Board Report - February 2008

Later this evening we will be discussing the latest budget projections for 2009. You may have seen that the revenue forecast came out last week. It is down about $183 million. The good news is that there will not be cuts right now, and that Oregon is not perceived to be in a recession. The state’s ending fund balance is large enough to absorb this reduction; state agencies will see a 2.5 percent materials and services reduction, and the funding for negotiated increases will be held back until after the June forecast. If there is a recession, it is expected to be short and shallow. The 2009-2011 biennium forecast is still showing a substantial increase over the current biennium.

A Tuition Waiver Bill (SB1066) was introduced to provide waivers for dependents of those killed in action or disabled. Most community colleges already have these waivers in place, so we were taken out of the bill, and it would mandate only that we report what we’re doing.

The biggest issue for community colleges in the special session was construction for Clatsop Community College. They were our highest priority last time but were removed from the list. There is more hesitancy building against taking on any further obligations, so it will be a huge uphill battle. Many of the committees are using the session to hear from national experts on a variety of issues. David Longanecker from The Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education and Dennis Jones from The National Center for Higher Education Management Systems presented to the education policy committee today, and they will be meeting with the Commission on Quality of Post Secondary Education tomorrow. On Friday I will be appearing before the State Board of Education to advocate for $900,000 from the Strategic Investment Fund. My argument is that we have been disadvantaged for years by the funding distribution formula, which contributed to our enrollment decline. While we are waiting for equity to be fully implemented, we need a bridge to maintain our current relative position. If awarded, the funds would not close our budget gap for next year because they will need to be spent on specific courses and services. However, increasing the FTE should position us better for the following year. I am distributing a copy of the request. If you have any questions, please let me know.

Yesterday I returned from the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) National Legislative Seminar. We heard from Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings, and I met with Assistant Secretary Troy Justesen and Deputy Assistant Secretary Pat Stanley, who serves as the community college liaison. I will pass around the legislative briefing so that you can see what the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) and ACCT are doing on our behalf. The AACC Executive Committee met, and we had a joint meeting with the ACCT Executive Committee.

Congressman David Wu will be visiting campus next Tuesday. He is co-chair of the Community College Caucus and has pledged to visit every college in the state.

Over 1,100 prospective Lane students and their families braved the winter cold on January 23rd to participate in Lane Preview Night, which is our annual campus-based high school recruiting event. Lane faculty and staff presented our guests with a robust Academic and Student Services Fair, which provided them with meaningful conversations on our programs and services. Three hundred thirty-five students entered their names and contact information into one of the 35 bright pink laptops to be entered in a raffle to win Ipods and tuition waivers and as a result received an e-mail that night thanking them for attending and then later received information packets about Lane. Forty-nine students used laptops to apply for credit admissions “on the spot” as well. The families then had the opportunity to attend breakout session focusing on topics such as Financial Aid, a student panel, one on guiding families to help students make the transition to college, a Selco session on credit and one entirely in Spanish. KDUK radio ran a remote feed from Lane throughout the event, and in addition to running spots advertised that night, provided five students and me with an opportunity to promote Lane. Great appreciation is extended to Selco Community Credit Union, who was title sponsor for the event, and whose financial support allows us to provide an outstanding experience for our area high school students and their families. Thanks to Tracy Simms and Helen Garrett for their leadership as well as all the faculty and staff who attended.

We are continuing with donor visits and cultivation events for the Opening Doors Campaign. Funk/Levis continues to move forward with establishing the Lane League – community members who will support the college and help spread our message.

The annual chamber and Lane Council of Governments (LCOG) dinners were attended by board members and staff. The Springfield event was held in the Center for Meeting and Learning, and they did a fabulous job. Lane was featured positively – though briefly – at all events. Former Lane board member Michael Dubick received the elected official of the year award at the LCOG event.

The Inaugural Peace and Democracy conference will be held February 29 and March 1. A great program has been scheduled. You can check it out on our website.

I want to mention the passing of Cliff Guse, faculty member in Aviation Maintenance. He was killed in a car crash last week.