MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE
BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT
OF NEWTON-McDONALD COUNTIES, MISSOURI
October 23, 2017
There being a quorum present, the meeting of the Crowder College Board of Trustees of the Community College District of Newton-McDonald Counties, Missouri, was called to order by Board Chair, Mr. Andy Wood, at 9:59 a.m. on Monday, October 23, 2017, in the Buffalo Room of Tatum Hall at Crowder College McDonald County.
Members present for the meeting were:
Andy Wood, Chair
Diane Andris, Member
Rick Butler, Vice Chair
Al Chapman, Secretary
Larry Vancuren, Member
Also attending the meeting were:
Jennifer Methvin, President
Martha Nimmo, Administrative Assistant to the President
Cindy Brown, Director of Public Information
Glenn Coltharp, Vice President of Academic Affairs
Christina Cullers, Controller
Chett Daniel, Director of Institutional Research
Curtis Daniels, Division Chair, CTE/Computer Networking Instructor
JP Dickey, Director of Admissions
Aaron Divine, Director, McDonald County Instructional Center
Kristi Enloe, Accounts Payable Accountant
Mark Fitch, Director, Webb City Instructional Center
Mickie Mahan, Associate Vice President of Information Services
Adam Morris, Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs
Monte Padgett, Director, Nevada Instructional Center
Michelle Paul, Director of Human Resources
Amy Rand, Vice President of Finance
Angela Seymour, Director, Cassville Instructional Center
Tif Slinkard, Vice President of Student Affairs
Melissa Smith, Director, Concurrent Enrollment and Regional Centers
Jorge Zapata, Agriculture Division Chair/Instructor
A few moments of silence were observed to prepare for the meeting. There were no new employees introduced. Mr. Vancuren was wished a ‘happy birthday’ for his birthday that is October 24th.
Minutes of Previous Meeting
Minutes of the September 25th regular meeting and closed session were approved as written and previously distributed.
Financial Reports
Mr. Wood noted the monthly cash flow statement and asked about ‘Bank Mobile Transfers’. Ms. Rand explained this was previously ‘Higher One’ and is how we distribute refunds to students. Mr. Wood said two sets of regular checks were written for September 13-30 and October 1-6, 2017, and several questions were answered prior to the meeting. Without further discussion, checks in the amount of $868,415.33 were approved ON MOTION by Mrs. Andris, seconded by Dr. Chapman and unanimously carried. The rest of the current fund balances, fund balances, and agency accounts were reviewed. Mr. Wood said they reflect that we are down in enrollment. Dr. Methvin said we will be down in state funding as well. Dr. Methvin said Transport Training is down slightly due to the recent hurricanes that took place in areas where recruitment takes place, but they have come back up to where they were previously. Customized Training and the rest of the centers were reviewed. Mr. Wood said it appears where we are down in revenue, we are also down in expenses. Dr. Methvin agreed saying our employees are very good budget managers.
Personnel
Dr. Methvin recommended approval of the retirement of Mark Kalmbach, Director of Physical Plant, who has been a permanent employee for 29 years and was a Work Study student prior to that. She noted several honors he has received over the years saying he started in security which gave him great expertise for the position. A MOTION to approve his retirement with thanks for his service was made by Mrs. Andris, seconded by Mr. Vancuren and unanimously carried.
Dr. Methvin recommended approval of the resignation of Jordan Burton, Assistant Women’s Basketball Coach. A MOTION to approve his resignation was made by Mr. Vancuren, seconded by Mr. Butler and unanimously carried.
Dr. Methvin recommended approval of the following five employments: David Headrick, Security Officer, Webb City; Delpha Crain, Student Support Services Director, Nevada; Gary Lowe, Jr., Interim Assistant Basketball Coach; Paige Lamb, Behavior Technician, Maddox Hill Behavior Support Center, and Seth King, Talent Search Advisor. A MOTION to approve all five employments was made by Mr. Butler, seconded by Dr. Chapman and unanimously approved.
Agriculture Division Program Review
Mr. Zapata began by telling a fish story about a boy who threw back the big fish because they were too big for his momma’s skillet. He said we tell students that we have all sizes of skillets, and we give them the skills to handle any big fish opportunities that come along. He said we have premier facilities in Agriculture with a large farm, a working meat lab, a remodeled greenhouse, the Roughrider Arena, and the Williams Ag Building. He said all levels of K-12 students have visited the facilities, and some Carl Junction students who came as kindergartners are now sophomores so we will be tracking their data. Mr. Zapata said agriculture faculty are the highlight of the program for their dedication, hard work and real-life experience in their fields. He said adjunct faculty increased slightly this fall due to the impending retirement of Jay Wilkins. He reported we serve over two hundred students per year, and student enrollment has increased steadily over the past three years as we bring in students statewide. Mr. Zapata said the Vet Tech program is a highlight of Crowder College with faculty who are not only great educators, but also fantastic advisors and mentors. They were recently recognized as a Top 30 Vet Tech Program in the nation. He said agriculture students are the most active students on campus having already served as both leaders in FFA and on farms for many years. He said students serve in the Post-Secondary Agriculture Students (PAS) organization at the state and national level, and the current and former Missouri PAS Presidents and former National PAS President have been Crowder Aggies over the past three years. He said we compete very well at the state level, and as a result, 28 students went to the national competition, returning with 48 different recognitions. Mr. Zapata said students also compete in the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture (NACTA) contests. Mr. Zapata said we do livestock judging as well, but not as much as other colleges because we prefer to provide travel experiences for larger numbers of students. Their most recent trip was to Texas where students received first-hand knowledge of production agriculture by visiting thirty different locations to learn about wool, cotton, fruit, cattle, goat, sheep and fish. He said other trips over the past few years include Hawaii, Peru, Alaska, Florida and Maine. Mr. Zapata said students are only able to afford these trips through outstanding and consistent fundraising, and the result is students with a much broader world view who are able to apply their knowledge both in and out of the classroom. He said, “I am blessed to work in the Agriculture Division where the faculty work hard and care so much for the students.”
Mr. Wood said it seems like the integration from high school to Crowder is seamless for agriculture students. Mr. Zapata said we have great relationships with high school agriculture teachers because over half of them in our area are Crowder graduates who love sending students to us. He said Aggie Day is one of the largest FFA contests in the state in which over 2,000 high school FFA students come to compete. He said it is an amazing process to get them finished by 1:00 p.m. and also a great networking time with high school teachers. Mr. Wood asked about data on how well students do after transferring. Dr. Methvin said it is difficult to get the overall data broken down by degree, but we know they do well as the number one poultry student at the University of Arkansas is a Crowder graduate. Mr. Zapata said about 75% of our students are on an AA track to transfer, and we have about an 80% retention rate from semester to semester which is due to the outstanding relationship between our faculty and students. He said Crowder students are recruited to four-year schools every year including to MSU who we partner with, U. of Arkansas, Northwest, MU, and OSU. Dr. Methvin said students see that they get immersed in agriculture from the moment they come to Crowder while four-year schools often do not start that until their junior year. When asked about the future of the Crowder farm, Mr. Zapata said we have a large amount of land, and several ideas are being considered including providing some undergraduate research opportunities for students. The Board thanked him for the great report.
Dual Credit/Dual Enrollment Review
Mrs. Melissa Smith reported she has been doing dual credit and dual enrollment at Crowder for the past thirteen years, and it is a huge passion for her. She said we have had steady growth, and we have added a full-time Coordinator, Kayela Horn, and there is also a part-time Administrative Assistant. She said Dual Credit classes are college courses taught in the high school with an approved instructor who becomes an adjunct instructor for Crowder while teaching in the high school. Those courses are accepted for both high school and college credit. Mrs. Smith said Dual Enrollment takes place when a high school student takes a college class either online or on a Crowder campus. She said many high schools accept those classes for high school credit, but they do not have to. She said we are now referring to dual enrollment as concurrent enrollment which is more the national trend. Mrs. Smith said although there are no full-time faculty, there are a large number of adjunct faculty. She said that number dropped this fall due to the new Higher Learning Commission (HLC) requirement in which all adjunct faculty must have a master’s degree in the subject area or a master’s degree with eighteen graduate hours in the subject area. Mrs. Smith said the high schools who partner with Crowder for their students to complete an associate’s degree while in high school are: Aurora, Carl Junction, Carthage, Joplin, Liberal, Lockwood, Neosho, McDonald County, and Pierce City. The data showed 22 total high school students completed AA degrees in May 2017. She said a couple of those students who got AA degrees in business and agriculture were home schooled students who could take college classes during the day. The other students received a General Studies degree which is easier to accomplish because of the core focus. Mrs. Smith said Certificate completions for high school students are rising as well with 17 this year, mostly through CTEC although one was through the Scott Tech Center in Monett. High schools who partner with Crowder to allow students to complete a Certificate are: Aurora, Diamond, East Newton, Neosho, Seneca, and McDonald County. Mrs. Smith showed data for Dual Credit enrollment saying this is the first year that we had a decline due mainly to losing 18 teachers which impacted 34 course sections. She said although more high school teachers are realizing the benefits of teaching Dual Credit, we are trying to replace those lost classes with Dual Enrollment/online classes. Mrs. Smith showed data for Dual Enrollment showing those taking dedicated online courses saying we are trying to partner with smaller schools to provide their students with the same opportunity as those in the larger schools. She noted the total number of Dual Enrollment students and credit hours as well. Mrs. Smith said we are reaching out to home school students and will be hosting a home school fair to provide information to home school networks that often can only be contacted by word of mouth. She said Crowder provides a lot of what home school students want including smaller class sizes, a friendly atmosphere and safe campuses. She said we also want to increase the number of students in our technical classes. Mrs. Smith said although Dual Credit classes only cost $60 per credit hour, it is very competitive. We are able to serve our nine county region, but other institutions are able to as well. She said high schools appreciate that we have a ‘one-stop’ program with all contact handled directly by our department. She said only two Foundation scholarships are provided per semester for Dual Credit students, and we are always looking for ways to make it more cost effective. Mrs. Branscum said the Foundation would like to develop scholarships in which the high school’s foundation would match Crowder Foundation funds to assist these students. Mrs. Andris asked if we are able to add more high schools. Mrs. Smith said the decision is up to the school’s administration who decide whether they are willing to partner with us. She said students can take college classes without high school approval, but it is up to the school whether the college course counts toward high school credit. Discussion took place regarding why high schools would not see the value in allowing it. Mrs. Smith stressed that statistics show students who take a college class while in high school are both more likely to attend college and to graduate from college than those who do not. The Board thanked her for the informative report.
President’s Update
Dr. Methvin pointed out several Sentry articles and one reflected the success of the Debate program which will be hosting a December tournament. She said tonight is ‘Celebrate MARET’ at 6:00 p.m. in which Art Boyt will be the Pioneer Inductee into the Alternative Energy Hall of Fame. Other upcoming events include soccer games, the Dracula theatre production, and the Baseball Alumni weekend. She said the first ever Nevada fundraising event was held recently in which about two hundred people attended. Mrs. Branscum said the event was successful with about 25 business sponsorships, and the funds raised will stay at the Nevada campus. Monte Padgett said it was a great night, and there are two Foundation board members from Nevada who also serve as adjunct faculty.
Dr. Methvin announced Crowder College received the Title III grant that has been anxiously awaited and desperately needed. She provided the Abstract saying Connectwas designed to align with the Strategic Plan to specifically improve graduation and retention rates. She said the grant focuses on three areas: 1) improving course completions in general education classes through developing cohorts and compressed formats, 2) expanding four Career and Technical Education programs with compressed, accelerated formats, even adding a dedicated advisor position in the third year, and 3) building infrastructure for wireless access and classroom technology. Dr. Methvin said we are behind in instructional technology as students expect and demand wireless capability, and the first year will be very busy in this area. She said five employee positions will be funded by the grant including Kathy Parker-Collier as Grant Manager, and an Administrative Assistant position; a new Curriculum Specialist and new IT Computer Technician are currently posted, and a CTE Advisor Specialist will be added in year three. Dr. Methvin said the grant is also modeled after the national Career Pathways model which suggests that students have too many course options within a program of study and emphasizes that students must be more engaged than traditional lecture classes provide in order to be retained. She said year one will include a lot of preparation on improving our infrastructure while year two will begin piloting the changes. The Title III grant will provide almost $500,000 per year for the next five years.
Closed Session and Adjournment
Dr. Methvin said the next regular board meeting is set for December 4th in the Wright Conference Center on the Neosho campus (instead of the Fireside Room). Mr. Wood called for a motion to go into Closed Session. At 11:20 a.m., a MOTION to go into closed session to discuss potential legal actions, causes of action or litigation; purchase or sale of real estate; and/or hiring, firing, disciplining or promoting of employees; all in accordance with Section 610.021 RSMo was made by Mr. Vancuren, seconded by Dr. Chapman and passed unanimously on the following roll call vote:
Andris: Yes Chapman: Yes Wood: Yes
Butler: Yes Vancuren: Yes
During the Closed Session, discussion took place with Dr. Methvin. No Board action or votes were taken. At 11:50 a.m., a MOTION to adjourn was made by Dr. Chapman, seconded by Rick Butler and unanimously carried on the following roll call vote:
Chapman: Yes Butler: Yes Wood: Yes
Vancuren: Yes Andris: Yes
The meeting was adjourned to lunch.
No comments:
Post a Comment