Henry Brown, Committee Chair, called meeting to order at 1:05 P.M. on Saturday, February 15, 2003.

Welcome and Introductions

Attendance: Lindsay Bagnall, Ernest Banks, Valentino Bates, Mary Bird, Henry Brown, Harvest Collier, Arlan DeKock, Jessica duMaine, Connie Eggert, Kandy Elder, Lawrence George, Jay Goff, Floyd Harris, Wayne Huebner, Paula Lutz, Gregory McClain, Alexandria Merritt, Robert Mitchell, Macduff Okuom, Ken Rice, Debra Robinson, Lee Saperstein, Gregory Skannal, Margaret Stockdale, Gary Thomas, Christian Washington, and Henry Wiebe.

There was a motion to approve the minutes of the previous meeting held on October 13, 2002. There was a second and the motion passed.

Subcommittee Reports

No reports were presented by the Fundraising, Public Relations, Retention, Legislative, or Student Recruiting subcommittees of CAC AAR&R.

Student Affairs

Debra Robinson spoke briefly about the changes to the division of Student Affairs.

Changes in Structure

" Debra Robinson replaced Wendell Ogrosky upon retirement 1/03

" New Student Programs became part of Enrollment Management

" International Affairs became part of UMR Global

" Southwestern Bell Cultural Center became part of Student Activities

Athletics and Recreation

" Talk Force review has recommended exploration of leaving MIAA conference to join GLVC conference

" Schools in the MIAA have changed since 1935 and we need to be pursue avenues that will make our football program more competitive

Career Opportunities Center

" Three staff members retired and staff are being replaced

" Career Fair drew 99 companies and about 2500 student and alumni

" A career search workshop has been developed for graduate students

" Job search services have been extended beyond one semester post- graduation to assist graduates in tight job market

Counseling & Academic Support Programs

" Expanding services to meet increased demand for disability support services

" Use of LEAD groups and tutoring has grown

Residential Life

" Board of Curators approved plans for Residential College

" The Residential College will have three themed buildings - Leadership; Entrepreneurship & Management; and Global Learning

" Learning communities, like Voyager, promote retention and success

Student Activities & University Center

" Construction on the Havener Center will begin soon

" Plans are being developed to expand cultural programs

Student Health Services

" New location is 12th and Pine

" Services of Health Educator and TECHs continue to grow

Dr. Robinson then introduced Kandy Elder, UMR's Coordinator of Student Services, who spoke about the Southwestern Bell Cultural Center.

Vision: Contribute to student retention and satisfaction of customers with high quality co-curricular opportunities and excellent customer service. The office strives to be an active and visible partner in the campus and community.

Mission: To provide program & participatory opportunities that enhances students' educational endeavors as they prepare to become leaders in a diverse society: To facilitate cultural opportunities that enhance social cohesion.

Southwestern Bell Cultural Center Mission: Educate students about differences and similarities among UMR students. Provide advocacy for international and minority students; bringing people of all races together and facilitating their participation in campus organizations such as Student Council and the Student Union Board.

Strategic initiatives for the SBCC:

" Provide safe, clean and affordable facilities for student and campus events, cultural exhibitions, and when available, community meetings and events.

" Provide knowledge, support, advocacy and advising for campus wide cultural events. i.e. international student's day, Diwali, Black History Month, etc.

" Provide introduction of Cultural Diversity to the community and population of UMR.

" Diversity through Education

" Diversity through Advocacy

" Diversity through Outreach

" Diversity through Support of cultural organizations

NSBE/PCI Weekend Event

Lawrence George spoke about the underfunded PCI Weekend Event. In October 2002, the committee pledged their support, with Dean Mitchell pledging matching funds from the School of Engineering. There was a call for committee members to make their donations before the end of the meeting. Mr. George suggested the creation of a PCI Account through the alumni office, where excess PCI donations could be held to cover future expenses of the PCI Weekend.

Alexandria Merritt spoke about the ongoing PCI Weekend events and thanked the committee for their help and financial support.

Committee Reappointments

Lawrence George noted that several appointments would end this year and requested feedback from the committee regarding potential candidates.

Status of the Campus

Chancellor Gary Thomas discussed the impact of Missouri's budget shortfall on UMR. State Appropriations, Enrollment, Private Giving and Research are the sources of funds for the university. Currently, most of UMR's budget comes from state appropriations. However, UMR can take control of its destiny by increasing Enrollment, Private Giving, and Research.

Chancellor Thomas introduced the new Vice Chancellor for University Advancement, Connie Eggert, and the new Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, Debra Robinson. The successful candidate for the position of Chief Information Officer will be announced soon.

The City of Rolla has agreed to name 14th Street from the Highway E exit of I-44 to "University Drive." The Health Information and Security Building is being removed to make way for the new Havener Center. The ground-breaking ceremony for the Residential College will be in April 2003.

Issues that Impact Recruitment and Retention

Greg McClain presented a report to the committee regarding "No Child Left Behind" (NCLB), the Elementary and Secondary Act. This is a federal law that was reauthorized last year, and does include some major policy shifts for the nation. (The presentation can be viewed at http://web.mst.edu/~affact/McClain%20Presentation.ppt). It's purpose is to ensure that all children, K-12, have a fair, equal, and significant opportunity to obtain a high-quality education and reach proficiency at academic achievement standards, with the same expectations for all students. NCLB should help close the achievement gap between minority students and their peers but it will take great effort is needed on everyone's part.

Jay Goff discussed the possible ramifications of NCLB on UMR. It will take several years to be able to judge the impact of NCLB. However, UMR may be able to take advantage of schools and students who need remedial help but offering summer achievement programs to students and teachers.

Goff presented information to the committee concerning UMR's recruitment and retention of African American students.

The 2001-2003 Retention Committee Report can be viewed at http://www.ece.mst.edu/retention/.

The following reports were submitted by the units as pre-committee reports.

ENDOWED SCHOLARSHIP FUNDS REPORT - February 15, 2003

THROUGH THE MSM-UMR ALUMNI ASSOCIATION:

Lawrence C. and Catherine Bush George Scholarship Fund

Amount in the endowment as of 10/31/02: $152,416.00

Amount of income available for scholarships (4% of principal) as of 10/31/02 (scholarships will be based on amount available as of 7/31/03): $ 6,096.64

Fall Semester 2002 Recipient

Charles E. McDonald $4,500

Winter Semester 2003 Recipients

Charles E. McDonald $1,500

Philip A. Ford $1,500

Christopher A. Riney $1,500

MEP Endowed Scholarship

Amount in the endowment as of 10/31/02: $8,5710.00

The guidelines for this endowment state that no scholarships will be given until the principal reaches $10,000.

THROUGH THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI-ROLLA:

Martin Luther King, Jr. Scholarship Fund

Amount in the endowment as of January 28, 2003: $185,693.29

Amount of income available for scholarships as of January 28, 2003: $ 8,055.85

Fall Semester 2002 Recipients

Jamie Zuloaga $2,000

Alexandria Merritt $3,173

Ike Muonelo $1,544

Winter Semester 2003 Recipients

Alexandria Merritt $3,174

Ike Muonelo $1,504

College of Arts and Sciences

The CAS is heavily involved in activities to increase overall enrollment in the College. These include strong participation in pre-college activities, building bridges with our public schools, increasing scholarship offerings, and expanding our programs and majors. In addition, Associate Dean Dee Haemmerlie is working with Dr. Collier on his diversity strategic plan and the proposed campus-wide task force on diversity. Minority enrollment in the college rose from 10% in 1997 to a high of 17% in 2001 before dropping to 13% in 2002 with the exodus of Management Systems to the School of Management and Information Systems. Our goal is to raise minority enrollment to 2001 levels and beyond.

Pre-College Activities: We are participating in programs such as Hit the Ground Running, Expanding Your Horizons, Science Olympiad, and numerous hands-on workshops for public school students during campus visits, as well as proposed summer programs (Writing Camp and Discover Arts and Sciences ). We intend to use these programs as the basis for designing features to attract minority students.

Bridges to Public Schools:We house and assist the South-Central Regional Professional Development Center, one of nine RPDC's in the state which provides professional development opportunities for area teachers. We work with them to distribute information about special programs for their students (including pre-college programs) and to help us connect with schools within a 75 mile radius of Rolla. We are also participating in grants linked with the public schools, such as Dr. Samaranayake's Statistics Workshops for public school teachers and the work of Drs. Swenson and Lasater on the NSF Bridges to Engineering Education grant with Dr. Watkins in engineering.

Scholarships: We are working to broadcast our scholarship opportunities and make certain each is being utilized, in particular the Cooke Scholarship for minority students in any math or science discipline. No one currently holds this scholarship (although one former recipient is in medical school). We are working with Mr. Harris to revitalize this.

Expanding CAS Programs: We are collaborating with Dean Goff to craft new and expand current programs. There are six areas of particular interest.

1. Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences Degree (new)-creation of a broad-based degree from two or more CAS disciplines. [Currently in the planning stages.]

2. Technical Communications (new)-proposed by our English Department (soon to be English and Technical Communications). [Proposal preparation has begun.]

3. Education (expansion)-Education Task Force is currently at work on a plan to expand our education offerings (MAT, MST, Elementary Education with a math/science emphasis).

4. Biological Sciences (expansion)-M.S. degree is in place. Working towards a Ph.D. in Applied and Environmental Biology. Bioinformatics emphases also planned (minor, M.S.).

5. Evening College (new)-proposed to capture the current market among non-traditional students. [Currently in the planning stages.]

6. Professional Ethics (new)-creation of a Center for Professional Ethics and a possible Certificate Program in Professional Ethics. [Currently in the planning stages.]

Retention is also an important focus for us. We are working with Dr. Collier on Freshman Experience Courses in our majors and better advising in our foundation courses.

The Pre-Medical Advisory Committee (housed in the CAS) is proud to announce a bumper crop of UMR graduates accepted to medical schools in fall 2002. Seven UMR alumni are first year medical students (2/7 are minority students). UMC's School of Medicine has offered us assistance in future minority recruiting.

School of Engineering" The school identified and provided space and funding for the expansion and renovation of the MEP/WIES office.

" Five of the 16 participants who attended the UMR Schools of Engineering and Mines & Metallurgy High School Counselors/Teachers Conference were African American.

" The student chapter of the NSBE and SWE were awarded grants by the School of Engineering in support of their organizations activities. All minority engineering student organizations were strongly encouraged to submit proposals.

" The School helped create and fund the WIES Coordinator position in 2001.

" The Dean has served on a university committee targeted to recruiting and retaining underrepresented faculty.

" The Dean's office tries to have representation at various programs which recognize students:

o 3.0 Banquet

o Graduation Reception

o Transfer Program Dinner

o Graduate School Seminars

" Minority students are targeted and encouraged to submit applications for various scholarship/fellowship programs administered by the Dean's Office.

" The Dean's Office reviews and enhances various proposals submitted to federal agencies and companies in support of the campus recruitment and retention effort for minority and female students.

" The Dean's office provides funding and attends the national NSBE & SHPE conferences career and graduate fairs.

" Departments in the various schools and college offer both their time and resources to accommodate numerous minority and women group visits and camps such as:

o MITE

o MEP Summer Program

o Summer Solutions

o High school class visits

o MESA teacher visits

School of Management and Information Systems

On the recruiting side, we have a very good relationship with the athletics department. Many of our minority students are strongly represented in football, basketball, and track. The good relationship with the coaches tends to increase the enrollment of athletes in our school. Also, the athletics folks do a good job of keeping advisors (at least those who pay attention) aware of scheduling requirements at pre-registration time, which is helpful in retention of these students.

Stephanie Fitch had a football recruiting session last Saturday (another tomorrow), at which a parent was very concerned with this issue, as his other son ended up delaying graduation because of poorly-timed courses and poor advising (at a different university).

We also make a special effort to participate in activities coordinated by Floyd Harris and Michelle Schoenborn, which certainly help in recruiting. Michelle is holding an event in February to encourage women to pursue graduate degrees, and Stephanie is on the panel. This may also help retain our undergrads into grad school here.

Marcy sends emails to our lists encouraging attendance at lots of UMR events, including a step show that's held every semester or so, Dinner to Jazz, and a number of cultural events.

Alpha Iota Delta, our honor society, participates in Expanding Your Horizons, a workshop day here at UMR and nationwide to interest (recruit?) high school girls in math & science fields.

Our school has traditionally (yeah, all 17 months) attracted a good number of African-American students. Last time I checked this number it was about 18%, compared to UMR's overall 3 or 4%. So we must be doing something right in the way of recruiting & retention in this area.

School of Mines and Metallurgy

The School of Mines and Metallurgy is intently interested in recruitment and retention of students. Despite exciting jobs with substantial remuneration packages that have been offered to graduates, our enrollment has fallen. The School has been aggressive in its efforts to turn around enrollment declines. We are pleased to say that recently we have seen returns on our efforts.

1. Jackling Institute: Improved recruiting literature and contacts with teachers has increased student interest. Last summer's program brought us 106 students and approximately 80 of them have applied to UMR. Next summer's program is already attracting participants. The program in 2004 will be revamped.

2. Nuclear Camp: The last two camps have been oversubscribed. Enrollment in nuclear engineering is showing a dramatic rise (27 freshman this year and 41 accepted for next fall).

3. Distance Education: Mining Engineering offers a Master of Engineering on line and the Geology and Geophysics program along with Geological Engineering does masters' education at Fort Leonard Wood. We have 30 or more students in these two programs.

4. Geology and Geological Engineering Field Camp: Plans are underway to make this experience available for teachers. In 2004, it will be taught in South Africa in conjunction with the University of the Western Cape, an historically disadvantaged university.

The School has taxed itself to provide resources for an Admissions Representative and Ms Cecilia Elmore has been doing an excellent job with this. She works for the School one-half time and for the Admissions Office one-half time. She has provided us with the following information about recruiting efforts, with emphasis on recruitment of students under-represented in Engineering.

1. MESA program- I am planning a trip to Normandy High School, hopefully this semester, to talk to one of these classes. I will coordinate this with Floyd Harris.

2. Women in Engineering and Science Lock-Ins- we participate in the luncheons, and I will be involved with the entire day of activities on Friday Feb.28. Several African American female students have attended these before.

3. Women in Engineering and Science- Expanding Your Horizons activity on Campus on Nov. 1- I gave presentations on groundwater clean-up to some of the approximately 350 7th and 8th grade girls who attended, several of whom were African-American.

4. Greater KC Science Pioneers presentation on Mines & Met careers in Engineering on Nov. 2 to approximately 150 students, I would estimate about 20-30 of them were African American.

5. We have usually about 2-3% of our participants in Jackling who are African-American.

6. Our faculty gives department tours and presentations to the participants in the Minority Intro To Engineering (MITE) summer program groups.

7. I personally introduced a M&M department PhD student from Kenya to Floyd Harris, so that he could become aware of what the MEP program was all about, and could get to know other students in the program, and attend their functions. This particular student had been a high school teacher of Physics in Kenya prior to coming to the US.

8. I also have made presentations on UMR and M&M this year to classes at Waynesville High School, which has a large African-American population among its students.

We would be happy to answer questions.

Minority & Women In Engineering And Science Programs

Recruitment

" At this time, forty-three (43) students are participating in the MESA program at Normandy Middle and High Schools

" Summer Programs

" Sixty-five (65) students and five (5) teachers from Hazelwood East & Central, Gateway Technical, and Inroads participated in the Fall Open House. This visit was jointly coordinated and funded by the MEP and Enrollment Management Office.

" Frank Mack, recruitment coordinator of the MEP St. Louis Satellite Office, participated in or visited over 30 schools and college fairs on behalf of UMR. Over 300 student contacts were made and added to the database for additional follow-up.

" MEP/WIES staff participated in several institutional based programs such as St. Louis Rolla Night, Counselors Luncheons, individual and group campus visitation programs, and transfer conferences.

" Grants were made to the student chapters of the National Society of Black Engineers, Society of Women Engineers, and the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers to encourage the planning and implementation of recruitment/retention activities.

" Cindi Vogt, MEP/WIES Office Manager, and mining engineering graduate student Joel Warneke participated in the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers National Conference Graduate and Career Fair in New Orleans January 10-11, 2003.

Community College Partnerships

" Emerson Minority Engineering Program Dinner - Nine students, their parents and counselors were welcomed and recognized at the annual fall dinner at Emerson's Motor Center. These students began their pre-engineering studies at one of the three St. Louis Community College District campuses and will transfer to UMR at a later date. UMR was well represented by representatives from the Admissions Office and MEP. Dr. Mitchell, Dean of UMR's School of Engineering spoke on behalf of UMR.

" Mary Bird, UMR Development Officer and Floyd Harris attended a dinner meeting to welcome the 5 Alcoa/John Deere/Scott Community College/UMR Scholars in Davenport Iowa on October 28, 2002. Two (2) transfer scholars, Niki Freeze and Nga Nguyen, are currently enrolled at UMR and two new scholars will enroll in the 2003 fall semester.

" Debbie Schatz, the new Admissions Transfer Coordinator and Floyd Harris participated in the selection process of the 2002-03 Sprint Scholars, a cooperative program between Sprint, UMR and the Kansas City Metropolitan Community College

Retention & Graduation

" National Rankings (See appendix C)

" The twenty-two (22), 2002-03 MEP scholars had an average GPA of 3.08 for the fall semester. Ten (10) made the Deans Honor Roll with a 3.25 or higher and one student achieved a 4.00. (See appendix D)

" UMR Alum Cheryl Walker, 1986 BS El. Eng., and recently selected UM Board of Curators will be the dinner speaker for the 2003 MEP 3.0 Club Banquet on March 6, 2002. Over 100 minority students will be recognized for achieving a 3.0 or higher for the WS2002 and/or FS2002 semesters. Cheryl is an attorney with the Bryan Cave Law Firm of St. Louis

" The combined persistence/graduation rate of students who participated in UMR's formal cooperative community college transfer programs is 90%. (See appendix E)

" Thirty-one (31) minority students received their degrees during the December 2002 Commencement.

" Over 80 faculty, staff, and students attended the Graduation Reception on December 13, 2002, held in the lobby of the UMR Alumni & Constituent Relations Office.

" Professional development seminars were presented by representatives from the following companies:

o Eileen Chambers, ME 2001, Production Engineer, John Deere, Davenport, Iowa.

o Val Bates, CE 1978, President, Khafra Engineering Consultants, Atlanta Georgia.

o Terry McCloud, EE 1999, Manufacturing Engineer, General Motors.

" Twenty (20) students attended a luncheon designed to inform and encourage minority students to attend graduate school. Dr. Mariesa Crow, Associate Dean of the School of Engineering was the featured speaker. A $2,000 scholarship offer was made to those students in attendance if they enrolled in a graduate program at UMR. Dwan Prude and Niki Morales have enrolled for the Winter 2003 semester.

" The MEP staff assists in the identification, selection, and coordination of support services for students in the following NSF sponsored programs; (1) Louis Stokes-Missouri Heartland Alliance for Minority Participation (LS-MoHAMP); (2) Computer Science, Engineering, and Mathematics (CSEM); (3) Missouri's Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (MAGEP). Dr. Harvest Collier is the principle investigator and Floyd Harris is Co-PI. Debra Robinson is also a Co-PI on the CSEM program.

Image, Marketing and Fund Raising

" The expansion/renovations of the MEP/WIES offices, student study center, and the offices of SWE, NSBE, and SHPE were completed in December. An Open House will be held once the lounge furniture arrives, perhaps in March.

" Eleven (11) recently hired UMR faculty and staff attended the annual MEP/WIES Orientation Luncheon held on Nov. 19, 2002.

" Two UMR Alumni will receive national awards at the Black Engineer of the Year Awards Banquet and Conference in Baltimore Maryland on February 15, 2003. Mark Crawford, MS Mc. Eng. 1996, will receive the GEM Student Leadership award, and William Walton, MS El. Eng. 1997, will receive the Special Recognition Award.

" With the assistance of the Development Office proposals were submitted to:

o SBC

o NACME

o Honeywell

o Black & Veatch

o Colgate Palmolive

" New and/or increased grants for MEP & WIES and matching HAMP grant received as of February 1, 2002 included:

o Boeing (Scholarships, Program Support)

o Turner Construction (Scholarships)

o Dow Chemical (Program Support)

o Caterpillar (Pre-Engineering/science community college transfer program)

o General Motors (Scholarships)

o Marathon Ashland (Program Support)

o William James (Program Support)

o Shell Oil (Program Support)

o MEP Alumni Endowed Scholarship - Ernest Banks

o Colgate Palmolive (Scholarships)

o HAMP

" The following students were recently selected and received scholarships from the following companies or organizations:

o Campus based MLK - Alex Merritt, Sr. Mc. Eng. , Ike Muonelo, Sr. Eng. Mg. , Jaime Zuloaga, Sr. Cp. Eng.

o National Association of Minority Engineering Program Administrators (NAMEPA) - Andre Davis, Fr. Fr. Eng.

o A new General Motors Scholars Program - Karl Johnson, Sr. Cmp. Sc. , Remilekun Davis, Sr. Pe. Eng.

" The MEP and UMR Student Financial Aid office is accepting applications for the 2003-04 Ford Endowment Scholars Program. Ten $2,000 scholarships will be awarded.

" Several members of the UMR chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers were recognized for their academics and leadership at the fall annual Regional V conference in Baton Rouge, LA. The awardees were:

o First Place - Academic Technical Bowl - Robert Stewart, Sr. El. Eng. , Derrick Johnson, Jr. Mc. Eng. , Marnell Berry, Jr. El. Eng. , Alexandria Merritt, Sr. Mc. Eng.

o Outstanding President Award- Christian Washington, Sr. El. Eng.

o Freshman Initiative Award - Erick Richardson, Fr. Fr. Eng.

o Esprit De Corps Award - Alexandria Merritt, Sr. Mc. Eng.

o Chapter of the Month Award

" Angel Uruchima, So. El. Eng. , secretary of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers received the Most Improved Grade Point Average at the SHPE regional conference held on the campus of the University of Illinois, Champaign.

" MEP/WIES Corporate Visits:

o Exxon - September 13, 2002

o Black & Veatch - September 13, 1002

o Emerson - September 25, 2002

o Microsoft - October 2, 2002

o Honeywell - October 7, 2002

o Burns & McDonnell - October 15, 2002

o Harley Davidson - October 22, 2002

o Alcoa/Deere - October 28 2002

o Caterpillar - October 29, 2002

o Boeing - November 5, 2002

o Sprint - November 11, 2002

Women In Engineering and Science Programs

" The spring WIES/SWE High School Lock-In conference will be held Feb. 28 - March 1st. The conference is designed to increase the yield of junior and senior girls who have inquired or been accepted to UMR. Transfer students are also invited to attend.

" There are 95 students and 29 alumni registered for MentorNet for the 02-03 academic year. This year's goal was to have 150 UMR students (75) and Alumni (75) registered. We surpassed our student goal of 75, but fell short on alumni.

" On Sat., Nov. 16th, WIES participated in the Girl Scouts' 90th Anniversary Celebration, Shades of Green, in St. Louis, MO. UMR was represented with a hands-on booth and exhibit. A group of eight UMR students attended to interact and serve as role models to the scouts who are ages 5-17. Approximately 18,000 scouts were in attendance.

" Six students, the SWE faculty advisor, and the WIES coordinator attended the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) National Conference in Detroit, Michigan on October 9 - 12, 2002. The group participated in student and staff professional development meetings, the career fair, and in activities designed to improve the local chapter.

" On Feb. 7th, 30 UMR women students attended a "Graduate School Luncheon," that was presented by a team of eight faculty and four graduate students.

" The Summer "Solutions," camp designed for 50 girls in the 9-10th grades is scheduled for July 18-20, 2003.

" The WIES Advisory Board will hold its first campus meeting this April 2003. The board members represent a variety of backgrounds and knowledge (alumni, teachers/counselors, university faculty, staff, and students, and community organizations) that will be critical for developing and monitoring future recruitment/retention initiatives for young women.

" The Society of Women Engineers regional conference will be held April 4-5 at Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri.

" The WIES Coordinator and Admissions Representative will attend the Boeing/SWE Career Exploration Day - St. Louis on Feb. 20th. Over 200 high school juniors are expected to be in attendance.

" The following personal and professional development activities are planned for this spring: Tours of Mallinckrodt/Wal-Mart/Brewer Science, Luncheon Series: Money Management, and Ms. Mechanics (how to maintain your car).

Office of Undergraduate and Graduate Studies

The office of Undergraduate and Graduate Studies (UGS) has organized initial strategies that will permit the university to move constructively toward enhancing student retention and graduation rate, improving student learning and the UMR learning environment, and addressing campus diversity issues constructively and strategically.

A major goal for the UGS office is to integrate all of the campus activities that are being practiced to address the above concerns in such a manner that they will have a coordinated impact and they will foster the development of more collaboratively efficient processes aimed at meeting UMR needs.

Of the activities listed, the Office of Undergraduate and Graduate Studies participates in and/or supports each of the following in some appreciable role.

First Year Experience

The focus of the First Year Experience to evolve a coordinated campus-wide strategy to assist students in meeting their academic expectations during their first year was implemented this past semester.

The impact sought in bridging programs, that include the Minority Engineering Program (MEP) Summer Scholars, and the Hit the Ground Running (HGR) Program along with the regular semester Voyager Learning Community, Learning Enhancement Across Disciplines, and tutoring programs is to positively influence the development of student academic skills.

The introduction to research and problem solving emphasis was initiated this semester. This program was designed to foster faculty-student interaction and promote stronger ties between students and their departments. The effort seeks to enhance student retention through greater ownership of UMR by students.

Honors Program

Efforts are continuing to promote enhanced student educational experiences through the Master Student Fellowship program, the Freshman Honors Seminar, and the UMR Honors Academy. These programs contribute significantly to student motivation and student expectations for strong academic performance.

Diversity Task Force

UMR has committed to establishing a definitive and quantitative approach to building diversity on the campus. A diversity task force is presently being established to begin the process of identifying priority diversity issues and developing strategic mechanisms to achieve the goals established.

Student Learning and the Learning Environment

A comprehensive approach has been initiated to develop constructive mechanisms to enhance UMR's student learning and the UMR learning environment. The proposed Center for Educational Research and Teaching Innovation will focus on faculty advising and teaching productivity issues in the promotion of the application of collaborative and experiential learning best practices as well as the application of educational technology to achieve greater student learning outcomes.

New Business

Legislative Recognition Day is February 26, 2003 in Jefferson City.

Upcoming Meetings

October 12, 2003

February 28, 2004

Meeting Adjourned