UPDATED: February 17 at 11 a.m.

Debate broke out at Wednesday’s University Senate meeting about rising admission rates for undergraduate applicants to Syracuse University.

SU admitted approximately 60 percent of applicants for 2010, according to a report from the Senate Committee on Administrative Operations presented by committee chair Jerry Mager. For 2009, this number was at 53 percent; and for the previous year, it was under 50 percent.

The climbing percentages and how selectivity reflects the university’s reputation became a topic of campus discussion after The New York Times published the admission percentages for SU and other institutions last summer.

Don Saleh, vice president for enrollment management, addressed the committee’s findings at the meeting and denied the school was sacrificing the quality of students to increase diversity.

‘We want the best students,’ Saleh said.

The percent of students eligible for the Pell Grant increased from 17 percent in 2002 to approximately 26 percent in 2010, according to the committee report. The number of Pell-eligible students is an indicator of the socioeconomic diversity at SU, according to the report.

Several USen members also discussed applicants’ rising grade point averages, which rose to 3.61 in 2010, and stagnant SAT scores, which remained around 1170 since 2002.

USen member David Bennett of the Senate Committee on Administrative Operations said it is admirable to be one of the most inclusive institutions, but he questioned whether this was a direction the university wanted to go in.

‘The university has moved in a direction different than the one it has followed for almost three decades,’ he said.

After speaking for about five minutes, Bennett was encouraged by Mager to open discussion to others who were present. But Bennett countered that, arguing the meeting was only 30 minutes in and that he still had time to talk, especially considering the lack of discussion and shortness of recent USen meetings.

Sari Biklen, chair of the Academic Freedom, Tenure and Professional Ethics Committee, said it was ‘so insulting’ to hear suggestions that the quality of students was being dismissed in favor of expanding socioeconomic diversity.

Youlonda Copeland-Morgan, associate vice president for enrollment management and director of scholarships and student aid, said the school was a leader in emphasizing inclusiveness, as well as an institution recognized for its high standards.

The meeting ended just before 5 p.m., making this one of the longest USen meetings of the academic year. Doors were closed to non-Senate members for the last few minutes of the meeting to discuss nominations for the honorary degree. Another closed-door session on the honorary degree occurred at the January USen meeting.

Other business included:

• Minutes from USen’s January meeting were approved.

• Jonathan Massey, presiding officer, presented the report on the Senate Agenda Committee, which included discussion on finding a new faculty representative for the Board of Trustees. Harvey Teres, associate professor of English, was present and spoke on his experiences as the first and outgoing faculty representative. He said he hoped the next representative would be someone who was knowledgeable of finances and able to travel. Nominations for the next faculty representative are currently being taken.

• Barbara Kwasnik presented the report on the Committee of Curricula. Among other announcements, 18 courses were introduced for the College of Arts and Sciences; eight courses were introduced for the School of Education; two for the College of Human Ecology; four in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications; and one in the College of Visual and Performing Arts. A minor in art photography was also introduced in VPA.

• Sari Biklen presented the report on the Academic Freedom, Tenure and Professional Ethics Committee, but given the privacy surrounding the reports, she could only report that four cases were looked into.

• Bruce Carter, chair of the Academic Affairs and Curricula committees, announced the five-year review of the vice chancellor was coming up next year. Seven to nine people are being sought to serve on the review committee, which is chaired by philosophy professor Samuel Gorovitz. There is nothing in the bylaws stating the committee must contain a certain mix of faculty, staff or students, Carter said.

dkmcbrid@syr.edu

Published on February 16, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Dara: dkmcbrid@syr.edu | @daramcbride