Opportunities and Challenges in Admissions: Bringing COPLAC Campuses Together

The public liberal arts mission of COPLAC campuses provides unique opportunities and challenges for admissions and enrollment management officers. This pre-conference workshop will provide opportunities to share best practices and to discuss possibilities for collaboration among COPLAC campuses.

The world is demanding more of college graduates who seek employment, of citizens in a diverse democracy, and of higher education institutions trying to educate all students. Dr. Schneider will explore campus responses to this changing environment and employer views on what matters in college.

What Makes a University a COPLAC Institution?

Membership in COPLAC entails a commitment to a number of principles and values meant to instill a unique character to the educational experience provided by its members. As such, it is valuable in creating a community of like-minded institutions that can share best practices and help differentiate them in a crowded educational marketplace. However, many of our members are part of State higher education systems with their own overarching missions and priorities. In a time of shrinking resources, the question may emerge as to whether our institutional missions remain compatible with COPLAC membership. So it is worth reexamining what truly makes an institution a COPLAC institution, and what that means for our universities' strategies and character.

Library Space Redesign (physical)

Dr. Morner is the former dean of the university library at UNH. She is a specialist in library space planning.

Library Architecture and Space Planning is one of several courses she teaches for Simmons College. She served as a jury member for the 2009 American Institute of Architects/American Library

Association biennial Library Building Awards Committee selecting this year's top library designs. She has worked with a wide variety of library types and sizes on planning and design issues. This session will include an emphasis on small space re-design rather than large capital projects.

Sense of Place

Keene State College has strong "curb appeal" that draws students in from their first visit. Prospective and accepted students and their parents comment on the comfort and safety they feel from the campus environs - which bolsters recruitment. Members of the local community use our public spaces, including our well-tended walkways and gardens, for walking or when they attend lectures, movies, or presentations on campus. This blurs the line between town and gown, giving our students exposure to a wide variety of opinions and perspectives.

The various grounds- and sustainability-related initiatives on campus are increasingly used as teaching tools. The campus arboretum, biodiesel equipment, compost pile, and alternative snow-management projects have all been used by faculty in curriculum and students in their projects. Many of these practices use resources - time, money, personnel - in unusual and cost-effective ways. We believe this "sense of place" and access to unique and innovative practices positively influences students in their learning and personal growth. Our small public liberal arts campus has a private-school feel. The access our students have to cutting edge practices are truly value-added offerings that aid in the success of our students and benefit all members of the campus and local community.