President Cady Short-Thompson answered questions on enrollment, infrastructure, dining and faculty numbers at this week’s Student Government Association meeting.
The president has focused primarily on enrollment management, finances and increasing online enrollment during her first weeks in office. She is in the process of recruiting transfer students for January, and though NKU has historically focused on local regions, in recent years the university has broadened its reach, she said.
In response to concerns about larger class sizes due to reduced faculty numbers, Short-Thompson said that the administration is aiming to financially stabilize to make the most of NKU’s programs academically.
“Getting out of a $9 million deficit, it takes some time. I’m not saying it will look different tomorrow,” she said.
Short-Thompson promised to look into the denial of emergency funds for international students after the subject was raised by Senator Princess Nworah, stating that this was the first time she had heard about it.
The president also responded to concerns about online course fees. “Online education is actually not cheap, and there’s a significant cost associated with education in general,” Short-Thompson said, but she empathizes with students and hopes to control cost in a way that would not require an online fee.
On the subject of infrastructure, SGA Vice President Lucy Burns stated that the University Suites dormitory building was supposed to have air conditioning switched off for eight hours for maintenance. The cutoff has instead lasted for three weeks, and resident students have had to rely on box fans and open their screenless windows, the latter of which has drawn insects into their rooms.
In terms of dining, the president and student government discussed ways to take advantage of extra meal swipes and help students who are struggling with food. University Improvements Committee Chair Addy McCoun raised a meal swipe sharing initiative, which allows students to transfer unused swipes among one another.
Another idea involves using swipes to gather leftover food from dining locations before it is disposed of at day’s end. While students are only allowed to swipe once per meal in the Student Union food court, they can swipe up to three times in a meal session at the Norse Commons.