Recap of the May 2024 Board of Trustees Meeting

We are pleased to share some of the topics, highlights, and action items discussed at the most recent meeting of the St. John’s University Board of Trustees held on Wednesday, May 15, 2024.

Fall 2024 Enrollment Update
Simon G. Møller, Ph.D., Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, presented information about the current enrollment landscape, as well as Fall 2024 enrollment, Institutional Assessment (IA), and Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) Accreditation.

Undergraduate enrollment is doing relatively well, especially considering the admission marketplace and extensive Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) delays. Graduate enrollment looks positive, thanks to the implementation of new, asynchronous, online graduate programs and strategic marketing efforts to promote graduate offerings.

Dr. Møller described the strategic program positioning (SP2) initiative. SP2 reports are part of the University’s institutional assessment efforts, bringing together stakeholders for a data-based dialogue on how academic programs meet students’ needs and the University’s strategic vision. SP2 will be used to make critical decisions on resource allocation, targeted program enhancement, new program development, and consolidation/phasing out of programs.

Institutional Assessment
IA encompasses all units other than academic programs. These units must identify specific goals and measurable outcomes to support the University’s mission. The IA process builds on existing reporting structures, including an active mission, vision, strategic plan, program review, and programmatic assessment.

We will start this process this summer.

Middle States Commission on Higher Education Accreditation
Peter K. Kilpatrick, Ph.D., who currently serves as the 16th President of The Catholic University of America, is appointed as Chair of our MSCHE Site Team. Our self-study is progressing, and we are following the timeline outlined in the self-study design document.

Town Halls for each of the seven working groups occurred in the spring. Working Group cochairs are submitting final drafts to the Steering Committee cochairs for editing by late May. They will be reviewed by the Office of Assessment and Accreditation in July. A draft report will be shared with the Board of Trustees by September 1. The complete draft report will be released to the University community by September 23. Town Hall meetings will be held in October. The MSCHE Site Team Chair will visit the Queens, NY, campus in November before report submission to MSCHE and our site visit in Spring 2025.

FY24 Operating Budget
Sharon Hewitt Watkins, CPA, CGMA, Vice President for Business Affairs, Chief Financial Officer, and Treasurer, provided an overview of the operating budget for Fiscal Year 2025 (which begins on June 1, 2024), discussing critical revenue and expense assumptions.

Currently, the budget reflects an operating budget gap of $12.6 million; the gap will be closed with expected net gains from pending real estate transactions. The Board discussed and accepted management’s recommendation to approve the University’s FY25 operating budget as presented.

Ms. Hewitt Watkins also shared operating budget projections for FY26 and FY27, cautioning that enrollment uncertainty exists given the decreasing population of college-age students in the Northeast and intensified competition for students.

Legislative Update
Brian Browne ’93C, ’97G, Associate Vice President, University Communications and Public Affairs, provided an update on legislative issues and ideas impacting higher education at the local, state, and federal levels of government. He highlighted details of the recently passed New York State Executive Budget, including minimum award increases and income-eligibility changes to the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP). He also forecasted the impact of some proposed legislation the University is monitoring, and shared trends and priorities at the state and federal government levels.

Membership
Trustees Lewis Rice, Jr. ’74SVC and Patricia Castel Skarulis ’66C, ’68G, ’17HON concluded their terms on the Board. New Trustees Steven J. Gartner ’84L and Salvatore J. Zizza ’67UC, ’72MBA, ’07HON attended their first meeting.

Next Meeting
The next meeting of the Board of Trustees will be held in September, 2024.