November 2005 Board Meeting Minutes

The Board of Trustees of Illinois Valley Community College District No. 513 convened a regular session at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 22, 2005 in the Board Room (C307) at Illinois Valley Community College.

Members Present

Deborah L. Sweeden, Board Chair
David L. Wilcoxson, Vice Chair
Paula J. Endress, Secretary
David O. Mallery
Lori E. Scroggs
Dennis N. Thompson
Matt Simko, Student Trustee

Members Absent

Thomas C. Setchell

Others Present

Chuck Novak, Interim President
Jerry Corcoran, Vice President for Business Services/Finance
Harriet Custer, Vice President for Academic Affairs
Robert Marshall, Vice President for Student Services
Walter J. Zukowski, Board Attorney

CAMPUS UPDATE – ONLINE LEARNING

This is a first in a series of presentations on academic programs and program delivery. Dr. Harriet Custer, Emily Vescogni and Tracy Malcolm presented on students’ perspectives on what can occur in online learning which included lecture, discussion, quizzing and testing, class projects, etc.

CONSENT AGENDA

It was moved by Mr. Wilcoxson and seconded by Mr. Thompson to approve the consent agenda as presented.

Student Advisory Vote: “Aye” – Mr. Simko. Roll Call Vote: “Ayes” – Mr. Wilcoxson, Mrs. Endress, Mr. Thompson, Mr. Mallery, Mrs. Scroggs and Mrs. Sweeden. “Nays” – None, motion carried.

The following items were approved in the consent agenda:

Approval of Minutes – October 20, 2005 and October 26, 2005. 

Approval of the Bills
Education Fund - $719,046.45; Operation and Maintenance Fund - $104,930.74; Operation and Maintenance Fund (Restricted Fund) - $366,637.45; Auxiliary Fund - $69,079.30; Restricted Fund - $148,608.77; Audit Fund - $5,000.00; Liability, Protection and Settlement Fund - $3,669.98.

Treasurer’s Report

Personnel
Approve the new faculty position of Welding instructor and Manufacturing Program Coordinator assigned to the Division of Occupational Technologies and authorize the administration to begin a search to fill this position.

Approve the appointment of Ryen J. Nagle as the English Composition Instructor assigned to the Division of English, Mathematics, and Education beginning the spring semester of the 2005-2006 academic year with placement on the salary schedule at step B-2 - $35,092.

Bid Request
Authorize the Business Office to seek bids for a Dimension 3D Printer at an estimated cost of $35,000 to be paid with National Science Foundation (NSF) Grant funds.

Cash Farm Lease Renewal
Authorize the Business Office to renew the cash farm lease with Keith Gehm at $155.25 per acre (131.6 acres) for the year 2006.

Cooperative Agreement
Approve the cooperative agreement for the Advanced Radiologic Technology Certificate with Black Hawk College, Carl Sandburg College, Heartland Community College, Illinois Central College, Illinois Valley Community College, John Wood Community College, Lincoln Land Community College, Northeast Iowa Community College, Parkland College, Richland Community College, Sauk Valley Community College, Scott Community College (Iowa), Southeastern Community College (Iowa) and Spoon River College as presented.

Illinois Community College System Procurement Consortium (ICCSPC)
Authorize the College to participate in the Illinois Community College System Procurement Consortium.

INTERIM PRESIDENT’S REPORT

Dr. Novak presented drawings of “U” and “C” shaped board tables to be used in the Board Room for greater ease of communication and openness. Dr. Novak would like to look into this further and perhaps assign this project to the IVCC CAD students. The Board was in consensus to use the current Board Room. Traditionally, IVCC holds a Christmas dinner for employees before the holiday break. The Board authorized the administration to proceed and the dinner will be funded from the College budget.

TRUSTEE’S REPORT

Mr. Mallery, Mr. Wilcoxson, and Mr. Setchell attended the ICCTA meetings on November 11 and 12 in Chicago. Mr. Simko attended the ISAC meeting in Chicago on November 12. Items discussed at the November 11 meeting were: 1) legislation that affects the SURS contributions; 2) dual credit; 3) baccalaureate task force – community colleges having a larger part in the baccalaureate program; 4) Leadership training program – addressing the small pool of people who want to be presidents and vice presidents; 5) ISAC loan program – lobbying against the State selling the loan program; 6) Workforce Development – critical skills shortage – loss of funding for remedial courses; 7) Push for more money for Special Populations; 8) ICCTA awards – deadline dates; 9) Christopher Simpson’s media presentation.

Mr. Simko also reiterated the students’ positions against the selling of the ISAC loan program. He commended the IVCC counselors on their work with helping students transfer to four-year colleges and universities. The IVCC students are very satisfied with the counseling staff and the ease of transferring as noted in the SWOT analysis that was presented to the Board.

Mr. Wilcoxson noted the Disadvantaged Students credit hour reimbursement has dropped in half since 2001 and yet this is one of the growth areas in education. The Trustees’ Lobby Day, scheduled for May 3, will need to be changed after the trustees learned that the legislators are scheduled to adjourn on April 7. Mr. Wilcoxson brought a copy of Christopher Simpson’s presentation for other Board members to review. Also discussed at the meeting was a marketing plan on determining the audience, developing strategies, evaluating the results and recording successes through the media.

TENTATIVE 2005 TAX LEVY

It was moved by Mrs. Scroggs and seconded by Mrs. Endress to approve the Tentative Tax Levy Resolution as presented.

Student Advisory Vote: “Aye” – Mr. Simko. Roll Call Vote: “Ayes” – Mr. Wilcoxson, Mrs. Endress, Mr. Thompson, Mr. Mallery, Mrs. Scroggs and Mrs. Sweeden. “Nays” – None, motion carried.

It was moved by Mr. Simko and seconded by Mr. Thompson to approve the Tentative Certificate of Tax Levy as presented.

Student Advisory Vote: “Aye” – Mr. Simko. Roll Call Vote: “Ayes” – Mr. Wilcoxson, Mrs. Endress, Mr. Thompson, Mr. Mallery, Mrs. Scroggs and Mrs. Sweeden. “Nays” – None, motion carried.

PHS PROJECT – REPLACEMENT OF HVAC AT WELDING AND AUTO SHOPS

It was moved by Mrs. Scroggs and seconded by Mr. Simko to approve the Protection, Health, and Safety Project of Replacing Heating Units at the Welding and Auto Shops in the amount of $43,000 and authorize submission of the appropriate resolution to the Illinois Community College Board.

Student Advisory Vote: “Aye” – Mr. Simko. Roll Call Vote: “Ayes” – Mr. Wilcoxson, Mrs. Endress, Mr. Thompson, Mr. Mallery, Mrs. Scroggs and Mrs. Sweeden. “Nays” – None, motion carried.

PRESIDENTIAL SEARCH CONSULTANT CONTRACT

It was moved by Mr. Wilcoxson and seconded by Mr. Thompson to approve the Presidential Search Consultant Contract in the amount of $15,000 plus expenses associated with the presidential search as presented and submit the contract to Dr. David R. Pierce for his signature.

Dr. Pierce will (1) conduct a workshop with the Board of Trustees for the purpose of identifying future goals for IVCC, understanding presidential search processes and enhancing board effectiveness; (2) serve as the primary consultant and coordinator for the Board’s Search Advisory Committee and assist the Committee in carrying out its charge of identifying 7-10 semifinalists for the position of IVCC President; (3) assist IVCC in identifying and recruiting qualified candidates; (4) assist the Board of Trustees in identifying 3-5 finalists from the list of 7-10 semifinalists; and (5) assist IVCC in reviewing references and credentials for those qualified candidates who have been identified as finalists for the position of IVCC President.

The retreat will be scheduled for January and if Board members have recommendations for individuals to serve on the Search Advisory Committee, they are to be submitted to Dr. Novak.

Student Advisory Vote: “Aye” – Mr. Simko. Roll Call Vote: “Ayes” – Mr. Wilcoxson, Mrs. Endress, Mr. Thompson, Mr. Mallery, Mrs. Scroggs and Mrs. Sweeden. “Nays” – None, motion carried.

BOARD POLICY – HONORS DESIGNATION

It was moved by Mr. Thompson and seconded by Mrs. Endress to approve the revised Board Policy 2016 - Honors Designation as presented.

Student Advisory Vote: “Aye” – Mr. Simko. Roll Call Vote: “Ayes” – Mr. Wilcoxson, Mrs. Endress, Mr. Thompson, Mr. Mallery, Mrs. Scroggs and Mrs. Sweeden. “Nays” – None, motion carried.

Ms. Tracy Morris did a survey on Summa Cum Laude designations and out of seven colleges responding, each college designated graduation honors differently. The committee who worked on the Honors Designation Policy was in consensus that Summa Cum Laude should be the highest GPA rank in scholarship above 3.75.

BOARD POLICY – CONTRACT APPROVAL (First Reading)

Guidelines regulating the processing of contracts are stated in the Illinois Compiled Statues. There are also exceptions to the law and the proposed policy addresses some of the exceptions. The Board could decide to place a dollar amount on those contracts which would be presented to the Board for approval. It was suggested that it would be helpful if a list of contracts be provided indicating which category they fall under. Dr. Novak will try to strengthen the policy before the December Board meeting.

ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION

Payment Procedures for Travel and Professional Services

The Board would like more budgetary control over the Board’s budget. They will plan the expenditures for the Board budget early next year. If a Board member plans to attend a conference or meeting, they should email the Board Chair and Vice Chair for approval first and then submit a travel form for signatures. A procedure will be drafted for Board travel. Mr. Setchell had submitted a request to attend the Community College National Legislative Summit in Washington, D.C. on February 5-8, 2006. Mrs. Sweeden and Mr. Wilcoxson were in consensus to approve this travel. Mrs. Sweeden stated the Board budget for travel is quite small compared to other community colleges. She feels the money is well spent for Board development and for the information brought back to the Board. She also stated that some of the conferences are so large that it would not be redundant for two Board members to attend the same conference.

Mrs. Scroggs suggested one of the questions for the presidential interview could be: How would you go about creating a procedure for Board development and travel?

Trustee Tuition Waivers

The Board members expressed their concern that almost everyone on a team receives a tuition waiver. There were also questions as to the guidelines of the tuition waivers. Guidelines will be provided to the Board before the next meeting. There was a significant difference in the number of tuition waivers in one sport from fall to spring in the same year. Possible reasons: Students move, become ineligible, drop from school, quit the team, etc. Dr. Novak has requested the administration to respond to a number of questions regarding the value of tuition waiver activities. The Board will discuss Trustee Tuition Waivers at the next meeting along with the responses to these questions.

Board Presentations on College Programs

The Administration proposed a list of presentations to provide the Board and the College staff with information about academic programs each month for six months. The list consisted primarily of academic programs and program delivery. Another set of programs will be prepared for the next six months and will consist primarily of activities in the Student Services area. The presentations will take approximately 10 minutes and will be labeled “College Program Review.” The Board welcomed this idea and thought it would be very beneficial.

Class Size

After reviewing the data from ICCB, it was discovered that ICCB’s data was incorrect. They have since corrected their data. Also after changing software, it was discovered that Colleague reported class size differently than the previous software and resulted in a drop in class sizes. The administration started running their own reports going back three years and these reports give an accurate picture of class size. If there is a class in a student’s program course of study and the student needs it to transfer or graduate and there are only five students, the decision is to teach the course because the student needs it. The administration has guidelines for minimum class size and they do their best in making touch decisions trying to balance student services with fiscal responsibilities. From experience, Mrs. Scroggs stated that the deans and counselors work closely together when classes are cancelled Students are notified and counselors work with them to replace the cancelled class. This is an incredible service and students are very lucky to have the staff be that responsive to them. Dr. Custer commended Mr. Barnes for his tremendous job in reconciling IVCC’s and ICCB’s data. He worked with the deans to identify the issues created by Colleague.

Presidential Search

Dr. Novak distributed the final draft of the Profile and Presidential Prospectus. The deadline date for the ad to be placed in The Chronicle is Monday, November 28. Everything is ready to go and the Profile and Presidential Prospectus will be on the IVCC Web site. The printing of the brochure which will include the Profile and Presidential Prospectus is in progress. The amount budgeted in the Human Resources budget for the presidential search was $20,000.

Strategic Plan

Materials used in developing a strategic plan for IVCC were sent to the Board for review. This could be a topic of a special meeting to allow the Board members more time to discuss their ideas.

AGREEMENT WITH CENTRAL LABORERS’ PENSION, WELFARE AND ANNUITY FUND, CHAMPION ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES, AND IVCC

It was moved by Mr. Thompson and seconded by Mrs. Scroggs to approve the settlement agreement between the Central Laborers’ Pension, Welfare and Annuity Funds, Champion Environmental Services, Inc. and Illinois Valley Community College District No. 513.

The Central Laborers’ Pension, Welfare and Annuity Funds filed suit against Champion Environmental Services, IVCC, and the Illinois Capital Development Board on June 24, 2003. The plaintiff asserted that workers, while performing work related to Building C at IVCC, failed to receive fringe benefit monies. Champion has agreed to pay Central Laborers and the plaintiff is willing to accept the amount and waive any recourse against the College.

COMMENDATIONS

It was reported that Jim Gibson, IVCC electronics professor, received the Outstanding Faculty of Industrial Technology award at the 38th Annual Convention of the National Association of Industrial Technology on Friday, November 18 in St. Louis, Missouri.

Student Advisory Vote: “Aye” – Mr. Simko. Roll Call Vote: “Ayes” – Mr. Wilcoxson, Mrs. Endress, Mr. Thompson, Mr. Mallery, Mrs. Scroggs and Mrs. Sweeden. “Nays” – None, motion carried.

ADJOURNMENT

It was moved by Mrs. Scroggs, seconded by Mr. Simko and carried unanimously to adjourn the meeting at 9:37 p.m.