SOUTHEASTERN COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Meeting of the Board of Trustees
Monday, April 9, 2012 – 5:00 p.m.
Board Room (#AD-1)
1500 West Agency Road
West Burlington, Iowa
1.1 CALL TO ORDER, ROLL CALL, AND PLEDGE OF
ALLEGIANCE:
Board Chairperson Roth called the meeting to order at 5:00
p.m. Roll call indicated Trustees
1.2 ADOPTION OF THE FORMAL AGENDA:
Trustee Fife-LaFrenz moved to adopt the formal agenda. Trustee Hillyard seconded. Motion carried with all trustees recorded as voting aye.
1.3
COMMUNICATIONS:
1.3.1 AUDIENCE: Deb Hedger reported as a representative of SCC’s Higher Education Association that some faculty members have voiced concerns about concurrent enrollment in the past. She stated that accreditation in the National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships (NACEP) would address some of these concerns. Hedger indicated that some faculty members are concerned that SCC’s application was not accepted by NACEP.
1.3.2 ADMINISTRATION: No report.
1.3.3 BOARD: Trustee Walker reported that he is a member of the area Enterprise Zone Committee and that at a recent meeting a new housing development located by Blackhawk School in Burlington was approved. He stated that this is encouraging news as it helps to increase our property tax base and brings new people into our area.
Trustee Hillyard expressed appreciation for the work of SCC personnel on the recent Fine Wine, Arts, and Ale Foundation Fundraiser.
Trustee Fife-LaFrenz reported that she and President Simone met recently with Keokuk Superintendent of Schools Dr. Lora Wolff to discuss concurrent enrollment and development of new courses which would align with SCC’s certification programs.
Trustee Fife-LaFrenz inquired about the status of SCC’s NACEP accreditation. President Simone reported that there was discussion at the recent IACCP meeting regarding NACEP. Concerns were expressed by some of the Presidents that NACEP has a limited number of volunteer accreditation reviewers some of whom may not be adequately trained. In this regard, it is difficult for NACEP to have consistency in their review of accreditation applications. SCC’s application was criticized for items that were deemed by NACEP as acceptable for other Iowa community colleges’ applications. Director of High School Relations Hinkle is investigating this issue. SCC will withdraw and resubmit its NACEP application as will two other Iowa community colleges.
Trustee Fife-LaFrenz distributed a handout entitled “Pathways to Prosperity Project – Vocational Education Follow-up” which was published by AGURBAN. The publication states that 27% of students with post-secondary licenses or certificates have the ability to earn more than the average bachelor’s degree recipient.
Trustee Fife-LaFrenz attended the recent Regional Workforce Investment Board meeting. Retail Sales and Para-Educator Certificates were approved. Work continues on a Medical Technology class.
Moudy attended the recent Community College Council meeting. Western Iowa Tech Community College’s President and staff gave a presentation on AQIP. A presentation on joint enrollment was also given during which it was noted that 3800 students are jointly enrolled statewide and that the number of students is stable.
1.4 IOWA ASSOCIATION OF COMMUNITY COLLEGE
TRUSTEES REPORT:
Trustee Nabulsi reported that
the IACCT Board met on April 4. Several items were discussed at the meeting
as follows:
·
Impact on
the State’s Economy by
Iowa’s Community Colleges. (Trustee
Nabulsi distributed the card published by IACCT and
reviewed its contents.)
·
Trustee
Nabulsi was elected as Chairman of the IACCT Nominating Committee.
·
Trustee
Nabulsi was elected as Chairman of the IACCT Awards Committee. He
stressed the importance of submitting award nominations.
2.0 WORLD CHANGING – CHANGING OUR THINKING:
2.1WORKFORCE INVESTMENT ACT/WORKING WITH
BUSINESS AND COMMUNITY TO FILL THE SKILLS GAP:
WIA /Regional
Iowa Works Director Debbie Dowell explained that WIA (Workforce Investment Act) is a federally-funded employment and training program. She explained that the WIA budget is
based on a formula that considers our area’s unemployment rate and a number of
other factors. During the past 10 years, WIA aligned
with the community college districts. Iowa is one of few states that has aligned with community colleges. SCC serves as WIA’s fiscal agent. Specific
performance measures are tracked in order for WIA to receive funding: assist people with finding jobs expeditiously, job retention, provide short-term training, wage increases of people placed in jobs, and GED
completions. WIA also helps individuals with
supportive services like paying for job-related travel
expenses, child care and tools required for a specific job. An individual career plan is developed for each jobseeker which helps define their skills and barriers and also aids WIA staff in finding
the right employment fit. Business advisory committees from various career paths assist WIA staff with determining what is needed from their specific
industry to make job seekers employable. Vice President of Teaching &
Learning Thomas and CBIZ staff have worked closely with WIA staff regarding
development of specific training for area businesses who expect to hire new
employees, e.g. CNH, American Ordnance,
Henniges Automotive. Some examples of
short-term nationally recognized certificate training programs offered are Certified
Production Technician, Retail Sales
and Management, Microsoft Certifications, Medical Terminology, and Automotive.
Dowell
reported that Governor Branstad was very impressed with the accelerated manufacturing
skills certificate training provided by SCC/WIA for Pinnacle employees in
Montrose.
President Simone reported that
SCC will continue to
work with area companies on development of short-term module
training to suit
specific industry needs.
3.1 APPROVAL OF CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS:
1. Approval of Minutes for the
March 19, 2012, Regular Board Meeting
2. Presentation of Bills of Account
3. Resignations, Terminations and Mutually
Agreed to Contract Adjustments
a. Larry Shacklett
Position: Drafting Technology Instructor
Date of Hire: 08/16/2005
Last Day of Employment: 08/15/2012
Reason: Personal
b. Brian Turner
Position: Residence Life Coordinator
Date of Hire: 08/01/2009
Last Day of Employment: 05/30/2012
Reason: Personal
c. Jody Whitmore
Position: Upward Bound Program Director
Date of Hire: 04/12/2004
Last Day of Employment: 03/20/2012
Reason: Personal
4. Employment Contracts
a.
Michelle
Randall
Position: WIA Youth Program Coordinator
(Replacement)
Trustee Nabulsi moved approval of the Consent Agenda items. Trustee Fife-LaFrenz seconded. Motion carried on a 5-0 roll call vote.
3.2 AUDIT RFP RECOMMENDATION:
Vice President of Administrative Services Meck reported that SCC conducted an RFP for audit services for fiscal years 2012, 2013, and 2014, including an option to extend services an additional two years. After reviewing the proposals and the fees received from five firms, he reported that Winkel, Parker and Foster, CPA submitted the low bid. Individuals on the audit RFP review committee consisting of Annette Peterson, Ean Freels, Joyce Mickey, Ken Allaman and Vice President Meck, reviewed the proposal from Winkel, Parker and Foster, CPA and conducted a follow-up telephone interview with key personnel from the firm that would complete SCC’s audit. No irregularities were noted in the proposal, and no issues were encountered during the interview. Meck also noted that the firm currently audits one other Iowa community college and multiple other educational and local governmental entities. This allowed committee members to conduct telephone reference checks with counterparts at the other Iowa community college, which resulted in all positive responses. Meck recommended the Board of Trustees approve Winkel, Parker & Foster, CPA as SCC’s auditing firm for fiscal years 2012-2014, with the option to extend services to also include 2015 and 2016.
Trustee Hillyard moved approval of the Audit Recommendation. Trustee Walker seconded. Motion carried on a 5-0 roll call vote.
3.3 INDUSTRIAL
NEW JOBS TRAINING PROGRAM
3.3.1 $1,335,000 – INDUSTRIAL NEW JOBS TRAINING
CERTIFICATES, SERIES 2012 - CNH AMERICA LLC PROJECT
RESOLUTION APPROVING
INDUSTRIAL NEW JOBS TRAINING AGREEMENT:
CBIZ Economic
Development Consultant Rubey reported that the INJT Agreement with CNH America, LLC provides for training for approximately 250 new
employees at its facility in Burlington. The average wage rate for
the employees is $14.00 to $14.50 per hour. CBIZ has two full-time instructors at the CNH
facility providing training to employees.
Trustee Nabulsi moved to approve the Resolution Approving Industrial New Jobs Training Agreement with CNH America LLC Project. Trustee Fife-LaFrenz seconded. Motion carried on a 5-0 roll call vote.
The Board recessed for 3 minutes.
4.1 GRADUATION
INFORMATION:
Vice President of Student Services Williams presented information on the dates and locations for the upcoming GED, Keokuk Campus, and West Burlington Campus commencement ceremonies. She reviewed a memo outlining historical information on the number of awards given over the past 5 years during commencement as well as the number of individuals who have requested graduation honors for this spring. Williams stated the number of commencement participants is reduced compared to prior years which may be a result of the decline in enrollment, a movement from full-time to part-time status which takes students longer to complete their degrees/certificates, and a significant loss of WIA funding.
4.2 PRESIDENT’S REPORT:
President Simone reported on the following items:
President Simone chaired the recent IACCP meeting due to the absence of President Starcevich. Discussion at the meeting centered on the Completion Agenda. It was determined that the Iowa community colleges will work with Iowa State University on this initiative. On May 23 a team of 10 to 12 SCC faculty and professional services staff will participate in a statewide meeting on Completion Agenda metrics at Iowa State University. Following this meeting, SCC’s Completion Agenda steering committee will work with the Strategic Enrollment Management (SEM), First Year Experience (FYE), and Assessment of Learning teams to develop a set of completion metrics.
While in Des Moines for the IACCP meeting, President Simone also attended a One Source Training meeting regarding strategic planning and an Iowans for a Skilled Workforce meeting.
The SEM team is meeting on a weekly basis to develop SCC’s SEM report in lieu of hiring a consultant. The report will be shared with the Board upon completion.
Conversations continue with a prospective donor for career/technical scholarships. Collaborations with area high schools are under discussion in connection with this donation.
President Simone expressed appreciation to Becky Rump, Julie Glasgow, and other SCC staff who helped make the recent Fine Wine, Arts, and Ale Foundation Fundraiser a success. She also expressed appreciation to the Trustees for their attendance at the event.
President Simone will attend a Louisa County Development Group to meet with business and industry representatives at Wapello.
On-going discussions are being held regarding the concept of Re-engagement Centers and their possible locations.
President Simone recently attended the Iowa Energy Commission (IEC) Advisory Board meeting in Ames in her capacity as the IACCP representative. A search for the new IEC Executive Director is underway.
A team comprised of SCC faculty and staff representatives and other education and industry representatives will travel to Kirkwood Community College’s Jones County Regional Educational Center to determine if this is a model that would benefit area students.
The Higher Learning Commission has scheduled SCC’s next AQIP Quality Check-Up Visit for March 20, 2013.
President Simone read a prepared
statement announcing her retirement from SCC.
She indicated that she will work with the Board to establish a mutually
acceptable date for her departure from the college to allow time for the Board
to consider their next potential President and to continue to work with SCC
personnel on critical initiatives until a new president is hired.
Chairperson Roth read a prepared
statement accepting President Simone’s decision to retire with regret and
thanking her for her many years of excellent service to SCC. He indicated that President Simone has led the college through unprecedented growth in terms
of enrollment, new programs, and expanded facilities. Chairperson Roth stated that the Board
expects all stakeholders (faculty, support staff, and administration) to
continue to work together towards achieving the college’s goals and objectives.
4.3 FINANCIAL
REPORT:
Vice President of Administrative Services Meck reviewed the financial
statements for period ending March 31, 2012. He noted a slight increase in expenses through the end of March compared to last year which is caused by
the payment of faculty overload in March instead of April. This increase should be resolved next month. Expense levels in Fund 2 are the same as previous months’ reports due to the timing of Industrial New Jobs Training
program and ICCOC expenses. The Plant Fund is showing a positive balance.
4.4 FACILITIES UPDATE:
Vice President of Administrative Services Meck reported that the West
Burlington Campus Roadway project has begun.
Trustee Walker reported that several facilities improvement projects recently approved by
the College County Fair Service Agency are underway at the Fairgrounds.
5.0 UPCOMING
MEETINGS/EVENTS:
Chairperson Roth reviewed upcoming meetings.
6.0 ADJOURNMENT:
Trustee Nabulsi moved to adjourn the meeting. Trustee Hillyard seconded. Motion carried with all trustees voting aye.
A negotiation strategy setting session was held following adjournment of the regular Board meeting. This was a closed meeting exempt from Chapter 21, The Code.
These minutes have been approved by the
______________________________ ______________________
Sherry Zeller, Board Secretary Date