Women’s basketball nationally ranked
City Council member dead at 64, page 2 Alumnus returns to discuss self-published book, page 6
page 10
Wrestling fights in face of small team, page 10
Truman State University tmn.truman.edu THURSDAY, JANUARY 17, 2019
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Truman hires marketing coordinator RYAN PIVONEY Managing Editor
Keaton Wagner
Truman State University selected Keaton Wagner to serve in the newly created position of Coordinator of Marketing. University President Sue Thomas announced the selection to the Board of Governors at its December meeting, but Wagner did not start until Jan.
14. Wagner most recently served as an enrollment communications strategist at Westminster College in Utah. “He is going to play a significant role next semester as we do all this marketing stuff,” Thomas said. “He will report to me initially so that we keep a University-wide perspective on all of this.” Thomas said when the University reallocated funds this year, the University dedicated some money to create the position because marketing needed significant work. She said while there are many departments and programs marketing
themselves well, Truman lacked a comprehensive approach. Thomas said the University is also looking to hire a marketing consulting firm and is in the process of selecting one. By Dec. 1, the University had already received 14 proposals from a national search. If hired, the firm will work with Wagner to establish Truman’s marketing, branding and identity, and make it more consistent across the different University outlets.
TRUMAN CHANGES Student workers ADMISSION receive PROCESS raise
JESSICA VENVERTLOH Staff Writer
Truman State University has changed its admission process to accept qualified students more quickly. The change was recommended by enrollment management firm SEM Works and will eliminate the essay portion for students with a qualifying GPA and test scores. Photo by Daniel Degenhardt
New automatic admission process based on GPA, test scores DANA BARTCH Staff Writer Truman State University’s admission office sought the expertise of SEM Works consultants and adopted a new automatic admission process through which qualified students can be accepted faster. Last October, SEM Works President and CEO Jim Black and a colleague visited Truman to assess the University’s current admission process and make suggestions as to how the University could improve its operations. Gina Morin, vice president of enrollment management, said Black asked the admission office why it required all students applying to Truman to write an essay when the majority of students that fit specific qualifications will automatically be accepted. Morin said the office sorted through data from previ-
ous years and found over 99.5 percent of students eligible for one of the automatic scholarships were admitted and the office could save time by simply automatically admitting these students. “To me, the best way to describe it is it’s a simplified path to be admitted to Truman because students still need to submit an official transcript and test score because we have to know whether they’re eligible for the TruMerit scholarships,” Morin said. “But if the student falls into that category, they certainly can send us an essay because we will use that for the competitive scholarship process.” Applicants are not required to submit an essay unless they want to enter the competitive scholarship process. This accelerated admission process allows students to receive information about starting college at Truman within a couple of days, whereas in the past it
took an average of 2-3 weeks. With this quick turn around, students can begin to look into important applications such as housing and scholarships. Morin said students that do not meet the qualifications for automatic scholarships will still undergo the traditional, holistic approach of admission. They will be required to submit an essay in addition to sending in their test scores and transcripts, much like how students have done in the past. “We’re looking for evidence that the student can be successful at Truman, rather than looking for a reason why we wouldn’t admit that student,” Morin said. “At the end of the day, if the student’s not prepared for Truman, it’s not fair to admit them.” See ADMISSIONS page 2
Truman State University chose to opt in to the new Missouri state minimum wage of $8.60 per hour. Dave Rector, vice president for administration, finance and planning, said Truman was exempt from the wage increase, but University President Sue Thomas ultimately made the decision to opt in anyway. He said it was unfair to student workers to stay exempt, and Truman wanted to remain a competitive employer, so Thomas decided to adopt the new minimum wage. Rector said passing the ballot measure in the middle of the fiscal year came as a surprise to the University, but he also said Truman can better plan for this larger expense in the budget in the coming year. “Overall, next year we will probably have to find about $200,000 [in the budget] to keep even with it,” Rector said. He said he foresees some areas of campus that hire student workers having to cut back on hours and jobs. The University has already lowered the number of scholarship hours from 60 to 58 for the spring semester as a result of the higher minimum wage.
Brandon Etz and Emma Scherer work at the Pickler Memorial Library front desk. Truman has adopted a higher wage for its student workers. Photo by Daniel Degenhardt
Other universities reflect on JED Campus TRAVIS MAIDEN, LIZ LOVESEE AND MICHAEL ZHANG Contributing Writers
While JED Campus aims to improve mental wellness on campuses around the United States, universities contacted by The Index are not experiencing drastic changes, even years after completing the partnership. The Index contacted 53 universities associated with JED to gather more information about the relationship JED Campus has with universi-
VOLUME 110 ISSUE 11 © 2019
ties and its effect on mental health. The Jed Foundation was started after Donna and Phil Satow lost their son to suicide in 1998. The mission of the nonprofit is to promote mental health awareness and prevent suicide. JED Campus is an initiative designed to guide schools through the process of mental health policy development and offer customized support to build upon existing student mental health resources, as well as substance abuse and suicide prevention efforts. Universities have to partner with JED for
four years to assess and enhance the work being done to improve mental health. There are 199 JED Campuses across the United States. The Index contacted universities requesting information regarding mental health service budgets, the minimum qualifications to work at the counseling centers, how long the school has been a JED Campus, the JED Campus survey results, the number of student suicides per year and whether this number has changed since beginning their partnership.
The purpose of gathering this information was to look at the mental health services and JED Campus survey results to compare and contrast their information with Truman State University’s. Over the course of three weeks, 10 out of 53 universities have responded with the information requested. It took over three weeks to obtain summary JED Campus survey information for Truman, while other universities, like the University of Minnesota, provided their information within a week. See JED page 6