ONE Northwood University

Jan 30, 2009

Board of Trustees Meeting

We have three Board of Trustees (BOT) meetings a year – historically in October in Texas, January in Florida, and May in Michigan. The most recent meeting was held this past weekend combined with our 29th Annual Outstanding Business Leaders (OBL) Gala on our West Palm Beach campus in Florida. The OBL Forum on Friday was excellent – our OBLs served our students well and have promised continued interaction across our system. Students had a unique opportunity to hear advice and ask direct questions of these enterprise leaders. This year’s class of OBLs included: Ken Lingenfelter, CEO of Lingenfelter Performance Engineering; Wendy Lopez, Vice President of URS Corporation; Charles “Chip” McClure, Chairman, CEO and President of ArvinMeritor, Inc; Byron Pond, retired Chairman and CEO of Arvin Industries, Inc; Patricia Riley, scientist and CEO, Clientele Cosmetics Corporation; and W. Marvin Rush, Chairman of Rush Enterprises, Inc.

On Friday January 23, the Board of Trustees gathered for a Committee of the Whole meeting to focus on our Florida campus. The first activity was a tour of the campus, followed by a presentation on campus operations by Florida Provost Rose Bellanca.

At the full Board Meeting on Saturday several key actions were taken.

In anticipation of Northwood’s transition from Terms to Semesters in fall 2010, the Board approved a change in our fiscal year to begin on July 1 instead of the current fiscal year start of September 1. This change will be effective beginning this July. It has been common in the past for other colleges and universities switching from a Term to Semester system to also adopt a July 1–June 30 fiscal year; the change allows the accounting of revenue and expenses to be better aligned with the academic semester schedule which begins in August. Certain activities such as budgeting and the year-end audit process will also benefit from this fiscal year change. Because about 70% of all U.S.-based private colleges and universities have a fiscal year beginning July 1, Northwood’s transition to the same fiscal calendar also allows for better comparisons of operating, financial and investment performance with other higher education institutions.

When consideration was first being given for a change in the fiscal year, all major functional areas were consulted to determine what issues needed to be addressed as a result of the change. For each item requiring attention, a solution was determined. A cross-functional task force is being established to ensure these solutions are successfully implemented and the transition to the new fiscal year operates smoothly.

One item of concern is how employees’ vacation time would be impacted by the change in the fiscal year. In particular there were concerns expressed that vacation time intended to be used in July and August (i.e., after the end of the new fiscal year) may be lost. The Officer Team was sensitive to this concern and decided, after much analysis and discussion, to allow all eligible employees to carry over up to seven (7) days of unused vacation to the new fiscal year beginning July 1, 2009.

Employees should consult the Human Resources section of Blackboard for additional information on this one-time change and a list of frequently asked questions and answers. If you still have additional questions, you may contact our Human Resources department.

Our Strategic Theme 3:Cultivate Student Growth was the driving force behind our newly adopted student aid model which will have many positive effects on academic quality and retention. We are proud of our history in this area in that Northwood tuition increases have been on the low end of the range compared to both public and private colleges. The Board approved the Finance Committee’s recommendation of a 5% overall increase to tuition/fees/room/board which is equal to or less than what many other institutions have proposed for their upcoming academic year. Actual campus specific rates are being set this week.

As we implement a new merit aid model which will help us attract students who have the highest probability of graduating from Northwood, tuition was a key element needed. The new merit aid model has been a joint project of enrollment, academics and financial aid leadership over the past several months. We were also assisted by the outside consulting group Noel-Levitz, and data support came from from our internal IT team and academic records.

The new model moves the merit awarding and the entire aid packaging up earlier in the year and makes us more attractive to students who have many choices. The movement to early knowledge of actual aid packages is meant to reduce the financial uncertainty of the final out-of-pocket cost of attendance for parents, and allow them to spread payments out over a longer period of time if necessary. Our financial aid staff has been working hard across all operating units to help our students start and continue their education.

Trustee Macauley (Mac) Whiting, Sr. was granted the status of Trustee Emeritus after serving 45 years on the Board. Our University has benefitted substantially from Mac’s leadership, long tenure and support, and we are truly grateful for his guidance and encouragement. For 90% of our history, Dr. Whiting served our University with great distinction. Thank you, Mac!

The board also accepted the Finance Committee’s recommendation to retain Plante & Moran as auditors for the coming year.

Officer reports included our Academic Committee proceedings from December which covered many excellent endeavors across the system: terms-to-semesters transition, faculty development, curriculum reviews, freshman year self-study, undergraduate and graduate programming changes, ADP and International Program upgrades.

Even though January is just wrapping up and summer seems a long way off, our new fiscal year will be here before we know it. At that point we will be just about halfway through our 50th celebrations. As we honor the rich heritage of Northwood University, we are also diligently creating our future. With the vision of our founders, Drs. R. Gary Stauffer and Arthur Turner, Northwood University is well positioned to seize the opportunities of both the present and the future.

Have a great weekend.

Keith A. Pretty, J.D.
President and CEO
Northwood University
4000 Whiting Drive
Midland, MI 48640
989.837.4203 (phone)
989.832.9590 (fax)

pretty@northwood.edu

Jan 30, 2009
	Board of Trustees Meeting We have three Board of Trustees (BOT) meetings a year – historically in October in Texas, January in Florida, and May in Michigan. The most recent meeting was held this past weekend combined with our 29th Annual Outstanding Business Leaders (OBL) Gala on our West Palm Beach campus in Florida. The OBL Forum on Friday was excellent – our OBLs served our students well and have promised continued interaction across our system. Students had a unique opportunity to hear advice and ask direct questions of these enterprise leaders. This year’s class of OBLs included: Ken Lingenfelter, CEO of Lingenfelter Performance Engineering; Wendy Lopez, Vice President of URS Corporation; Charles “Chip” McClure, Chairman, CEO and President of ArvinMeritor, Inc; Byron Pond, retired Chairman and CEO of Arvin Industries, Inc; Patricia Riley, scientist and CEO, Clientele Cosmetics Corporation; and W. Marvin Rush, Chairman of Rush Enterprises, Inc. On Friday January 23, the Board of Trustees gathered for a Committee of the Whole meeting to focus on our Florida campus. The first activity was a tour of the campus, followed by a presentation on campus operations by Florida Provost Rose Bellanca. At the full Board Meeting on Saturday several key actions were taken. In anticipation of Northwood’s transition from Terms to Semesters in fall 2010, the Board approved a change in our fiscal year to begin on July 1 instead of the current fiscal year start of September 1. This change will be effective beginning this July. It has been common in the past for other colleges and universities switching from a Term to Semester system to also adopt a July 1–June 30 fiscal year; the change allows the accounting of revenue and expenses to be better aligned with the academic semester schedule which begins in August. Certain activities such as budgeting and the year-end audit process will also benefit from this fiscal year change. Because about 70% of all U.S.-based private colleges and universities have a fiscal year beginning July 1, Northwood’s transition to the same fiscal calendar also allows for better comparisons of operating, financial and investment performance with other higher education institutions. When consideration was first being given for a change in the fiscal year, all major functional areas were consulted to determine what issues needed to be addressed as a result of the change. For each item requiring attention, a solution was determined. A cross-functional task force is being established to ensure these solutions are successfully implemented and the transition to the new fiscal year operates smoothly. One item of concern is how employees’ vacation time would be impacted by the change in the fiscal year. In particular there were concerns expressed that vacation time intended to be used in July and August (i.e., after the end of the new fiscal year) may be lost. The Officer Team was sensitive to this concern and decided, after much analysis and discussion, to allow all eligible employees to carry over up to seven (7) days of unused vacation to the new fiscal year beginning July 1, 2009. Employees should consult the Human Resources section of Blackboard for additional information on this one-time change and a list of frequently asked questions and answers. If you still have additional questions, you may contact our Human Resources department. Our Strategic Theme 3:Cultivate Student Growth was the driving force behind our newly adopted student aid model which will have many positive effects on academic quality and retention. We are proud of our history in this area in that Northwood tuition increases have been on the low end of the range compared to both public and private colleges. The Board approved the Finance Committee’s recommendation of a 5% overall increase to tuition/fees/room/board which is equal to or less than what many other institutions have proposed for their upcoming academic year. Actual campus specific rates are being set this week. As we implement a new merit aid model which will help us attract students who have the highest probability of graduating from Northwood, tuition was a key element needed. The new merit aid model has been a joint project of enrollment, academics and financial aid leadership over the past several months. We were also assisted by the outside consulting group Noel-Levitz, and data support came from from our internal IT team and academic records. The new model moves the merit awarding and the entire aid packaging up earlier in the year and makes us more attractive to students who have many choices. The movement to early knowledge of actual aid packages is meant to reduce the financial uncertainty of the final out-of-pocket cost of attendance for parents, and allow them to spread payments out over a longer period of time if necessary. Our financial aid staff has been working hard across all operating units to help our students start and continue their education. Trustee Macauley (Mac) Whiting, Sr. was granted the status of Trustee Emeritus after serving 45 years on the Board. Our University has benefitted substantially from Mac’s leadership, long tenure and support, and we are truly grateful for his guidance and encouragement. For 90% of our history, Dr. Whiting served our University with great distinction. Thank you, Mac! The board also accepted the Finance Committee’s recommendation to retain Plante & Moran as auditors for the coming year. Officer reports included our Academic Committee proceedings from December which covered many excellent endeavors across the system: terms-to-semesters transition, faculty development, curriculum reviews, freshman year self-study, undergraduate and graduate programming changes, ADP and International Program upgrades. Even though January is just wrapping up and summer seems a long way off, our new fiscal year will be here before we know it. At that point we will be just about halfway through our 50th celebrations. As we honor the rich heritage of Northwood University, we are also diligently creating our future. With the vision of our founders, Drs. R. Gary Stauffer and Arthur Turner, Northwood University is well positioned to seize the opportunities of both the present and the future. Have a great weekend. Keith A. Pretty, J.D. President and CEO Northwood University 4000 Whiting Drive Midland, MI 48640 989.837.4203 (phone) 989.832.9590 (fax) pretty@northwood.edu