Admissions, Retention and Financial Aid Committee
ARFAC Meeting Minutes: 4/12/2006
Present: Amundson, Green, Hellen, Kelly, Pope, Porterfield, Reece, Ruby, Strichartz
- Meeting called to order at 3:35. The minutes from the meeting held on March 15th, 2006 were approved with minor revision.
- Reece followed up on a point from the last meeting: do undocumented students apply as international students, and, if so, does this mean that they can expect to receive an average of one-half tuition scholarship, as international students do. Ruby confirmed that this was the case but that as a practical matter an undocumented student would likely need much more than a one-half tuition scholarship, rendering the prospect of actually admitting an undocumented student very unlikely.
- Pope updated the committee on the shape of the class of 2010. There had been an increase of over 500 applications this year over 2005 (roughly 14%), and this increase has now translated into an increase of 45 in the number of deposits compared to this time last year (roughly 12%). As of this date 365 deposits have been made. The ratio of men to women is about the same as last year (43/57).
- Pope reported that the Spring Open House ran very smoothly this year. Numbers were up, and responses were perceived as very positive.
- Ruby reported that aid awards had been sent to all students by March 31st.
- Pope reported that Scholars’ Day had been very successful and that the decisions of all students would be known by May 1 st. Reece asked if the outcome could be sent to faculty members who had interviewed these students. It was agreed that a general list of all awardees would be sent to faculty.
- Pope announced that 177 National Merit Scholars had applied to St. Olaf this year; of these about 50 were invited to interview at Scholars’ Day.
- Green inquired about the ratio of multi-cultural students in the applicant pool. Pope replied that applications were up 40% over last year, and admissions were up 20%. The final yield is still unpredictable.
- Reece inquired about whether the process of application and admission to the three Conversation programs was being coordinated effectively with that of general admission. Ruby and Pope concurred that admission to the programs would be a more effective recruitment tool if there were a deadline for application well before May 1 st, and preferably as early as the first week of April.
- Next meeting will be Wednesday, May 10th, 2006 at 3:30 pm. We will examine RPC’s proposal to restructure the various college committees with a view to how that should affect the structure of ARFAC. Kyle will present an overview of the entire application and admission cycle for 2005-2006. We should also elect a chair for next year. Meeting adjourned at 4:35.
Respectfully submitted,
Secretarius ex tempore,
Steve Reece
