Trending
Open houses at the Pennsylvania College of Technology will have a new look going forward with an increase in the number of events and in the number of days the events are held, said Dr. Davie Jane Gilmour, college president.
Instead of having one open house in the fall and one in the spring as has been done in the past, Gilmour told the college's board of trustees that there will be six in the fall and six in the spring, each being held on a Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
"We had six this fall, and we're planning six in the spring. They have been wildly successful," she said.
"We did that because it's very attractive to prospective students and their families because not everybody can come on the one day of the semester that we pick for our open houses," she said.
"We know from our data from assessment, research and planning that coming to campus makes a huge difference in you enrollment on campus," she added.
Other enrollment statistics Gilmour shared with the board included the fact that applications for enrollment at the college are up 21%; as of November, 1,470 high school students were enrolled in Penn College Now which offers college credit courses to the students, tuition-free, at their schools, and that in the spring, 19 schools will be coming on board for the program; and 105 applications for the fall were received through athletic recruitment at the college, with 82 already accepted and 16 awaiting documentation such as a transcript.
Winter commencement will be held Dec. 18 at the Community Arts Center, and Gilmour said that 320 people have petitioned to graduate, with around 220 expected to march in the ceremony.
During Thursday's board meeting, Suzanne Stopper, senior vice president for finance/CFO, reported on the audit for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2021. The report is a consolidated financial statement of the college, the foundation and the Community Arts Center. Stopper stated that the college received an unmodified opinion, which "basically says that the financial statements accurately reflect the financial position of the college at that point in time."
"That's the highest level of assurance that can be given in an audit," Stopper said.
The board voted to accept the audited financial statements.
Other actions by the board included approving included approving the college's mission, vision and values plan as presented by Joanna Flynn, dean of curriculum and instruction and Anthony Pace, dean of academic operations. Flynn noted that the review of the mission, vision and values plan was the first step in the development of a strategic plan for 2022-26. It was undertaken to make sure that the direction the college wants to move in is still relevant, according to Flynn.
The next regularly scheduled meeting of the board will take place at 3 p.m. Feb. 2.