At a meeting held Thursday, administration and faculty openly discussed enrollment and budget projections for the next five years, the impact of the current year’s budget on faculty workload, (IC)2, and an interim report due to the Middle States Commission in early April.

At the first of two identical meetings, Thursday’s faculty meeting gave professors an opportunity to raise questions and discuss issues that concerned them.

Barbara Adams, associate professor of writing, said some of the information she encountered at the meeting surprised and interested her.

“The tuition discount which we felt was so deep this year is actually not going to be all that different in five years,” Adams said. “It’s a less than one percent difference.”

Adams also said the college is working to stabilize itself economically.

"The administration is projecting, working, operating, conceiving everything on a five-year basis so that we don’t get those sudden jolts that we had this year,” she said.

President Tom Rochon said discussions about budget and enrollment took up about half the meeting, but academic performance also figured as a major topic.

“There were some concerns expressed by a few faculty in the fall that our large freshman class might not be academically qualified,” Rochon said. “We now have a semester’s worth of information that shows that their performance has been right on a par with what we traditionally see from our freshmen.”

Rochon also said that an interim report due to the Middle States Commission came up during the meeting.

“When [The Middle States] came to Ithaca College in 2008, they required that in two years we issue a supplemental report on some aspects of what we’re doing,” he said. “That report is due April 1.”

According to an Intercom article submitted by Tom Rochon in summer 2008, Middle States had originally expressed some concern about the college’s assessment of student learning.

His article also noted that the college needed to set clearer goals, objectives, and expectations for its students.

Among the issues raised during the Q&A session towards the end of the meeting, Rochon said, were the college’s marketing and communications focus, as well as the college’s commitment to excellence.

“It was a relatively small group and a very comfortable dialogue, partly because it was a small group,” he said. “So people could genuinely talk to each other.”

Bob Sullivan, associate professor of speech communication and director of the college-wide honors program, said he appreciated the opportunity to talk honestly with administrators.

“It was a frank exchange,” Sullivan said. “[It’s critical that people] really can speak their minds about issues that are important to them. I think that it makes a very healthy relationship between faculty and higher administration.”

Sullivan said other faculty welcomed the chance as well, contributing to the conversation without fear.

“People are encouraged to express their opinions and feel that their opinions are listened to by both sides,” he said. “I would say right now is a very good cultural moment for the administration of the school.”