Update from Farmingdale State College President John Nader, PhD

October, 2018

New Melville Road Entrance

October, 2018

This first Update for the 2018-19 academic year is focused on only two topics. One is space utilization, which is among the biggest of problems facing the campus. As you will see, we are trying to address this issue. The second is the results of the 2017-18 Student Opinion Survey that every state operated SUNY campus administers at three year intervals. In many areas, the campus did remarkably well. There are certainly areas for improvement, but the overall results are quite impressive.

Space Utilization - In November 2017, I formed a Task Force on Space Utilization. The robust growth of the College made this an essential project. The goal was to more precisely determine what our space constraints are and to suggest what steps could be taken in the near future to address the situation.

Last May, the Task Force issued a very comprehensive report consisting of five sections: academic schedule, facilities (building by building), office space, construction projects, and parking. The report included a thorough space analysis and dozens of recommendations for consideration across these five areas.

In the area of enrollment planning, the recommendations were to link enrollment targets with staffing needs and build enrollment in niche and new programs. This process is already underway.

For classroom scheduling, the need to identify software to assist in maximizing classroom efficiency was suggested. The report also recommended that to better use available space, we add technology-enhanced classrooms, offer virtual labs to non-majors, and convert some conference rooms into space for low-enrollment classes. These options are currently being explored.

Other scheduling strategies include offering introductory classes for freshmen on Fridays and adding more classes during underutilized hours (3:05 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.) as well as on Friday and Saturday; offering classes in 8-week terms during the traditional 16-week semester; and exploring the potential of creating classroom space in the Broad Hollow Bioscience Park.

We have started to address our parking issues by adding two temporary lots with gravel and millings. We have also made some use of the Broad Hollow Bioscience Park lot. We are making plans to add two parking areas for an additional 450 spots by fall 2021.

The PowerPoint presentation delivered at the September Administrative Council meeting is available in the Reports section of the President's webpage and includes highlights of the Task Force report with recommendations as well as information on steps that are already underway.

Thank you to the members of the Task Force: Jack Petrich (Chair), Charles Adair, Karen Gelles, Erika Murray, Allison Puff, Eunice Ro, Lauren Romer, Jeanne Soto, and Regina Vazquez.

Student Opinion Survey - Every three years state operated SUNY institutions administer the Student Opinion Survey (SOS). The results from the 2018 survey are very encouraging. There were significant gains in several areas when measured against the 2015 SOS. The Survey also offers some interesting insights on the campus climate and the profile of our student population. Thanks to Pat Lind-Gonzales who compiled the data and provided comparative results and much of this information.

By contrast with 2015:

There is greater general satisfaction with Farmingdale. These general performance measures are up about 1 ppt. from the previous administration of the survey in 2015. Interestingly, there was a large gain (+4.6 ppts. to 65%) in students having a "very high" or "high" overall impression of the quality of education at the College.
- The vast majority of students (88%) stated that Farmingdale met or exceeded their expectations
- 72% of students would definitely or probably choose to attend Farmingdale again if they could start over.
- 79% are satisfied or very satisfied with the College in general.
- 86% consider Farmingdale to be a good value when comparing the cost to the quality of education.
There were also large gains in satisfaction with academic advising.

67% of students are satisfied or very satisfied with general academic advising (up from 58%).
71% are satisfied or very satisfied with academic advising in their major (up from 63%)

In terms of academic services, increases in satisfaction with library resources (+4 ppt. to 74%), the availability of internships (+6 ppt. top 40%) and the availability of online courses (+6 ppt. to 49%) were noted.
Significant improvements in student satisfaction with several college services and facilities include:

43% of students indicated that they are satisfied (or very satisfied) with financial aid services, a 5 ppt. increase.
The new shuttle bus service resulted in a 10 ppt. increase to 20% satisfaction with the campus transportation system.
61% are satisfied with the course registration process, up from 56%.
61% are also satisfied with the college bookstore services (+4 ppt.).
Satisfaction with health and wellness programs is up 5 ppt. to 38%.
Satisfaction with new student orientation is up 4 ppt. to 44%.

Campus renovations have resulted in a 7 ppt. increase in satisfaction with classroom facilities (to 64%). However, satisfaction with parking has fallen to 20% (from 28%), and satisfaction with the campus center has fallen to 50% from(55%). (In the case of some questions, a number of students selected "did not use" or not applicable".)

The SOS results can be compared to other SUNY campuses, both colleges of technology (6 others) and four year institutions (26 others). Again, the data are impressive. In a number of areas FSC ranked highly. These include quality of instruction, the college as a good value (first among COTs and fifth among four year institutions), quality of advising, availability of General Education courses, the contribution of the College to writing and speaking effectively and clearly, and to using computer and information technology effectively, among others. The share of students who indicated that their academic experiences met or exceeded expectations was very high.

The questions focused on the students' sense of community revealed remarkable results. FSC is first in our sector in the categories of racial harmony, freedom from bullying, acceptance of individual differences, and openness to the opinions of others. In each of these questions we ranked within the top three among SUNY four year colleges.

For me, some of the most interesting data has to do with our students. According to the SOS, Farmingdale students are more ethnically diverse and slightly older. They are more likely to study part-time, be transfer students, and to work 11 or more hours a week. It is also interesting to note is that FSC students are more likely to be caregivers for family members and to report that attendance at college is dependent on access to quality child care.

There are areas in which there is room for improvement. Many of our students report that they spend little or no time at college sponsored activities. Given the profile of our student population (working, commuting, a bit older, family obligations, etc.) this is not surprising and has likely contributed to our relatively low scores in areas such as availability of cultural programming and guest speakers. We will assess what steps might be taken to better engage students.

John Nader
President

Last Modified 2/18/21