November 2006 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 Wednesday, November 29, 2006 in the Board Room (C307) at Illinois Valley Community College.

Members Present

David L. Wilcoxson, Board Chair
Dennis N. Thompson, Vice Chair
Paula J. Endress, Secretary
David O. Mallery
Thomas C. Setchell
Deborah L. Sweeden
Megan Guilfoyle, Student Trustee

Members Absent

Lori E. Scroggs

Others Present

Larry D. Huffman, President
Jerry Corcoran, Vice President for Business Services and Finance
Harriet Custer, Vice President for Academic Affairs
Bob Marshall, Vice President for Student Services
Walt Zukowski, Attorney

Walt Zukowski introduced Jacob Frost who has joined the Zukowski Law Offices in Peru as an associate attorney.  Jacob recently earned his law degree from the University of Illinois, is an IVCC graduate and a former IVCC Student Trustee.

PRESENTATION – FIVE-YEAR FINANCIAL FORECAST

Jerry Corcoran and Cheryl Roelfsema, Controller, presented the Five-Year Financial Forecast.  The objectives of the forecast are to develop a tool to be used in the long-term strategic planning process and to look beyond year-to-year budgets.  Revenue-increasing opportunities are identified and cost-drivers are recognized.  Changes in this year’s forecast included revenues and expenditures for all funds instead of just the operating funds, an enhanced equipment purchasing plan, and a listing of possible PHS projects for three years.  A complete Financial Forecast for Fiscal Years 2008-2012 was received by the Board.

PRESENTATION – COUNSELING CENTER

Juletta Patrick, Dean of Student Development, gave an overview of the counseling services provided by IVCC.  Services included career counseling, academic advisement and planning, personal counseling, transfer services, on-line orientation, retention, recruitment, marketing, assessment, future goals and projects, etc.

PRESENTATION – FINANCIAL AID – BAD DEBT

Steve Crick, Financial Aid Director, and Cheryl Roelfsema presented information on the status of financial aid recipients who owe the college money because they have not completed their course work.  The college must return federal money if students do not attend a certain portion of their classes.  The college tries to collect that money from the students and if that is not successful, it is turned over to a collection agency.  The total amount of financial aid returned to the U.S. Department of Education by the college as a result of 135 students not completing course work for FY06 and not repaying the college was $45,165.53 which is 1.3% of the total amount of Pell Grants and Student Loans disbursed.  IVCC verifies student enrollment and disbursement of financial aid is made the seventh week of the semester.  With the new registration policy going into effect where registration is required before the first class meeting, the administration believes the students will have a better chance of succeeding.  Items to explore for reducing the bad debt included:  1) disburse financial aid the tenth week of the semester; 2) wait until the drop date; 3) disburse financial aid checks twice – ½ the fifth week and ½ after mid-term; 4) look into making an attempt to collect waivers.  The disbursement guidelines will be reviewed to see if the bad debt can be reduced while at the same time taking into consideration the needs of these students.

CONSENT AGENDA

It was moved by Ms. Guilfoyle and seconded by Mrs. Endress to approve the consent agenda as presented.  The motion passed by voice vote.

The following items were approved in the consent agenda:

Approval of Minutes – October 3 and 25, 2006 Board meetings

Approval of the Bills - $1,340,648.93

Education Fund - $724,249.05; Operation and Maintenance Fund - $109,035.07; Operation & and Maintenance Fund (Restricted Fund) - $297,167.04; Auxiliary Fund - $81,162.01; Restricted Fund - $121,045.71; Liability, Protection and Settlement Fund - $7,990.05.

Treasurer’s Report

Personnel

Accepted with regret the resignation of Tony D. Killian, Dean of Humanities, Fine Arts and Social Sciences, effective January 2, 2007.

Accepted Patricia A. Pearson’s request for retirement effective July 31, 2007, and wished her a long, happy, and healthy retirement.

Approved the appointment of Kari A. VeZain as the Horticulture/Landscaping/Grounds Maintenance Instructor at Sheridan Correctional Center at an annual starting salary of $34,500.  The offer is contingent upon a successful background check in accordance with the Department of Corrections guidelines.

Stipends

Approved the stipends for the payrolls ending October 21, 2006 and November 4, 2006 as presented.

Bid Approval – Insurance Consultant

Accepted the proposal from Bushue Human Resources of insurance consulting services for the term of one year (FY07) at a cost of $4,250.

Bid Rejection – Compensation Consultant

Rejected all proposals received thus far and approved receiving a proposal for consulting services from John Toller to include reviewing IVCC’s present compensation and classification system with the goal being internal equity and external competitiveness for positions not affected by a labor agreement.

Bid Request – Industrial/Electrical Maintenance Programs Equipment and Instructional Supplies

Authorized the Business Office to seek bids for equipment and instructional supplies for the Industrial and Electrical Maintenance Programs.

Technology Plan Purchase:  Student Lab Computer Upgrades

Approved the purchase of 11 Acer computer monitors from Technology Resource Center of Dundee, IL in the amount of $2,062.61.

PRESIDENT’S REPORT

Dr. Huffman recognized Dr. Rose Marie Lynch, Dorene Perez and Jim Gibson who co-authored a paper describing the Making Industry Meaningful In College (MIMIC) project.  The paper was named the Best Paper Overall at the National Association of Industrial Technology Convention held November 15-18 in Cleveland, Ohio.   The IVCC team was commended for being the first community college professors to win the award.  Of the 290 proposals submitted for the conference, 194 were accepted for conference presentation, 20 papers were selected for publication, and nine were nominated for Best Paper. 

Dr. Huffman also recognized Lauri Carey, horticulture instructor, for being nominated by a former student in a survey conducted by Western Illinois University asking students to identify individuals who have been the most inspirational instructors in their life.  Ms. Carey received a letter from the President of WIU commending her for this nomination.

Illinois Valley Community College received an appreciation award from the Illinois Valley Construction Industry for its continued efforts and support of their program’s promotion of the employment and career opportunities within the Illinois Valley Construction Industry.

TRUSTEES’ REPORT

Megan Guilfoyle distributed the November 9, 2006 IVLeader, Student Government Association minutes of the October 19, 2006 meeting, and the Legislative Meeting Minutes of November 20, 2006 which summarizes the activities of the student organizations.  The college administration has been meeting with the students for their suggestions and concerns regarding the parking policy, smoking policy and tuition.

Dennis Thompson and David Wilcoxson attended the Illinois Community College Trustees Association Seminar on “Why Ethics Matter: Part 2” in Chicago on November 10, 2006.  Mr. Thompson reported the seminar was a repeat of the one held in Springfield but was interested in ethics being a standard portion of the instruction in every class held at IVCC.  He would like students to see it more frequently than just in the news.  He wondered if this is already taking place or if there was an interest in incorporating core values on campus on a regular basis.  As an add-on to this presentation, an update on trustee election law was presented.

David Mallery reported that Jeff Grabill, an IVCC graduate was awarded a scholarship to attend and participate in the National Science Foundation and the AACC conference in Washington D.C.  Mr. Grabill gave a presentation on his experiences in the “Making Industry Meaningful in College” (MIMIC) project at IVCC.  Mr. Mallery also reported on attending the Northwest Region Trustees meeting at Highland Community College on November 1.  Ethics was discussed along with the circulation of petitions for the position of Trustee and the circulation of petitions on campus for Student Trustees. 

David Wilcoxson attended a Mendota TIF meeting.  Mendota currently has nine TIFs and IVCC received $8,930 last year on the Del Monte TIF.  IVCC will continue to work with the city and acquire agreements so that the college receives some return.  Mr. Wilcoxson shared some interesting conversations with other Trustees at the meeting.  John Wood College supplies their electrical needs with generators at peak periods and Mr. Wilcoxson thought this would be a good idea for IVCC to look at in the future with the anticipated rate increases in electricity.   Another Trustee stated that Cabinet meeting minutes are shared with the Board.  Regarding the upcoming election for Trustees, suggestions made by the presenter were:  1) candidates running for office should file an economic interest statement and nomination papers in each county of the district, 2) disclosure of the source of campaign literature is required, 3) candidates should use petition forms prepared by the Board Secretary and 4) the person circulating the petitions does not have to live in the district.

RESOLUTION APPROVING THE TENTATIVE TAX LEVY

It was moved by Mr. Setchell and seconded by Mr. Thompson to adopt the Resolution Approving a Tentative Tax Levy and Tentative Certificate of Tax Levy, as presented.  The motion passed by voice vote.

INTERGOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENTS WITH THE CITY OF SPRING VALLEY

It was moved by Mr. Thompson and seconded by Mrs. Sweeden to approve the revised intergovernmental agreement with the City of Spring Valley for TIF District I and a new agreement with the City of Spring Valley for TIF District II.  The motion passed by voice vote.

ACADEMIC CALENDARS FOR 2007-2008 AND 2008-2009

It was moved by Ms. Guilfoyle and seconded by Mr. Setchell to approve the academic calendars for 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 as presented.  The motion passed by voice vote.

On a motion by Mrs. Endress, seconded by Mr. Mallery, and carried unanimously, the regular meeting resumed at 9:35 p.m.

APPOINTMENT OF INTERIM DEAN

It was moved by Mr. Thompson and seconded by Mrs. Sweeden to approve the appointment of David Bergsieker as Interim Dean of the Humanities, Fine Arts, and Social Sciences division, with compensation as noted on the November 9, 2006 memorandum from Dr. Custer.  The motion passed by voice vote.

CLOSED SESSION MINUTES

It was moved by Mr. Thompson and seconded by Mrs. Sweeden to approve and release the minutes of the August 30, 2006 closed session meeting.  The motion passed by voice vote.

ADJOURNMENT

It was moved by Ms. Guilfoyle, seconded by Mr. Mallery, and carried unanimously to adjourn the meeting at 9:40 p.m.