CWU held its second Wildcat Preview Day on February 10. Approximately 445 students attended and 23 were admitted on the spot. Many students also confirmed their admissions. Trustee Charbonneau gave “kudos” to the university for a great day. He attended with his son. Enrollment and Budget Update Senior Vice President Klucking gave a high-level review of the budget and enrollment six months into the fiscal year. The lower overall enrollment is affecting tuition and fee revenues, but some of our cost containment measures are helping to offset lower revenue generation. Regarding enrollment, we are up in applications, admits, and confirmations from this time last year. The FAFSA rollout is affecting first generation and low-income students the most. Staff are doing everything they can to reach out to incoming and continuing students to assist with the process. All institutions are facing this issue, so we are not alone. On a good note, Winter 24 student term to term “melt” is returning to its historical norm. SVP Klucking added that a housing and dining rate increase is on the action agenda on Friday. This increase represents a balanced approach to offset financial difficulties due to decreased enrollment and rising costs while preserving balances in accordance with debt coverage/bond covenants, and to maintain affordability for students. This proposal does not address ongoing financial challenges due to aging infrastructure and compounded deferred maintenance. Student stakeholders as well as shared governance campus stakeholders were consulted with no major concerns. A three percent increase in summer session tuition is also being proposed on Friday. The fee is consistent with the academic year rate increases and will help offset the instructional cost of living increases and limit the impacts to summer session net profits. In addition, two mandatory fee increases are being proposed for summer session: a summer recreation fee that supports the operations and maintenance of the Recreation Center and contributes to the annual debt service related to the SURC; and an increase to the existing Orientation Fee. In Fall 2021, the fee was temporarily modified, coming out of the pandemic and we are planning to re-instate the Orientation fee with this cycle of orientations with an increase to the fee from $200 to $225. SVP Klucking gave an update on CWU’s FY24 supplemental operating request. We had three funding initiatives: College in the High School, student basic needs, and CWU Police/Teamsters contract. On the capital side, we requested a secondary geothermal module, Science Building carbon reduction, and emergency power backup. The next Washington Revenue Forecast is February 20. This will help inform operating and capital decisions. Research Presentation Dr. Amy Claridge, Professor and Program Coordinator of Child Development & Family Science, and Director of the Family Resource Center, presented to the Board on Parental Mental Health and Child Wellbeing: The Role of Relationship and Policy Contexts in the Transition to Parenthood. Dr. Claridge’s study of maternal depression during the COVID-19 pandemic found that 56.1% of participants indicated symptoms associated with clinical depression at one or more of the waves, which included prenatal (third trimester), early postpartum (8 weeks), and late postpartum (12-30 months). Some of the stressors included: being pregnant during a pandemic, shifting hospital policies and prenatal care, fear of viral exposure, lack of support, isolation, and feelings of missing out on first time mom experiences.
3 Board of Trustees Minutes February 15-16, 2024
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