Adopted Meeting Minutes
Special Meeting
August 26, 2003

Call to Order

The meeting was called to order at 5:30 p.m.  

Roll Call  

Present:  Brannan, Canady, Laverty, Murray, Pelleran, Proctor
Absent:  Rasmusson

Trustee Canady departed the meeting at 6:11 p.m.

Limited Public Comment Regarding Agenda Items

There were no comments from the public. 

Strategic Planning Process Overview

President Cunningham gave an overview of the work that has occurred over the last three years related to the strategic plan.  The College used to be all things to all people; however, with the shrinking resources and other initiatives, the college could no longer continue doing business this way.  A process was implemented to identify the college’s  areas of excellence and its costs.  The Board at that time chose to follow a business model.  She said over 1,000 individuals were involved in the strategic planning process from students, focus groups, and community members.  The question asked of them was how they would allocate funds for developmental education, workforce development, etc.  With their feedback, reviewing many documents, and under the direction of Mr. Lee Whipple, strategic planning consultant, the College made very tough decisions which some were not popular with the community.  President Cunningham stated that it was important that through the process the College maintain its accreditation, which will be highlighted during the meeting.

President Cunningham asked staff that were present to introduce themselves to the Board.  The following staff members were present:  Rich Howard, Executive Assistant to the President and Board Liaison; Ruth Borger , Director of Public Relations and Government Affairs; David Davidson , Executive Director of Human Resources; Gary VanKempen, Vice President of Academic Affairs; Glenn Cerny , Chief Information Officer; Nancy Lombardi, Director of Quality of Assurance; Ray Turner , Director of Planning; and Lee Whipple, Planning and Organizational Development consultant.

Mr. Turner reviewed the 2000-2007 Strategic Plan (the plan is on file with the official Board materials.) 

Ms. Lombardi, Dr. VanKempen, Mr. Davidson, and Mr. Cerny reviewed the strategic drivers, which are as follows:

1. Continuous improvement
2. Comprehensive community college approach with an emphasis on careers and on user-level information technology skills
3. Local priority
4. Equity and comprehensive compensation
5. Financial Balance

There was discussion regarding the Star Institute program and where that will be housed.  The Star program will continue to be at the Hill Center due to the potential of an increase in Lansing School District students attending the Hill Center this fall. 

Chairperson Laverty asked for more information regarding the Leadership Development program.  He said he had heard about it and thinks it is a great idea.

President Cunningham responded that she and others have met with Ms. Sheryl Ronk, from Michigan Society Association of Executives, and Sam Singh from the Michigan Non-profit Association, to share the idea with them because it is not the College’s intent to compete with anyone.  She said they bought into the idea and the College is involved in initial stages of discussions.  They have met with Dr. John Porter in acquiring a planning grant.

Trustee Murray asked what the annual results inventory reports mean in terms of work for staff and faculty.

Ms. Lombardi responded that initially it feels very cumbersome and frustrating; however, people are learning to see the advantage of the reports.  They are learning that they may spend a lot of time on what they think is their real job, but they are not doing it in a results-oriented way.  People are beginning to see the advantage of thinking strategically.  She gave the example of the Department of Police and Public Safety.  This department could not articulate what the department does at the College and why.  Overtime it became clear about what they do and began to realize that some of the activities they were involved in were a waste of time.  Ms. Lombardi shared that once the service review plans are in place it is simply a matter of documenting and doing standard quality improvement work.  She said faculty are on a four-year service review cycle. 

Trustee Murray asked if everyone is pulled into the process and sees the results.

Ms. Lombardi responded that most of the work is done at the managerial level with a few staff members.  Others may be involved at a meeting where improvement is discussed.  She said more people are involved on a as-needed basis if there are specific improvements that need to be made.

President Cunningham shared that everyone at the College has access to these reports.  For example, faculty members have the ability to review the community impact of their courses.

Trustee Murray referred to strategic driver#4, equity and comprehensive compensation.  She said this driver seems really limited to compensation only and does not refer to relationships with our faculty, staff, and student employees.

Mr. Davidson responded that the strategic drivers address the strategic plan.  They do not address the day-to-day activities at the College and how we interrelate with them.  There’s much more to Human Resources than cost competitiveness and equity.  The Board of Trustees selected this driver to concentrate on to boost morale. 

President Cunningham responded that this driver was also developed to attract and retain faculty.

Trustee Brannan asked Mr. Cerny to further address leveraging the College’s ERP system.

Mr. Cerny responded that the College has developed the ability for staff to have a single sign-on to a portal that contains files, email, and calendar and it is all web based.  Now students also have the ability to have a single sign-on for email, share files with their faculty, do web registration, or review their records.  Mr. Cerny responded that Lansing Community College is the only College in Michigan that has this capability.

Chairperson Laverty thanked everyone for having attended the meeting.  He said the Board will try to minimize the special meetings.  There is a third and last special meeting scheduled for Wednesday, August 27 at noon .  The purpose of that meeting will be legal issues and will be discussed in closed session.  He announced that the special meeting previously scheduled on September 4 has been cancelled.  Chairperson Laverty stated that he’s studied policy governance, has reviewed the College’s policy governance process used in the 90’s and with everything presented tonight he sees a lot of commonalities.  If the Board decides to go forward with policy governance, the strategic plan will blend right in.

President Cunningham said several Trustees saw Mr. Lee Whipple’s presentation at the Michigan Community College Association (MCCA) summer workshop regarding AQIP (Academic Quality Improvement Program), which is an extension of the strategic plan in many ways.  She stated that it is because of the work that had been done with the strategic plan that LCC and Mr. Whipple became known to the State Department of Career Development and asked him to replicate the work he did at LCC to those community colleges who wanted to follow the College’s model.  There are six community colleges who’ve signed on, so now there will be bench marking opportunities.  President Cunningham introduced Mr. Whipple and provided a synopsis of his background.  He is a strategic planning consultant and organizational development project management consultant.  His client list includes the State of Michigan , General Motors, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Cleveland Reserve Bank among others.  Mr. Whipple has authored five books, which one was featured on the Today Show.  His history with LCC includes being a student in 1965, an adjunct faculty member in the 1970’s and 1980’s, and as an independent consultant he brought hundreds of credit hours to the College in joint programs with General Motors and others.  President Cunningham shared that everyone that spoke tonight has worked with Mr. Whipple directly as he’s passed the torch on to them with different parts of the strategic plan.

Mr. Lee Whipple provided an overview on the Lansing Community College AQIP, strategic planning, continuous improvement, and accreditation processes (the presentation is on file with the official Board materials.)

Trustee Pelleran asked how AQIP improves management and labor relations.

Mr. Whipple responded that one of the AQIP criteria is valuing people.  When the College is evaluated for accreditation, one of the criteria that will be reviewed is the value for faculty, staff and other stakeholders.  Throughout the 146 issues on the systems portfolio, approximately 25% of those deal with relationships between faculty, staff and administration.  Mr. Whipple said AQIP is focused on the process of labor relations and as well as the other outcomes, and many times that is one of the toughest things to measure.  When employee satisfaction is measured at any organization, what is measured what is going on at that moment.

President Cunningham thanked the entire team for their presentation.  She said Mr. Whipple has undergone a lot of scrutiny and he has continued to work with the College.  Mr. Whipple’s contract was FOIA’d more times than any other consultant.

Ms. Beckie Beard said in her 23 years of experience she’s never seen so much interest in one person.

President Cunningham stated that he has been a change agent and because of his outstanding expertise and leadership that has allowed the College to be on this track in terms of renewing the College.  She reminded the audience that at her Kickoff presentation she indicated that this year we were going to focus on people and slow down and it is evident why we need to considering the work that has been done in the last three years.

The Board took a short recess at 7:07 p.m.

The Board returned at 7:17 p.m.

Budget Development Process

Mr. Cerny reviewed the budget process with the Board (his presentation is on file with the official Board materials.)

There was discussion regarding the time limit in annexing the Livingston and St. Johns extension centers.  This initiative was added in May 2003 and initial planning has begun.  There was also discussion regarding credit hours versus contact hours.  This agenda item would be brought later to the Board.

President Cunningham thanked Mr. Cerny for his work while serving as the Chief Information Officer and Chief Financial Officer.

Trustee Pelleran requested that each Trustee receive a complete line item budget for each department.

Oracle System Review

President Cunningham said there have been a lot of questions regarding what does Oracle do and why did the College select this system.  She introduced Mr. Tim Wesley of the Higher Education Division of Oracle. 

Mr. Cerny provided a history of the Banner SCT system which the College operated under before Oracle.  He showed a PowerPoint presentation (which is on file with the official Board materials) regarding the electronic campus at Lansing Community College that highlighted the benefits of the Oracle System. 

Chairperson Laverty asked how many community colleges have a similar system in the state.

Mr. Cerny responded that a majority of the community colleges have implemented software packages, but the majority are not at the level that Lansing Community College is at in terms of consolidating infrastructure into one common domain.

President Cunningham shared that 30 people were involved in selecting this package.  The College knew that this would be a system that could be built to meet its needs.  She said that at the MCCA summer workshop President Richard Shaink, of Mott Community College , shared that they wanted to implement a similar system, but that it would take them five years to complete.  President Cunningham said President Shaink was amazed that Lansing Community College took 18 months to implement this system.

Mr. Cerny stated that many community colleges have multiple email and ERP systems; however, Lansing Community College is the only college in Michigan that is consolidating their systems.  He said 30 people served on the selection committee and they asked for a common platform to build on in order to consolidate data.

Trustee Pelleran said one of the last contracts approved by the Board was $600,000 for additional training.  She asked if any consultants have been hired to conduct the training.

Mr. Cerny responded they are currently working with consultants for the student and payroll systems, and data planning. 

Trustee Pelleran asked for background information on the consultants that have been hired.

Mr. Wesley congratulated Lansing Community College on being at the forefront not only in Michigan , but also across the country.  Mr. Wesley shared that they have seen two main focuses in these types of initiatives, which is to reduce infrastructure costs and more importantly compete for and retain students, and the College is at the forefront.  He said that it is a big project the College has undertaken and the schedules have been aggressive, but realistic.  Mr. Wesley stated that Oracle values Lansing Community College as a partner, and it is one of 12 institutions out of 1,000 that they work with.  He asked if the Board had any questions.

Trustee Pelleran asked what are the students, faculty, and staffs’ satisfaction levels and their ability to use the systems, and what struggles have occurred.

Mr. Cerny responded that Portal was implemented in August 2002 and there were issues, but those were resolved.  The students now have the benefit of having one sign-on instead of having multiple accounts.  He said in May 2003 email, files, and calendar components were implemented.  Mr. Cerny shared that some faculty did not use the former email system and now they seem to be grasping the Outlook and Oracle system.  He said people are not only adjusting to new software systems, but also process changes.  For example, quotas have been implemented, which means everyone has to clean out their email inbox on a regular basis and some individuals have struggled with this change.  Mr. Cerny stated that the Human Resources and Finance components were implemented in July 2003.  He indicated that there have been problems with a major conversion to a new system.  Staff is working with the labor coalition monthly to get their input and feedback to diligently work through all of the problems.

Trustee Pelleran asked if there have been questions from students who have a fear of using the system and if there is a mentoring program here for them.

Mr. Cerny responded that the 24/7 hotline has worked well and the computer lab is also open 24 hours a day seven days a week.

President Cunningham reminded the Board that the College is not a technology campus, it is a people campus.  She said what the Board does not see here tonight are the counselors, advisors, faculty members, and the students who prefer to use books versus the Internet.  President Cunningham stated that this is what the College has focused on to be ready for the next generation; however, the College has not sacrificed what it does so well and continue to do, which is the face-to-face interaction.

Mr. Evan Montague, Director of Enrollment Management at the College, stated that the Enrollment Services department has a lab where staff work with students that are returning to college.  Staff will work through the admissions, enrollment or financial aid process with the student in a supportive technology environment.  Mr. Montague said when 70% of registration is through the web it allows more time for the face-to-face consultations.

Trustee Proctor asked where does the College stand with respect to other colleges and universities in terms of technology.

Mr. Wesley said that Lansing Community College is ahead of the curve.  He shared a personal experience of how much trouble his daughter had this year in enrolling, registering, and orientation at a university.  Mr. Wesley felt that the College is far ahead from some southeastern conference schools.  Not too long ago he met with the University of Tennessee system and they would love to be at the level the College is at.  He shared that the University of Tennessee just implemented the finance component, which took them two and half years and they plan on implementing the student system in three years.  Mr. Wesley stated that the College is far more advanced than most institutions.

President Cunningham shared that Luanna Simon, from Michigan State University , asked for a list of all of the College’s courses taught on line.  When MSU does international recruiting, sometimes they find that students want on-line courses that they may not offer and this may be a way for LCC and MSU to partner.  President Cunningham said there is admiration for the tremendous amount of work that has been done.  She stated that LCC offers more on-line courses and services than MSU and the other universities.  The former Board of Trustees saw becoming an information technology resource to businesses, non-profit organizations, and four-year colleges as an initiative to generate additional revenue and this initiative will be explored through the Business and Community Institute.  President Cunningham asked for the members of the Oracle implementation team to stand and be recognized.

Trustee Brannan said the Board received in their packets estimated Oracle value calculations.  He asked if Mr. Cerny had an actual analysis.

Mr. Cerny responded that they will be reviewing the investment and using the information as a benchmark.  They will continue to review the net present value calculation developed two years ago and compare it to the actual expenditures.  Some of the assumptions were that five positions would be eliminated through attrition and that number has increased due to the budget reductions.  Mr. Cerny stated that they will be updating the spreadsheet.

Trustee Murray asked if there are programs at the College that assist students who do not have access to personal computers.

Mr. Cerny responded that the TRIO program provided 150 laptops to students and the LUCERO program distributed approximately 50 laptops to students. 

President Cunningham shared that these students are first generation college students and/or have some other factors in their lives that would contribute to not having access to a personal computer.

Chairperson Laverty stated that this entire evening has been informative, enlightening, and helpful.  He expressed his appreciation for everyone’s time and effort.

President Cunningham invited the Trustees to call her or Mr. Rich Howard if there are any additional questions.

Public Comment

There were no comments from the public.

Adjournment

IT WAS MOVED by Trustee Pelleran and supported by Trustee Brannan for the meeting to adjourn.

Ayes:  Brannan, Laverty, Murray, Pelleran, Proctor
Nays:  None
Absent:  Canady, Rasmusson

Motion carried. 

The meeting adjourned at 8:15 p.m.