Board of Trustees committees discuss enrollment, student accomplishments
Central Michigan University's Board of Trustees discussed enrollment for spring 2025, proposed facilities projects, the logistics management degree program and student accomplishments at committee meetings on Dec. 4.
Academic and Student Affairs Committee
Vice President of Student Recruitment and Retention Jennifer DeHaemers shared an enrollment update for the upcoming spring 2025 semester.
As of Dec. 1, the preliminary numbers show an increase in total headcount by 2.46%, which is about 300 students, for spring 2025, DeHaemers said.
She said the overall number of new student applications is the same as last year, but admissions are up by 11.1%, which is about 400 students. There are also increases in applications and admissions of new first time in any college, transfer and main campus domestic graduate students.
International students' visas obtained are also up for spring 2025 semester by 17.39%, which is about 24 more international students, DeHaemers said. Additionally, there is an increase in international student admissions for fall 2025 semester.
For fall 2025, DeHaemers said she sees overall applications to be roughly even with the last year, but admissions are up by 8.6%.
DeHaemers also said across the nation, there are 5% fewer high school graduates who enrolled in college this year, possibly due to the FAFSA’s rollout. But, she said, CMU wasn’t affected by that decrease.
“The really amazing news for us is that even before last fall we were thinking about how do we communicate with our students, whether they're current students or brand new ones that we're recruiting, about the FAFSA, the changes, helping them get ahead of it, stay on top of it, not be too concerned about it,” DeHaemers said. “And we increased the number of CMU students that filled out a FAFSA ... and we also increased our new-student enrollment.”
Additionally at the meeting, Stan Shingles, the interim vice president of Student Affairs, talked about CMU Esports program’s team taking third place at the Esports Collegiate Conference Championship.
Shingles said CMU now offers esports scholarships. After the Board of Trustees talked with the esports team about the scholarships that exist in other schools, Student Retention and Recruitment with Student Affrairs created a $1,000 scholarship for each of the esport student athletes at CMU this year.
Additionally, Andrea Roggenbuck talked about the CMU CARES program, of which she is the director. CMU CARES is a mental health support system, Roggenbuck said.
She said it uses a public "care report" system for people to refer students who they think might be experiencing challenges with personal wellbeing, safety concerns, academic concerns and other.
In 2023-24, Roggenbuck said the following reports were made:
- 712 academic concerns
- 375 mental health concerns
- 246 general student concerns
- 94 grief or loss
- 72 suicidal ideations
Looking at the presentation, Trustee Sharon Heath said the number of suicidal ideations reports is disturbing.
Roggenbuck agreed that it is a large number. She said she is seeing more care reports on campus but also feels that her team is responsive and helps many students.
Finance and Facilities Committee
Scott Harsh is a CMU investment consultant with NEPC. He gave an update about CMU investments from last year.
Harsh said as of June 30, CMU’s endowment assets were $259.3 million.
Associate Vice President of Facilities Managment Jonathan Webb presented on his department's progress on ongoing projects as well as newly proposed projects.
He said CMU’s Northwest Apartments Demolition is 75% complete and is intended to be fully done in August 2025. Its budget is $5 million.
“We're making very good progress on the demolition of Northwest apartments,” Webb said. “As winter rolls in tonight, we'll probably slow down on that (and) pick back up in the spring. ... The intent is to turn that into a (green space), so there'll be minimal operations and maintenance in that area, returning it to nature. The project is on schedule and well within budget.”
The Merrill Dining renovation is also proceeding successfully with favorable bids, Webb said. He said this month, the contractors will start the renovation, and they are set to complete it in August 2025. Its budget is about $5 million.
“What we'll be doing is ... renovating the northern portion of the kitchen,” Webb said. “And then we'll also be putting in a new coffee bar on the south side. So, it's going to be an exciting transformation of Merrill Dining. This is a very popular venue.”
Another project, the installation of the exterior access controls, is 53% complete with 26 buildings done, Webb said. There are seven buildings in progress and 16 remaining.
Webb said the project is a partnernership of the Office of Information Technology, Facilities Management, CMU Police and others. The budget is about $925,000 and comes from multiple funding sources, Webb said.
Some proposed projects that Webb presented were:
- South Quad Renovations. The scope of the project will be determined during a design process that will start in 2025.
- Ronan Hall Renovations to utilize the full facility. The design will begin between November 2024 and May 2025.
- Upgrades to the gas distribution line. This is a partnership between the university and DTE.
- CMU Golfing Training Facility. CMU Athletics received a multi-million-dollar donation to construct a Women’s and Men’s Golf Training Complex. Concept planning, design and fundraising is underway.
Trustee- Faculty Liaison Committee
This committee heard a presentation from Evelyn Smith, a faculty member in the department of marketing, hospitality and logistics, to learn more about the logistics management degree program.
Smith and four students, all seniors with a logistics management major, explained that the degree program focuses on giving students as many experiences as possible.
That can look like anything from nationwide and in-program competitions to various certifications.
Smith said that one small upside of the pandemic was calling attention to part of what logisticians do: supply chain management, which can look like the coordination, movement and storage of goods.
The major is between the third and fourth largest in the College of Business at CMU, and its enrollment increased from this time last year: going from 137 students in September 2023 to 156 students in September 2024.
“We find that we’re bringing our students to the workplace with multiple majors and minors to be able to to bring a complete package to the workforce,” Smith said. “So we’ve seen our numbers go up. We’re really excited about that, that while we have a smaller pie, we’re seeing a little bigger slice.”
The four students said they have seven completed or ongoing internships among them, but their biggest accomplishment may have been this fall at the Logistics Undergraduate Case Competition (LUCC).
“They were the top school for the 2024 case competition,” Smith said. “Now other students will have opportunities, because of what these students did.”
Trustee- Student Liaison Committee
The three administratively advised groups on campus (Student Government Association, Program Board and Resident Housing Association) shared the progress they have made this semester, both as a collective and in their individual groups. All three received funding to host one of the first Fire Up All Night events on Nov. 23, which over 300 students attended.
Stan Shingles, the vice president of student affairs said he gave the three administratively advised groups the funding to host a larger, collaborative event, and this is what they came up with.
“I wanted the three of them, the three organizations, to work together,” he said. “I applaud them for the work that they did, it wasn’t easy. … We offer these types of opportunities, especially late-night events, to keep students out of spaces that may not be safe for them.”
Student Government Association President Carolina Hernandez Ruiz and Vice President Aashka Barot shared their association’s current accomplishments and their plans for next semester. Hernandez Ruiz said they’ve held 11 meetings and average around 120 students per meeting. She said the association has been inviting guest speakers from both on campus and off campus groups to talk with students.
She also talked about how the association hosted the elections for the Sustainability Fee Committee and elected five students. These students will be in charge of more than $60,000 that will be used on sustainability projects on campus.
“So far, we’ve got 12,000 students who paid that fee,” Hernandez Ruiz said. “So the new committee has some budget to work around, and if this continues, then they can make more impactful projects at CMU (happen).”
Barot spoke in depth about SGA’s multiple committees and the events they held this semester or are planning to hold next semester. The committees she highlighted are as follows:
- Academic Affairs, which hosted a wellness event on Dec. 2
- Governmental Affairs, which is working on two events next semester on legislation and the United Nations
- Outreach and Engagement, who held a volunteer event with the International Student Organization on Dec. 3
- Sustainability, which will be holding a sustainable crafting event on Dec. 7
Hernandez Ruiz also shared some of the larger-scale projects SGA will be working on next semester, including a scholarship fair, a TEDx conference and a new initiative to provide transportation for students who struggle to travel on- or off-campus. The latter, she said, would be launching next week as a pilot program to help students buy groceries before the winter break begins and dining halls on campus close.
“There’s a lot of students who don’t have cars on campus, and that makes it really hard for them to move around campus and also around the Mount Pleasant community, especially during the holiday seasons,” Hernandez Ruiz said. “This is an opportunity for them to equip themselves before Christmas break.”
Program Board president Kathlyn Allmacher and vice president Lauren Brewer also spoke about the organization’s accomplishments this year. Allmacher said this semester, Program Board has hosted 25 events and served over 670 people, and she said these numbers do not include the Fire Up All Night collaborative event.
Brewer spoke about the National Association for Campus Activities (NACA) conference she and Allmacher attended in Kentucky. She said the conference showcased multiple speakers and artists, and had a marketplace area that she described as “the Mainstage of NACA.”
She said their main takeaways from the conference were finding new entertainers that Program Board can invite to campus, networking with other college program boards and coming up with new event ideas and advertising tactics.
Next semester, Allmacher said they’re focusing on their Maroonzie spring festival, which will include musical artists and entertainment. She said the board is looking to bring more musical artists to campus, due to them not having the budget for CMU’s annual spring concert, which she said hasn’t been possible since COVID-19.
“We did this last year, (where) we kind of incorporated the concert with Maroonzie,” Allmacher said. “We’re kind of looking around Mount Pleasant (for artists) … but (the music scene) is not very strong, so it’s been kind of a challenge.”
Residence Housing Association president Bella Andreski said the association saw improvements across the board in e-board members, meeting attendance and providing allocation funding to groups that requested it.
She said they hosted many successful events this semester, including a multicultural event called “What’s the Scoop?” that drew in over 150 students. She said RHA has also been adding student voices to the hiring process for the Residence Life director and resident hall director positions as well.
Along with advocating for student voices, Andreski said the association have been working to address safety concerns and accessibility. The main example she and the Trustees discussed were the crosswalks on Broomfield Street, which students have claimed are unsafe to cross at night and not well lit. Andreski said the association has been attempting to work on this issue, but said progress is being delayed by Isabella County, not the city.
CMU President Neil Mackinnon said he’s witnessed the issues with Broomfield firsthand, and he said he’s had conversations with facilities management in hopes to provide some solutions as well, such as adding lights to the Voisin Arch.
Mackinnon also expressed concerns with food insecurity over the winter break, as there are an estimated 200 students who would be living on campus during the break. Dining halls will close on Dec. 13 and not reopen until Jan. 13, and the Student Food Pantry will close on Dec. 23 and not reopen until Jan. 13.
“We have a food insecurity issue already,” Mackinnon said. “What, besides rides, are we doing? What are we doing if somebody needs help?”
Shingles said that this year, the university is closed for two weeks instead of one, which makes the situation “unique.”
“We will be creative in coming up with ways to bridge that two-week gap,” he said. "Sam Dattilo was mentioning earlier, the food pantry is going to be open until the university closed on the 23rd, so that closes some of that gap. We’ll figure out some creative ways to cross the rest.”
As the meeting drew to a close, the university president complimented the student leaders on their professionalism and hard work this semester.
“Every time you have presented … you hit home runs,” he said. “Don’t get in their way, that’s all I’m saying.”
At 12:30 p.m today, the Board of Trustees held their formal meeting in the University Center and online via livestream. Those interested in watching a recording of the meeting can do so on ChipCast.
