Committee on Admissions and Student Aid
Annual Report 1999-2000
Peter Stake, Chair
The Committee on Admissions and Student Aid
(CASA) met seven times during the 1999-2000 academic year. CASA regularly
heard and discussed reports from Mary Lou Bates on admissions and from
Bob Shorb on student aid. Other topics of review and discussion were the
previous year's senior survey and ways in which that information might
usefully inform recruitment, the admissions open house programs and their
impact on recruitment, the draft of a diversity action plan for recruitment
of multicultural students, the use of volunteers in admissions tours,
and recent changes to institutional and federal financial aid formulas
for determining need and the resulting implications for Skidmore.
CASA devoted much of its attention to two
other items of business during the spring. Bob Shorb, director of Student
Aid and Family Finance, recommended that CASA consider making a change
to the student employment policy. Bob provided background information
to the committee on the impact of the current policy on students and a
summary of discussion at President's staff on possible changes in the
student employment budget. After discussion and a review of the section
of the current policy mandating that students who quit a campus job must
wait one full semester before being allowed to work elsewhere, CASA approved
a change in policy to allow students who have completed the one-year essential
services requirement to give a two-week notice and begin working elsewhere
after a two-week waiting period.
CASA also considered a student-initiated
proposal brought by Abby Swormstedt and David Karp on behalf of the ad
hoc, tripartite Honor Code discussion group. The group had requested that
CASA consider incorporating information about the honor code into the
admissions process. In addition to Abby and David, Jon Ramsey, Don Hastings,
Beau Breslin, Dan Curley, and Susan Hassell from the honor code group
and John Young and Tabitha Orthwein from admissions met with CASA to provide
background and additional information and to discuss various possibilities
and timetables. President Studley also joined the discussion at our last
meeting in the spring. After hearing all points of view and considering
options, CASA agreed to the following recommendations:
1. Include a brief statement about community
and values on the cover of the Skidmore application for admission.
2. Add an essay question to the Skidmore
application for admission asking applicants to comment on becoming part
of a community, on community building, and on shared community values
and responsibilities.
3. Over the summer, require the Class of
2004 to write an essay on issues of participating in and building a community
(and the place of personal responsibility in this).
4. Next year, after assessing returns, CASA
will reconsider how best to include the question on the application and
what measures should be taken to include a follow-up question over the
summer.
5. As a long-term goal, CASA will urge Mary
Lou to advocate for the addition of a question on personal values and
community participation to the common application.
1999-2000 membership:
Mary Lou Bates,
Ruth Battaglia '01,
Rafael Castillo '02,
Denise Evert,
Barbara Henriques,
Kent Jones,
Sue Layden,
Tina Levith,
Mar Manilov '00,
Bob Shorb,
Peter Stake (chair)
2000-2001 membership:
Mary Lou Bates,
Ruth Battaglia '01,
Sandy Baum (spring),
Catherine Bookhout '03,
Gove Effinger,
Denise Evert (chair, fall),
Kate Leavitt,
Sue Layden,
Tina Levith,
Mike Megeurdichian '02,
Bob Shorb,
a third "voting" administrator TBA
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