Board Report – June 2007

Report from Lane Community College President Mary Spilde
To the Lane Community College Board of Education
June 28, 2007

The Governor signed the Education bills today. Community Colleges received a total of $511 million, with $500 million going to the support fund. While this is a step in the right direction, I must note that the increase to the support fund came from other parts of the community college and workforce budget. The Governor had proposed $508 million total for community colleges and workforce development, and the final number was $511, so we only received an additional $3 million of the $150 million in revenue. In terms of capital, community colleges received $40 million reduced from the Governor’s budget of $87 million. The committee generally funded the priority list with the exception that they omitted the number one proposal, Clatsop Community College, and they brought up Oregon Coast Community College—both for political reasons—and they reduced most of the projects. Our project was reduced from $7.5 million to $6.75 million. Obtaining the capital funds was a huge struggle, so I am very pleased. The Governor’s Office, specifically, James Sager is to be commended for his persistence in making this happen. The Shared Responsibility Model for financial aid was significantly increased, which will benefit our students. Finally, please thank our local legislators for their work on our behalf. Both Representatives Nathanson and Barnhart spoke eloquently on the House Floor about the needs of Lane Community College; Representative Holvey voted against the budget because it was not $529 million.

Related to the legislative session, there is an increasing focus on performance measures. At a future meeting, we will share these measures and how Lane is progressing. Also, from the $500 million support fund, the State Board of Education has set aside one percent for the Commissioner’s Strategic Fund. This money is used for a couple of purposes: statewide/system initiatives and adverse impact. I am considering an application to this fund for some resources due to our budget situation with the rationale that until recently we have been negatively impacted by the distribution formula.

Now to some more examples of good work:

I’d like to introduce Tamara Pinkas, Lane’s representative to the League for Innovation in Community Colleges. Tamara will inform you that two of our students were recognized in the League for Innovation Literature Competition. This is a national competition, and therefore we were pleased to that Katina Harvick won first place for her one-Act Play: A Whole New Life. Sarah Johnston won second place for her essay, “Direction in the Dust.” Lane students have placed in the competition thirteen times in the last nine years. We will be holding the literary competition here at Lane in 2009.

The Dental Hygiene Graduating Class of 2007 had a one hundred percent pass rate on their National Dental Hygiene Board Exam

The Health Careers Division has had the largest applicant pools ever in the following programs:

• MOA -- 36 applications to date with a deadline of July 27, will take 45 students
• Respiratory Therapy -- 43 applications, will take 20 students
• Dental Assisting -- 42 applications, will take 28 students
• Dental Hygiene -- 77 applications for 20 slots
• Nursing -- 379 applications for 81 slots
• EMT Basic Spring Summer -- 32 applications for 24 slots
• EMT Basic Fall Term -- 42 to date with a deadline of August 3, will take 48 students

The good news is that we have lots of applicants; the bad news is that we are unable to meet the demand.

The Community College Moment 2007 issue “Technology & Society” was released at the May 4 Spring Conference. It was followed by a reading at the Lane Art Gallery on the afternoon of May 17. The issue was received very positively, and even described as a bright spot in a difficult time. Co- editors Steve McQuiddy and Ken Zimmerman did a great job this year. They have submitted a comprehensive report to me, but some of the highlights include:

• In-house printing at Lane Printing and Graphics
• Subscription campaign has begun to League for Innovation colleges and libraries
• 2006 Sustainability Moment used in Lane classrooms
• Discussions with Faculty Professional Development and Lane staff concerning ongoing lecture series

Editors Steve McQuiddy and Ken Zimmerman report strong interest in submissions for the 2008 Democracy issue. They are to be commended for the work.

You will recall that last month you agreed to reduce international tuition for the summer. I do not have a full report, only anecdotal information at this point, but I do want to pass on a couple of comments from staff:
“I just counted 27 U of O students coming here for part-time summer classes that I have helped over the past week or two!”

“We are definitely getting U of O students - specifically from their AEIS program. Just yesterday I got 3 students cleared for WR 121. Two of them are considering summer, and one is planning on coming in the Fall for six credits. This is good.”

As the term goes on, we will assess more quantitatively whether this change made a difference.

The Florence Center held a grand reopening of Siltcoos Station last week. We had to close the site down a couple of years ago. Last year, Bob Purscelley asked me to go visit the station to consider the possibility of remodeling and reopening it. Bob had a vision, and the place has been transformed. We already have $6,000 worth of bookings for this summer.

On April 31, 2007, we hosted a focused visit from a NWCCU evaluator to review the two recommendations we received in 2004. We submitted a report, and the evaluator, Dr. Gary Wixom, met with a number of faculty and staff. I have a copy of the evaluator’s report to the Commission, but I wanted to mention the three commendations that we received.

1. The institution is commended for aggressively responding to the recommendation of the 2004 accreditation report to ensure that the outcomes assessment process was consistently applied across campus. Faculty and staff have been fully engaged in the process.
2. The institution is commended for successfully implementing a “cultural shift” across campus regarding the assessment process. This approach has not only engaged the instructional programs but the student services area as well.
   
3. The institution is commended for establishing an effective approach to map the identified general education core abilities with the various disciplines and instructional programs across campus.
   We did not receive any recommendations but were asked to sustain the work that we have so ably begun. I want to thank the Assessment Team led by Mary Brau and Sarah Ulerick and Sonya Christian for her leadership of the overall process.

Finally, we have some people leaving the board this evening and we want to recognize their service to the college and the community:

Mike Rose has been a board member for eight years – 1999-2007. He was chair of the board in 2003-04, and vice chair in 2005-06. In 1998, he retired from Lane faculty after 29 years. He was a board member of Oregon Community College Association (OCCA), a member of the Governmental Relations Action Team, and is a member (with spouse Nancy Oft-Rose) of the Lane Foundation Lifetime Giving Society, for donors whose cumulative lifetime gifts total $10,000 or more. Mike and Nancy are part-time residents of Kamuela, Hawaii.

Larry Romine has been a board member for nine years – 1997-2001 and 2002-2007. He was vice chair in 1999-2000. Larry was an education reporter for the Register Guard when Lane was founded in 1964; he helped Bert Dotson count the ballots on October 19, 1964. Bert was the assistant to the president (1965-82), and Larry helped him with information and publications for the first three years. Larry became Lane’s first Director of Information and Publications when the department was formed in 1968. He held that position through name changes in 1975 to College/Community Relations, in 1984 to Public Relations/Foundation, and in 1986 to Institutional Advancement, a total of 26 years. Romine retired in 1992. In 1998, he wrote The Parnell Years - a history of the founding and early years of Lane. He holds a doctorate in educational policy and management from the University of Oregon, and he is a Foundation donor.

Jay Bozievich was appointed to the board on June 11, 2003. He was board chair in 2006-07, and is a Foundation donor. Jay has been tenacious in lobbying the legislature for community college support.