Call
to Order
The
meeting was called to order at
7:00 p.m.
Roll
Call
Present:
Canady, Holden, Jeffries, Mason, Pelleran, Rasmusson
Absent: Heywood, Pelleran,
Rasmusson
Trustee
Pelleran arrived at
7:07 p.m.
Trustee
Rasmusson arrived at
7:33 p.m.
Trustee
Heywood previously requested that the following be read into the
record on his behalf:
?Dear
Trustees, staff and community members, I apologize for my inability to
attend this evening's public record.I
have never missed a meeting of the Board since my election and it was
my intention to never miss one at all. Sadly, tonight's meeting was
called with so little notice that I could not avoid missing the
meeting. I am currently in final rehearsals for my production of THE
TRAGEDY OF HAMLET PRINCE OF DENMARK and I have already sacrificed the
well being of my cast and production too much for the possible good of
the production. In addition to this I was diagnosed with strep throat
last night and would still have been contagious had I attended the
community linkages meeting. This particular strep infection is one
which is rather transmissitable, as it is currently running rampant
through the throats of my cast. I
will see you all on
Monday June 16,
2003
. Thank you for your understanding in this matter. Sincerely Todd
A. Heywood?
Limited
Public Comment
MAHE
Budget Presentation
Ms.
Sally Pierce - Hello. I'm
Sally Pierce. I'm the
president of LCC MAHE. Board
members, future Board members, members of the LCC committee. MAHE was pleased to see the basic theme of the 2003-2004 budget
year with a need to increase the percentage of total direct
instructional expenditures. We
like your goal to increase the number of full-time faculty positions.
We share that goal. But
we want you to understand that this must become a reality and it is
possible. We would like to
see the percentage of credits delivered by part-timers decrease and
the number of credits delivered by full-time faculty increased. We know that
Oakland
Community
College
has contractual
language that limits the number of credits taught by part-time
faculty. Their contract
limits the instructional course hours taught by part-timers 38% per
year. That means that
full-time OCC faculty teach 62% of their courses. We need this for our faculty at
LCC. In addition, we need our part-time faculty to have priority
consideration to fill vacancies and new positions. As you know, we've been concerned about the respected
terminal contracts. Terminal
one-year contracts create an atmosphere of fear about job security
among employees. Other
faculty contracts at
Michigan
community
colleges limits the number of one-year contracts. Understand us.
We
don't want temporary faculty positions used to circumvent the
contract (inaudible - someone coughing) language and we want just
cause, layoffs, and recall rights for employees in terminal one-year
positions. You may have
heard us talking about terminal contracts and misunderstood us. We don't want fewer grant funded contracts.
What we want is for the College to create long-term
relationships with its employees no matter how their jobs are funded.
Finally, in the past you have used independent contractors to
do faculty work. We want
all faculty work done by skilled LCC faculty. Thank you for your time and I hope these comments help you plan
for the future budget year and give you some idea of what the faculty
union wants.
Trustee
Canady - When you say just cause for one year contracts, I'm not
sure what?
Sally
Pierce - There are places where terminal contracts or what we're
calling terminal contracts here at LCC are continued for a period of
time, those people have the same rights as anybody else; they have a
continuing contract. Even
though they're in a one-year position and the College doesn?t
necessarily know what's going to happen for funding for that they
have layoff rights and that's what we're thinking.
Barry
Stearns - Just a brief note. I?d
like to ask for the opportunity to address the Board briefly maybe in
a written report at the July meeting, regular July meeting. I found that my administrators have found a way to help with
the budget. I found out
today I?d been docked four days pay. So I?d like to bring that to the Board in July.
Chairperson
Jeffries - I'm not sure what the process is, but the Board in July
can deal with it.
2003-2004
Budget Discussion
Chairperson
Jeffries said this meeting was requested by Trustee Pelleran. As has been the process and procedure of the Board, when a
great deal of information or little information has been asked for by
one Trustee all the information is then distributed to the rest of the
Board. Trustee Pelleran
had a sizable request for information, so the Board called a special
meeting because the budget adoption is approaching, which is Monday,
June 16.
President
Cunningham stated that the questions that were raised were a review of
the budget for the last three years from each division and what was
reduced in each budget. She
said each Board member has a copy of that information at their places.
President Cunningham said all of the divisions were asked to
reduce their budgets by 5 and 10 percent, and this was prior to the
College knowing what the State would be doing with reductions in
appropriations. They were told that the cuts must not impact service
to students, they were to decrease administrative overhead, increase
funding to direct instruction, the cuts were to be reoccurring, and to
look at integrating services in order to be more efficient. With those directives, the Deans brought forward their budget
recommendations. President
Cunningham highlighted the fact that the instructional areas did
increase slightly in their budgets. She said that Mr. Glenn Cerny, the Deans, and she were happy to
entertain questions from the Board.
President
Cunningham reviewed with the Board a 4-year budget allocation summary
(which is on file with the official Board materials.)
Trustee
Pelleran stated that in the proposed budget it indicates that the area
of Supplies, Expenses and Grant Match has $18 million budgeted and the
spreadsheet in front of them has a number of $15 million. She said we are off by $3 million. Trustee Pelleran said that
her issue is that the expenses represent 19% of the budget and there
was no breakdown of that number.
President
Cunningham asked Mr. Cerny to respond to Trustee Pelleran?s
question.
Mr.
Cerny showed Trustee Pelleran on the spreadsheet where the information
was to answer her question.
There
was some slight confusion regarding what Trustee Pelleran requested
and what the administration understood she requested.
Trustee
Pelleran asked where the breakdown was for the Executive Office
budget.
Mr.
Cerny responded that it was on page 2 of the document and showed
Trustee Pelleran how each division was broken down on the spreadsheet.
Trustee
Pelleran asked where the Board's expenses are located in the
spreadsheet.
Mr.
Cerny responded that the Board's expenses are located within the
Executive Office division, which is what the College calls a cost
center within the Executive Office. He said that is another level of detail.
Trustee
Pelleran said the College had paid for two reviews and asked what line
item would that have come out of.
President
Cunningham responded it would be under Professional Fees.
Trustee
Pelleran asked what department that came out of.
President
Cunningham responded it came out of the Executive Office.
Mr.
Cerny explained what the Board has in front of them. He said each of those line items represents a whole year of
budget.
Trustee
Pelleran asked if this was budgeted or actual.
Mr.
Cerny responded that it was budgeted. We are doing an apples-to-apples comparison.
Trustee
Pelleran asked are we not looking at actual expenses.
Mr.
Cerny responded that we are looking at a three-year budget summary.
Trustee
Pelleran asked if these budgets are ever reconciled to actual expenses
when presenting the current budget.
President
Cunningham responded, yes, that the Board views the reconciled budget
every year.
Trustee
Pelleran asked if that was the one conducted by the accountants.
President
Cunningham responded, no, that is the audit.
Trustee
Pelleran said what we're looking at here is a budget and we're
basing it on a budget instead of actual expenses for the last three
cycles. She felt it would
have been helpful to have seen actual numbers as we look at the budget
as well.
President
Cunningham stated that she understood Trustee Pelleran had requested
what each division had budgeted and what reductions they had to make.
Trustee
Pelleran said she certainly did ask for budget, but there is another
question in her mind that we're not able to compare what actually
was spent before we do another budget. She stated that normally when you do a budget, and then you
reconcile and do an actual to it, then you have something to base it
on.
President
Cunningham said the administration previously presented the revised
budget as part of the reconciliation process; however, it was not at
this level of detail.
Mr.
Cerny responded that when you do a three-year analysis you have to
stay within an apples-to-apples comparison.
Trustee
Pelleran was concerned that we always come up with extra money when we
need it for something if it's for a contract or something similar.
However, what the Board is given is the budget and she?d like
to see where some of these areas are maybe a little unrealistic.
She said she knows the Deans have been asked to make certain
cuts, and are the Deans happy with the cuts they?ve had to make.
Trustee Pelleran asked if they are shifting the direction of
their programs due to the budget reductions. She said they have made the cuts, but we haven?t made the
cuts and that's what we're being asked to do; to look at this
without a level of detail that perhaps all of you have had and we
haven?t had it.
President
Cunningham said if Trustee Pelleran does not have the information
requested, she takes full responsibility for that. She thought the administration had provided to Trustee Pelleran
what she asked for. President
Cunningham said she was not aware that Trustee Pelleran wanted the
actual expenses. Staff
worked really hard to provide the budget and on the front page of the
document the revised budget is listed.
Chairperson
Jeffries asked if the revised budgets are the actual numbers.
President
Cunningham responded that was correct and the Board receives this
information every year.
Trustee
Pelleran said the Board has not seen the allocations by division each
year.
President
Cunningham responded that was correct. The Board receives the revised and proposed budget and the
Board approved the revised budget last month. President Cunningham was certain Trustee Pelleran had requested
the budget for the past three years; however, if that is not what she
asked for, President Cunningham took full responsibility for that.
Trustee
Pelleran admitted that is exactly what she asked for; however, having
come tonight and asked a few questions she realized that she misspoke
and took full responsibility for that. She wasn't sure if this was the actual numbers that the Board
is dealing with for 2000-2001, 2001-2002 or if those figures are what
was reconciled.
Trustee
Holden addressed Trustee Pelleran?s comments regarding having monies
available for unforeseen expenditures; however, some of the excess in
funds was due to increased enrollment and increased tax revenues and
not necessarily an excess in the divisional budgets.
President
Cunningham reminded the Board that there have been past discussions,
and the minutes will reflect this, where there has been money left
over at the end of the year; however, there has been a conscientious
effort to avoid this. She
said Chairperson Jeffries has always talked about getting closer to
reality and not have a surplus available at the end. This year with a $94 million budget there is a $300,000
surplus, which is closer than the College has ever been. President Cunningham reminded the Board that the recommendation
was to use the $300,000 surplus towards the early retirement incentive
program.
Trustee
Pelleran said it makes it difficult when we don't have the
appropriations end of it when the budget is reviewed.
President
Cunningham stated that if Trustee Pelleran had any specific questions,
the Deans were available to respond.
Mr.
Cerny said the expenditures to the budgets would be within
approximately 1% overall and each of the divisions work right to their
budgets.
President
Cunningham said the Deans sometime come back asking for additional
monies.
Trustee
Pelleran asked when someone does come back asking for money, what is
it for. She asked the
Deans to respond.
Dean
Judith Berry responded that when her division wanted to put in the new
certifications, she approached the Executive Leadership Team and
requested additional monies in the amount of $91,000.
Dean
Gary Knippenberg responded that it is quite common in the Liberal
Studies division where they are unable to staff sections and part-time
faculty are not available. He
said they then create a full-time temporary position to teach
sections. It's been
fortunate that money has been available; otherwise the sections would
be cancelled.
Trustee
Pelleran asked each Dean what budget reductions have they had to make.
Dean
Berry responded that for the summer they cut sections from one of
their departments and this was possible because these were courses
that were not part of an associates degree.
Trustee
Pelleran asked if these were courses that a student might need to
graduate.
Dean
Berry responded, no. They
made sure that these were courses that did not fall into that
category.
President
Cunningham drew Trustee Pelleran?s attention to the document that
listed the steps taken by each division to meet the budget criteria,
which might help guide her questions (the document is on file with the
official Board materials.)
Trustee
Pelleran said she was unable to see this document prior to the
meeting. She stated that
it makes it difficult to digest the information and ask questions at
the same time. Trustee
Pelleran hoped everyone could appreciate the position the Board is in.
She asked Dean Knippenberg to respond to her previous question.
Dean
Knippenberg responded other than the budget reductions listed in the
document before the Board, the Liberal Studies division did not cut
sections. He said they
expect an increase in enrollment and anticipates that revenue will
cover the demand for more sections.
Trustee
Pelleran asked the Deans where they were with the following
expenditures: professional
fees, institutional expenses, purchased services, and rentals.
Dean
Knippenberg responded that they cut the supplies and copying budgets
by 20% with the anticipation that they can be more efficient with the
copying costs by placing more student material on blackboard. He and the other deans feel it is a realistic cut.
Dean Knippenberg said the Liberal Studies division reduced the
travel and meeting expenses budget by 10%.
Trustee
Pelleran asked the deans what they foresee in their divisions next
year due to the budget reductions.
Dean
Knippenberg responded that they anticipate a continued demand.
Dean
Roberta Peterson responded that the Human, Health and Public Service (HHPS)
division has a 5.8% increase for next year; however, their division
still reduced the budget by approximately $170,000.She
said they requested special initiative dollars. The workforce demand is nursing; therefore, they requested
additional funds to increase the number of seats in the nursing
program, which is a very costly program to run. Dean Peterson stated
that they also requested funds to begin a part-time nursing program,
which is a community effort. The
local hospitals will be paying for a portion of this new initiative.
She requested an administrator for these new programs and that
was added to their budget. They
also requested the ability to fund an innovative licensed LPN/paramedic
to the nursing program. Dean
Peterson shared that the HHPS division has experienced a 20% increase
in credits since spring 2001.
Trustee
Pelleran asked Dean Peterson if she felt the division could meet its
objectives with the proposed budget.
Dean
Peterson responded, yes. She
said they are very pleased with the support they?ve received.
Dean
Herder responded the Student and Academic Support (SAS) division can
live within their budget. It
isn?t easy, but they can meet their objectives. He said the cuts have been deep, but they have found they are
able to put things together, cross train, and cross support each other
in a number of ways which are creative and also very positive. Dean Herder highlighted the budget reductions the SAS division
made as indicated on the Steps to be Taken to Meet the Budget
document. He said they
have had to cut back not in services, but in the hours of services
where there is minimal negative impact.
Trustee
Pelleran asked what was the breakdown of the divisional cuts.
Dean
Herder responded that the SAS division has the largest budget at the
College; therefore, it is logical that the percentage of cut would be
higher.
Mr.
Cerny said the 2003-2004 budget for SAS has an increase of .4%. There are two components in the SAS division and he asked Mr.
Martin Pennoni to elaborate.
Mr.
Pennoni said out of the SAS budget there is an instructional
component, which is the developmental math, language skills, and the
student development courses that represents approximately - of the
division?s budget. These
areas received a 6% increase in their budget and the support side of
the division decreased their budget by approximately 1.5%. He said there was an 8.3% increase in sections from last year
to this year and an additional 8% increase is projected next year.
Trustee
Pelleran said they are increasing sections, but at the same time
having to double up and decrease staff.
Dean
Herder stated that consistent with the Board's strategic plan, SAS
has said and has been given support to allocate funds whenever
possible in the instructional areas. In the anticipation of the 8% increase, the money from the
institution will be available. He
stated that if they manage their sections well, they won?t have to
cancel any or many.
Trustee
Pelleran asked if Dean Herder has had to cancel any courses for the
summer semester that were part of a track for a student to graduate.
Dean
Herder responded, nothing out of the ordinary, just normal section
management.
Trustee
Pelleran asked the other deans to address her questions.
Dean Bill Darr said they worked very hard within the division to
maintain delivering instruction for students. They are looking at improving section management by combining
sections and ensuring the sections are full before adding additional
ones in order to become more efficient.
Trustee
Pelleran asked those Deans that eliminated a part-time lab technician
position how that affected the accessibility of the training for
students.
Dean
Darr responded that does not directly impact the availability for
students. That position
was a part-time position in the machine shop that assisted in
repairing equipment. He
said faculty are supporting the maintenance of the machines more.
Dean Darr felt that the Technical Careers division is quite
blessed because the faculty help with the maintenance of the
equipment. In the past
when a piece of equipment has needed repair and there's not enough
budget to cover the costs, they have always been successful to
approach ELT to get the necessary resources. Dean Darr stated that the budget is tight, but they are trying
to manage more effectively.
President
Cunningham explained what enrollment management is. She said when you have a class section that does not have the
minimum number and another section that has more, you try to balance
that out while at the same time being accessible to students so we can
maintain the student/faculty ratio that we want.
Trustee
Pelleran said when she first became a Trustee, not using the
facilities to their potential on Fridays was discussed. She asked if that has changed.
Dr.
Gary VanKempen responded we're holding steady on that measure.
It proves to be difficult to have those classes run. He said the classes are offered and often times they don't
run. we're working on
it, but it's a struggle to increase that.
President
Cunningham responded that we are also looking at initiatives to
attract more students here at the times that we are not at capacity.
For example, offering reduced or free parking. They are continuing to dialogue with students about this issue
too.
Dr.
VanKempen said in some areas holding classes on Fridays have
increased.
Trustee
Pelleran asked if having block programs has been reviewed such as all
day Friday or Saturday programs.
President
Cunningham responded that a few years ago the College had a program
where a student could receive a degree by attending school on the
weekends. She said it
started out successful, but it has been difficult to maintain it.
President Cunningham stated that similar thought processes
continue with the Deans.
Trustee
Pelleran addressed Dean Herder.She
asked him if the staff positions eliminated in his division were from
the current year or next year.
Dean
Herder responded that they were for next year.
Trustee
Pelleran asked what he has had to eliminate already this year.
Dean
Herder responded that this for year the positions eliminated did not
have any significant impact. He
asked if this discussion is primarily regarding next year?s budget.
Trustee
Pelleran responded, yes, but she?s looking at also where we are
today with certain cuts we've had to do with staff and then more
cuts for the next academic year.
Dean
Herder responded that people have doubled up. Some vacant positions were not replaced.
He said sometimes secretarial support and administrative
support is doubled up and they?ve really just covered for each
other.
Trustee
Pelleran said she is sure everyone feels that there will be a budget
recovery at some point and this is just an unusual time in the country
that none of them have ever experienced. She asked if they have seen any deterioration at this point in
instructional quality. If
they are doubling up, what kind of pressure are they putting on the
system, and are we dealing with structural deficits that are not being
addressed.
Dean
Berry responded that this situation is causing them to look at doing
business differently. When
this situation doesn?t exist, you keep doing the same thing. One statement made tonight was that all work and development
should be done by faculty, but we know that many things can be
purchased already. She
said when you do that it raises the question of how they can provide
the service and provide the same quality, but do it differently.
Dean Berry felt they are saving money and being more creative
due to the budget situation. She
said they are receiving materials and resources that are the same
quality. In the past, they
have operated with only a teacher here at LCC can do it, but it is
causing them to look other places where a product is already
developed. Dean Berry does
not feel that they are providing inferior services, but they are doing
things differently. If the
resources are not available, they look for alternative sources such as
grants.
Trustee
Pelleran was concerned that without dealing with the structural issues
and if there are more budget cuts from the State, we won?t have a
recovery that we need and it could exacerbate staff.
Dean
Berry said you would have to look at other sources of income and this
situation is having them do that. She stated that foundation and grant monies are also available.
President
Cunningham reminded the Board that the reduction in state
appropriations was not a surprise to the college. This issue has been discussed for the past two or three years
within the strategic planning process. She said we've implemented a structured area of
accountability which has been helpful to reallocate resources to high
demand areas.
Trustee
Pelleran stated that the deans are not told enough about the
outstanding job they do. She
said they may sometimes doubt if the Board really recognize and
appreciate their work and the appreciation is in the numbers. Trustee Pelleran stated that is the biggest measure that we
have in this entire community college district. She said the Board really appreciates their work.
Part of the Board's job is to deal with the budget and it is
not showmanship. She said
that part of it is probably no one has asked for a lot detail in the
past. Things were a little
easier; we had increases, we were able to pass the millage because of
the work of everyone in this community, however, that still leaves us
with a $4 million deficit this year. If we have to raise tuition and fees, and double up on our
instruction, there may be a problem in the future with that. Trustee Pelleran stated that people get burned out.
President
Cunningham clarified that the doubling up is with staff and not with
faculty.
Trustee
Pelleran stated that they appreciate being informed of the doubling up
of staff because now they are aware of it because they?ve been told.
She said that should be monitored because of potential staff
burnout and the possibility of not meeting the needs of the students.
Trustee Pelleran asked Mr. Chris Holman to address her
questions.
Mr.
Holman responded that the Business & Community Institute (BCI)
reduced their budget by approximately 9%. He said there are other entities within the BCI that also
reduced their budgets. They
reduced the Capital Quality Initiative subsidy and reduced the
Small
Business
Development
Center
subsidy by
$5,000. He said the BCI is
unique in that student services would not be affected because they are
the profit seeking division in the College. They would be more worried about facilitation of their
customers? needs. They're
going through a continuous of a well-postured group that's been on
the verge of success. He
said they have organized more efficiently, have put in new timelines,
guidelines, and are tweaking the culture and he has no doubt there
will be success.
Trustee
Pelleran asked how are the BCI?s customers feeling about the budget
reductions.
Mr.
Holman responded that not too long ago Mr. Glenn Kirk, from General
Motors, was before the Board and shared the wonderful things the BCI
is doing with them. He
said that all of his customers share the same feelings. Mr. Holman expressed that he was overwhelmed when he first came
to the College, having come from the private sector, with the quality
of people that work here.
Trustee
Pelleran asked what is the amount of revenue that BCI generates.
Ms.
Denice Beckwith responded that she does not have that figure. The BCI deals with credit and non-credit, which some of it is
on-line.
President
Cunningham said the BCI has decreased their overhead by over $1
million in the last two years while still maintaining a level of
service and/or increased it. Several
years ago, many Trustees had concern with the budget in BCI because
they had a lot of staff. They
were able to decrease the overhead and did not lose any services
rather they increased it.
Mr.
Holman stated that Mr. Tony Juliano did an incredible of job getting
the BCI to that point. The
big lumps in this division were the year before last; not this year.
However, reducing the budget by 8% still is difficult. He said the BCI teaches a course regarding lean operation, so
they are living the course.
President
Cunningham added that the BCI lost several administrators in the last
two years and they have only replaced one.
Trustee
Pelleran asked what division was Marketing a part of.
Dean
Berry responded that Marketing is also part of the Business and Media
Services division. She
said they are managing fine. They
anticipate cutting sections that have enrollment under 12 students,
which is a part of enrollment management. Dean Berry shared that there are approximately 30 to 40
sections per semester that have an enrollment under 12 and those
sections will be dropped if they do not affect a student?s ability
to graduate. She said the
faculty release time was at 35% and it has been reduced to 24% and
expect it to drop in the fall to 18%. Dean Berry explained that more teachers will be teaching more
classes and being released less for administrative duties. During the program review they have found that Electronics
needed to be restructured and will be integrated with the Information
Processing program to make it more efficient in not having extra lab
technicians. Dean Berry
stated that the faculty are cross trained and cross certified in those
areas. She further
reviewed the other budget reductions made in the Business and Media
Services division.
Trustee
Pelleran asked Dean Berry when she was asked to cut the budget, was
she given a percent or was she asked to first review where they could
reduce the budget.
Dean
Berry responded that they were given two targets, which was a 10% and
a 5% cut.
President
Cunningham reiterated that the cuts made were not to affect services
to students, but rather decrease administrative overhead, increase
funding to direct instruction and the reductions must be reoccurring.
Trustee
Pelleran asked what cuts the Executive office made.
President
Cunningham responded that the Executive Office division includes the
following departments: Academic
Affairs, Star Institute, Human Resources, Extension and Community
Education, and the President's Office which includes the Board of
Trustees. She said there
are positions that have not been filled, reduced support staff, Star
Institute has reduced their level of support and not replaced several
positions. President
Cunningham asked Mr. Davidson to review what budget reductions the
Human Resources department made.
Mr.
Davidson responded that it is estimated that in Human Resources they
will have vacancies due to the early retirement incentive program.
President
Cunningham reported that there was a full-time support staff position
in the Academic Affairs office that was eliminated and the College
assisted the individual in finding a position in another department on
campus. She reminded the
Board that Dr. VanKempen used to work directly with the Provost and he
has not replaced himself. President
Cunningham also shared that a part-time support staff vacancy was not
filled.
There
was discussion regarding wanting to see continued growth in the Star
Institute. It was shared
that the Star Institute may be moving into the BCI as there is a
natural synergy between the two areas. There may be a potential initiative for an alternative energy
grant in
Lansing
with the K-12
education system, which may correlate with the grant the College
recently received.
Trustee
Pelleran asked what some of the community education programs are.
President
Cunningham responded that we are looking at the reduction of sites
where students are able to take courses. She said they are looking at having approximately 8
strategically located sites available. The Extension and Community Education department has not
replaced a position vacancy. President
Cunningham shared that the A+ Summer Camps are housed out of this
department.
Ms.
Beckie Beard shared that Ms. Jean Morciglio, Director of the Extension
& Community Education department, is one of her customers that has
to have a lot rental contracts for the different facilities for the
various programs they offer. She
said during the past six months Ms. Morciglio has worked with
Purchasing to renegotiate a lot of rental agreements, which has
reduced the costs. Ms.
Beard stated that Ms. Morciglio has been instrumental to get reduced
rates.
Trustee
Pelleran asked about the budget reductions that the Administrative
Services division.
Ms.
Beckwith reviewed each area of the Administrative Services, which
includes the Business Office, Accounting and Payroll, Purchasing,
Physical Plant, and the Police and Public Safety Department.
Trustee
Pelleran asked if the architectural fees will decrease.
Dean
Darr responded that part of that was major work had been completed
over the past three years. The
Department of Management and Budget required a master plan and all of
the facilities were surveyed. He
said that there will be some fees associated with the update of the
facilities master plan. Dean
Darr said those fees are diminishing.
President
Cunningham shared that one of the largest savings in the
Administrative Services division has been that Mr. Cerny has been
willing to take on the duties of the Vice President of Finance. She said Ms. Beard and Dean Darr have taken on additional
responsibilities. The Vice
President of Finance position has not been replaced, but it will be
reviewed in terms of how that position can be reconfigured.
Chairperson
Jeffries asked if the Police and Public Safety Department recently was
awarded a grant.
Dean
Darr responded that a grant was applied for to get additional funding
to increase the police staff with the M-TEC facility soon to be built.
Ms.
Borger shared that this grant will give the institution two police
officer positions for a toal of $150,000 over a three year period.
The cap that you can receive in a year is $75,000 and the
College will be receiving all of that. She said this was intended to help with the coverage of the
Delta campus.
Trustee
Pelleran asked Dean Berry if the technology and information
processing, graphics and media are areas of student interest and
student growth.
Dean
Berry responded that they have experienced an increased interest,
which is approximately 29%.
Trustee
Pelleran said there is a 29% increase in interest in this division and
it is an area that we flat lined.
Dean
Berry explained that last year her division hired 11 full-time
teachers. She said they
did catch up last year and increased the number of faculty members in
the Information Technology area. She
explained the composition of her division, which includes Information
Processing and Office Systems; Business, Marketing, and Management;
and the Visual Arts and they are seeing significant growth in all of
those areas.
Trustee
Pelleran said we are seeing significant growth, but we flat lined it.
She said when there is a 29% in student interest, we ought to
pay attention to it as a growth area for this College.
President
Cunningham responded that in Dean Berry?s area she has grown certain
areas and have sent her faculty to a lot of training and
certification. She said
perhaps the sections have not been at full capacity, so there wasn't
a need to increase the human resources. President Cunningham stated that there is no question that if
there is a need in the instructional area, funding is reallocated
appropriately.
Dean
Berry responded that her division received the majority of the
full-time faculty allocation last year. Since they had more faculty, the sections could increase this
year.
Trustee
Pelleran was concerned that the 5 or 10% reduction taken across the
board is not equitable. There are growth areas in the College and
there are areas that are not and to her does not seem to be the best
decision to do a 5 or 10% reduction from each of the divisions. She would like that reviewed with a little more critical eye
because she doesn?t see how they are told to cut 5 or 10% when
it's not that in reality.
President
Cunningham directed Trustee Pelleran?s attention to the front page
of the spreadsheet regarding the percentage of change. She said that the division?s did not actually cut 5 or 10%
because that was a starting place. President Cunningham highlighted the fact that the
instructional areas did not have to take that 5 or 10% cut.
Trustee
Canady said he is always in favor of across the board cuts because if
you don't take it across the board that means someone will take a
deeper cut than others. (Tape
ended, unable to capture exactly what Trustee Canady said.)
Trustee
Rasmusson said the perception is that the college transfer area is a
growth area and they're not getting enough faculty. He asked if that was true.
President
Cunningham responded that the Liberal Studies area has traditionally
been the highest generator in revenue. She said they have received some new faculty and asked Dr.
VanKempen and Dr. Knippenberg to further address Trustee Rasmusson?s
question.
Dr.
VanKempen responded that currently the College is replacing a Biology
faculty member and asked Dr. Knippenberg if there were more this year.
Dr.
Knippenberg responded, no. He
said three full-time positions were added last year and given the
budget situation adequate part-time faculty members are hired. Dr. Knippenberg stated that they have been able to adequately
find part-time faculty members in the exception of one area, which is
Anatomy and Physiology. He
said that is a small problem given the enormity of the Liberal Studies
division.
Trustee
Rasmusson shared that the complaint he heard was that the part-time
faculty members were not high quality compared to having a faculty
member who has a Ph.D. or a Masters in political science that can
teach anything. You
wouldn?t have to hire five part-timers if you get one Ph.D.
Dean
Knippenberg responded that when you hire a lot of part-time faculty
the quality issue is always a question. He said the College does require a Masters Degree, which is an
adequate degree for teaching. In
the political science courses general courses and one comparative
course are offered, and Masters Degree candidates can handle that.
Dr. Knippenberg shared that once a part-time faculty is hired
they are monitored first the semester very carefully and if someone
doesn?t work out the first semester, they do not return.
President
Cunningham said they are looking at converting some part-time
positions into full-time positions in the Math area based on the work
done by Ms. Carolyn Haase and others. She shared that in the next budget cycle they are planning to
add four new full-time faculty member positions.
Trustee
Pelleran asked Ms. Joan Bauer how it's working out with the
McCormick Group and to share information regarding the Foundation.
Ms.
Bauer responded that the Foundation?s goals are the Board's goals
which include increasing revenue. She said they have a major goal to increase the unrestricted
funds in addition to the scholarships. By increasing the unrestricted funds the Foundation will be
able to help in many other ways with other programs. Ms. Bauer shared that they are discussing with the McCormick
Group, President Cunningham regarding some type of a capital campaign
to raise funds for the building projects. She said the McCormick Group, in addition to providing overall
consulting services, provides a full-time person who works in the
Foundation Office and an additional part-time person who handles donor
management. Ms. Bauer
stated that Mr. Dan McCormick meets with them regularly and has
already given really valuable insight. She felt that it is going very well and it is the right
direction.
President
Cunningham added that with the McCormick Group contract they have
allowed tremendous amount of flexibility and depth. They were able to place one of the existing staff members there
in another position at the College. She said they have not been disappointed at all.
Trustee
Pelleran asked who was in charge of the publications, printing costs,
and college marketing.
President
Cunningham responded that those areas were a part of ISCD, which Mr.
Cerny oversees. However,
they have been moved over to the SAS division under Dean Herder?s
leadership. She said the
Marketing Director is reporting to Mr. Evan Montague.
Trustee
Pelleran asked if the staff handle the graphics and design, or is it
contracted out.
Mr.
Pennoni responded that the Marketing Department was moved to
Enrollment Services due to marketing and recruitment efforts. The production component, which is graphic design, was moved to
Media Department. Within
the graphic design area, there is a full-time graphic designer, one
part-time graphic designer, a student graphic designer, and one
photographer. Mr. Pennoni
said compared to the private sector, we are getting a phenomenal deal.
We would be paying significantly more if we were purchasing our
design services.
Trustee
Pelleran asked if the printing is contracted out.
Mr.
Pennoni responded that was correct.
Trustee
Pelleran referred to the publication Career
Focus. She asked if
focus groups have been conducted to study the focus of this
publication.
Mr.
Pennoni responded he did not have the answer to her question.
Trustee
Pelleran expressed her opinion of the Career
Focus publication. She
said it is a very difficult, unuser-friendly publication. Trustee Pelleran asked if any of the publications have focus
groups.
President
Cunningham stated that publication has been the number one public
relations publication for the institution. She said people look for it in the mail; they recognize it.
President Cunningham agreed with Trustee Pelleran that it is
not the clean, white space that you're used to seeing. She shared that Mr. Leone has done extensive research regarding
this publication and has met with other community colleges. It is the new way of marketing and promoting oneself.
President Cunningham said the publication has received more
recognition and awards compared to any other publication at the
College.
Trustee
Pelleran said it does look like a beautiful piece, and asked if it is
recruiting students. She
doesn?t want to stop any recruitment or marketing efforts; however,
it's important to look at them with a critical eye to ensure that we
get the best bank for the buck.
President
Cunningham expressed that Mr. Leone measures all the advertisement the
College places. She said
there was a particular program that was highlighted in Career
Focus and the following week the phone rang off the hook.
Ms.
Borger commented that the move of Marketing to Enrollment Services is
key to this College's strategic direction of enrollment management.
The College is one of the very few institutions that moved
Marketing into an enrollment management program. At many other institutions marketing is centralized in an
executive office. She said
what the College has done is taken a step towards, what Trustee
Pelleran is requesting, which is directly linking marketing into
student recruitment and retention. Ms. Borger stated that the Board may see that in a future Noel
Levitz student satisfaction survey.
President
Cunningham stated that Mr. Leone is known throughout the campus for
using the term, ?Butts in Seats.? She said he measures everything in ensuring that any marketing
for the College will increase enrollment.
Trustee
Pelleran shared that term usually goes hand in hand with recession and
tough economic times as well. There
is a different impact that is also relative to the ?butts in
seats? and it's not just the marketing. She asked how often is the marketing plan and the budget
reviewed.
President
Cunningham responded that she is unaware of how often Mr. Leone and
his staff review the marketing plan; however, it is constantly being
reviewed along with everything else as part of the continuous
improvement model that every service and program has at the College.
She said that is part of the reason marketing was moved to
Enrollment Services so they can work with the individuals responsible
for recruitment and retention. This
was an efficient, cost effective move for marketing, and it is not
just glitz and producing publications rather how can you increase
credits in programs that are low at the same time meeting community
needs. President
Cunningham was not aware of how often the Marketing Department reviews
the plan.
Dean
Berry shared that the Marketing Department reviews the marketing plan
with each of the divisions every semester. At the beginning of each semester they give divisions a
priority list of which department they will be working with. She said they assign a staff member who works with the
divisions on a regular basis to work with the priority areas. They are very functional within each division and program area.
Dean Berry believes that the 2,000 students enrolled in the IT
certification area due to the Career Focus publication. She
said their phone rings off the hook the day it is published.
Trustee
Pelleran asked where the Marketing Department is located within the
budget.
President
Cunningham their budget is currently in the ISCD division, but they
have physically moved to the SAS Division.
Mr.
Cerny responded that for the 2003-2004 fiscal year their budget will
be in the SAS division.
Trustee
Pelleran asked how Oracle is doing.
Mr.
Cerny responded that it is going well. We are two weeks away with going live with the human resources
and finance components. He
said the portal has been up since August of 2002 and Collaboration
Suite was implemented on a pilot base since December of 2002. On
May 12, 2,500
employees were
converted over to the new email and calendar system in Collaboration
Suite. Since December of
2002, students have had access to Collaboration Suite.
Trustee
Pelleran asked if registration was already conducted.
Mr.
Cerny responded that the student system is the final phase of Oracle
and will not be implemented until next January.
Trustee
Pelleran asked Mr. Cerny if he was happy with it.
Mr.
Cerny responded yes. It is
a very robust product and it is going to give the College the ability
to do it from a long-term standpoint. He shared that it is a fantastic product because it allows you
to build off the framework developed. Currently the foundation is being built in and this will give
the College the ability to move forward.
Trustee
Pelleran asked if the College is still using Banner.
Mr.
Cerny responded that in terms of the student system, yes. The Banner student system will be used until the summer of next
year and that will be replaced with the Oracle student component.
He said the human resources and finance components will be
implemented in two weeks off of Banner.
President
Cunningham said there is no question there will be some challenges
when any of these systems are implemented. However, we are building and growing this and there will be
challenges. She said as
you look at the bottom line there is absolutely no question that it
will allow the College to be more efficient, responsible, and
accountable. It will also allow us to have a tremendous amount of cost
saving measures.
Mr.
Cerny stated that with the consolidation of the platform, we will be
dropping the Novell license, the Lotus Notes license, and the
contracts for Banner at a future point in time. He said the College will essentially have one component that a
license will be built on. This
process will allow us to add any component because it will already be
integrated. Mr. Cerny
shared that the problem with the existing systems is some components
did not link because there wasn't a common platform.
Trustee
Pelleran asked what the academic initiatives were.
President
Cunningham responded that the academic initiatives are the activities
that the academic areas would like to continue, but may not have the
budget allocated. She
shared some examples that included Dean Peterson requested funds for
the RN and Paramedic program.
Trustee
Pelleran asked for an update regarding the LUCERO program.
President
Cunningham announced that the responsibility of overseeing the LUCERO
program has been assigned to Mr. Raul Martinez. She asked Dean Herder or Dr. VanKempen for the number of
students participating in the program.
Dr.
VanKempen responded that approximately 50 students are participating.
President
Cunningham shared how excited the college is about the potential of
the program. They are also
exploring expanding the program by integrating it into other programs
and having a central program where all students can go to obtain
computer and tutorial access.
Trustee
Pelleran asked if this program is being bridged with the high schools.
President
Cunningham responded that there are recruitment efforts at the high
schools that include bringing students on campus. A
Lansing
Community
College
counselor
visits the
Cristo
Rey
Community Center
and provides
counseling to students. She
asked Dean Herder to further address Trustee Pelleran?s question.
Dean
Herder responded that there are linkages with area high schools and it
is anticipated that there will be more in particularly with regard to
Hispanic students and the focus of the LUCERO program is retention.
He shared that there was a very nice reception that was held
for the students currently participating in the program.
President
Cunningham said there are a lot of community partners that will be
stepping forward by assisting with mentoring and other areas. She stated that Trustee Mason has donated funds to the program
and has volunteered to be a mentor.
Trustee
Pelleran asked if there is a similar program for African-American
student retention.
President
Cunningham responded that there are programs for African-American,
Native-American, and other students. The
Multicultural
Center
provides
services for all students. The
nation?s leading drop out rate is with Hispanic-Latino students.
Trustee
Pelleran stated that from the high-school standpoint African-Americans
have a drop out rate of approximately 60% and Latinos have a rate of
47% in
Michigan
.
President
Cunningham said at the higher education level the drop out rate is
much higher with the Hispanic population.
Trustee
Pelleran asked what the status was of filling Ms. Queen McMiller?s
position, which was the Director of the
Multicultural
Center
and the Equal
Opportunity Employment Officer.
President
Cunningham responded that currently the College has temporarily hired
Dr. Cami Zawacki, who worked with Ms. McMiller prior to her leaving,
to work as the Equal Opportunity Employment Officer until the
administration has an opportunity to review the position vacancies.
She said that Dr. Stephen Appiah-Padi is serving as the interim
director of the
Multicultural
Center
.
Trustee
Pelleran thanked everyone for being so attentive in answering the
Board's questions.
Chairperson
Jeffries asked if any other Board members had additional questions.
The
Board did not have any additional questions.
Chairperson
Jeffries thanked everyone for having attended the meeting on such a
short notice.
Public
Comment
Chris
Laverty - President Cunningham, Chairman Jeffries, Board of
Trustees. I am Chris Laverty, Trustee-elect as well you know. Sometimes referred to as a paid volunteer, union goon.
One thing I will admit to is I am chummy with my friend, Robert
Proctor, back there. In
reference to the State Journal today, I answered a lot of questions of
the State Journal yesterday for that newspaper. Most of which didn?t get in there.
Pretty evident they pick and choose what they want in there. But it's true that I was heavily backed by the unions of
labor throughout this community and the entire slate was. I particularly had the endorsement of every union and every
other place that I happened to go to. Whether it was the Chamber of
Commerce, the State Journal or the Hispanic organization, the Black
organizations, the human rights organizations. And I just want to say tonight that the unions are not going to
run
Lansing
Community
College
; the Board is
going to run
Lansing
Community
College
. And the new slate as well as the current Board members are all
very highly qualified, very intelligent, and have very broad
qualifications and experience. And
it's not the union slate or the labor backed group. Particularly we have endorsements of support from all kinds of
different diverse groups and we're going to bring a lot of new
diversity to the Board. I
am looking forward to coming on the Board on July 1st. This is something that I've prepared for for years
personally. It is a career
high for me. I don't
really intend to do anything beyond being on the Board of Trustees.
I am going to bring some things to the Board. From my own personal background, my own personal values and
beliefs, that maybe some people will have a hard time with. But I don't want anybody here at the College, whether it's
staff or faculty or President Cunningham, to be concerned. July 1st is not going to be dooms day.
It's not the end of the world. But I do have some concerns.
One of them is that, maybe from my union background, I have a
huge problem with increasing tuition or laying off people until I'm
assured that everything has been done to cut corners throughout the
College. I've learned a
lot here tonight. Maybe it
has been. I hope it has
been. Another thing I'm
going to bring down here is my background in labor management
relations. Years of it. And I intend to see this College become a model of labor
relations in the future between the unions, all seven of them, and the
administration or management. I
know it doesn?t happen overnight; it didn?t happen overnight at
UAW GM. But it will
happen. I want to see
trust, communication, honesty, and cooperation between the unions and
the administration down here. Just
like we have at the plant. I
don't think that's too much to ask. And another thing.
Maybe
it's my union background, but I don't like contractors and I
don't like consultants. Except
for Dan McCormick. But I
don't want people to be threatened by this new change. It will probably be uncomfortable for a while for some people
and change is always uncomfortable for people starting out. But I got some plans for this Board that I want to do.
I've already and in years past have actually looked at the
Carver model. I've
studied it that in the past; I'm not an expert on it, but I want to
take a look at that for the Board. I want to take a look at what resources we have with the
Michigan Association of Community Colleges. I want to take a look at the national or the American Community
College Trustee association and see what we can do there to bring this
whole Board together where we're all working as one unit and we all
have one voice. And I will
do that. I have come
before this Board three different times in the past; went through all
the hoops to get on this Board through the interview process and all
three times I was second place. And
I don't like rejection. Every
time the people voted against me told me, well, you got to run for
election, Chris. So, I
decided that third time this spring I was going to do it. Little did anybody know, including myself, that I was going to
bring a whole quorum to this Board on July 1st. I just want to say I'm looking forward to getting on the
Board. I'm going to do a
good job. Very excited
about it and I'm going to make sure that we make a great college
even greater. Thank you.
Adjournment
The
meeting adjourned at
9:03 p.m.
