May 2004 Board Meeting Report

The potential for new buildings at Illinois Valley Community College is slowly winding its way through the Illinois Resource Allocation Management Program (RAMP) process.

With temporary buildings on the east campus constructed in 1968, the buildings have long outlasted their intent. In November 2001, the college submitted a request for state funding to construct a Technology and Workforce Development Center from the governor’s Temporary Facilities Replacement Funding appropriation.

"We are optimistic about our chances for the Technology and Workforce Development Center being funded in the next two years. As enrollments continue to grow, we want to be sure that our students receive a quality education in state-of-the-art facilities," said Jerry Corcoran, Vice President for Business Services and Finance, on Wednesday night at the board meeting.

In addition to the proposed center, the IVCC Community Instructional Center has been on the state’s capital improvement list since June 1999.

At the moment, the Instructional Center is project No. 11 out of 54. The college also has a second proposal, called Building C Classroom/Library Remodeling and Addition, on the same state-approved list at No. 24.

Among the many things Jean Goodnow, president of IVCC, reviewed with the board in her monthly update was the tornado preparedness of the college.

"With the recent tornado on April 20, our Safety Services team, maintenance, administration, faculty and staff did an excellent job of keeping everyone on our campus safe and informed," Goodnow said.

Goodnow brought to the attention of the board a letter of gratitude and commendation from a woman describing herself as "a student who’s glad she’s going to IVCC."

The board of trustees learned that the college receives a state grant, which enables IVCC to offer college courses at the local high school at a reduced rate to high school students, is raising the tuition rate. The revised tuition will increase by $5 to $35 a credit hour. This increase is still a substantial savings for high school students and their families given that the current rate of tuition for traditional college students remains at $54 a credit hour. This Early Entry College or E2C at IVCC offered a savings for more than 373 students in fiscal year 2004. This innovative program impacts 13 participating high schools by allowing students to take college courses at their local high school. E2C provides educational services to high school juniors and seniors affording them the opportunity to obtain up to one full semester of college credit at reasonable costs prior to enrolling in their first year of college.

A new statewide formula on adult education funding was presented to the board.

This revised formula adversely affected IVCC and 20 other colleges across the state. IVCC stands to lose $154,000 in reimbursement from the state.

In other business, the board approved a quote from JB Contracting Corp. of LaSalle for the emergency replacement of the water line to the gym.

"For the past few days, a major repair has been taking place in the gymnasium and C Building. This is due to a deteriorated hot water return line coming from the gym to C Building. Running parallel to the return line is a supply line that is also being replaced. This deterioration was from ground water, which destroyed the outer shell of the piping. These hot water lines supply the heating for the gym as well as the heating for the domestic hot water used in the showers," said Larry Rousey, Director of Facilities.

The board also:

• Approved the request for sabbatical leave from Jeffrey Carver, chemistry instructor, beginning January 2005 and ending December 2005.
• Accepted the bid for the replacement of the roofs for buildings 6 and 12 from Fox River Lumber & Construction for $29,998.
• Approved the bid request for the replacement of the library’s customer service center at an estimated cost of $20,000.
• Approved the newly revised ethics policy as dictated by the Illinois General Assembly.
• Approved the recommendation of the college administration to update the personnel portion of the board policy manual.