MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE
BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT
OF NEWTON-McDONALD COUNTIES, MISSOURI
May 21, 2018
Members present for the meeting were:
Andy Wood, Chair
Diane Andris, Member
Vickie Barnes, Treasurer
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
TJ Angel, Director of Physical Plant
Cindy Brown, Director of Public Information
Debra Brown, Distance Education Online Coordinator
Glenn Coltharp, Vice President of Academic Affairs
Christina Cullers, Controller
Jim Cullumber, Director of Institutional Advancement
Chett Daniel, Director of Institutional Research
Curtis Daniels, Career and Technical Education Division Chair/Computer Tech Instructor
JP Dickey, Director of Admissions
Aaron Divine, Director, McDonald County Instructional Center
Jamie Emery, Director, Maddox Hill Behavior Support 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
Melissa Oates, Director of MARET Center
Monte Padgett, Director, Nevada Instructional Center
Michelle Paul, Director of Human Resources
Amy Rand, Vice President of Finance
Angela Seymour, Director, Cassville Instructional Center
Tiffany Slinkard, Vice President of Student Affairs
Melissa Smith, Director, Concurrent Enrollment and Regional Centers
Keith Zoromski, Title III Curriculum Specialist/Social Sciences Division Chair
A few moments of silence were observed to prepare for the meeting. One new employee, Geoff Skaggs, Computer Technician, was introduced and welcomed.
Minutes of Previous Meeting
Minutes of the April 23, 2018, regular meeting and closed session were approved as written and previously distributed.
Financial Reports
Mr. Wood noted the monthly cash flow statement. He said questions have already been answered as needed on checks. Mr. Wood called for approval of two sets of checks, one for April 10-30 and one for May 1-7, 2018. Checks in the amount of $866,544.01 were approved ON MOTION by Mr. Butler, seconded by Mr. Vancuren, and unanimously carried. The rest of the fund balances and agency accounts were reviewed. Mr. Wood noted there are a couple of months until the end of the fiscal year. Dr. Methvin reported that funds have come in for Customized Training since this report was made. The centers appear to be doing well. Dr. Methvin said we are still working to promote the Joplin Advanced Training and Technology Center to improve enrollment there. The breakdown of revenue and expenditure accounts were reviewed. Ms. Rand provided an additional spreadsheet showing reserves by month. She said we are tracking an additional three to four percent more in reserves than last year.
Budget for FY 19
Ms. Rand said there have been very minor changes to the budget from last month. She said the only change in the notes section is a reduction by $20,000 in the contingency amount making it now $430,000. She said a column was added on all of the pages showing the difference between the April budget and this May budget. Ms. Rand said in revenue, some tuition and fees were adjusted for Transport Training based on what they have done this year. She emphasized that we always project a conservative budget with estimates low in revenue and high in expenditures. She said there were some minor changes in the federal programs with their revenues and expenses balancing. Ms. Rand said in expenditures, there was funding added to the public information budget for advertising, there was a decrease in the contingency, and changes were made based on changes in personnel as people leave and are hired. She said all of the revenue lines are shown as well as expense lines by division and by department. Ms. Rand said overall from the April to May budget, we are moving from $4,958 in projected surplus to $3,392. She said we will have some budget adjustments for the December Board meeting based on grants that will begin in the fall. Board members thanked her for the great report format and work on the budget. Dr. Methvin said this reflects a lot of work by employees and great leadership by the vice presidents. Without further discussion, a MOTION to approve the FY 19 Budget as provided was made by Mrs. Andris, seconded by Dr. Chapman and unanimously carried.
Personnel
Dr. Methvin recommended approval of the retirement of Jay Wilkins, Farm Supervisor. Mr. Wood said the Agriculture Division will be different without Jay after his 27 years of service. Dr. Methvin noted all the retirees were honored at the All Staff Luncheon on Friday including Tresa Wilkins who retired in December. A MOTION to approve Jay’s retirement with thanks for his service was made by Mrs. Barnes, seconded by Mr. Vancuren and unanimously carried.
Mr. Wood said we reluctantly must act on the resignation of Dr. Methvin who has been here four years, and we will be acknowledging her service at a later date. The following eight resignations were recommended for approval: Dr. Jennifer Methvin, President; Rachel Feagans, Nursing Program Coordinator/Instructor, McDonald County; Kayela Horn, Academic Coordinator, Concurrent Enrollment and Regional Centers; Darleen Moore, Nursing Instructor, Crowder College Nevada; Johnna Burton, ASD Consultant/Instructor, Maddox Hill Behavior Support Center; Tamara Spaulding, Communications Division Department Assistant (PT); Kaitlin Barnett, Project NOW Secretary (PT), and Amy Leyva, Fine Arts Department Assistant (PT). A MOTION to approve all eight resignations was made by Mrs. Andris, seconded by Mr. Butler and unanimously carried.
Dr. Methvin recommended approval of the following three employments: Kevin Mouser, Talent Search Advisor, Crowder Cassville; Torrie Epperson, Life Science Instructor, Crowder Webb City, and Meghann Winchester, Communications Division Department Assistant (PT). A MOTION to approve all three employments was made by Mr. Vancuren, seconded by Dr. Chapman and unanimously carried.
Auditor Selection
Ms. Rand reported this is a three year commitment for the auditor selection process that will be for fiscal years 2018, 2019, and 2020. She said the RFP was sent out in March to several firms in Southwest Missouri, published in the Joplin Globe, and posted on the college website. She said only one proposal was received from our current auditor, KPM CPAs, and one letter declining to respond was received. Ms. Rand said KPM is now the auditing firm for six Missouri community colleges and their Foundations as well as more than sixty Missouri school districts and 150 non-profit and governmental entities across Missouri. Ms. Rand said we recommend that we continue the next three year cycle with KPM CPAs with the specified bid proposal prices received. She indicated the prior contract pricing as well saying the annual prices include audits for the College, the Foundation and the Facilities Corporation. When asked, Ms. Rand said we are very happy with KPM’s expertise in higher education; they are very responsive to our questions or concerns, and they also observe during the June Bookstore inventory process. A MOTION to approve the bid proposal from KPM CPAs for the next three years as requested was made by Mr. Butler, seconded by Mr. Vancuren and unanimously carried.
Maddox Hill Behavior Support Center Contracts for FY 19
Ms. Jamie Emery reviewed each of five contracts recommended for Board approval. She said the Neosho School District contract is for one Behavior Consultant and three Behavior Technicians that oversee programs at the Maddox Hill Center, Neosho High School, and Central Elementary. Ms. Emery said we cap the number of students served at each site so that there are not more students than we can handle. She said there is a formula of how to calculate the cost of our services that has been developed over time and includes overhead and insurance costs. She said one of the two Joplin School District contracts is for a K-12 Behavior Consultant who works district-wide and three Behavior Technicians that serve programs at the Duenweg Beacon building, Soaring Heights Elementary and Irving Elementary. The second Joplin School District contract is for an Early Childhood Behavior Specialist at the new Early Childhood facility. The Specialist will help identify preschool children who have limited communication skills and behavior difficulties in an effort to increase their skills so that they can move into kindergarten. Ms. Emery said the Southwest Missouri Special Services Cooperative contract takes place at the Carthage Beacon facility where we partner with eleven different school districts north of Newton County for services similar to what we provide at the Maddox Hill Center. This contract is for a Behavior Specialist and Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA). Ms. Emery reported the Barton, Dade, Jasper County Special Education Cooperative/Lamar R-1 School District contract is a new contract starting in August and partners with nine smaller area schools in the Jasper school district. She said beginning in August we will be partnered with 21 different school districts. When asked, she said there are thirteen full-time Crowder staff, and the school districts partner with us to provide adult paraprofessionals as Behavior Interventionists. She said if the paraprofessionals go through Crowder’s training for the Autism Assistant Certificate, they get a pay differential and a new job title. She said many Crowder Certificate students continue to get their bachelor’s degree and return to us as Behavior Consultants or Technicians, and in this way, we are training our own staff which is a different model from anywhere else in Southwest Missouri. She said the training for the Certificate program takes place over the ten month school year in the fall and spring, but we also provide six weeks of service in the summer to select children who show a need based on whether they might regress. Dr. Chapman asked about McDonald County schools. Ms. Emery said they have not requested our services. Mr. Wood said this program is an example of what community colleges are supposed to do by locating a need and developing a program to meet that need. He said state funds became available for this in 2008-2009 under Governor Nixon. Ms. Emery agreed saying she came initially as the result of a grant to teach adults, and DESE has now recommended school districts hire Behavior Technicians. She thanked the Board for the opportunity to mold the program into what it is today including the hands-on instruction of children. Ms. Emery said we have an open door policy for anyone to come see what we do because our mission is to provide the most training possible for the community saying we do professional development for schools whenever asked. Dr. Coltharp noted that out of the three programs that were part of the initial three-year grant, this is the only one that has become fiscally sound after the grant ended. He said we will begin offering this coursework at the Webb City campus soon. After brief discussion, it was noted that these five contracts use the same template as in previous years. A MOTION to approve all five contracts as provided was made by Mrs. Barnes, seconded by Dr. Chapman and unanimously carried.
Distance Education Program Review
Mrs. Debra Brown reported the online programs at Crowder are doing fine, and for about five years now, students have been able to obtain an AA degree in General Studies entirely online. She said all online teachers are required to complete with an 85% or better a five week distance learning training course also known as ‘Boot Camp’. She said this is a one-time training; there are normally about ten instructors each semester being trained, and they also receive a $200 stipend. Mrs. Brown said for quality control, new online faculty are evaluated the first year and all online faculty are evaluated annually. The evaluation process is for division chairs to enroll in one course for each online instructor to see first-hand the course materials and the student- teacher interaction. Mrs. Brown said usually instructors who are told how to improve do better the following semester. However, if improvements are not made, that instructor is not given online courses in the future. Mrs. Brown showed data comparing online enrollment to overall enrollment for the past seven academic years saying there was a peak in online enrollment in 2013-2014, and it has gone down since then to about 2,500 students per academic year. In 2016-17, 37% of students took at least one or more courses online, and 17.5% of total credit hours were online. For Fall 2017, there were 150 online courses offered with 84 of them unique courses, taught by 93 instructors, and 58% of the instructors were adjuncts. Mrs. Brown reviewed the overall profile of Crowder’s online students showing data for gender, marital status, race and age distribution saying that 72% of our online students are female and 84% are White. She said the age of online students has changed dramatically over the past five years from being primarily 30-40 years to being 17-30. The data showed that minority students are more likely to take on-ground courses. When asked about student performance, Mrs. Brown said there are more requirements than ever to track online performance, and Crowder does well because of our good quality control. She said other colleges rarely have division chairs taking online courses for evaluation purposes or provide any specific training or compensation. She noted the table that showed similar grade distributions for online and on-ground courses. Mrs. Brown said for the past two semesters, the new attendance policy has required faculty to drop students who show no participation for fourteen consecutive days from the course. She said this is good because students who are more suited to face-to-face courses get out earlier instead of failing the course. Mr. Wood asked if instructors are still resistant to teaching online classes. Mrs. Brown said most resistance has dissipated; most instructors have discovered which teaching method they are best suited for, and there is a place for both methods. Mr. Wood thanked her for the good report.
MCCA Student Awards Luncheon
Dr. Pete Broglio said as Phi Theta Kappa advisor, he is here to speak about three students who won PTK awards and attended the April 25th MCCA Student Awards Luncheon in Jefferson City. He said Christina Humphrey attends the Crowder Cassville campus, and she won the New Century Workforce Pathway Scholar award which is a new award similar to the academic team awards, but aimed more for students entering the workforce. He said Christina is a first-generation college student majoring in paramedical science. Angela Seymour said Christina showed her determination by getting her GED after her first child was born, and continued to Crowder taking night classes to allow for child care. She said Christina initially nominated herself for the award; her instructor speaks very highly of her, and she could not have returned to college without the Cassville campus being nearby. Dr. Methvin noted she is one of only seven Workforce Scholars in Missouri. Dr. Broglio said Salman Mostafa is a citizen of Egypt who has been at Crowder since 2016 as a mathematics major. He graduated this semester with a 4.0 GPA and was a finalist for national PTK honors. Salman was selected in the First Team for the All-Missouri Academic Team based on his PTK application ranking which means he is one of the top ten academic students in Missouri. Dr. Broglio said he is planning to attend Emporia State University majoring in computer science. He said Salman also attended the PTK National Convention in April with our group which was made possible by a donation from the Crowder Foundation. Dr. Broglio said the Convention was in Kansas City this year because it is PTK’s 100thanniversary, and PTK was started in Missouri. He said Salman came to the U.S. with his siblings to get an education. Dr. Methvin said she asked his father why they chose Crowder, and he said because of our reputation for being both affordable with easily transferrable credits and for taking care of international students. Dr. Broglio introduced Darci Musser who also received First Team in the All-Missouri Academic Team, and she is a biology major who will finish in the summer and graduate in December. He said she attended Missouri State University this semester as a biology major, and she plans to attend the University of Missouri to become a veterinarian. Dr. Broglio said she has a 3.96 GPA and joined PTK in 2016 also becoming one of the top ten academic students in Missouri. Dr. Broglio said Darci served as a student worker for him while here, and she has been the best student employee he has ever had. Mr. Wood congratulated her and presented her with a certificate.
Mrs. Lisa O’Hanahan spoke about Maria Paola Tapia Ibarra saying she is a first-generation CAMP student who received the MCCA Student Leadership Award. She explained how Crowder has helped to open Maria’s eyes to new opportunities. Maria’s parents attended the Awards Luncheon with her, and the Award has helped her to see that she can accomplish anything. Mrs. O’Hanahan said Maria helped raise funds for the Angel Tree project through her work in the CCLU (Crowder College Latino Union); she is part of the CAMP newsletter staff; she tutors for the Student Success Center, and has become a member of PTK due to her high academics. She said Maria is an individual who leads by example, and she now plans to continue her education at MSSU. All of the students were applauded for their great accomplishments.
President’s Update
Dr. Methvin provided the latest edition of The Crowder Quill which she said is a remarkable publication for a community college. She also provided the latest Sentry which provides information on Crowder events, both recent and upcoming. Dr. Methvin said on Friday, we recognized the Servant Leadership Cohorts, and in order for this program to continue, have already named next year’s Cohort #5. She said we ask that each group of four employees do some meaningful self-study about servant leadership and that they lead the servant leadership professional development on campus for the next year. She said next month you will hear Cohort #4’s final report. Dr. Methvin said now that we have some agency funds to support servant leadership, we have added an actual physical award for each employee. She announced the 2018-19 Cohort #5 will be Chett Daniel, Natasha Davies, Jamie Ward and Jamie Emery. She said we also had a breakfast this morning with everyone who has served in Cohorts so far, and we hope this important work will continue in the years to come. Dr. Methvin thanked Board members for the great commencement ceremonies on Saturday. Mr. Wood thanked her for the report.
Closed Session and Adjournment
The next regularly scheduled meeting is set for Monday, June 25, at the Crowder Webb City campus. Mr. Wood called for a motion to go into closed session. At 11:20 a.m., a MOTION to go into closed session in accordance with RSMo 610.021 to discuss personnel was made by Mrs. Barnes, seconded by Mr. Butler and passed unanimously on the following roll call vote:
Andris: Yes Barnes: Yes Chapman: Yes
Butler: Yes Vancuren: Yes Wood: Yes
During the closed session, discussion took place with Dr. Methvin until about 11:40 a.m. when she left the meeting. Further discussion took place; no Board action was taken. A MOTION to adjourn was made at about 12:35 p.m. by Mr. Butler, seconded by Mrs. Andris and unanimously carried on the following roll call vote:
Barnes: Yes Chapman: Yes Butler: Yes
Vancuren: Yes Andris: Yes Wood: Yes
No comments:
Post a Comment