 15 credits.
Don: That encapsulates the original request: make sure that SDOS scholars don’t drop below 15 approved credits.
Trudy: At this point, a logical next step is to follow up with Paul.
Don: Yes, please explain the various advantages and disadvantages.
Trudy: I will gladly do that.
Next step: Trudy will visit with Paul and inform the group of details and developments.
Y Clean-up projects underway:
· SSN match between Colleague and Banner
· Duplicate student records – this is a huge job!
Y Electronic load of CLEP and Praxis scores – we are checking into these possibilities.
Y College Portrait – a webinar is scheduled for the near future.
Y BOR-approved changes to General Education Requirements: this will entail changes to the program that drives CPG holds.
Y Incomplete changing to F – no news to report on this glitch.
Y Coding of graduate students – procedures are unclear; consequently, campus variation exists. We are working to clarify procedures.
Y Web Advisor link to Clearinghouse – this link has been accessible through WA. However, many registrar web pages have also featured the link. At USD, we plan to remove this link from our registrar’s page. A new enrollment verification request link was created in test mode. Subsequent testing revealed that all pieces except one work as intended (that is, when the student closes out of Clearinghouse, he/she is not returned to WA – everything closes). Following resolution of this glitch, we will move the link to production. Implementation of this new link will insure compliance with current security standards.
Sandy: The link to Clearinghouse is already available in Web Advisor.
Don: Yes, that’s correct. However, this new link encompasses a different format. We will pass student SSNs to Clearinghouse (the old format included student entry). Transmission of this student identifier is safe; the information is encrypted. Now the log-in process will be easier; students won’t need to specifically enter SSN.
Y Upgrade of Desktop UI: We plan to upgrade to 2.3 and skip 2.2. We can accomplish this on an individual computer basis. The work needs to be completed within the next several months.
Y Web Advisor Enhancements: USD submitted a number of such requests. These originated with our WA Advisory Committee. ASCC will consider and prioritize them. They include:
· Search for sections: display only sections with open slots.
· Search for sections: create an option that enables a student to identify sections of a given class that fit with his/her current course schedule; with this proposal, we need to determine whether this more complex search would slow down the system.