MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE
BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT
OF NEWTON-McDONALD COUNTIES, MISSOURI
March 26, 2018
Members present for the meeting were:
Rick Butler, Vice Chair
Diane Andris, Member
Vickie Barnes, Treasurer
Al Chapman, Secretary
Larry Vancuren, Member
Also attending the meeting were:
Jennifer Methvin, President
Martha Nimmo, Administrative Assistant to the President
Peter Broglio, Life Sciences & Physical Education Division Chair
Cindy Brown, Director of Public Information
Glenn Coltharp, Vice President of Academic Affairs
Christina Cullers, Controller
Jim Cullumber, Director of Institutional Advancement
Chett Daniel, Director of Institutional Research
Eric Deatherage, Lee Library Director
JP Dickey, Director of Admissions
Aaron Divine, Director, McDonald County Instructional Center
Kristi Enloe, Accounts Payable Accountant
Mark Fitch, Director, Webb City Instructional Center
Michelle Paul, Director of Human Resources
Jeri Phillips, Director, Crowder Training and Development Solutions
Amy Rand, Vice President of Finance
Angela Seymour, Director, Cassville Instructional Center
Tif Slinkard, Vice President of Student Affairs
Robin Wolven, Access Librarian
Ines Kagubare, The Joplin Globe
A few moments of silence were observed to prepare for the meeting. New employee Jim Cullumber, Director of Institutional Advancement, was introduced and welcomed.
Minutes of Previous Meetings
Minutes of the February 26 regular meeting and the March 20 Work Session were approved as written and previously distributed.
Financial Reports
Mr. Butler noted the monthly cash flow statement with the anticipated bank balance as of March 31, 2018. He said the report includes checks written for February 12-28 and March 1-9, and he asked for any questions. Dr. Methvin responded to questions saying there are several items this month for repair work done at the various campuses. Without further discussion, checks in the amount of $ 905.455.53 were approved ON MOTION by Mrs. Andris, seconded by Mr. Vancuren, and unanimously carried.
Mr. Butler reviewed the rest of the fund balances and agency accounts. He noted the positive balance in all of the agency funds, and the area school budgets are doing well. Dr. Methvin noted Transport Training is not doing as well as last year which is understandable due to how exceptional they did last year and due to the licensing delay that took place for a couple of months this year. The rest of the centers were noted and are doing well. Dr. Methvin said McDonald County is ahead of what was projected for their growth. She said there has been savings in adjunct faculty costs partially due to hiring a full-time science instructor who splits their time between McDonald County and Cassville. Mr. Divine said efforts have been made to maximize adjunct instructors, and we hope to break even by the end of this year. Dr. Methvin thanked the center directors and division chairs who have worked to be more efficient with adjunct sections. When asked, Ms. Rand explained the use of state bond funds that we are using for the Neosho and Nevada locations and will be spent soon. She explained how over time, outstanding student debt is moved to an uncollectable account. Dr. Methvin thanked Ms. Rand saying there have been a lot of policy changes and work done to reduce the amount of unpaid student accounts. Mr. Butler said the breakdown of revenue and expenditure accounts are doing well for the last quarter of the fiscal year, and he noted the monthly graphs.
Closure of Monett Regional Center
Mr. Butler said there has been much discussion on this item, and this is the second reading for Board action. Dr. Methvin said we had hoped to be able to build enrollment in Monett, but as we look at state funding that will potentially include an additional ten percent cut on top of the ten percent cut from last year, we must narrow our focus and put resources into other areas. She said we have not been able to give the site what it needs in personnel and advertising, and we do not see that changing over the next few budget cycles. Dr. Methvin emphasized that we have a full campus nearby at Cassville, and as we did in Mount Vernon and Carthage, we will meet with Monett students individually to help them continue on their path toward graduation. She said most of these students are already co-enrolled, taking classes at other sites or online, and we hope to continue serving their educational needs. Dr. Methvin said this is not a move we want to make, but we do not have the resources to continue in this effort. A MOTION was made by Mrs. Barnes to discontinue instruction at the Scott Regional Technology Center in Monett at the conclusion of the spring semester, closing Crowder’s operations there by May 31, 2018; the motion was seconded by Dr. Chapman and unanimously carried.
Naming of the Herb and Barbara Schade Rare Books Archive
Mr. Butler said this is also a second reading for Board action for naming of the Herb and Barbara Schade Rare Books Archive. Dr. Methvin invited Eric Deatherage and Robin Wolven to speak saying the Schades were unable to attend today. Mr. Deatherage said the financial support of the Schades is important, but by no means the primary reason for this naming. He said Barbara Schade has been instrumental in building the Library through her many years of service here and the amount of support and energy they have put into the Library over the years has been significant in providing outstanding service to our students. He said it is a debt that we can never repay, but this is a step in acknowledging and thanking them for their amazing support and service. Mr. Butler said it is very appropriate as they have been long time members of the Crowder family, and we appreciate their contributions in all forms. Dr. Methvin said they have been instrumental in helping to build the foundational Crowder College culture through their years in both the Library and in academics. Without further discussion, a MOTION to approve naming of the Herb and Barbara Schade Rare Books Archive was made by Mrs. Andris, seconded by Mrs. Barnes and unanimously carried. When asked, Mrs. Wolven said there are several special signature editions included in the Rare Books Archive, and we are continuing to discover more over time. She said students cannot check out books in the Archive, but they can view books there while under staff supervision and photos may be taken if needed. She explained the special care that is taken with books that are designated as ‘rare books’. Dr. Chapman asked about outside research requests for educational or historical purposes. Mrs. Wolven said currently, the items there are only available for Crowder students. Mr. Deatherage said there have not been those requests at this time, but we hope to build that service and clientele over time as the community learns what we have available.
Personnel
Dr. Methvin recommended approval of the resignation of Mark Shryock, English Language Instructor. Mr. Butler thanked him for his great service since 2014. A MOTION to accept his resignation was made by Dr. Chapman, seconded by Mrs. Andris and unanimously carried.
Dr. Methvin recommended approval of the following three employments: G. David Schieffler, History Instructor; David Healy, Web Programmar/Analyst, and Rodolfo Parra, Assistant Director of Campus Life. She noted that David Healy and Rodolfo Parra are current employees moving into different positions. A MOTION to accept all three employments as requested was made by Mr. Vancuren, seconded by Mrs. Barnes and unanimously carried.
New Programs/Curriculum Review
Dr. Coltharp said every year at this time we review what new programs are recommended by the Curriculum Committee for the coming academic year, and due to work on the Core 42 curriculum, we only have two programs to discuss this year. He reviewed the differences between AA and AAS degrees saying a few years ago we began starting AAS students in their degree program courses instead of in general education courses. Soon after that, certificates were developed that could be completed leading students directly into the workforce or students could continue on to complete the general education courses for the AAS degree. He said many times students return to complete the AAS in order to move into more managerial positions. Dr. Coltharp said this year we have broken the Welding Certificate program into an additional Plate Certificate making three different Certificates leading to the AAS Welding Option. He said the additional Certificate is due to student need, and these options will be provided the same at both Neosho and the Joplin Training Center. Dr. Coltharp said the second item for approval is a Spanish Certificate. He said we have seen the need for this Certificate that will tie into other degrees, similar to a minor degree, so that individuals can gain some fluency in Spanish while in their major degree area. He said typical degrees that would benefit from the Spanish Certificate would be nursing or healthcare, business or teacher education. He said we hope to begin offering both of these Certificates in the Fall 2018 semester. Dr. Coltharp said individuals could get just the Spanish Certificate if that is all they desire, but most students will likely do it along with another degree major. Without further discussion, a MOTION to approve both Certificates as requested was made by Dr. Chapman, seconded by Mr. Vancuren and unanimously carried.
Missouri Core 42 Report
Dr. Coltharp reported we have been working with the Missouri Department of Higher Education on the transfer core curriculum (Missouri Core 42) which was mandated by the legislature in which the Department had one year to develop a transfer curriculum so that a student could transfer from a community college to any four year university in the state and have everything transfer. He said we already had articulation agreements with the universities that most of our students transfer to, and most colleges have good transfer agreements statewide. Dr. Coltharp said we had several of our faculty involved with statewide groups in developing the content areas and competencies for some of these specific classes. He said every higher education institution has had a 42 credit hour block of general education courses, but how each institution breaks down those 42 hours was different. We had required two hours of PE (Physical Education) and some of our other general education classes did not fit into the state Core 42 structure that has been developed. As a result, our PE classes will no longer count in the general education block, but they will continue to count as an elective if a student chooses to take it. Dr. Coltharp reviewed the requirements in each area of the Missouri Core 42 curriculum noting how they have changed what we had previously required. In the social and behavioral sciences, nine credit hours are required, and all classes that are listed were on our previous list, but some additional courses that we had allowed were taken out of the block. He said the nine hours of written and oral communications classes remained the same as what we had required. Dr. Coltharp said the natural science courses were a huge challenge statewide and have been reduced to seven credit hours required, but since the majority of our science courses are five credit hours, most students will end up taking ten or more science hours. Dr. Coltharp thanked math division chair Cheryl Ingram for her work to make math curriculum changes last year so that we have three good math course options for the required three credit hours in the block. He said nine hours of humanities and fine arts are required with at least two courses from different prefixes or subject areas. He said the total number of required credit hours is 37 with five credit hours of core electives to add up to the Core 42 block. Dr. Coltharp said courses in the Core 42 curriculum will be marked on student transcripts so that every institution will see what courses the student took to complete the Core 42 block. He explained that as the state approves further courses in the block, colleges will likely develop additional courses to provide more general education options for students and especially more two credit hour courses so that students do not have to go over the 42 credit hours requirement. He noted two of our science courses are still under review by the state for final approval. Dr. Coltharp said our faculty have done a great job in making these changes. He said students who began college prior to this Missouri Core 42 curriculum will have to decide which general education requirements they want to graduate under, the list they entered college under or this current new state list, and advisors will play a major role in helping students to make that decision. Dr. Coltharp responded to questions emphasizing that courses in the Missouri Core 42 are required to meet specific competencies, and it is good to have this curriculum set so that students can transfer statewide without complications. The Board thanked him for the good report.
Life Sciences and Physical Education Program Review
Dr. Pete Broglio reported the Life Science and Physical Education Division has been in place since 2007, and prior to that the Biology Department was within the Math/Science Division. He provided data in two reports, one for PE and one for Life Science. Dr. Broglio said there are four full-time PE faculty who teach six to seven credit hours per semester and also serve as coaches for the four sports that Crowder provides. He said the PE department relies heavily on adjunct instructors, and Millie Gilion has served as PE department chair for many years providing a wide variety of activity classes. He thanked Millie for maintaining a high degree of rigor especially in Lifetime Wellness which is the most popular class. He said about 75 percent of PE courses are taught by adjunct instructors who help to maintain contact with the community and high schools. He said there are not many PE graduates, but some PE students transfer to four-year institutions to complete a Bachelor of Science in Physical Education. He thanked Millie Gilion for her great leadership in the PE department.
Dr. Broglio said the Life Science Division has an outstanding and dedicated faculty and great facilities throughout our nine county service area. He said any further budget cuts would be very problematic in continuing to provide students with the same number of science courses that we currently provide. Dr. Broglio said Abby Nicholson is our newest full-time Life Science Instructor who splits her time between Cassville and McDonald County, and we are very grateful to have at least one full-time faculty member at each of the Crowder Centers. He said the purpose of the Life Science Division is to provide classes to meet the life science general education requirement as well as to support professional programs that require our courses such as Nursing, Veterinary Technology and the Occupational Therapy Assistant program. He said our ratio of full-time to adjunct instructors is favorable. Dr. Broglio said HLC tightened the requirements for adjunct instructors in 2017, and the majority of our adjuncts already met those requirements and a number of them have strengthened their academic credentials. Dr. Broglio noted the large number of students taught that is between six hundred and seven hundred each semester. He said not a lot of students graduate with biology degrees, and some who are interested graduate in general studies to transfer. Dr. Broglio highlighted a couple of their outstanding students saying we hear from universities that they do very well after transferring. He thanked Chett Daniels for his help gathering data for this report.
President’s Update
Dr. Methvin reported that Dr. Broglio is also one of the Phi Theta Kappa sponsors along with Suzanne Puckett, and he will be taking some students to the PTK National Convention this year. Dr. Broglio said four PTK students will go to the Convention which is in Kansas City because PTK originated in Missouri, and this is their 100th year anniversary. He said we also have two PTK All-American Academic nominees who have been selected in the Top Ten All-Missouri Academic Team and will attend the MCCA Awards Luncheon in April. Dr. Methvin said a gift from the Foundation will allow the students to attend the National Convention. Dr. Broglio thanked the Foundation for their support saying we do not normally attend the Convention.
Dr. Methvin said normally at this Board meeting we would have a first reading to set tuition and fees for the next academic year, but since state funding is still unclear, we have scheduled a special Board meeting on Monday, April 2, at 5:00 p.m. in the Fireside Room. She said this will give the legislature one more week of work for us to get a clearer picture of state funding.
Dr. Methvin reported on several grant applications in process. She said the Adult Education and Literacy program has applied for a $15,000 grant from the Louis L. and Julia Dorothy Coover Charitable Foundation to help with some transportation for students in Aurora to allow them to get to and from AEL testing sites. She said this would be a one year grant for their Aurora site.
Dr. Methvin said we need some improvements for the Large Animal Teaching Barn, and the Agriculture Department is applying for a $75,000 grant from the Missouri Agriculture Foundation, and there would be a $25,000 match from the James Trust. She said restroom facilities added there is critical before the next Veterinary Technology site visit.
Dr. Methvin said we desire to expand our apprenticeship programs, and both Crowder and the Joplin Foundation have received grant funding from the Missouri Department of Workforce Development. She said it will be a $111,000 grant to Crowder’s machining program in Joplin, and we are also the fiscal agent for the grant so additional funds will come from that.
Dr. Methvin reported we recently received $117,000 in program support from 3M from their Manufacturing and Academic Partnership (MAP) grant including $5,000 towards scholarships. She said this is mostly for programming and equipment at the Joplin Advanced Training and Technology Center, and it is great when corporate partners provide their support. She said we also recently received a $2,000 gift from the Freeman Health Systems Auxiliary to purchase some Nursing equipment. Dr. Methvin thanked Jack and Diane Andris for their recent support of the Servant Leadership Professional Development fund that is allowing us to provide every new employee with a copy of Greenleaf’s book and to carry on servant leadership Cohort activities. She said Herb and Barb Schade also made a recent gift to support division chair leadership development, and we are very grateful for all those professional development funds.
Dr. Methvin reported the vice presidents and I recently held Listening Sessions with employees to get further feedback, and about 150 employees attended one of the many sessions provided. She said we are also providing similar Focus Group sessions with students. She thanked the vice presidents, associate vice presidents and direct reports who assisted in scheduling and taking notes during these sessions. She agreed to share the results with the Board.
Dr. Methvin announced that there was a 100% pass rate among all Neosho and Cassville Nursing students who took their state nursing exam for the first time, and the recent State Board of Nursing site visits were very positive. Dr. Methvin reported on many other student activities and events that have taken place or are coming up soon. She invited members to attend a special Mort Walker celebration on April 12th to honor his Beetle Bailey legacy and to teach students about Camp Crowder. She said April 12th is the 76th anniversary of Camp Crowder.
Adjournment
The next regularly scheduled meeting is set for Monday, April 23, in the Fireside Room on the Neosho campus. Without further business, the meeting adjourned to lunch at about 11:40 a.m.
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