2023-2024 President’s Annual Report

The Executive Board, committee chairs, committee members and other volunteers throughout the state worked hard to reflect NYSACAC’s vision to be, “at the forefront of creating leadership and professional development opportunities in college admission counseling.” Below is a listing of some of the accomplishments that support our vision and mission.

DEI Statement

The Statement of Inclusion and Diversity was revised and updated in the fall of 2023 to reflect the association’s values with regard to inclusion, access, and success.

NYSACAC Executive Board Structure 

Due to an imbalance in responsibilities among the four Vice-Presidents, existing committees were reallocated. Governance Structure

Geographic Diversity

This year’s committee co-chairs were purposefully selected to increase geographic representation across NYS, with an eye toward the forthcoming regional representative model.

NYSACAC Committee Chairs

Recognizing that six of 18 committees had both co-chairs rotating off together, a one-time adjustment was made to committee leadership to ensure the health of the organization.

Committee Procedures

Each committee created an online document to capture its purpose, responsibilities, timelines, communications calendar, membership, and other important information that would provide continuity within the organization despite rotating committee leadership. 

Return to in-person programming

For the first time since COVID, several NYSACAC signature programs were brought back to in-person events including:

• Regional forums at Fordham University and the University of Rochester. 

• Winter Institute at Syracuse University and St. Francis College (the latter was moved to a virtual event due to an impending winter storm.)

• Student Leadership in Admissions (SLA) is planned for September 2024 at St. John’s University.

Regional Representatives elected

With the dissolution of NACAC’s Assembly and delegate structure, a regional model was established with 6 regions in NYS. A high school/CBO and college representative were elected in each of the six designated regions, except where existing representatives had not yet completed their terms. 

Camp College

After 5 years without an overnight camp, SUNY Geneseo and NYSACAC signed a new contract with a revocable permit, renewable up to three years, to provide an overnight camp for up to 100 students. Geneseo has made a $50K commitment to NYSACAC, $12,500 per year, to host Camp College from 2024-2027.

Summer Institute

A decision was made to offer member colleges/universities to host Summer Institute, following 35 years almost exclusively at Skidmore College. We are grateful for their dedication to our organization. A call for proposals is collecting bids from interested campuses to relocate the program in the summer of 2025. Initial leadership discussions suggest that a campus would ideally agree to host for three years; that way the association isn’t in a position to look for a new site every year, and the co-chairs and on-site coordinator could appreciate some consistency in the planning process.

Special Interest Groups (SIGs)

Three new Special Interest Groups were created this year: Independent Educational Consultants (IEC), Jewish Schools & Jewish Students, and AAPI. Additionally, guidelines were developed including the purpose of SIGs, how to form a new SIG, the role of members and facilitators, and the basic requirements and activities to maintain a SIG.

Ad-Hoc

An Ad-Hoc, created in 2022-23, finished their work and provided a proposal for a Guiding the Way to Inclusion (GWI) type event to supplement the Coming Together Conference by providing an opportunity for additional DEI professional development, with the first event taking place in 2024-25. 

Future Conference Site

Hartwick College is hosting the 2025 Coming Together and Annual Conference, June 3-6, 2025. We have additional institutions considering 2026 and 2027 but are always seeking future sites.

Challenges

The 2023-24 year had challenges for the association that need to continue to be considered in moving the organization forward.

1. The costs associated with running events have skyrocketed post-COVID. These expenses include food at events, facility use, transportation costs for bus rentals, etc.

2. In some cases, the insurance requirements have been raised to require umbrella policies with higher levels of coverage that increase the cost to the association.

3. Contracts need to be reviewed with great care. Some of our event sites are requesting full liability from NYSACAC. This is unreasonable as one significant injury/accident/catastrophe could jeopardize the association’s future. The association must continue to be judicious when reviewing contracts, and seek counsel when necessary.

Respectfully submitted, 

Heidi Green
NYSACAC President