Opening Considers Hot Topics in Higher Ed

01/23/2015 

Much of SUNY Cortland’s Opening of School Meeting on Thursday considered national issues shaping higher education and what they could mean for the College in the future.

Four topics guided the morning gathering of faculty and staff members in the Corey Union Function Room. President Erik J. Bitterbaum spoke on student success measures as well as the importance of “soft” skills that college graduates should bring into the workforce, such as a strong work ethic and creative problem solving. College staff members then briefed the audience on the upcoming campus-wide electrical infrastructure project and on SUNY Cortland’s far-reaching measures to address sexual violence.

“Everybody right now is focused on higher ed,” President Bitterbaum said during his discussion of the political landscapes in Albany and Washington, D.C.

The president suggested graduation rates and student loan debt will continue to be important topics of conversation in addition to the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (HEA), the legislation that governs federal financial aid programs.

“(The HEA) is very important to colleges and universities, primarily because it determines who gets money and the amount of money that is given,” Bitterbaum said, reporting that last year the U.S. government awarded upwards of $150 billion in financial aid.

He also cited a recent article in the Chronicle of Higher Education that reported children born into poverty have a 9 percent chance of obtaining a college degree, while children from a high-income family have a 54 percent likelihood of earning a degree. More than 300 SUNY Cortland students come from families making less than $5,000 annually, the president said.

The challenge now facing institutions of higher learning is to demonstrate to the public, and to the government officials who control financial aid programs, that the value of a college education is worth significant investment, Bitterbaum said.

“There is tremendous value,” he said. “We have to prove that value.”

The president cited SUNY Cortland’s first-year-to-sophomore-year retention rate, which stands at 84 percent compared to the 67 percent national average. He also called attention to the College’s six-year graduation rate, which, at 70 percent, is higher than the 57 percent national average.

“We’re doing some very positive things here,” Bitterbaum said, detailing the increased importance of metrics in federal rating systems and statewide performance-based funding. “These comparisons will be very interesting as they’re trotted out in the coming years.”

In order to validate the importance of a college education, the president asked faculty and staff members to continue building meaningful relationships as mentors with students. The value of education is intrinsic, not simply a prerequisite for obtaining a job, he said.

“When I go on the road, what I talk about with alumni is not the physical buildings, although I do show pictures of them,” he joked. “It’s always about professor so and so or staff member so and so.”

Bitterbaum listed many ways in which that connectedness already occurs: undergraduate research, study abroad, civic engagement projects, internships and career advice from alumni.

Those experiences also can serve as avenues to teach students about the importance of “soft” skills — vital traits that often are perceived as lacking in young adults. Bitterbaum showed a graphic from a study that shows students think they are much stronger in areas such as work ethic, communication skills and the ability to accept criticism than employers say they actually are.

“It’s a tough conversation to have, but the truth of the matter is that we have a lot of opportunity to have that conversation and be successful,” he said.

Following an overview of the impact tied to an upcoming campus construction project, five College staff members offered a panel presentation on sexual violence prevention at SUNY Cortland. They discussed legislative mandates such as the Clery Act and Title IX, campus policies, trends and statistics, and next steps to ensuring SUNY Cortland maintains an active approach to acts of sexual violence.

“The good news is, Cortland is in very good shape with regards to many policies,” said Nan Pasquarello, the College’s interim Title IX coordinator.

She was joined on the panel by Mark DePaull, assistant chief of the University Police Department (UPD); Cynthia Lake, associate director of residence life and housing; Frederic Pierce, director of public relations; and Gemma Rinefierd, the director of student conduct.

They elaborated on current campus efforts such as the Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) training, a popular hands-on program led by UPD twice a year, and Sexual Health and Assault Prevention Educators (SHAPE), a six-hour session for campus community members that examines rape culture and aims to debunk myths associated with the crime.

The panel also shared plans for SUNY Cortland to join the national “It’s On Us” sexual assault awareness effort.

“‘It’s On Us’ can be used as an umbrella phrase to take all these different acronyms and programs … and make (students) realize they’re all part of a larger whole,” Pierce said. “…It’s like taking all of the wonderful things we do in civic engagement and having our students apply it to their peers.”