Issue date: 3/6/08 Section: News

As budget concerns loom, Faculty Senate members were briefed on the impact of enrollment on the budget today by Ed Mills, associate vice president for Student Affairs, Enrollment and Student Support.

Last semester, the official application deadline was moved back several months. This was done, in part, to control the number of students who sign an intent to enroll and then never follow through, Mills said.

Mills said that the intent to enroll is a "soft commitment" because students can go online and click the intent to enroll button, but never do. Mills said that about 70 percent of students who apply to Sacramento State also apply to other schools in the area.

"One of the things I don't do is ask for a deposit yet. If people pay a deposit, which just becomes part of their fees in the fall, they are a lot more likely to make a commitment," Mills said.

Mills said that in the past, students who attended orientation were almost guaranteed to enroll.

"People are opting to go to multiple orientations. It used to be that if somebody came to orientation, you had them; now you don't know that as much," Mills said.

Retention of students is also important to Student Affairs, Mills said.

"It is cheaper to keep a student on campus than it is to re-recruit them later, to spend all that money to recruit them and have them bail out and leave us with some sort of debt, not ever get a degree, or to transfer away," Mills said.

Currently, there are three teams on campus that work to retain students. First-year retention is handled by the Freshman Programs Committee.

The Retention Working Team is responsible for compiling and analyzing data related to gradation and retention rates of students.

On Monday, the newest committee, the Advising Policy Implementation Team, will hold its first meeting.

"All three of these groups together really begin to create our integrated and comprehensive retention program," Mills said.

In addition to retention programs, Mills discussed some of the plans to address streamlining the Admissions, Records and Registration office. Mills asked faculty members to offer suggestions to reduce the long lines.

Mills is attempting to find ways in which students can receive help without having to go to the office. This will include updates to MySacState and an integrated call center to handle all the functions of the Admissions and Records office.

Derek Fleming can be reached at dfleming@statehornet.com.