Message from Dr. Belinda S. Miles: Unwavering Commitment to Success – August 14, 2020
August 14, 2020
Colleagues,
Every corner of our college community is humming with activity! The Admissions, Financial Aid, Registrar, and Bursar’s offices are assisting students through our enrollment systems. Our counselors are guiding students into academic pathways. Student Involvement welcomed hundreds of students in remote orientation programs this week; faculty and staff are busy preparing for the start of fall classes; Strategic Enrollment Management and Creative Communications teams are creating content for students and our community to let them know that we are here to help them; student outreach continues; and all operations are focused on welcoming new and continuing students. We do this every August and we do so this year with even greater intensity. We are unwavering in our commitment to help students enroll and progress toward their academic goals.
We do this work as students continue to make decisions about their education, recognizing that these are still challenging times. We all face difficulties each day as the pandemic persists and social upheavals and racial injustice besiege many of our communities. The fear, uncertainty, anger, and hurt, is real.
As a community, we support each other and our students, and we are reminded that we have resources in place for those who need assistance. Even as we continue to persist through uncertainty, we must do our best to remain encouraged – by our work, by the hope of a more equitable society, and by the progress made in fighting the pandemic. As we navigate through new ways of doing and being, we remember that what drives us doesn’t change – it fuels us to continue to move forward, to persist, and to reach back to help those who may be struggling.
This week, Professor Phil McGrath shared an article which reminds us not to underestimate the stress that our students are experiencing. As you interact with students, please let them know of the myriad resources we have at Westchester Community College. From mental health counseling and special financial support through the CARES Act to our army of volunteers who are waiting and willing to assist our students in so many ways, we are here to help students persist and achieve success.
Please continue to reach out to students. Our data shows that these personal contacts work and that students are moving forward in the enrollment process. But there is still much more to do. If you have not yet contacted Dr. Ruben Barato to assist in our enrollment push, please do so today by emailing Ruben.barato@sunywcc.edu. The job of building enrollment does not sit with just one person or department; this is our collective responsibility – it belongs to each of us.
Dr. Belinda S. Miles
President