October 2003 Board Meeting Report

The Illinois Valley Community College Board of Trustees Wednesday toured the east campus facilities of therapeutic massage, truck driver training and HVAC and saw a possible future home for a welding program.

"We are looking to offer a full welding program here," said IVCC President Jean Goodnow. "We are currently only able to offer welding at extension sites such as Streator High School and La Salle Peru's Area Vocational Center."
The college sees potential for welding enrollments to grow quickly, just as truck driver training and HVAC have grown. A total of 485 students have gone through truck driver training and 97 percent have been placed in jobs, coordinator Bruce Hartman told the board.
Enrollment in HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) increased from 39 last year to 78 this year, said Sue Isermann, associate vice president for career education.

Another growing career program, therapeutic massage, recently expanded into a spacious area formerly occupied by the Illinois Valley Senior Center.

"NOA's only been gone about three weeks and their space is already being used," said Deb Sweeden, vice chairman of the board. "That shows how much the space was needed."

The board also received an update on the Health Professions division from Gloria Bouxsein, dean of the Health Professions. Bouxsein said the nursing shortage, coupled with IVCC's partnership with the six local hospitals, has provided an opportunity for IVCC's health professions to expand.

There are 614 students in health professions this fall, said Bouxsein, including about 60 CNAs, 20 LPNs and 79 RN students. That's 40 more RNs than were in the program just two years ago, she said.

"We see a very high demand for our nurses and CNAs in long-term care facilities and hospitals," said Bouxsein. "And we know our graduates are well-prepared for a very demanding profession."

During the president's report, Goodnow told the board that the Illinois Community College Board recently released fall 2003 enrollment figures, which are at near-record levels at Illinois community colleges. Statewide enrollment is up 3 percent from fall 2002 and has shown an increase of 7.2 percent during the past five years, according to ICCB figures.

IVCC's enrollment also has increased consistently during the past five years.

"At mid-term, we are up 2 percent in head count and 9 percent in credit hours. We have a total of 4,450 students on campus this fall, and they're taking more than 38,000 credit hours," Goodnow said.

The increase in enrollment is due to people recognizing that they can receive a quality college education at home at far less than the cost of universities, Goodnow added.

"They see the quality of our faculty and of our facilities. In today's tight economy, we are the best option for many students," Goodnow said.

In other action, the board...

• Approved the appointment of Kathy Glascock as dean of Occupational Technologies. Glascock was IVCC's director of Career Planning and Placement. Her new duties will include providing leadership to division staff, including 12 full-time and more than 65 part-time faculty members in the areas of electronics, manufacturing, CAD, office technologies, computer networking and programming, automotive technology, truck driver training, horticulture and other related programs.
• Approved the retirement request, effective May 31, 2005, of Marjorie Hunt, computer instructor.
• Authorized the preparation of the 2003 tax levy.