LANE COMMUNITY COLLEGE
BOARD OF EDUCATION MINUTES
April 14, 2010
1. Attendance
Board members present: Bob Ackerman, Pat Albright, Susie Johnston, Roger Hall, Gary LeClair, Tony McCown, and Sharon Stiles. Also present were: President Mary Spilde; Vice President Sonya Christian; Chief Financial Officer Greg Morgan; Legal Counsel Mindy Wittkop; Lane Community College Education Association President Jim Salt; Lane Community College Employees Federation President Bob Baldwin; and ASLCC President James Manning.
A. Chair Albright called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m.
B. President's Report
I hope everyone had a good spring break. We are in the third week of spring term. Another seven weeks, and we are done with another academic year.
First week enrollment reports for spring term show total registrations up 12 percent, and total unduplicated student headcount up 3 percent, compared to last year.
As a precaution, we evacuated childcare buildings last Friday after someone smelled smoke in one of the buildings. Public Safety, Facilities and Goshen fire responded immediately. Everything was fine. The cause turned out to be a charred paper in a printer jam in a building that does not house children.
I hope you have had a chance to see the displays outside the boardroom. Lane won a Gold, Silver and Bronze in the national Paragon Awards sponsored by the National Council for Marketing and Public Relations, an affiliate of the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC). The Gold was for a print ad, the Silver was for an ad series, and the Bronze was for computer-generated illustration. Only two other Oregon colleges won awards, PCC and Mt. Hood, but only Lane won a Gold award. Congratulations to Tracy Simms who developed the ads with assistance from Funk/Levis and Associates, and the designer, who is a graduate of our graphic design program.
I am pleased to announce that our Adult Basic Skills program passed a comprehensive, seven-year review by the Oregon Department of Community Colleges and Workforce Development. The program received six commendations recognizing excellence in foundational academic, language and life skills development; innovative design of a wiki; high-level faculty leadership; best practices in Career Pathways that could serve as a state and national model; integrating program data into college systems; and for establishing highly effective partnerships. Three recommendations were issued that called for more faculty professional development, implementing the new curriculum plan, and continuing to smooth the transition for students who enroll in both ESL and ABSE programs. I'd like to commend Dawn Dewolf, Cathy Lindsley for their outstanding work on the review and the faculty and staff who make the program outstanding.
The Foundation announced Schafer Innovation Award winners and I'm happy to say that the Innovation of the Year Award went to Health Professions for its online Moodle advising. In addition, Great Idea Awards went to Public Safety for its bike patrol program, and to ESL for its wiki. Counseling was awarded a certificate of appreciation for developing a Lane job connections and private scholarship links website.
The Foundation met the Miller Foundation $150,000 matching grant for scholarships and raised $409,637 in new or increased gifts. As a result Lane will be able to offer $747,078 in scholarships next year, the most ever. Similarly on March 31, we met the $800,000 Kresge challenge. We were $130,000 short but had met it by 3 pm. We are very excited about that mileston.
The Foundation is beginning an Opening Doors Campaign for Florence to raise $300,000 including $200,000 for nursing faculty and MOA program equipment, and $100,000 for scholarships. Co-honorary chairs are Dr. Al Brauer and Mr. Tom Grove. Campaign chair is Rachel Pearson, who has worked extensively in support of the Siuslaw School District, and whose husband is a physician in the community. I'd like to thank board member Sharon Stiles for also serving on the campaign leadership team.
Lane held its first Hypatia Day to introduce middle-school girls to opportunities in engineering education and careers. Our special guest was Celeste Baine, a nationally know author and engineering educator. The event is named after Hypatia, a woman in ancient Alexandria who is celebrated as the first woman engineer and math teacher. Thanks to Cathy Lindsley for organizing the event.
I attended the Oregon Community College Association Student Scholars event with the governor and would like to congratulate Suzanne Jarvis of Eugene and ShyAnne Woods of Elmira. Suzanne is studying elementary education at Lane and plans to transfer to Pacific University. ShyAnne is enrolled in our Sustainability Coordinator program and plans to transfer to Oregon State University.
Since criticism of the slow pace of Go Oregon! state stimulus funding continues, it's important to remember that Lane invested its $8 million right away and completed all projects within 11 months. We started work in May 2009 and completed final billings last month. Lane continues to be the model of what legislators intended. I'd like to thank Facilities director Dave Willis and his staff, and the 55 contractors who worked on the projects. And to mention that, while we were not able to keep all of the temporary go Oregon employees, we were able to transition many of them to our bond projects.
Record enrollments continue to impact the Oregon Opportunity Grant, the state's only need-based aid program. The Oregon Student Assistance Commission said last month that the program was over-committed by nearly $10 million for the current year, which likely will mean fewer or reduced awards for next year. The agency is also looking at the impact of sector cut-off dates, which had a negative impact on some schools more than others.
Well, Congress finally passed the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act and President Obama signed it into law. Besides health care reforms, the bill included the most significant financial aid reform in nearly four decades. Funds were included to raise Pell Grants each year through 2017 and implement an income-based repayment plan beginning in 2014. Unfortunately, the bill did not contain the American Graduation Initiative due to the lower savings and reluctance to create new programs within reconciliation. In its place, Congress added funds to the Community College and Career Training Grant program, which was authorized in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act last year, but was never funded. So there is 2 billion dollars. Hopefully we will find out more at the AACC convention this weekend.
When President Obama signed the Reconciliation Act, he announced that Jill Biden would lead a community college summit at the White House next fall. We have had conversations through AACC with Biden's staff and are ready to move forward. As you know, Jill Biden teaches English at Northern Virginia Community College and is the wife of Vice President Joe Biden.
Lane hosted the local, community-wide Human Rights Summit last Saturday. I was honored to present the opening remarks.
I interviewed with the Chronicle of Higher Education about the value of humanities education and last week they had sent out a photographer. It just so happened that there was a religion class out by the water feature, who were included in the photos. The story should be in the April 19 or April 23 issue.
I’m looking forward to the annual AACC Convention that begins April 15 in Seattle. I'll be joined by board chair Pat Albright, and several staff will be attending.
Remember that US Poet Laureate Kay Ryan will visit Lane on May 13 and 14. I hope you can join me for the community reading on Thursday, May 13 at 7 p.m. in the Center for Meeting and Learning. You can find out more details from the link on our home page.
1) March Highlights
March highlights at Lane Community College as offered in the board mailing were presented.
2) Personnel
The college’s current personnel appointments were presented.
C. Board Agenda Review/Changes
Item 4.A, TRIO Presentation, was moved to Item 2.B. Item 2.C., Downtown Campus, was added.
D. Statements from Audience
Justin Blakely, former student, expressed dissatisfaction with services he received from Disability Resources while he attended Lane.
Kathy Ging, community member, asked that the board consider putting a community self help media center at the new Downtown Campus.
2A. Consent Agenda
McCown moved, and seconded by LeClair, to approve the Consent Agenda consisting of:
• The approval of the March 17, 2010 meeting minutes
Motion passed unanimously.
2B. TRIO Presentation
Mary Parthemer, Director, presented information on the TRIO program. The TRIO Program at Lane was established in 1997. TRIO programs were founded in the mid 1960s by President Johnson. TRIO is not an acronym but three programs initially created to focus on underserved students. There are 2,000 programs across the country. Students are served in a variety of programs at various levels. There has been an increase in the percentage of TRIO eligible students at Lane over the past few years. Students have an academic or other need, such as not being college ready, a lack of academic confidence, a need for study skills, and limited technology skills.
Parthemer introduced two first-year students who found TRIO in different ways. Trina had been out of school for 25 years and had a lot of anxiety about returning to college. She attended a couple of TRIO workshops her first term back and found that TRIO services were exactly what she needed. Trina has found help with scholarship essays, finding tutors, and much support in reaching her goal of obtaining her associates degree. Yana is from Russia. TRIO has become her home base at Lane. She is grateful for the support she has received. Her GPA is 4.25, and she could not have achieved that without TRIO.
TRIO programs have been federally funded for 45 years. The program can take only 200 students, but 7,500 students are eligible. The main objectives are retention and completion. Approximately 70 percent of TRIO students plan to transfer to a university.
2C. Downtown Campus and New Market Tax Credits
Spilde provided an update to the board on the Downtown Campus. The Eugene City Council has voted to sell us the 10th and Charnelton property for $1 with a few conditions. The Council voted 6 to 2 to move forward with an $8 million addition to the urban renewal plan to include support of the new Lane campus downtown. There is a public hearing coming up, and the Council will vote again in May. The City of Eugene is not expressing much interest in purchasing our existing building downtown. Attorneys for the City and Lane are in discussion. Spilde recommended moving forward with the new campus and keeping the property transaction as simple as possible. The existing building is needed for another two years, and there are some ideas for future use. Purchase of the new site will allow us to take the next step.
Some questions were raised as a result of the feasibility study. One of the concerns is sustainability. Lane has been working with the City of Eugene. One suggestion was that the City get in touch with the Department of Environmental Quality to determine if there was a problem with the site, and the City is in the process of doing that. It does not appear to be an obstacle.
The college requested direction from the board on going out to bid for an architect and whether the project will be Construction Management/General Contractor (CM/GC). It is a slight risk to move forward because the funding is not entirely in place. The new market tax credits looks promising, and there is the possibility of obtaining $8 million from the City of Eugene, but we are awaiting their vote on that. However, the closer we are to being "shovel ready," the easier it is going to be to raise the $4.5 million still needed. This would be a phased project that could be scaled back if we do not get the necessary funding.
Ackerman indicated that he wanted to see timelines for the projects. He was concerned that there are some deal points that would have to be resolved. He was not comfortable taking too much risk without having most of the funding in hand. He also asked to see information regarding housing projects and other community colleges. He requested a statement from Spilde's office regarding the feasibility of obtaining the new market tax credits.
Johnston stated that it is important to go ahead and land an architect and move forward. Much of the funding has been secured. A phased plan is essential.
Hall shared some of Ackerman's concern and also asked what the timeline is for the selection of an architect. Spilde responded that the architect should be selected by June 1 or at least by the June 9 board meeting to stay with the Fast Track schedule. Hall asked for answers to Ackerman's questions before making a decision.
LeClair favored moving forward. The sooner we move, the less it is going to cost and the sooner we can get people in there. We can scale back if necessary.
Albright stated that he had not seen the level of support for a Eugene downtown project since the Hult Center was built. The community is looking to Lane to provide some leadership in getting these types of projects moving.
3. Policy Review
A. Second Reading
1. Emergency Presidential Succession, A.060
Hall moved, seconded by LeClair, to approve the second reading of board policy A.060, Emergency Presidential Succession.
Motion passed unanimously.
POLICY NUMBER: A.060
POLICY TYPE: EXECUTIVE DIRECTIONS
POLICY TITLE: EMERGENCY PRESIDENTIAL SUCCESSION
In order to protect the board from sudden loss of presidential services, the president shall have at least one other executive familiar with board and presidential issues and processes. The president shall periodically furnish the board with the current name or names of the executive or executives familiar with the board and presidential issues and processes. In the event of a sudden loss of presidential services, the board shall appoint an acting president of the college in accordance with board policy B.050.
ADOPTED: November 9, 1998
REVISED: April 12, 2000
REVIEWED: January 14, 2004
REVISED: September 12, 2007
B. First Reading
1. Asset Protection, A.070
No changes were recommended to this policy. A second reading will be held in May.
POLICY NUMBER: A.070
POLICY TYPE: EXECUTIVE DIRECTIONS
POLICY TITLE: ASSET PROTECTION
The president shall assure that assets are protected, adequately maintained, and not placed at risk.
Accordingly, the president shall:
1. Insure against theft and casualty losses and against liability losses to board members, staff, and the organization itself in an amount similar to the average for comparable organizations.
2. Prevent uninsured personnel from access to material amounts of funds.
3. Assure that plant and equipment are not subjected to improper wear and tear or insufficient maintenance.
4. Assure that the organization, its board, or staff, are not unnecessarily exposed to claims of liability.
5. Assure that every purchase:A. includes normally prudent protection against conflict of interest; and
B. of over $100,000 for goods and services contracts, or $150,000 for public improvements contracts includes a stringent method of assuring the balance of long-term quality and cost.6. Protect intellectual property, information, and files from loss or significant damage.
7. Receive, process, or disburse funds under sufficient controls to meet the board-appointed auditor's standards.
8. Invest or hold operating capital in excess of daily requirements in accordance with ORS 294.035.
9. Not endanger the organization's public image or credibility, particularly in ways that would hinder the accomplishment of its mission.
10. Not name a building, substantial parts of buildings, or significant landscape features of Lane Community College without prior approval of the board; and, when a building has substantial support from a donor, without prior involvement of the Foundation.
ADOPTED: November 9, 1998
REVISED: April 12, 2000
REVISED: December 13, 2000
REVISED: September 10, 2003
REVISED: January 14, 2004
REVISED: July 19, 2006
2. Compensation and Benefits, A.080
No changes were recommended to this policy. A second reading will be held in May.
POLICY NUMBER: A.080
POLICY TYPE: EXECUTIVE DIRECTIONS
POLICY TITLE: COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS
With respect to employment, compensation, and benefits to employees, consultants, contract workers, and volunteers, the president shall assure fiscal integrity and public image.
Accordingly, the president shall:
1. Not change his or her own compensations and benefits.
2. Not promise permanent or guaranteed employment.
3. Establish current compensation and benefits which:A. Do not deviate materially from the professional market for the skills employed, are competitive, and are consistent with board-approved collective bargaining agreements.
B. Not create obligations over a longer period than prudent4. Not establish deferred or long-term compensation and benefits which cause any employee to lose benefits already accrued under any forgoing plan.
ADOPTED: November 9, 1998
REVISED: April 12, 2000
REVIEWED: May 12, 2004
REVIEWED: June 11, 2008
3. Communication and Support to the Board, A.090
No changes were recommended to this policy. A second reading will be held in May.
POLICY NUMBER: A.090
POLICY TYPE: EXECUTIVE DIRECTIONS
POLICY TITLE: COMMUNICATION AND SUPPORT TO THE BOARD
The president shall assure that the board is informed and supported in its work.
Accordingly, the president shall:
1. Submit monitoring data required by the board (see policy on Monitoring Presidential Performance) in a timely, accurate, and understandable fashion, directly addressing provisions of board policies being monitored.
2. Keep the board aware of relevant trends, anticipated adverse media coverage, or material external and internal changes, particularly changes in the assumptions upon which any board policy has previously been established.
3. Advise the board if, in the president's opinion, the board is not in compliance with its own policies on Governance Process and Board-President Linkage, particularly in the case of board behavior that is detrimental to the working relationship between the board and the president.
4. Marshal for the board as many staff and external points of view, issues, and options as needed for fully informed board choices
5. Provide a mechanism for official board, officer, or committee communications.
6. Deal with the board as a whole except when (a) fulfilling individual requests or providing information; or (b) responding to officers or committees duly charged by the board.
7. Report in a timely manner known noncompliance with any policy of the board.
8. Supply for the consent agenda all items delegated to the president yet required by law or contract to be board-approved, along with the monitoring assurance pertaining thereto.
9. Provide semiannual budget planning information.
ADOPTED: November 9, 1998
REVISED: April 12, 2000
REVISED: January 14, 2004
REVIEWED: February 13, 2008
4. Discussion/Action Items
A. Transportation Fee
Morgan explained that the proposed increase is to cover recent Lane Transit District adjustments.
McCown moved to approve an increase in the transportation fee to $27 effective Fall Term 2010. LeClair seconded.
Motion passed unanimously.
B. ASLCC Ballot Measure
Johnston moved that the board approve the proposed ASLCC ballot measure language as a non-binding recommendation for inclusion in the May 2010 election. Stiles seconded. The ballot measure proposes that the student activity fee be increased $1 to add to the support of The Torch.
Motion passed unanimously.
C. Tuition Rebate
Spilde reminded the board that the college had set aside funds and placed them in reserve this year to be used if the Community College Support Fund was reduced below its initial appropriation. If reserve funds remained on March 31, 2010, some of these funds would be used to provide a partial rebate of the tuition surcharge to students. The amount of reserve funds that can be used for this purpose is equivalent to a tuition rebate of $1 for spring term, for a total of $330,000. If this amount was awarded to individual students registered for spring term, they would each receive approximately $36.
ASLCC is proposing that, instead of giving each student a minimal rebate, these funds be used in ways that will give a long term benefit to students. ASLCC recommended using the funds to reduce the cost of textbooks for students and provide more customized course materials for classes, improve accessibility and increase materials and supplies for learning resource centers, and apply any remaining funds to offset costs for the construction of the Longhouse. Spilde stated that the college would need to flesh out the proposals and work on implementation costs of each item.
Board members felt that this was a creative proposal and were glad to see the students take part in the process. They looked forward to seeing more details as options are pursued.
LeClair left the meeting at 7:45 p.m.
The board took a ten-minute break at 7:50 p.m.
D. Budget Development
Spilde informed the board of the upcoming budget committee meeting on April 28, at which time the proposed budget document will be distributed.
5. Accountability/Reports
A. Benchmarks
Craig Taylor, Institutional Research, Assessment, and Planning director, responded to questions and comments on the following Benchmarks:
• Employees of Color as a Percent of All Employees
B. Facilities Update
An update on the status of bond projects was presented to the board.
C. Emergency Presidential Succession
Spilde answered questions and responded to comments regarding the Emergency Presidential Succession monitoring report.
6. Reports
ASLCC President James Manning reported that officer elections will take place in May and it is looking like it will be a good race this year. Manning attended the open educational resource meeting and is very excited about the project. He attended the Oregon Student Association (OSA) board meeting in which discussions were held regarding the Oregon Opportunity Grant, tuition, and funding priorities. He thanked Spilde for her help in attending the 35th anniversary of OSA. One issue that has recently been brought to his attention is the need for representation of students at satellite campuses. Approximately 170 students have been registered to vote in the voter registration drive. Manning introduced Philip Shiltz, the new OSA campus organizer. He is excited for the opportunity to attend the American Association of Community Colleges convention in Seattle this weekend.
LCCEF President Bob Baldwin reported on classified staff poverty levels. In many classified positions, families qualify for food stamps and home energy assistance. A significant portion of the working folks at Lane Community College are scratching to get by each month even though they work full time.
LCCEA President Jim Salt expressed regret that the American Graduation Initiative did not go through. Funding is not being provided to support completion goals. There is an educator jobs bill pending, but Salt hopes that the money is shared proportionately with K-12 and Higher Education. He attended the National Education Association Conference in San Jose, which addressed a number of issues that he will be engaging in with his colleagues here at Lane. The Association is processing a number of grievances and is trying to do so in a productive way and hopes to resolve them soon. The keyless entry project is the most common complaint, but it seems to be working out satisfactorily. The union is working with administration on the pilot faculty chair project in Language, Literature, and Communication. The idea is to develop a model that would work for other departments as well. Salt had some bargaining concerns which were previously shared with Spilde, and he hoped that the board had an opportunity to discuss them. An agreement had been reached to use the reserve fund to buy back a portion of the furlough days taken by faculty and management this year. This is the third year that faculty have reduced their work year and salary. This is one of the issues to be resolved in bargaining; an agreement needs to be reached regarding work days returned to the contract and compensation for those.
Vice President Sonya Christian shared Manning's enthusiasm for open educational resources. When faculty can choose this method instead of textbooks, it will bring down costs and make education more affordable for students. Former ASLCC president Jeremy Riel is helping with a social networking project and is doing a wonderful job. Lane will soon be hiring its first international program director. Candidates will be invited to campus in the next few weeks. Christian invited board members to the International Day to be held on May 5 in the cafeteria. Christian has been involved in discussion regarding the statewide bachelor of applied science initiative, which would provide a pathway for association of applied science degrees to bachelor of science degrees. Ideally, students will be able to stay at Lane and complete a bachelor's degree using online capabilities. Christian is working on an online learning report which identify our online students and their success rate comparisons.
Chief Financial Officer Greg Morgan reported that Lane received the Government Finance Officers Association award for finance for the fifth year in a row. KLCC received 17 Oregon Associated Press awards—10 first place, 5 second place, and 2 third place awards.
Board Reports
McCown congratulated Lane's student scholars and welcomed new Oregon Student Association Campus Organizer Philip Shiltz.
Stiles attended the advisory committee meeting for the Florence Center. She met with Michele Erickson today regarding the kickoff for the Opening Doors campaign for Florence.
Johnston welcomed Philip Shiltz. She reminded board members to let Donna know if they will be attending graduation. Over spring break, Johnston had the rewarding experience of reviewing scholarship applications. She commended the Foundation for getting volunteers to help award scholarships to our students.
7. Date, Place, and Proposed Agenda Items for the Next Regular Meeting
Wednesday, May 12, 6:30 pm, Boardroom, Building 3, Lane Community College
8. The board meeting unanimously adjourned at 8:40 p.m.
| _____________________________ | _____________________________ |
|
| Mary Spilde, President/District Clerk | Pat Albright, Board Chair |
