The University of Akron Tiger Team Recommendations & Reports

The University of Akron Tiger Team

Recommendations & Reports

The University of Akron Tiger Team Recommendations & Reports I. Executive Summary 3 II. Communication Subcommittee 4 a. Preliminary Tiger Team Recommendation on COM 5 b. Presidential Communication Recommendation 7 III. Cost Savings Subcommittee 14 a. Priority Items and Groupings 15 IV. Enrollment Subcommittee 20 a. Initial Recommendation for Rebuilding Enrollment 21 b. Enrollment Committee Recommendations Part II 23 V. Shared Governance Subcommittee 27 a. Tiger Team Recommendation on Shared Governance 28 b. Shared Governance Report 30 VI. New Revenue Generation Subcommittee 32 a. New Revenue Report 33


Recommendations & Reports In an effort to help build trust and engagement across The University of Akron campus, Interim Senior Vice President and Provost Rex Ramsier established a “Tiger Team” drawn from the Faculty Senate, University Council, Deans, Chairs and School Directors and the American Association of University Professors – Akron Chapter to help address the University's challenges. The Tiger Team drew on the expertise and experience of the University community, and created a series of recommendations and reports in order to assist in numerous efforts, including enrollment, University governance and finances. After meeting for six weeks over the summer, and meeting in five subcommittees, the Tiger Team has forwarded the attached recommendations to the administration and the new interim president, Matthew J. Wilson. The subcommittees have also provided reports addressing the feedback sent in by the community. In addition to the Tiger Team recommendations and reports, the full text of the community submissions is available at uakron.edu/TigerTeam The Tiger Team University Council Dr. Harvey L. Sterns Ms. Ruth Nine-Duff Mr. Isaac Lampner Deans Dr. Eric J. Amis Dr. Lakeesha K. Ransom Dr. Chand Midha Department Chairs/School Directors Dr. H. Michael Cheung Dr. Michael A. Nelson Dr. Thomas G. Calderon

Faculty Senate Mr. William D. Rich Dr. Linda Marie Saliga Dr. Pamela Ann Schulze AAUP Dr. John F. Zipp Mrs. Julie A Cajigas Dr. Andrew Robert Thomas Administration Mr. Larry R. Williams Mr. Nathan J. Mortimer Ms. Lauri S. Thorpe


Communication Subcommittee Recommendations & Reports

Re: Preliminary Tiger Team Recommendations on Communication Dear Interim President Wilson, In order to move forward successfully, The University of Akron has a critical need to rebuild trust in the campus community, and the community at large. We, the Tiger Team, are pleased to bring forward two preliminary recommendations related to the function and operation of University Communications and Marketing that will lay a strong foundation for immediate reputation and image repair. After speaking with University Communications and Marketing at length about communication practices and strategy, and consulting with faculty who have expertise in these areas, we have developed the following recommendations:

1. Provide sufficient resources to conduct a reputation and image repair campaign. University Communications and Marketing has developed an image repair strategic plan that includes paid, earned and owned communication channels. In order to successfully execute this plan, The University must immediately invest additional financial and personnel resources to ensure that ad placements and other campaign activities can happen urgently. While it is understood that the campus is experiencing financial challenges, other urgent goals – such as increasing enrollment, increasing philanthropic giving, and increasing alternative revenues – depend heavily on immediate and successful image repair. In order to improve the financial standing of our institution, we will need to rebuild trust with our constituents. By investing in this comprehensive image repair plan early, we build a foundation to make all of our other recovery efforts successful. Specifically, the Tiger Team recommends that University leadership meet with the Chief Communication Officer to discuss the financial needs of the University Communications and Marketing office, and attempt to meet those needs so that an image repair campaign can be launched immediately.

2. Ensure the Chief Communication Officer (CCO) has a Counseling Role within The University Leadership

Known for extensive research in developing a theory of excellence in public relations, James E. and Larissa A. Grunig note the following about linking business strategy with excellent communication: (1) “The [communication] function should be located to have ready access to the key decision-makers of the organization and to participate in strategic management.” (2) “[In organizations with excellent communication] public relations participates in strategic decision-making to help manage the behavior of the organization.” (3) “Public relations executives are ethics counselors and internal advocates of social responsibility.” In order for The University of Akron to rebuild trust within its many constituent groups, it is crucial that the CCO be utilized as a counselor at the highest levels of decision-making for the

University. The CCO is then able to forecast potential communication issues that might arise from internal decision-making with a higher degree of accuracy, and respond to them internally before they become a crisis. It is crucial to consider the counsel of the ranking communication officer of the campus when making any decision that could impact the image repair process of The University, or relationships with constituents going forward. Specifically, the Tiger Team recommends that the University leadership seek the counsel of the ranking communication officer on campus early in their decision-making processes on any major action, and give the CCO access to important meetings and conversations. This can be accomplished by having the CCO report directly to the president, and be an active member of his cabinet. The Tiger Team understands that our new leadership team is in a time of transition, and may already intend to fulfill the above recommendations. We hope that by sharing them from the Tiger Team, we lend the support of many campus constituencies for these actions. Thank you for your consideration, NAME On Behalf of the Tiger Team University Council Dr. Harvey L. Sterns Ms. Ruth Nine-Duff Mr. Isaac Lampner Deans Dr. Eric J. Amis Dr. Lakeesha K. Ransom Dr. Chand Midha Department Chairs/School Directors Dr. H. Michael Cheung Dr. Michael A. Nelson Dr. Thomas G. Calderon Faculty Senate Mr. William D. Rich Dr. Linda Marie Saliga Dr. Pamela Ann Schulze

AAUP Dr. John F. Zipp Mrs. Julie A Cajigas Dr. Andrew Robert Thomas Administration Mr. Larry R. Williams Mr. Nathan J. Mortimer Ms. Lauri S. Thorpe

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Presidential Communication Recommendations Being Drafted by the Tiger Team Communication Subcommittee The Tiger Team Communication Subcommittee offers the following general communication recommendations regarding presidential communication:

1. Faculty and Staff Sentiment. The faculty and staff at The University of Akron are currently sensitive to communication regarding topics such as the budget, the direction for the campus, and policy. There is also sensitivity or concern on the part of the faculty that faculty have been seen by the administration as a problem. It is important for the new president to communicate that he values the faculty and staff, their opinions and contributions, and the academic and research mission of The University. In addition, any communication to the faculty and staff should be composed and considered through the lens of a heightened sense of campus concern.

How meetings and messages for the faculty and staff are constructed is crucial. Asking what they need, for them to highlight their strengths, and to identify opportunities for enrollment marketing and revenue growth would be preferred to messages that discuss cuts and challenges. Though those conversations may need to happen soon, it would be best to avoid or minimize them in initial meetings given the low morale on campus.

2. Building Trust and Mutual Respect. In order for The University of Akron to recover and repair its relationship with its core constituents, points of view need to be able to be expressed and heard with respect and not the assumption that the other side doesn't know what it's talking about or doing. As the campus community begins to trust the direction and leadership of the university, they will need to move forward by extending respect, trust and respect toward the leadership, so the campus can unify and work together. To rebuild that level of trust will require some initial acts of good faith on the part of the leadership. Some ways this can be accomplished include adoption of the Tiger Team shared governance recommendation, as well as continuing the listening that is already taking place on the part of the president, and acting on the insights gathered.

3. Message to the Community The message to the community needs to be unequivocal: things are about to change, and their help is needed. "It's a new day at UA."

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4. Communication of Policy and Internal Processes. Communication of policy and items, for example, communication about the budgeting process, needs to be standardized across The University. When decisions are made, it is important that announcements come from the president directly to the faculty. It is also important that the president ensure that each dean or vice president communicates in a consistent manner to his or her faculty/staff constituency.

Below, please find a matrix of presidential communication opportunities identified by the Tiger Team. They are organized in order of urgency. We understand that it is likely that the president has already considered and perhaps leveraged some of these opportunities, but in the event that any have not been discussed, we wanted to be sure they had been proposed.

Identified Communication Opportunities for New President

Constituent Group Message/ Topics Setting Urgency Comments Prospective Students You are making / have

made the right choice to consider / attend UA. The present and future are still very bright. You experience here and degree from UA will be some of the best things in your life. UA is here for your success, quality academics, supportive community, internships/coops, strong ROI, fun, safe, engaging, find yourself here (message will vary based on student type/major)

Both formal and informal speaking opportunities at local schools and other venues, as well as on campus student visit days, personal appearances at Admission events, College Planning & Financial Aid talks, campus tour stops at President's Office, email and video outreach, and social media.

Highest Messages should be considered alongside those for principals and guidance counselors.

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Constituent Group Message/ Topics Setting Urgency Comments Faculty and Staff Important messages about

major policy changes Formal: Consider more convocations or assemblies of the faculty, staff and deans for major announcements that have a campus-wide impact.

Highest (but on a variable timeline)

It’s crucial to avoid the campus learning of major policy or operations changes in the press before they are released on campus. E-mail can seem impersonal for such major announcements.

Organized faculty groups (UC, AAUP, Faculty Senate, Grad Council)

Listening sessions where the President asks XYZ questions; shows support for faculty and values faculty input

Formal/variable Highest

Undergraduate Students

Retention-based messages including “it’s a new day at UA.” Stress that we value them and are considering the future of the university with student welfare and experience top-of-mind.

Formal: New student orientations, convocation. Informal: Others already identified including shooting hoops with students etc.

Highest Retention is a key concern in increasing and maintaining enrollment.

Reporters and press including: Karen Farkas, Marilyn Miller, and other education beat reporters from the DEVIL STRIP, PD, ABJ,

Build good relationship with press, will be more transparent, share information.

See Wayne Hill for suggestions on correct venues and approaches.

Highest This is important. If the press is not on our side, it'll be pretty difficult to repair our image.

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Constituent Group Message/ Topics Setting Urgency Comments Crain’s, Canton Repository, etc.

Deans and Vice Presidents

Set expectations for how administrators can best communicate messages from the president to their colleges or staff teams. Specific topic of interest: The Budget.

Formal meetings High Communication is urgently needed, even if only to explain the process by which answers will be decided on the budget.

Donors We are making the changes the community requested, and now we need your help. Leverage Eileen Berg story (she refused to donate until change, and is now donating again)

Cocktail hour with top/key donors, other special event type functions.

High

Parents stability, here for your students, strong academic programs, strong ROI, moving forward together

Personal appearances at Admission events, College Planning & Financial Aid talks with parents at high schools at their evening programs, email/video

High

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Constituent Group Message/ Topics Setting Urgency Comments messaging to parents.

High School Counselors

stability, here for your students, strong academic programs, strong ROI, moving forward together

Participating in high school counselor advisory board meetings (on- and off-campus).

High

High School Principals and Superintendents

stability, here for your students, strong academic programs, strong ROI, moving forward together

School visits, engage with CCP outreach already planned (work with Elizabeth Kennedy, Kelly Herold, Greg Dieringer, Greg Landis) school visits, district meetings (work with Dean Clark and College of Education as well as CAST colleagues who are creating CCP MOU agreements)

High

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Constituent Group Message/ Topics Setting Urgency Comments University Community Communication should

focus on the strong future of UA and the contributions of faculty and alum.

Formal / Convocation @ EJ Thomas

High Faculty: find ways to find faculty to help with student retention

The Akron-AAUP “It’s a new day at UA, nice to meet you.”

Informal: AAUP First Friday event

High These are held at Lockview restaurant downtown on the first Friday of each month, and all bargaining unit faculty are invited.

Faculty in their Colleges Plans to strengthen programs, hire new faculty (esp TT), respect/listen to faculty, create better processes to enhance communication

College meetings or smaller segments

High (by the end of December)

Graduate students Messages about graduate stipends and continued support and investment in graduate programs at UA.

Formal: e-mail messages, and/or town hall.

High Confidence in graduate programming has been damaged. Repair is necessary.

Presidents of other area colleges/ universities

We should cooperate more to strengthen all our universities and perhaps find cost savings. Reiterate that MW is a totally different guy, doesn't agree with some remarks made by predecessor.

Formal: speaking engagement in appropriate formal venue.

Medium These relationships were damaged severely in the past.

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Constituent Group Message/ Topics Setting Urgency Comments New faculty Welcome, I'm a nice guy,

open door policy, pro-faculty

Formal/faculty convocation at new faculty orientation

Medium-High (although new faculty orientation is soon)

University Community Explanation of initial plans, explain how he will strengthen the position of the university financially and enhance it's reputation

ZTV: Grant an interview to the ZTV news program or another of the station’s programs that is deemed appropriate. Speak to Juan Contreras, general manager, to ascertain the correct program.

Medium

University Community “Muffins with Matt” Starbuck’s SU, and Polsky on main campus, and at Wayne as well.

Low

Centers and Programs on Campus: For Example – the Center for Child Development

Reaffirms each Center or program’s value to UA (recruitment, support of UA community, recognition of caregiving needs, training site for students, experiential learning site etc.)

Semi-formal. If it makes sense, as in with the Center of Child Development, a photo op including the press should be included.

Low We shouldn't reaffirm commitment to any center or program if UA intends to close it. Confirm commitment to the center before leveraging this opportunity.


Cost Savings Subcommittee Recommendations & Reports

Tiger Team Cost Saving Subgroup – Priority Items and Groupings by Categories

V4 – August 11, 2016 – Final Report Subgroup Members: Eric Amis (convener), Ruth Nine-‐Duff, Bill Rich, Linda Saliga, Larry Williams

This final list includes items discussed by the subgroup as well as those submitted to the open call for suggestions. Duplicate ideas were not consolidated. Given the number and complexity of the suggestions they could not all be evaluated for validity of statements, financial savings, or unintended consequences.

All items were reviewed with general input from Brian Davis as our fiscal resource. The committee identified five priority recommendations. Remaining items, which include some duplication of the priority items, were grouped into categories of: Procedures, Cost Commitments, Facilities, and Information Technology.

Priority Items

1. Eliminate non-‐core activities or integrate them with academic programs (Proof of Concept, Innovation Practice Center, Corps of Cadets, EXL Center, Data Sciences) or demonstrate that they are economically self-‐sustaining with external funds.

2. Identify complex processes where Lean principles could streamline to provide better or equivalent service with savings of cost, time, and resources (HR, Budget, Payroll, Facilities, ORA, Admissions, Curriculum, Degree Clearance, Scheduling, etc.)

3. Decentralize graduate school functions and staffing to the colleges. 4. Balance GA Support for TA’s and RA’s based on instructional needs and potential for

sponsored project support. 5. Take opportunities to consolidate multiple class sections into larger classes, perhaps with

TA recitation sections.

Procedures

6. Investigate cost effective alternative to current zip card system. 7. Identify opportunities for cost efficient blanket purchasing agreements. 8. Identify and implement efficiencies in HR (PRF, PAF, Payroll – multi-‐step paper and

electronic) 9. Identify and implement efficiencies in sponsored projects administration (submission

processes, accounting processes and financial management, compliance, closeouts) 10. I suggest that an RFP be sent out to seek contractors who could perform the HR function

and could streamline the hiring and other processes so that so many touches are not required to get something done. We should follow private industry in terms of putting in more efficient, paperless processes.

11. Believe there are several processes within the University function that can be improved. I am a proponent of the LEAN discipline for continuous improvement. Our UA solutions group has continually offered training to our UA Staff. It allows UA employees to come together and provide input (and take leadership) to make our university most efficient. There is a group of UA employees that have received training and have applied it in their

work. Recently, spring 2015, UA Human Resources and other UA employees (including myself and two administrative assistants from the colleges) during a one-‐week period, simplified the Part-‐Time Faculty Hire and Re-‐Appointment process by 70+%, eliminating steps and approvals. Also, the method to now apply for self and family tuition fee remission is a result of the LEAN process. I am offering to assist and lead with projects to make the UA process most efficient. Thank you.

12. Implementing LEAN University with the focus on what student’s value will help our university in 3 ways: / /1. Build our processes/services based on what our student’s value which will better service the student population better than our competition thus increasing enrollment. / / 2. Increase employee engagement by empowering them to create their own processes focused on student’s value. / / 3. Eliminate waste in processes to reduce costs. / / Example: / UA Solutions facilitated a Kaizen event with the HR department. The project was the “Part-‐time faculty hiring and reappointment process”. The team worked extremely hard over a week’s time and achieved the following results: / / 120 steps to 20 steps – 83% reduction in steps – Time savings / / 28 days to process to 3 days – time savings and better service to our part-‐time faculty / / Online application form to reduce missing and errors which cause delays – Quality improvement / / Reduces the number of reviews in the process – Better use of resources./

13. Request that all campus constituents use vacation time for the holiday break currently given as PTO. / / Implement a reduction in allowable accrued vacation. / / encourage full participation in EmpCenter documentation. / / Engage campus community in a rigorous initiative to reduce energy consumption. Students are uniquely invested in this issue. Empower them to lead an initiative to reduce energy consumption that includes all campus constituents. Many sites on campus do not have motion sensors for lighting. Complete ROI, or review existing data for campus wide retrofit. Explore federal/state grant or corporate partnerships to complete this project.

14. Let us look at what did not work and why we are down in Fall 2016. Let us not repeat the mistakes, again!

15. To cut staff we have to get smarter about departmental workloads. One example – a grant coordinator & a grant accountant can only successfully handle a given number of grants. These days we must get more selective about which grants we accept. Some grants are small, yet take the same time to process as larger grants. Other grants have time consuming requirements. I propose developing a systematic way of setting grant acceptance requirements by college that uses a cost-‐benefit analysis. We just don’t have the luxury of taking on all grants any longer.

16. Please end the myopic emphasis on zeroing budgets and eliminating carryover between fiscal years. There may be certain units where this is necessary, but at the academic levels it promotes wasteful, or at least less than optimal spending so that the money “isn’t lost”. It’s easy to imagine that the overall university budget suffers more from this wasteful spending then it gains from garnishing a few under spent accounts.

Cost Commitments

17. Surfeit or administrators: The University, as far as I can tell, as an exceptionally low tooth-‐to-‐tail ration: there are far too many administrators relative to the number of full-‐time faculty and student enrollment. But effecting a higher ration, it would free resources for either additional tenure-‐track faculty or more student support. It would also clear lines of communication and increase efficiency of administration. I honestly don’t know why the College of Arts and Sciences needs so many mini-‐deans to handle the tasks that any competent Dean should be able to manage on his/her own. If there is a need to have that many people in management, perhaps you ought to ask the question: why are we so top heavy compared to other similar institutions? / / Faculty Responsibilities: Faculty who do not publish (in department where there is significant release time for publication) should be asked to compensate the institution and their publishing colleagues to assume additional teaching duties in order to limit the need for part-‐time faculty/adjuncts, particularly if they lack (as they do in our department) a terminal degree. If I trusted the administration—and lamentable I do not—I would actively support post-‐tenure review of fellow faculty on a 5-‐7-‐year cycle for that very reason. This would be a cost-‐saving measure (less spent on part-‐time faculty) as well as a retention/recruitment measure: I’m assuming that full-‐time faculty are more invested in student success, the viability of the institution, and that students will react accordingly.

18. Reduce the administrative costs – too many overpaid, unproductive administrators on campus. How many VP’s and $200K+ administrators do we really need? Meanwhile, I have had a difficult time keeping my students (paying customers) in a good working and learning environment. My building (SHS) has been without air conditioning all summer and that is where our chemistry, physics, and computer labs are located. (The indoor temperature at times has spiked to eh mid-‐90’s). So it is difficult to move or change buildings. If I was a student, I would be very upset by reading about ballooning admin. salaries while struggling to work part-‐time, pay for tuition, fees and books, and am being asked to attend classes in such an uncomfortable environment. This does not help with retention /graduation. Our students and alumni are the most important marketers of the university! Why would we want to alienate them in any way? Perhaps we would have more funds to address this need if we reduced the administrative salary/overhead costs.

19. Offer to option of taking reduced hours thru the summer. Look into what the Center for Nursing is actually costing the University in terms of what they are doing there and the staffing.

20. Are we actually paying $600+ (six hundred plus thousand dollars for the former U of A presidents to teach three classes? / (June 4, 2016 Akron Beacon Journal… I didn’t get a zip mail on that subject).

21. The tendency to replace outgoing administrators with new ones at a much higher salary must stop. I would also encourage the University to pursue local talent among its alumni just as vigorously as it does candidates from around the county who have no personal investment in the community or the institution. There is a great deal of talent in our alumni pool. These individuals would bring a guaranteed personal investment in the institution and would likely be willing to take on the responsibilities of these administrative positions at a

more reasonable salary level. I believe this is a key point if we wish to avoid the numerous hiring debacles of the last two administrations. Finally, the University seems to have departed from the practice of advancing from within. What more motivated individuals are there than current employees wishing to improve themselves while helping to take the University forward in a positive and constructive manner?

22. Establish minimum GA stipends that are required to receive tuition remission. 23. Outsource additional administrative functions. 24. Discontinue Corps of Cadets if not done so already. 25. Why not offer an early retirement incentive program for all? 26. Discontinue giving away RHPB and other Akron shirts or freebies or whatever for free at

recruiting events. They aren’t the deciding factor in enrollment.

Facilities

27. Institute 4-‐day workweek in summer where possible. 28. Identify buildings to close during summer. 29. Install motion sensor light switches in all the classrooms and offices. Although this will be

and initial cost, the saved electricity should result in savings in the long run. 30. Offer to option of taking reduced hours thru the summer. Look into what the Center for

Nursing is actually costing the University in terms of what they are doing there and the staffing.

31. Stop running the water fountains on campus (i.e. at EJ Thomas and in front of the soccer fields) / 2. Stop holding free events i.e. Spring Fest, etc. / 3. Stop giving away free stuff, i.e. shirts, pens, candy, etc. Advertisement on these products waste money. / 4. Install automatic sinks/soap dispensers/paper towel dispensers in ALL bathrooms / 5. Look for cheaper supplier regarding bathroom toiletries, food, etc. / 6. Stop updating textbooks so often – this will help students save money / 7. Use energy saving lights all over campus/ / If the above measures are taken, tuition can be decreased (over time). Thus, students will be happier.

32. Turn off the lights in Buildings when they aren’t being used. When driving around campus at nights or weekends, I see lights on in entire buildings.

33. Negotiate more favorable utilities costs. 34. Reevaluate the need for Auxiliary Services. Dining has been outsourced and the remaining

departments have been reduced to significantly lower employee levels that can no longer justify the existence of the overpaid contract professionals who watch over them. Mid-‐level managers can report to other areas on campus such as PFOC for Materials Handling, Department of Development for However House, and Student Success for Zip card and Parking. Looking over the budget overview previously provided by Mortimer through digest as well as BOT documents, it is clear there are funny numbers being used for Auxiliary’s payroll and operations. We can only wonder what other numbers are being massaged into place or just cut-‐n-‐pasted from the previous year.

35. Reduce/eliminate minimally used land line office telephones. I bet the trend on campus mirrors national usage trends (i.e. Deferring to cell phones over land line phones) and many folks on campus rarely use their office telephones, particularly faculty and especially during

the summer months. Landlines should be retained in department/college/administration office. However, with more and more people preferring to make contact via emails or text messaging, keeping and paying for landline phones in every office doesn’t make sense.

36. Biggest cost saving measure would be stop paying dinning services unworthy money. They charge a lot for not at all good food, they have to come out of traditional 5 course meals, which no one likes anymore. New student orientation is now out of Dining Services because they charge a lot, eventually everyone would do this. Alarm is ringing.

37. This submission will represent my perspective as an individual student. As a cost saving measure with regards to energy investment, I think that the University should enter into a purchasing agreement with Wind Farms to save money on energy cost over the long term. Fossil fuels are inherently short term, and there are wind farms in Ohio that would be willing to provide for our demand for electricity.

38. When doing new construction, focus around staircases rather than elevators. 39. Close the NMR Center – machines are outdated; operating costs are not justified by sample

or scientific output. Faculty should be using grant funds to process their samples using external vendors. It is difficult to argue science productivity would be significantly reduced if this Center were closed. Potential cost savings are likely approach $1 million/yr.

Information Technology

40. Eliminate university cell phones 41. Replace PeopleSoft with more cost effective systems. 42. Transition more computer services to cloud based systems with reduced infrastructure

costs. Implement Adobe Sign or similar program instead of forwarding documents. Many documents must be signed by multiple departments. Example: Summer PAF paid from grant account must go thru dept. chair, dean’s office, provost, grant accountant, HR Payroll. Docs sent thru Adobe Sign can be sent to multiple people in a specific order for signatures and can be tracked down if not signed. Save time, paper costs, cost-‐per-‐copy costs. Why are we sending paper documents around campus?? Plenty of opportunity to get lost!!! https://helpx.adobe.com/sign/how-‐to/get-‐started.html


Enrollment Subcommittee Recommendations & Reports

Tiger Team Enrollment Committee Initial Recommendation for

Rebuilding Fall 2017 Entering Undergraduate Enrollment

8-8-2016

Committee: Megan Bodenschatz, Julie Cajigas, Thomas Calderon, Michael Cheung, Chand Midha, Nathan Mortimer, Michael Nelson, Lakeesha Ransom, Michael Spayd, Lauri Thorpe, John Zipp The Tiger Team has identified as the core goal of its efforts, “To return incoming freshman enrollment to 2015 levels by Fall Semester 2017.” In order to achieve this goal (and as requested by Provost Rex Ramsier), the Tiger Team Enrollment Committee reviewed immediate investments recommended by the Enrollment Team for Fall 2017 after meeting with the Enrollment Team to learn the background and rationale for those investments. The most crucial period of time for Fall 2017 enrollment, when prospective students engage in their decision making process, is August 2016 – January 2017. For this reason, the Tiger Team recommends that the investments requested are considered with extreme urgency. The investments requested by the Enrollment Team include a continuing contract with Royall, the filling of vacant positions within Enrollment, and immediate consideration of admissions personnel needs. The specific Tiger Team recommendations are as follows:

1. Immediate Recommitment with Royall The Tiger Team recommends that the President and Board of Trustees approve a contract with Royall, at a minimum at the level of the 2015 commitment, in order to continue our application pipeline. The Tiger Team also recommends that the Enrollment Team reevaluate the use of this tool for the Fall 2018 entering class, and determine if it is the most appropriate method for increasing enrollment. 2. Purchase Naviance This affordable recruitment tool will allow us to reach out to more high school students in strategic geographic areas.

3. Consider Augmenting Admissions Staff Personnel increases require careful consideration on the part of the leadership of The University, as they represent a major and long-term investment. The Tiger Team recommends that Enrollment provide a list and rationale for each Admissions position reclassification or addition they are requesting to the leadership team, and that the leadership team meet with the Enrollment Team expediently to discuss and consider making these personnel investments. In addition to the general recommendation above, the TT recommends that two actions be taken quickly to maintain an effective enrollment/admission team: 1) a market analysis be performed, and adjustments made to the compensation of current personnel where warranted and 2) strategic hires be made to fill critical gaps in the team.

The Tiger Team Enrollment Subcommittee members will also provide ideas and strategies for rebuilding undergraduate entering student enrollment for Fall 2017 and increasing retention. Those recommendations are forthcoming. Thank you for your consideration,

Megan Bodenschatz Julie A Cajigas Thomas Calderon Michael Cheung Chand Midha Nathan Mortimer Michael Nelson Lakeesha Ransom Michael Spayd Lauri Thorpe John Zipp

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Enrollment Committee Recommendations Part II: Graduate Assistants, Faculty

Involvement in Retention, Administrative Initiatives, and Responses to the

Survey

I. GRADUATE ASSISTANTS

The Committee recommends that the Graduate Council develop a policy for the best use of Graduate

School funded GA’s (including both stipends and/or tuition remission) that focuses on increasing

undergraduate retention and degree completion.

II. FACULTY INVOLVEMENT IN RETENTION

What UA is already doing

A. Checking students who

1. have incomplete schedules

2. have paid commitment fee and attended NSO but not yet registered for classes

3. have paid commitment fee but not yet attended NSO

4. some financial hold (will consider them for the possibility of a small ‘Retention/Completion”

grant)

B. Learning Assistants

C. Learning Communities, Peer Mentoring, OMD

D. Early warning (Mid-term reporting; Bill Torgler is preparing a report on how this information is used,

and it should be shared with faculty).

E. National Make A Difference Day (UA also provides coordinated service activities for students

throughout the academic year)

F. Finish in Time Credit Incentive

G. Akron Experience Course

What can faculty do?

A. Lunch at Rob’s (John Messina is exploring getting passes for interested faculty)

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B. Look to hire students on campus (6-15 hours make a difference in retention)

C. Informal contact with students (e.g. welcoming students during the first few weeks)

D. More involvement in student organizations (perhaps we can get a list of student organizations and

solicit faculty interest)

E. Mentoring programs

F. Supported involvement in learning communities and interest groups (departments may consider

explicitly crediting such activities in merit and RTP).

G. Share stories of individual faculty success via student success and retention committee web page

(currently under update). For example, unique strategies currently used by faculty flipped classrooms,

informal membership, peer groups or other strategies that have seen success by our faculty shared with

all (ITL used to share practices, and this may be a means for colleagues to share their best practices with

new faclty and each other.)

H. Participation in the campus-wide Student Success Steering Committee.

I. Retweet information on the #Gettin’Classy registration initiative.

J. Outreach to non-registered students via received filtered NOW reports. (Colleges currently provide

general outreach via these reports.)

K. Faculty can always provide referral for student outreach and support. They can fill out “Help-A-Zip” at

the first sign that the student may be struggling. This includes academic, financial, mental, personal

(www.uakron.edu/referral ).

L. Ensure all student employees have schedules before holiday breaks/end of term.

III. ADMINISTRATIVE INITIATIVES

A. Stark State: (for immediate action) explore mutually beneficial opportunities to collaborate with

Stark State in course delivery and seamless transfer of Stark State students to 4-year degrees at UA.

Student Support Services: student service units (i.e. financial aid, advising).

B. Develop Summer Pipeline Opportunities (explore expanding innovative summer pipeline and

recruiting initiatives).

http://www.uakron.edu/referral

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C. Ohio Transfer (examine the degree to which AA degrees are able to meet general education

requirements for transfer students).

D. Student Support Services: student service units (i.e. financial aid, advising).

IV. SURVEY RESPONSES

There were 95 responses that offered suggestions for “new recruiting and retention” strategies. We

have distinguished the two and grouped them into the following themes. The Committee’s responses

are in italics.

RECRUITING

1. Science fairs: have a UA booth at local science fairs, and consider summer science camps. (We

do some of the former already, but should expand it, and should consider the latter).

2. Count an AA degree for gen ed requirements for transfer students. (Lauri and Lakeesha will

check on this)

3. Increase recruitment of international students and local Latino students (Hiring additional

recruiters will help here; need to rebuild International Programs Office here at UA. Finally, we

also recommend increased attention to other groups of local underrepresented student groups –

e.g. African-Americans, Asians, and this would be facilitated by hiring of a dedicated Admissions

Counselor/Minority Recruitment Officer).

4. Expand evening college, and recruit at local companies (Again, additional recruiters will help

here).

5. More contact with high school counselors (This is on the list for admissions to do, and

admissions will be soliciting help from interested faculty).

6. Better branding/marketing (including marketing our best programs/faculty) (Communication has

already started on this effort).

7. Improve NSO, Admissions and Financial aid processes (including on campus interviews for

Honor’s students) (Particular attention is going to be given as to how to develop a ‘layered’

recruitment strategy for all students, including Honor’s students.)

4

8. More targeted recruitment of CCP students. (There is a committee tasked with this already).

RETENTION

1. Consider something along the lines of CSU’s Graduation Incentive Plan (2% tuition credit and

$200 bookstore credit for completing 30 credits a year). (The Committee is asking Nathan

Mortimer to work with the appropriate campus units to investigate and to develop a comparable

program for UA to encourage timely degree completion).

2. Better mentoring by faculty, learning assistants, and/or advanced majors paired with beginning

ones. (We are exploring ways to increase mentoring by faculty, students and staff. Possibilities

include: targeting classes with high D-W-F for peer mentors or learning assistants; recruiting

mentors from scholarship/honor’s students; allocating load hours for faculty who do intensive

mentoring).

3. Don’t cut small classes (The committee recognizes that many units already do a good job of

monitoring class size and make extensive efforts not to cut small classes at the last minute.

However, these efforts need to be consistent across units, with the result that small classes

should only be cut in unusual circumstances).

4. Increase support for undergraduate research (Undergraduate research, along with other ways

for undergraduates to become more engaged – internships, co-ops, and other experiential

learning opportunities – should be supported and be considered as a possible way to help UA

become more student-centered).

5. Maintain Child Care center and provide a private space for women to breastfeed. (Work-school-

family balance is increasingly important, and UA should become a leader in this realm,

particularly as we try to increase the number of adult students).

6. Two concerning Gen Ed: (1) replace gen ed core with fully online gen ed program; and (2) create

an ‘off-ramp’ for those struggling in online course. (All the courses created for the Gen Ed Core

program met Quality Matters standards, and we should consider replacing the Gen Ed Core with

a set of these high-quality, online courses. Rather than an ‘off-ramp’ for students struggling in

online Gen Ed, we encourage departments to offer Gen Ed courses that start 7 weeks into the

semester; these courses might be used to keep students on-track for retention and degree

completion).

7. Invest in faculty, including more tenure track hires. (Contact with full-time faculty is an

important component of retention. Special attention needs to be paid to the ratio of NTT and TT

faculty, as the latter are extremely important in faculty leadership).


Shared Governance Subcommittee Recommendations & Reports

August 8, 2016

TO: Interim President Matthew Wilson

FROM: Tiger Team

Re: Tiger Team Recommendations on Shared Governance

HLC has identified ‘governance’ as one of the topics for its focused visit this spring, and one of the

priorities that the BOT charged Interim President Wilson with is “rebuilding and strengthening

relationships with our various constituencies.” The Tiger Team proposes that the BOT add

faculty/staff representatives to key BOT committees as a way to address both of these concerns.

Specifically, The Tiger Team recommends that the Board of Trustees (BOT) add representatives

chosen by the Faculty Senate, the AAUP, UA Chairs, and University Council as non-voting

members of the following BOT committees: Academic Issues & Student Success (one member

from Faculty Senate and one member from Akron-AAUP); Finance and Administration (one

member from University Council); Personnel & Compensation (one member from the UA Chairs);

Rules Committee (one member from any of these groups, chosen by the representatives of these

groups); and Strategic Issues (one member from University Council).

This recommendation carries many benefits, including being cost-free, but below three major

benefits are highlighted.

1. Improving Shared Governance

Inviting meaningful participation at this high level would go a long way toward resolving HLC’s

concerns about the quality and quantity of shared governance on campus. In many ways, this

might be seen as an affirmative step, not just a defensive response to HLC criticism.

2. Repairing the Image of the University and Re-establishing Trust

If the BOT were to immediately add these non-voting members, it would be a newsworthy

event, with a highly credible, demonstrated message to the campus and community. This show

of trust and good faith would immediately begin to repair relationships with important internal

constituencies. As the opinion leaders on campus share the positive message about being

included in the conversation, the image and reputation of The University will begin to heal.

In addition to increasing morale and encouraging campus leaders to share positive messages

with the community at large, taking this action would create opportunities for positive stories in

the media. University Communications and Marketing could release the initial announcement of

these appointments, and send additional releases at each step of the way (e.g. the election of

the representatives, the first committee meetings).

3. Improving Communication

Having campus leaders on these committees should improve the BOT’s ability to understand

broad campus issues, and campus leaders’ ability to understand more fully the issues facing

the BOT.

Extending trust to campus leaders is a first step in improving shared governance and in rebuilding

trust between University leadership and both internal and external constituencies. The Tiger Team

urges the Board of Trustees to take this important step.

Thank you for your consideration,

The Tiger Team Shared Governance Committee (Dr. Michael Cheung, Mr. Issac Lampner, Ms.

Ruth Nine-Duff, Mr. William Rich, Dr. Harvey Sterns, and Dr. John Zipp)

On Behalf of the Tiger Team

University Council

Dr. Harvey L. Sterns

Ms. Ruth Nine-Duff

Mr. Isaac Lampner

Deans

Dr. Eric J. Amis

Dr. Lakeesha K. Ransom

Dr. Chand Midha

Department Chairs/School Directors

Dr. H. Michael Cheung

Dr. Michael A. Nelson

Dr. Thomas G. Calderon

Faculty Senate

Mr. William D. Rich

Dr. Linda Marie Saliga

Dr. Pamela Ann Schulze

AAUP

Dr. John F. Zipp

Mrs. Julie A Cajigas

Dr. Andrew Robert Thomas

Administration

Mr. Larry R. Williams

Mr. Nathan J. Mortimer

Ms. Lauri S. Thorpe

Page 1 of 2

Shared Governance report, 15 August 2016

Shared Governance Report

August 15, 2016

Review of Campus Suggestions: There were 21 responses, and we grouped them into the following categories:

1. Better utilization of existing mechanisms for shared governance (e.g. University Council, advisory groups to the President and Provost).

Hopefully, the new UC bylaws and commitment to energize will help; in the past, the advisory committees have been treated more as committees that the President and Provost advise rather than ones that advise them.

2. More inclusive strategies for shared governance: (a) regular feedback from students; (b) have staff regularly evaluate management/supervisors; and (c) increase the opportunities for staff to get involved.

Some of this may happen in UC, but not (a) and (b). Surveys are one possible tool. Greater training for managers/supervisors. Opportunity for policy/procedure feedback rather than individual manager feedback would be useful, especially for empowering staff in small offices.

3. Move away from interim leaders to regular ones (College of Education was cited specifically).

The committee notes that there are too many real or “effective” vacancies. The provost’s office to “too thin” – need a provost and two (sole responsibility ) vice provosts. There are too many deans with multiple assignments including as chairs, vice provosts … , and especially in BCAS, interim chairs. Although budget issues may hinder the ability to start searches immediately, perhaps planning could occur that indicated when such openings would be filled. No reason that we cannot draw up a multi-‐year plan.

4. Improved communication. Communication team is working on this for both internal and external communication. This effort is important and should be continued.

5. Faculty representation on the BOT Tiger Team has already recommended the following:

Specifically, The Tiger Team recommends that the Board of Trustees (BOT) add representatives chosen by the Faculty Senate, the AAUP, UA Chairs, and University Council as non-voting members of the following BOT committees: Academic Issues & Student Success (one member from Faculty Senate and one member from Akron-AAUP); Finance and Administration (one member from University Council); Personnel & Compensation (one member from the UA Chairs); Rules Committee (one member from any of these groups, chosen by the representatives of these groups); and Strategic Issues (one member from University Council).

Page 2 of 2

Shared Governance report, 15 August 2016

Shared Governance: Additional Recommendations 8-‐15-‐2016

1. Tiger Team tasks and functions should either be subsumed into current UC committees or into UC ad hoc committees

2. TT subcommittees meet with logical UC counterpart committees to facilitate transition 3. UC committees consider adding non-‐voting members recruited from the TT

subcommittees (and beyond) 4. Recommend that TT Shared Governance Committee serve as the core for HLC

governance team 5. Cuts made last year severely damaged the operation/function of the University. We

need to analyze this and put a plan in place to meet the current & future functional needs of the University.


New Revenue Subcommittee Recommendations & Reports

New Revenue Subcommittee Report Workforce Development

1. Around 5 or so years ago there was an attempt to create a center for evaluation, which was never technically a "center." This attempt failed due to lack of a structure. There is a great need at the local, state, U.S., and international levels for evaluation work. I personally conduct 3+ evaluations per year and turn down a number of opportunities since we do not have a center to support such work. The center could be within one of the existing centers (perhaps EXCEL) and focus on submitting bids to do larger-‐scale evaluations (at the state and national levels) so to also support conducting small-‐scale evaluations within the local area to support our community. Such a center could also develop, promote, and deliver professional development opportunities or online certificates using a range of faculty expertise based on the need/market. For instance, I recently developed and implemented a three-‐week workshop for the National Institute for Standards in Technology (under Dept. of Commerce) on survey development. Organizations such as these pay good money for experts to provide training to their employees. Also, such a center would provide opportunities for faculty to collaborate, as well as for students to have funded opportunities to gain real-‐world experience across fields as evaluation work is applied across fields (a common accreditation standard across disciplines is real-‐world/field experience). This center could be an interdisciplinary evaluation center of sorts. / / Such a center would need a Director, a Co-‐Director, and a start-‐up team of experts from across disciplines who have time to dedicate to such an effort. A short and long-‐term business plan is needed for submitting bids on an annual basis, as well as marketing the services. The first step is to research into how much revenue other centers at other institutions (Western Michigan University, Bowling Green State University, Kent State University) yield, as well as the other benefits those centers provide (draws in students, supports students financially, markets expertise as the university, make connections/build partnerships with the community...). The mission could be very aligned to the existing EXCEL center. Even though there are a number of similar centers, there is much opportunity for all in this area.

2. Reinstate workforce development and Wayne and expansion suggestion. Wayne College lost around 1 million in revenue when the workforce development programs was shut down. In addition to offering basic computer classes, I believe we could expand the program to include fun and informative offerings by faculty. I saw this done very well at another institution. Faculty were encouraged to offer non-‐credit courses that were focused on a theme. Some had a practical application like "Photoshop family photos", "accounting for your home or internet business", or "navigating the health care system during a major illness". Others focused on an area of faculty interest like introducing a key thinker or artist. Some classes were just a couple of hours, while others took place over several successive Saturdays. Think lynda.com only with Akron faculty. Faculty received a small stipend to teach the class based on student enrollment, but the main goal was to bring in community members into the campus and get them talking about the institution.

Curriculum

1. Invest and reward faculty for developing quality online content. 2. Cancelling classes and turning away students is counterproductive. Why turn away real revenue

and the good will that is generated by running a low-‐enrollment class? We need different capacity numbers – especially for summer. To reach 12 in an undergrad class, or 10 in a graduate class is an unreasonable expectation for some departments. The buildings are already open and the lights and AC on: why not have a few seats filled with students? Surely it must help with retention and graduation rates to allow classes to run. If retention and graduation percentages

increase, we also qualify for more funding. The current practice is, in affect, jeopardizing two revenue streams; one current and one future. We are a non-‐profit entity and summer classes shouldn't be viewed through a profit making lens: we're here to serve the students, not the other way around. Also, I don't see potential donors being willing to support UA if the administration is not willing to let faculty and staff do our share of carrying the load by serving our students. I hope this is helpful.

3. I believe we should make a concerted effort to encourage our students to take as many summer classes as possible. As long as a professor doesn't make more than $4,308 / credit hour (break even point) the University will make money. In the near past, we would cancel classes that didn't have at least 12 undergrads and at least 10 grads. In my opinion, we left significant money on the table by doing this. I have a spreadsheet that summarizes the University's profit under various scenarios and I will be glad to forward it on for further analysis. To maximize our profits, maybe we should launch a campaign encouraging our students to take summer courses (which wouldn't cost the University much money).

4. I don't know if this would directly generate revenue, but it would increase the degrees that we award and improve our standing. Some universities in Ohio are automatically awarding associate degrees when a student has completed all the requirements. Many students meet the requirements for a two-‐year degree but do not complete the paperwork (or payment) to actually receive the degree. In the long run, it may be beneficial for the university and the student to grant the degree as soon as the requirements are completed. We also could promote associate degrees a bit more by encouraging students that are just one or two courses shy to meet the degree requirements. If we began thinking of the two year degree as a stepping stone, I actually think this could increase retention at the four year level and beyond.

5. The University absolutely must make its course and degree offerings more relevant to today's employment market, otherwise students will eventually figure out that their massive college debt is for naught. For instance, we should be teaching and providing four-‐year degrees in Arabic, Chinese, and Russian in addition to the archaic, less relevant romance languages. Why not increase evening and summer offerings in areas that our local community can use? Perhaps more courses in human resource management, effective supervisory techniques, logistics management, distributorship, and small business enhancement are needed. We need courses that will draw local adult learners back to us and restore the once bustling nature to our summer and evening campus.

6. University of Akron moved from the non-‐traditional student-‐ i.e. those working full-‐time who want to do a degree or complete one. The university needs to develop a strong evening program /late afternoon program for those students. In today's world with the job situation as it is we really can not and should not expect students to give up full-‐time jobs and financially jeopardize themselves or their families for a college education. It may not be cost saving but we need a strong evening/late afternoon program (continuing studies) as we did in previous years to recruit and serve these students. The cost comes in instructors but adjunct faculty is also available for an evening program at a greatly reduced cost to the university. I taught for over 25 years in Kent State's Evening and Weekend program (including Saturdays) to meet those student needs and University of Akron needs to meet those needs now-‐ or at least evaluate the needs of the community for an Evening program for an undergraduate degree.

Enrollment

1. Increase the number of self-‐paying Master's students in our graduate programs. / / What we need to do make this happen: / 1. Fix our graduate curricula / 2. Focus our university $$ for graduate assistantships on Ph.D. students / 3. Minimize the number of Master's students who get graduate assistantships. Can we defer assistantship awards to their second year or second semester on campus? / 4. Design new policy for award of graduate assistantship $$ to the units

such that the programs that have self-‐paying students get more money? Can we allow units to keep some of the money generated through self-‐paying students?

2. Fill the campus with students at all times of the year, all days of the week, and all hours of the day/evening. We have high fixed costs at UA, and, averaged over all course sections, enrollments must be high enough to cover fixed costs as well as the instructor salaries and benefits. But decisions to offer/cancel a given course section should be based on only the marginal cost of compensating the instructor. This will help us to populate the campus with students at off-‐times, providing a better atmosphere for students and likely some (more modest) contribution to the fixed costs. Also these same students may take other courses at UA rather than going elsewhere.

3. Accept Undergraduates into the polymer science and polymer engineering departments, to increase student enrollment and revenue.

Programing

1. To enhance new revenue and potentially save costs, standardize the rental-‐production process among the university and outside groups that would utilize UA facilities. Athletics-‐EJ Thomas-‐Student Union-‐Student Recreation Center (and others) would best "work" together in establishing standard rental rates (as much as possible), best utilization of support services (UAPD, PFOC, Parking Services, A-‐V, Housing, Dining, etc.) and steady scheduling of events (balance and support staff availability). In 2008, a task force was charged to study the then campus scheduling system for both academic and auxiliary classes and events. There was no central control of scheduling and thus controlled by each college and department. It was recommended to initiate a standard campus scheduling process with the long range -‐ end goal of a schedule and conference office. The project only proceeded as far as having a full time scheduling position approved (and that position was just vacated). Also, at the time, when direction went to each college and department to become part of the scheduling system, there was very little cooperation. This was due to a lack of support from the administration. An improved scheduling process can assist with class scheduling (time of day, parking, etc.) and efficiency of building usage (utilities, security, etc.). Also, outside groups that utilize UA facilities, what is the follow up -‐ engagement? For example, Athletics has many youth groups and fund raising (memorial walks) that have pre-‐event festivities and tabling. This is an opportunity for Admissions-‐Alumni-‐Development, etc. to attach and engage with the event. Athletics has placed in the Event Agreement (when appropriate, compliant and with agreement with the user group) to allow UA to promote the university at the event. Thanks for the opportunity to suggest and would help in any way.

2. Summer concert series in Infocision. That stadium just sits there waiting to die. Use it. Ice cream truck patrolling campus in the hotter months. Hot dog truck patrolling campus in the colder months.

3. This may be an idea that has already been looked into and just not communicated as such. Many employees on campus see InfoCision stadium as a way to generate additional revenue to UA by utilizing the stadium during the spring and summer months. Examples of how this might be accomplished is by using it for outdoor concerts, band concerts, outdoor productions, etc. In short, try to create a mini Blossom. In the beginning a focused communication blitz may be necessary but could equate for additional revenue streams.

4. Explore ways to utilize the football stadium for revenue generation other than a few football games. I have never been part of event planning and what kind of initial investment it would take, but there was a huge investment that we get very little returns from a very nice stadium. Along with the event taking in money (hopefully because the university would have to pay for say a band to perform there), we could also charge money (no discounts for students/faculty/administrators) for using UA parking lots to park. If we got good at it, we could hold concerts in the JAR during colder months. / / If done successfully, this could also attract new students considering UA.

5. Utilizing InfoCision Stadium for more events throughout the year. This stadium cost $61.6 Million dollars and the University of Akron financed 100% of the cost of this structure. This stadium is incredibly-‐underutilized and we need to get creative with hosting events in this space so that we may lease parking, and sell concessions. Presently, there are less than 20 days a year in which the stadium is utilized for revenue-‐generating activities. We need to turn that number into 100 days a year. I'd love to discuss this at greater length.

6. Sir, / I am sure you have heard the idea already, however I feel that it is an excellent one. We should open up the football stadium for concerts. This would be a big revenue generator for us, and even local businesses would benefit from it. /

7. Bring back the baseball team. 8. Have market days where businesses around Akron can set up tables/booths around the student

union during the warmer months from mid morning to early afternoon (11-‐2) and charge X amount of dollars for each booth. Invite a DJ (for exposure) to keep a lively vibe. Invite student organizations to table (free of charge) to encourage student involvement. I come from Florida State University where every Wednesday was called Market Wednesday. We had food vendors, shops, student-‐owned businesses, student organizations etc. come and table in the area around our student union.

9. Generate revenue for the athletic department and EJ Thomas Hall by disassociating with middle man Ticketmaster and organize all box offices through the university, not them.

10. We have multiple buildings on campus that we own but are vacant or under utilized. My suggestion is that we reach out to the Akron Community or Outside of Akron and put together a proposal to lease out these spaces or sell them in order to help recover the debt service or at the very least recover our utility costs. I am actually meeting with someone on Thursday 7/28/16 to discuss the possibility of utilizing some of the space at Quaker. Martin Center, Plasma Building, Wonder Bread factory, Ballet Center, Grant and Galluchi are all vacant and I’m sure that we are paying some utilities for. I believe the utilities for Martin Center alone were about $65,000.

Facilities

1. One of the dorms may be closed due to declining enrollment. Instead of completely closing the dorm, use it for graduate student, post-‐doc and visiting researcher housing. If all non-‐undergradautes are in the same dorm (possibly the one furtherest from campus), it removes the issue of ‘mixed’ housing with undergraduates. It could provide revenue for campus, cost savings to international students that often do not drive, as well as a safer living environment. / / If this option does not yield full capacity, the top floors could be used for storage (for a small fee). For instance out state students that go home during Christmas and summer break.

2. Would it be cost effective to build storage facilities that we would charge rent for that would allow students, especially international, out of state and co-‐op students the ability to store their dorm stuff so that they don’t have to lug it all home over the summer or when they go on an internship for a semester... /

3. Install a cell phone tower on Wayne College property. This will generate revenues from cell phone companies using the tower as well as improve reception on campus for the students, faculty and staff.

Student Engagement

1. Also, in regards to enrollment: I am an avid (albeit very average) bowler. A lot of kids in the area compete for their respective schools in bowling. I often wondered why we do not have a team that competes, after all, Akron is the home of the game as far as I am concerned. This attitude was reflected in the hosting of the Tournament of Champions for many years in this city. Students are offered athletic scholarships because of their participation in this sport (which is for both female and male students). My neighbor’s daughter is a bowler for Wadsworth High School,

and some of her teammates are going elsewhere because of this. I spoke to Kevin O’Connor about this in athletics, and he stated that the cost would be minimal, no travel as well for the participants. If it is not a good idea, accept my apologies. That being said, I do feel that this might open the door for more interest in enrolling at our University. I also thought that with our stadium, why couldn’t we have a lacrosse team? This is also a growing sport in the area with many high schools fielding teams. It could be another draw from our local talent pool. Again, my friends in athletics stated that is is possible, especially if it is a spring sport (I would imagine this is also both for women and men). The more athletes are offered programs of interest, then perhaps instead of going to our rivals, they would come here to my Alma Mater, of which I sincerely care about. Thanks for taking the time, my sincere best wishes to you. We are all glad you are here.

Technology

1. Why can’t The University of Akron become the first university to use the latest block chain technology in order to address the cost related to the data centers and centralized computer network. / University of Akron can create a Crypto Token or a decentralized platform where students can provide their support in order to maintain the network. This enables UA to get rid of centralized data centers and their associated high cost related to computing power. / Students provide free network support to mine the tokens and students get benefited with these tokens in order to provide their tuition fee, buy books (No middle person may be required like Amazon or Chegg etc to buy or rent books, this saves lot of money to the students). / If this model is successful, then UA can provide solutions or services using our decentralized network to the other universities by selling these tokens. / University of Akron can take up this as a Research project as this is currently a evolving technology. But lot of dedication is required to do this project. /

2. Charge non-‐UA students/faculty to use Bierce desktop computers Philanthropy/Lobby

1. Engage the development office to find naming sponsorship for the Science & Technology Library. The library has been here for almost 30 years and has no donor name associated with it. It is a relatively new facility, with high levels of student engagement -‐ in other words a place someone might want associated with their personal or company name.

2. Not really an idea as much as a statement that the University needs to somehow lobby the state government to increase it's funding for education. / Time spent coming up with ideas to increase revenue that is going to come from families that are already struggling is time not well spent. As the economic gap widens, those that are financially well off but avoiding paying taxes puts an undue burden on the rest. / http://www.policymattersohio.org/highered-‐dec2015 / http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2014/03/ohio_gets_a_failing_grade_for.html

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The University of Akron Tiger Team Recommendations & Reports

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