MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE
BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT
OF NEWTON-McDONALD COUNTIES, MISSOURI
March 25, 2019
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 10:00 a.m. on Monday, March 25, in the Tatum Hall Buffalo Room at Crowder McDonald County.
Members present for the meeting were:
Andy Wood, Chair
Diane Andris, Member
Vickie Barnes, Treasurer
Rick Butler, Vice Chair
Al Chapman, Secretary
Also attending the meeting were:
Glenn Coltharp, President
Martha Nimmo, Administrative Assistant to the President
Kathy Parker-Collier, Grants Director
Christina Cullers, Controller
Jim Cullumber, Director of Institutional Advancement
JP Dickey, Director of Admissions
Aaron Divine, Director, McDonald County Instructional Center
Kristie 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
Amy Rand, Vice President of Finance
Angela Seymour, Director, Cassville Instructional Center
Tiffany Slinkard, Vice President of Student Affairs
Phillip Witt, Associate Vice President of Career and Technical Education
Keith Zoromski, Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs
Rayna Karst, The Joplin Globe
A few moments of silence were observed to prepare for the meeting.
Minutes of Previous Meetings
Minutes of the February 25, 2019, regular meeting, Work and Closed Sessions were approved as written and previously distributed.
Financial Reports
Mr. Wood noted the monthly cash flow statement. He said there are two sets of checks this month for February 11-28 and March 1-5, and asked if there were any questions. There being none, checks in the amount of $1,033,765.37 were approved ON MOTION by Mrs. Andris, seconded by Mr. Butler, and unanimously carried. The rest of the current fund balances and agency accounts were reviewed. Mr. Wood noted the fund balances look good. Brief discussion took place regarding Transport Training. Dr. Coltharp said we have made some schedule adjustments to meet the demands of companies. The rest of the accounts were reviewed as well as the revenue and expense reports and various tables. Dr. Coltharp noted how impressive the reserve funds look. Mrs. Rand said this is the peak time of year, but the reserves are still over 2% higher than this time last year.
Tuition and Fees Recommendation for 2019-2020
Dr. Coltharp reviewed the proposed rates on second reading as follows: In-District tuition would go up by $2 to $92 per credit hour; Out-of-District would go up by $5 to $148 per credit hour; International would go up by $8 to $202 per credit hour. Fees would go up as follows: Institutional Support Fee would go up by $2 to $25 per credit hour; Safety & Security would go up by $1 to $8 per credit hour; Online Course Fee would go up by $2 to $30 per credit hour; Flex Course Fee would remain the same at $15 per credit hour. Mr. Wood said in comparison to other Missouri community college, this leaves Crowder in the bottom third lowest in the state. Dr. Coltharp agreed saying we may even fall lower since some community colleges are suggesting even higher increases, possibly raising their rates by eight to twelve dollars per credit hour. He said we are also lower than other schools in our area. Mr. Wood said we never like to raise tuition, but we feel it is necessary and beyond our control. He asked if there were any further questions and there were none. A MOTION to approve the recommended rates as listed was made by Mr. Butler, seconded by Dr. Chapman and unanimously carried.
Personnel
Dr. Coltharp recommended approval of the following two resignations: Jeffery ‘Mike’ DeWitt, Transport Training Instructor and Glenn Green, Transport Training Instructor (PT). A MOTION to approve both resignations was made by Mrs. Barnes, seconded by Mrs. Andris and unanimously carried.
Mr. Wood asked that action be taken on both the resignation of Keith Zoromski, Title III Curriculum Specialist/Social Science Division Chair, and the employment of Mr. Zoromski as the new Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs. A MOTION to approve both his resignation and employment was made by Dr. Chapman, seconded by Mrs. Barnes and unanimously carried. Dr. Coltharp noted that Denna Clymer, History/Geography Instructor, has been selected as the new Social Science Division Chair.
Shared Governance Structure
Dr. Coltharp provided an updated Shared Governance Structure Policy and Procedures document. He said there are two reasons to do this: because it is the right thing to do to have it spelled out in policy and also to meet HLC requirements. He said any employee, committee or advisory group can bring an issue or proposal forward for review by any or all of the three divisions: Finance Division Leadership Team, Instructional Council, or Student Affairs Leadership Team, depending on which group/s are most appropriate. These groups/divisions may ask for more information or forward the item to the Executive Council for further review. Once approved by Executive Council, the item would move to College Council for final approval. Dr. Coltharp said we are proposing changes to the makeup of College Council to have more representative membership instead of all members based on their position title. He said once approved by College Council, the item would move into either the Employee Handbook, the College Catalog and/or Student Handbook, simply documented in College Council Minutes (no policy needed), or come to the Board of Trustees as possible Board Policy. He said items may be moved back down at any level if more information or review is needed or if the item is not approved as proposed. He said this is a first reading, and asked if there were any questions. When asked, he reviewed the names of College Council members saying the presidents of each employee group (Classified Staff, Faculty Association, and Professional Staff) change each year so those members will change annually. He said one campus director will represent all campuses on a two-year rotation, and Academic Affairs, Finance, and Student Affairs will each have two individuals from their divisions serve on a two-year rotating basis. He said the Administrative Assistant to the President would be a non-voting Council member to take minutes as in the past. Dr. Chapman asked why Executive Council was not the final approval group. Dr. Coltharp said that is how it has often been in the past, but we want Executive Council to look more at financial and/or legal issues and at the positives and negatives of how the proposal could impact the college before bringing the item to the larger group for broader discussion of its impact. Dr. Coltharp said it is an effort to get more inclusion in the decision-making process, and Executive Council would move the item back down if more details are needed before the larger group spent time on it. He noted that Executive Council members are permanent members of College Council. Mr. Wood asked how this flow chart is different from what has happened in the past. Dr. Coltharp said there were times when issues were decided by Executive Council that were not vetted adequately by others. When asked, he said most of these groups meet on a monthly basis although Executive Council meets more frequently. Dr. Coltharp said this should meet the HLC requirements as needed. Mr. Wood asked if there were any objections to moving this on for final action next month, and there were no objections.
New Programs Review
Dr. Morris announced there are four new Certificates that we plan to start in the Fall 2019 semester. He said Practical Nursing or LPNs (Licensed Practical Nurses) are one step below the RN (Registered Nurses) program that we currently provide. He said this program will be located in Nevada and will be a 56-credit hour Certificate to be completed in one year or two semesters. He said there will be high demand for this program with high placement rates since completers are expected to receive pay ranging from $14 to $16 or more per hour.
Dr. Morris said we are recommending a new Electrical Certificate that will prepare students to enter a career in construction or industrial providing entry level, basic Electricity knowledge for industrial and residential wiring. He said they will not be a certified electrician, but will understand basic knowledge of electrical wiring. Dr. Morris said this will primarily be used to partner with BEI for apprenticeships so students can gain this Certificate in their apprenticeship work prior to being hired.
Dr. Morris said a new Machining Certificate will provide entry level knowledge of industry standard equipment including Manual and Computer Numeric Control (CNC) programming. He said students will be able to operate and troubleshoot industry standard CNC equipment and fabrication machines. He said we are currently exploring apprenticeship options with local companies for this similar to the Electrical Certificate.
Dr. Morris said the Fire Science Certificate is the result of deactivating the Fire Science AA and AAS degrees due to very few degree completions. He said in coordination with the current lead instructor, we have scaled back the courses to a Certificate to provide a better fit for the students who simply want to be firefighters. Dr. Morris said although College Orientation is part of the program, it was added to meet the sixteen credit hours needed for students to receive financial aid, and other courses could be substituted if needed. Mrs. Barnes asked if there had been a grant for this program in the past. Mrs. Collier said we have received one in the past, and we must reapply for it each year. The grant assists both students and the instructors when received. Dr. Morris said this program is based at our Cassville campus. Dr. Chapman noted these Certificates should help our completion rates. Mr. Wood said the LPN program will be needed at other campuses, and Dr. Coltharp concurred. Dr. Morris said the Nevada LPN program will have a maximum number of 24 students. Dr. Morris and Dr. Coltharp responded to questions. Following brief discussion, a MOTION to approve all four Certificate programs as presented was made by Mrs. Barnes, seconded by Mrs. Andris and unanimously carried.
Institutional Advancement and Foundation Review
Mr. Cullumber provided a handout showing quarterly Foundation totals as of February 28, 2019. He reviewed the donor data saying we track donors over $1,000 and Legacy Society donors who have included Crowder in their estate plans. He noted that we are unable to track dollar amounts of the Legacy Society as the amount is unknown until the time of the individual’s death. Mr. Cullumber said Honor Roll donors indicate the total number of donors this fiscal year, and we are increasing efforts to identify and recruit alumni donors. He noted net funds raised for the past three years through event fundraisers saying we hope to surpass last year’s total with the events later this spring. Mr. Cullumber reviewed giving data saying we are working on increasing the number of endowment funds while keeping an eye on their market value of investments. He said endowment funds pay out a certain percentage to wherever the donor specifies, and the more endowment funds grow, the more we have to distribute to the College for programming and scholarships. He noted new gifts for 2017-18 reflect fundraising for the Roughrider Fieldhouse as well as a $1.8M bequest from the James family for Agriculture scholarships. He reviewed the market value of investments saying we use a variety of investment vehicles, and our goal is to get to $25M in investments. Mr. Cullumber reviewed scholarship data saying we have awarded 335 scholarships this year totaling a little over $275,000, and a few more will be awarded this spring. The Institutional Advancement office also oversees the Grants office so he said we track grant monies and the number of applications attempted. He said the data does not reflect the amount of time and energy required for grants management which is where most of their time is spent. Mr. Cullumber showed the amount of investments in CDs and US Bank Consolidated for the past three calendar years showing a decline in 2018, but a good recovery through the first two months of 2019. He showed operating expenses for the Foundation, not including College funding, and the Grant departmental awards that are grant funds designated for employee/ department grants. He responded to various questions. Dr. Coltharp thanked Mr. Cullumber for doing such a great job organizing and managing the Foundation. Mr. Cullumber encouraged Board members to consider adding Crowder College to their personal estate plans and to personally introduce him to others who might be prospective donors.
Training Officer of the Year – Postponed to next month.
President’s Update
Dr. Coltharp said Mr. Wood had asked earlier what happened to the goal-setting that used to be done, and at one time there was an institution-wide process for that. He provided a Continuous Tactical Planning (CTP) flow chart saying this is an effort to create a model that is easily understood where growth (action items) can be tracked. He said at one time the College goals were tied to the Board goals, and it would be good for the Board to review those goals again as well. Dr. Coltharp said four areas have been identified as what a student or program area needs to focus on to be successful: 1) the perception as the ‘college of choice’, 2) access to college, 3) persistence to graduation, and 4) transition options after graduation. He said regarding College operations, there are two areas of focus: 1) fiscal position and 2) institutional effectiveness. Dr. Coltharp said we want to “eliminate obstacles and continuously innovate to increase or improve…” in these specific areas. He gave examples in the various areas saying one thing we learned from the last time this method was used is that the needs at the branch campuses are different from those at the main campus. Because of that, we will work to develop a CTP document/plan for each of the campus sites as well as for the main campus. Dr. Coltharp said we plan to work with employees in the fall semester to develop the plans with goals to work on through the next academic year for a two-year plan. He said we believe this will not be too many goals to focus on at one time while still accomplishing some specific objectives at each campus location. When asked, he said we should be able to bring the goal documents for Board review in October. He said HLC does look for some type of strategic plan so this is an effort to make it a simple tool that everyone understands. Mr. Wood said it is important to have a goal document so everyone can specifically see what the College is working toward on an annual basis. He said we also need to talk more about what makes Crowder unique and special, and include that in our marketing. Dr. Coltharp agreed saying we will bring this plan back next month for a first reading so the Board can officially approve it as the new strategic plan.
Dr. Coltharp provided a document saying this is a ‘grade card’ for his first three months as President showing the status of the action projects to be worked on this spring that he had discussed during the interview process. He emphasized that every project item is in process and some are exceeding his expectations. Dr. Coltharp said the plan is to provide a quarterly update on these projects with a new list started in the fall when these projects are completed. He said the Executive Council is working on these with him, and the vice presidents will present them to the Board in the fall with the mindset of accomplishing specific goals on an annual basis. He reviewed the project list and the status of each item. Dr. Coltharp also provided a quarterly report of activities that he has participated in over the past three months broken down into three areas: 1) extra-curricular, 2) community, and 3) professional outreach and collaboration. Dr. Coltharp responded to questions as needed.
Closed Session and Adjournment
The next regularly scheduled meeting is set for Monday, April 22, at the Neosho campus. Mr. Wood called for a motion to go into closed session following a brief lunch break. At 11:35 a.m., the regular meeting adjourned and a MOTION to go into closed session (following lunch) in accordance with RSMo 610.021 was made by Mrs. Barnes, seconded by Mrs. Andris and passed unanimously on the following roll call vote:
Butler: Yes Barnes: Yes Wood: Yes
Andris: Yes Chapman: Yes
At about 12:10 a.m., members moved downstairs to the Cornerstone Bank Conference Room for the closed session. Discussion took place with Dr. Coltharp, Dr. Morris and Dr. Witt regarding personnel; no Board action was taken. A MOTION to adjourn was made at about 12:45 p.m. by Mrs. Andris, seconded by Mrs. Barnes and unanimously carried on the following roll call vote:
Chapman: Yes Andris: Yes Wood: Yes
Barnes: Yes Butler: Yes
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