Campus Comments/Suggestions

The following comments represent views or suggestions submitted by individuals from Salisbury University. They do not necessarily represent the views of the Strategic Planning Team and may or may not be substantiated with supporting information.

There is an external trend of trying to make campuses more environmentally friendly or at least environmentally sustainable. "Campus Environmental Audits" are increasing in frequency. Student, faculty, and physical plant and administration work together to 'green' the campus. For instance Oberlin College's new science building is run on alternative energy and it has it's own water treatment plant. See the books The Campus and Environmental Responsibility by David Orr, and Campus Ecology: A Guide to Assessing Environmental Quality and Creating Strategies for Change by April Smith (Living Planet Press). Also Blueprint for a Green Campus: The Campus Earth Summit Initiatives for Higher Education, a project of the Heinz family foundation.

Joan E. Maloof, Ph.D.

Department of Biological Sciences,

1. Although data about enrollments is recorded, there seems to be nothing in the admissions processes that influence how many incoming students plan to enter or actually enter each major or program at SU. As a result, all our planning processes are subject to the whim, fancy, fads, and other uncontrolled factors that determine the number of students in each major or program or school. As one serious outcome, our new science building was obsolete before it opened because far too many students were admitted to certain majors and programs, resulting in inadequate laboratory space for these students.

2. There seem to be no data and no means for obtaining (a) general data about why students change majors or programs, (b) specific data about why students change from any specific program (e.g. out of chemistry) or to any specific program (e.g., into psychology), or (c) specific data about why students change from each major or program to each other major or program (e.g., from English to music). As a consequence, neither the university nor any major or program that wants to influence student retention or shifts in student participation in each major or program have data on which to base planning, decisions, or actions.

I believe that both these areas should be addressed.

Thanks.

Augie DiGiovanna

Biology