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Sullivan tells FSEC that classroom supply meets demand
By DONNA
BUDNIEWSKI
Reporter Assistant Editor
Despite ongoing concerns about the "classroom crunch" by members of the Faculty Senate Executive Committee, the university is accommodating course sections and staying just ahead of demand, Sean Sullivan, vice provost for enrollment and planning, told the FSEC at its weekly meeting yesterday.
Some faculty members disputed that assertion, saying that hundreds of requested class sections go "unseated" every year.
Sullivan updated the committee on scheduling issues and related policies that determine where and when sections are seated and invited suggestions for improving the situation.
"The mandate I'm working with is that we have to maximize use of our classroom space—that is the single principle we operate under. Our goal is to get class activity across the times of the day and the days of the week. The university has managed classroom supply to stay just ahead of demand on that assumption, that we will maximize utilization. It's cardinal for us and what we do," said Sullivan, adding, "We've been consistent for the past four years now, in terms of classroom supply."
The addition to Jacobs Hall, scheduled for completion by Fall 2005, will free up more than 100 class sections from the School of Management that currently are being taught in the Natural Sciences Complex and Knox Hall, according to Sullivan.
He emphasized the need for more dean involvement in classroom scheduling, which he believes would resolve many space-allocation issues. And since faculty members seem to feel that space is at a premium, they should, if at all possible, be more consistent in requesting the same times for high-demand classes each semester, he suggested. "I'd be willing to explore anything that would improve the situation," he said.
Policy guidelines for scheduling courses include prioritizing seating for courses with students who have disabilities and pre-seating critical, high-demand freshman courses and classes that meet during standard times (peak times for scheduling are between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.) and on standard days (Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday and Tuesday/Thursday), explained Sullivan.
As far as being able to reclaim the 34 classrooms that have been scooped up for administrative or other uses, he noted that "it's very hard to move people out of space once they're in it." He said his office is looking into relocating UB 101 sections to the Student Union and making all university space available for exam scheduling.
While Sullivan admitted that demand is "pretty tight," scheduling classes during off-peak times, such as 8 a.m. and after 2 p.m., would help improve the situation. He said that during peak times of the day, use of centrally scheduled classroom space is at 80 percent—and drops off sharply after 2 p.m. and on Fridays.
In other business at yesterday's meeting, Sullivan and Judith Adams-Volpe, director of external relations for the Arts & Sciences Libraries and chair of the Faculty Senate Admissions and Retention Committee, updated senators on recruitment and retention efforts.
Adams-Volpe noted that while UB has seen a 7.1 percent increase in undergraduate applications since last year—the highest increase among SUNY centers—graduate applications from international students have declined by 42 percent—a dramatic downturn that has been experience nationwide as well.
For example, Sullivan's report noted that applications from students from mainland China are down 70 percent for the top 11 programs of interest.
A clearer picture of the international enrollment decline at UB will be available after April 1 when deans begin to report on graduate admissions, said Adams-Volpe. "We're expecting two-thirds less in international admissions than what our target was," she added.
Because of that decrease, the enrollment target for freshmen will be increased by about 200 students. "Things are looking very good (for enrollment overall) for the fall of 2004, said Adams-Volpe.
Sullivan added that the group comprising the most significant increase in applications to UB are among the most talented on the selectivity matrix.
While UB continues to tighten the selectivity of freshmen admits in an attempt to improve the overall quality of the incoming class, its four-year graduation rate, consistently ranking between 32 to 34 percent over the past five years, remains lower than the national average, said Sullivan. The six-year graduation rate at UB is 57 percent.
Adams-Volpe also reported that a committee has been formed to investigate and analyze how data are reported and used to determine UB's standing in the annual ranking of colleges and universities by U.S. News and World Report.
The only data provided by SUNY Central Administration for the magazine's annual report are the financial resources of its institutions, such as the average spending per student per year. UB provides the remainder of the data, except for peer assessment, noted Adams-Volpe. Peer-assessment data is determined by surveys sent to institutional presidents, provosts and directors of admissions nationwide, so one goal, said Adams-Volpe, would be to look at ways to make UB more visible at the national level among presidents and provosts.
Peer assessment is the most heavily weighted criteria used by U.S. News and World Report in determining an institution's ranking, she pointed out, adding that student retention rates and faculty resources also carry significant weight.