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Over the last few weeks, our university has been recognized by Money Magazine, Forbes, and U.S. News and World Report. Over the past year, we have received recognition from the Aspen Institute and Bloomberg Philanthropies and a very positive Middle States Accreditation response. We have been able to increase our incoming class to close to pre-COVID numbers. These are just a handful of the many examples that demonstrate our institutional commitment to our students.
More importantly, these recognitions are a testament to the notion that, as the renowned Psychologist Jim Loehr stated, “The most important organizational resource is energy.” The energy of our collective knowledge. The energy of our collective passions. The energy of our collective commitment. Loehr goes on to outline that while we focus much of our attention on leveraging our time, the reality is that “Energy, Not Time, Is Our Most Precious Resource.”
In the case of SUNY Oneonta, the recognitions mentioned above are each the outcome of various forms of engagement. This engagement occurs as we each individually direct our energy to the collective work at hand, which for us is the delivery of quality and transformational educational opportunities for students. These forms of engagement serve as cognitive and observable models that can be replicated to help harness energies for positive outcomes across the institution.
Engagement should be reproduced throughout the educational process. Students engaged in the learning process are more likely to retain information, ask questions, and seek out additional knowledge. Educators and mentors who engage their students in interactive and stimulating activities create an environment where learning is not just a task but a journey of exploration and growth.
Engagement is also essential for driving positive social change. At a moment in time when education and higher education have become pawns in the country’s culture wars, it is critical that we see our work for SUNY Oneonta as positive social change. When people become engaged in social and environmental causes, they have the power to influence policies, inspire others and create meaningful change.
Engagement is not a mere concept but a powerful force that shapes our lives. Engagement enhances productivity by directing our focus, fostering transformational education and influencing constructive changes for our communities and society.
So, let’s recognize the importance of engagement and engage with our colleagues, students, community and the world around us, for engagement is the fundamental key to achieving our true collective potential.
Sincerely,
Alberto J.F. Cardelle
President
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Portal and Intranet Update
Deb McClenon, Director of ITS Systems & Solutions
Jennifer Smith, Associate Director of Digital Strategy
Karyn Wendrow, Deputy Chief of Staff and Director of Executive Communications
This fall, the university is transitioning to a new platform to host the myOneonta portal. myOneonta is currently powered by Blackboard, which used to serve as both our learning management system and portal. After evaluating several vendor-based portal products, the university has signed on with a platform called “Experience” by Ellucian to be the new host for myOneonta. A cross-divisional portal steering team has been working hard over the past several weeks developing the functionality and design and is meeting with key stakeholders to transition features from Blackboard into Experience.
The goal for the refreshed myOneonta portal is to provide a single place for students and employees to find information and links to resources, forms and tools, announcements, and important apps. The portal steering team is currently helping to test and provide valuable feedback for this new look and feel for myOneonta. We plan to transition to this new modern platform on November 27, 2023, so watch the Oneonta Bulletin for more announcements as we complete this conversion.
In addition to the transition for the myOneonta portal, the Office of Communication and Marketing (OCM), Office of the President and IT Services (ITS) are collaborating with several other units and departments to develop an intranet space to house internally-focused information that currently resides on the suny.oneonta.edu website. Our website is our "front door" to the world, and the OCM is working to support the 2023-2025 New Student Enrollment Plan by strengthening the website's effectiveness as an outward-facing recruitment tool. Relocating content specific to current employees and students will help us create a better user experience for prospective students and their families, prospective employees, community members and other external audiences.
OCM staff are working closely with individual units to evaluate current content on their suny.oneonta.edu webpages to determine which content relates to external audiences or is required to be public to comply with legal or statutory requirements and which content is more internally-focused. Content related to internal university business will be moved off the marketing web pages with assistance from the OCM and ITS. This internal content will be accessible through the myOneonta portal. Links will be provided in myOneonta to access this internal content through sites, apps and tools like SharePoint, Web Services, Brightspace and Office 365. As more internal sites are developed, links for university offices and academic department content will be updated in myOneonta.
Additional updates will be provided in the Oneonta Bulletin as this process continues. We thank everyone for their partnership as we work to make our online content more accessible and relevant for both internal and external audiences. Please reach out to Deb McClenon, Jennifer Smith or Karyn Wendrow with any questions.
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Preview of the new myOneonta layout.
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Introducing the Transfer Partners Program
Karen Brown
Assistant Vice President for Enrollment
As announced by Chancellor King during his visit to campus on Sept. 27, we are developing a program in partnership with several community colleges to provide early engagement and personalized advisement to prospective transfer students. A transfer advisor will maintain office hours at Mohawk Valley, Hudson Valley, Dutchess, Broome and Schenectady Community Colleges on a regular, rotating schedule. Providing a dedicated and accessible counselor to work with transfers at these community colleges will allow us to offer tailored transfer advising, assistance with course selection and support throughout the enrollment process.
Engaging with prospective transfer students before they even begin the application process will allow us to identify potential obstacles or barriers and assist in navigating them. The transfer advisor will also work with partner institutions' faculty and staff to identify opportunities to collaborate and enhance transfer credit pathways and articulation agreements. The intention is to expand our transfer pipeline, improve the enrollment process and help students stay on track to complete their degrees at Oneonta on time.
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Transformation Funds Support Growth Across Campus
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As part of the 2023-2024 State/SUNY Budget, SUNY Oneonta is receiving on-time transformation funds totaling $1,120,000. These funds are to be spent over two to three years, and SUNY provided specific stipulations for how the money could be utilized.
Following SUNY's guidelines, the university has created plans to invest money in the following areas and initiatives.
- $560,000 will be directed toward workforce development programs. SUNY required that at least 50 % of our allocated transformation funds be spent in this category. This money will be used to support a series of non-credit workforce development courses on topics related to healthcare and education. The goal is for these courses to help broaden the pipeline of entry-level workers in these industries in our region and to provide an introduction and pathway to enrollment in related degree programs.
- $229,400 will be used for strengthening and supporting transfer enrollment. As mentioned above, we are developing transfer partnership programs with community colleges to provide prospective students with personalized in-person advisement and support on a regular basis. Enhancements to our transfer orientation program are also being planned.
- $330,600 will be allotted to supporting under-served student populations. SUNY Oneonta will work to establish a Heritage Language Institute which will celebrate and support English language learners.
- Campuses are required to provide a 10 percent overall match to the money received. We have committed at least $112,000 in scholarships for transfer students for 2024-25.
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Bassett CARES Offers Loan Repayment for SUNY Oneonta & Hartwick Grads
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Basset Healthcare Network President & CEO Dr. Tommy Ibrahim, Senator Peter Oberacker, President Cardelle, Assemblyman Brian Miller
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Earlier this month, we signed an agreement with Bassett Healthcare Network for a new workforce development partnership called Bassett Career Advancement and Retention Experience for Students (CARES). Bassett has agreed to hire up to 50 recent graduates from SUNY Oneonta and Hartwick College to work in a variety of roles across their network of healthcare facilities. As employees, the participants can qualify for a loan repayment stipend. The goal is to help Bassett address workforce shortages while helping our local region retain recent college graduates. Bassett will also work with current students through internships and workshops to expose them to the various career pathways Bassett has to offer.
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Fashion Students Place Third in Global Competition
At the beginning of September, three students and one recent graduate learned they placed third in a global juried competition sponsored by the Educators for Socially Responsible Apparel Practices (ESRAP). Last spring, Abigail Julian '24, Oriana Aponte Vilazan '24, Elizabeth Hastings '23 and Layla Driscoll-Webster '24 created a fashion retail business plan that focused on socially and sustainably conscious practices. The students were enrolled in Dr. Sarah Portway's Spring 2023 Fashion Entrepreneurship course, where they developed their business plan using the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals and triple-bottom-line frameworks.
For the ESRAP competition, the group created a plan for Ellilusive, a boutique selling gender-inclusive undergarments and offers a garment recycling and donation program. They had to develop a business concept, marketing strategy, customer personas, sustainability strategy, industry segment and market analysis, competitive analysis, sourcing structure and financial plan. Their plan was submitted virtually along with a 90-second video pitch. Two rounds of judging took place over the summer, with the first round completed by professors in the sustainable fashion field and the second round completed by industry professionals who work for VF Corporation, the parent company of large brands like North Face, Levis and more.
This is the third year that SUNY Oneonta students have placed in the top three for the undergraduate category in the ESRAP competition. Any student interested in taking this sustainability-related course is welcome and should contact Dr. Portway for more information.
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Grant to Fund Invasive Species Research
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A $240,000 grant provided by the Lake Champlain Basin Program will fund efforts for faculty and students from the Biology and Lake Management programs to conduct research on the Eurasian watermilfoil, an invasive species affecting the Lake Champlain Basin. Dr. Alex Sotola and Dr. Dan Stich will oversee the project, which will begin in 2024.
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Notes from Cabinet Meetings Available
Effective this month, notes from meetings of the President's Cabinet will be made available to the university community. They will be shared once a month in Notes from Netzer. Questions can be directed to president@oneonta.edu.
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Quality, Value Recognized by Forbes and U.S. News
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Earlier this month, U.S. News and World Report announced their 2024 rankings of "Best Colleges" across the United States. This year, SUNY Oneonta was ranked No. 13 among public schools and No. 30 overall of "Best Regional Universities-North," an increase from past rankings.
Forbes also recently released their list of "America's Top Colleges" for 2023 and named SUNY Oneonta one of the nation's 500 finest colleges based on student success, return on investment and alumni influence. SUNY Oneonta sits at No. 141 in the Northeast, No. 185 among public colleges and No. 400 overall.
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