July 2014 Board Report

To spur fall enrollment, Illinois Valley Community College will offer a free three-hour class to a specific student population, IVCC President Jerry Corcoran announced at Thursday’s board meeting.

The initiative will target more than 170 prospective students who have applied for financial aid but have not yet enrolled.

Interim Associate Vice President for Student Services Mark Grzybowski said, “Looking at completed FAFSAs, we found a number of these students fell just short of eligibility for Pell and MAP awards, or qualified and received a small amount.”

“We believe some of these students will enroll if offered an additional incentive,” he said.

The initiative, funded by a $30,000 gift from the IVCC Foundation, will offer the free course to the first 90 students from the group who enroll in at least six hours.

“We owe the Foundation board and 21st Century Scholars Society members a debt of gratitude for making this possible,” said Corcoran. The Society put up half the money.

Specific questions about the incentive should be directed to Financial Aid Director Patty Williamson at (815) 224-0440.

In other business, the board approved a tentative 2015 budget. Operating revenues are projected to be over $21.5 million, $187,404 down from 2014 including a projected 1.2 percent drop in EAV.

The budget will be balanced by not filling 11 full- and part-time hiring requests and an 11.7 percent decrease in utility expenses due to low utility rates and fiber-optic installation, among other factors.

The overall budget, which includes $2 million from the state for ongoing construction, contains $36.1 million in revenues – a 13 percent decrease – and $38.5 million in expenditures – an 11 percent decrease.

The board will vote on final approval of the budget following a public hearing at 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 14.

In other business, the board approved:

  • Radio advertising contracts with four stations totaling $69,479.
  • The purchase of $54,000 in janitorial supplies from Interline Brands of Peoria and $21,460 in elevator maintenance services from ThyssenKrupp Elevator Corporation, also of Peoria.
  • Expending up to $55,000 through WEX fuel cards for the Truck Driver Training program.
  • A one-year extension of the maintenance contract with Daikin Applied Americas for six McQuay chillers for $56,665.
  • The hiring of Robyn Schiffman as Dean of English, Mathematics and Education effective Aug. 11. Schiffman, an associate professor of English/Literature at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Madison, N.J., earned her Ph.D. in comparative literature from the University of Chicago.
  • Purchase of network core and edge switches to increase the college’s bandwidth from 1 gigabyte to 10 at a cost of $437,687. Network and internet use has increased dramatically as more faculty stream video and utilize other online resources in the classroom. In addition, trustees approved the $35,085 purchase of two Dell servers and a storage array.
  • A proposal from First Agency for student athlete coverage for $34,420 and the $3,251 bid of Ramza Insurance Group for catastrophic athlete coverage.
  • The $18,650 bid of Universal Asphalt & Excavating for pavement repair, sealing and marking of roadways.
  • A 36-month copier rental agreement with Illinois Valley Business Equipment for $43,999.
  • Seeking bids for removal of 45 dead Ash trees across campus.
  • A $39,500 contract with Chamlin & Associates to prepare construction documents and act as the construction manager for the 18-spot ADA parking lot to be constructed near the middle entrance to the Peter Miller Community Technology Center.
  • Release of closed session minutes from Feb. 21, 2001, and June 18 and Aug. 20, 2013.

The board learned:

  • Bryan Clark resigned as public services librarian July 3 to accept another position and will be replaced on an interim basis by part-time library technician Stephanie King.
  • The 18th annual IVCC Foundation golf outing organized by alumni coordinator/foundation assistant Susan Monroe on June 26 raised over $10,000.
  • Corcoran is working with fellow presidents to determine the feasibility of Illinois community colleges offering bachelor’s degrees in applied technology and applied science.