LANE COMMUNITY COLLEGE
BOARD OF EDUCATION
Minutes - February 11, 2004

1)  Attendance
Chair Mike Rose called the meeting of the Lane Community College Board of Education to order at 6:30 p.m. Present were:  Board Members Jay Bozievich, Roger Hall, Paul Holman, Larry Romine, Kathleen Shelley, and Dennis Shine.  Also present were President Mary Spilde; Vice President Marie Matsen; Associate Vice President Sonya Christian; Executive Assistant to the President Tracy Simms; College Counsel Meg Kieran; Lane Community College Education Association President Jim Salt; Lane Community College Employees Federation President Bob Baldwin; and Associated Students of Lane Community College Senator Marcia Sexton.  ASLCC President Rebecca Hill was absent.

2)  President’s Report

• The failure of Ballot Measure 30 will not affect the college budget for this year and was not included in projections for future years.
• The State Board of Education adopted a new funding formula for 2004-05 consisting of three components:  base, equity, and FTE.  If colleges had not reached agreement on a new formula, $10.7 million may have been held back by the Emergency Board pending the funding formula agreement.
  Although enrollment still needs to be reconciled with tuition revenue, Lane is down 10 percent overall, transfer is down 8 percent, and professional technical is down 4.7 percent.  Other reimbursable is down 60 percent – not surprising given the economy and large increases in tuition and fees to make many classes self-supporting.

• President Spilde and community college presidents met with former Governor Neil Goldschmidt in January.  Goldschmidt was appointed by Governor Kulongoski, and confirmed by the Oregon Senate, to the State Board of Higher Education.  He discussed the charges received from Governor Kulongoski, including Access, Excellence, or Mo’ Better Faster, the Chancellor’s Office, and partnerships with community colleges.   Both Goldschmidt and Kulongoski have stated their support for the work that community colleges do.

• At the federal level, President Bush included an initiative for job training at community colleges in his State of the Union speech.  Although this was good news because it recognizes Lane and other colleges as the primary provider of workforce education and training, the funding is neither adequate nor appropriate since the president plans to move funds from other funding streams such as Perkins.  Senator Gordon Smith will be holding a community college summit at Lane to discuss how Oregon can access these funds.

• The first draft of the Governance Report will be distributed to faculty and staff on February 12.  Feedback will be shared at the March board meeting.  The board will be asked to approve the second reading of the College Governance policy; a first reading was held in July.  A final recommendation for the governance system will be presented in April.

• Rather than bring forward language for a student ballot measure on increasing the student fee to support athletics, a complete package of this fee and other proposals will be presented in March.

• The administration is taking the necessary steps to correct environmental issues in Building 1, Student Services.  Some staff, mainly in Student Financial Services and Enrollment Services, have experienced symptoms relating to mold and yeast caused by moisture.  Correction of the problem will require the relocation of Students First staff and furnishings and carpet removal.  Additional testing of the whole building is planned.

• Culinary Arts students won first place in a recent competition and were only 1.5 points away from the gold standard.  Led by instructor Clive Wanstall, the team included:  Eiji Sato, Josh Driscol, Nina Comiskey, Scott Trempe, and Josh De Santis.  They will be going to Denver to compete at the regional level.

• A Classical Cuisine dinner is scheduled for February 26.

Auditor’s Report
Vice President Matsen followed up last month’s Auditor’s Report with a handout of answers to board questions.

3)  Statements from the Audience
Michael Cunningham, student, Downtown Center, advocated forthose students’ who are unable to pay for student fees.
Ryan Hague, ASLCC senator, spoke about the importance of thestudent’s ability to vote on mandatory fee increases. 

4)  Consent Agenda
Romine moved, seconded by Bozievich, to approve the ConsentAgenda consisting of the following:

• Approval of the amended January 14 and 20, 2004, Minutes.  The board unanimously consented to minor language changes.
• Budget Calendar

Motion passed unanimously.

Policy Review

5)  Second Reading
Hall moved, seconded by Holman, to approve the second reading of the following board policy:

Motion passed unanimously.

POLICY NUMBER:           B.120

POLICY TYPE:               GOVERNANCE PROCESS
POLICY TITLE:               BOARD JOB DESCRIPTION

The job of the board is to represent the people of the college district in determining and assuring organizational performance.

The board is legally vested with final decisionmaking in all matters of board policies, programs, facilities, budget, and personnel.

Consequently, the contributions ofthe board shall include:

• The link between the organization and its ownership the citizens of the district.
• Written governing policies which, at the broadest levels, address:
  • Ends:  Organizational products, impacts, benefits, outcomes (what’s good for which needs at what cost).
  • Executive Directions:  Constraints on Directions for executive authority which establish the prudent and ethical boundaries within which all executive activity and decisions must take place.
  • Governance Process:  Specification of how the board conceives, carries out, and monitors its own task.
  • Board-President Relationship:  How power is responsibilities accountability/authority and duties are delegated and its proper use is monitored.
• The assurance of presidential performance

   

ADOPTED:  November 9, 1998

REVISED:   February 11, 2004

Bozievich moved, seconded by Shine, to approve the second readings of the following board policies:

Motion passed unanimously.

POLICY NUMBER:     B.130
POLICY TYPE:     GOVERNANCE PROCESS
POLICY TITLE:     AGENDA PLANNING

The board will follow an annual agenda that:  (1) reviews all policies and (2) continually improves board performance through board education and enriched input and deliberation.  Accordingly, the cycle will start each year on the first of July.  (See Policy C.060 – Monitoring President Performance.)

The chairperson in consultation with the president sets the agenda (see B.150, #1.0).  At each board meeting, any board member may place items on a future agenda.  The item will be added to the a future agenda, unless the president states that the item will require an unacceptable amount of staff time or funds, in which case the board must act to place the item on a future agenda.  (see C.010, #4).

ADOPTED:   November 9, 1998
REVISED:    March 10, 1999
REVISED:    April 14, 1999   
REVISED:    September 8, 1999
REVISED:    February 11, 2004

POLICY NUMBER:     B.140
POLICY TYPE:     GOVERNANCE PROCESS
POLICY TITLE:     MEETINGS AND EXECUTIVE SESSIONS

The board of education shall liberally construe the section in Oregon Revised Statute [ORS 192.610-690] which declares all meetings are to be held in public; the exceptions are those defined in the statute that may infringe on personal or public rights.  Where authorized by statute, an employee may request consideration in executive session of those matters set forth in Oregon Revised Statute [ORS 192.660].

The board shall determine whether in having the discussion in open session:  (a) the public interest actually would be harmed, or (b) the rights of an individual would be adversely affected or violated by disclosure of personnel records.

ADOPTED:  November 9, 1998
REVISED:   February 11, 2004

POLICY NUMBER:     B.150
POLICY TYPE:     GOVERNANCE PROCESS
POLICY TITLE:     CHAIRPERSON’S ROLE

The chairperson assures the integrity of the board’s process and is the only person authorized to speak for the board.
Accordingly,

• The chairperson shall ensure that the board behaves acts consistently with its own rules and those legitimately imposed upon it from outside the organization.
  • Meeting discussion content will include only those issues which, according to board policy, clearly belong to the board.
  • Deliberation will be timely, fair, orderly, and thorough, but also efficient, limited in duration, and kept to the point.
  • The board’s policies concerning individual and group behavior conduct will be enforced appropriately.
  • The chairperson is responsible for setting the board meeting agenda and facilitating the board meeting to ensure that the board remains proactive, forward looking, and value-added in its deliberations.
  • Orientation for new board members will be conducted as stated in B.080.
  • The board chair will explain at the outset of Statements from the Audience that the board may not respond directly to any issues raised but will refer those issues to the president for appropriate action (see B.130 – Agenda Planning).
• The authority of the chairperson consists of making decisions on behalf of the board consistent with any reasonable interpretation of board policies on Governance Process and on the Board-President Relationship, except where the board specifically delegates portions of this authority to others.
  • The chairperson is empowered to chair board meetings with all the commonly accepted power of that position (e.g., ruling, recognizing).
  • The chairperson has no authority to make decisions about policies created by the board within Ends and Executive Limitations policy areas.  Therefore, the chairperson has no individual authority to supervise or direct the president.
  • The chairperson may represent the board to outside parties in announcing board-stated positions and in stating chairperson decisions and interpretations within the area delegated.
  • The chairperson or any four members of the board may call special meetings as required.
• The vice chairperson will assume responsibilities of the chairperson in the event of the chairperson’s absence or inability to serve.
• The chairperson and vice chairperson of the board will be elected at the annual meeting in July.

ADOPTED:   November 9, 1998
REVISED:    May 12, 1999
REVISED:    February 11, 2004

POLICY NUMBER:     B.160
POLICY TYPE:     GOVERNANCE PROCESS
POLICY TITLE:     BOARD MEMBERS’ CODE OF CONDUCT

The board commits itself and its members to ethical, professional, and lawful conduct, including proper use of authority and appropriate decorum when acting as board members.

Accordingly,

• Board members must represent unconflicted loyalty to the interests of the ownership citizens of the district.  This accountability supersedes any conflicting loyalty such as that to advocacy or interest groups and membership on other boards or staffs.  This accountability supersedes the personal interest of any board member acting as an individual consumer of the organization’s services.
• Board members must avoid any conflict of interest with respect to their fiduciary responsibility in accordance with Oregon statutes.  Should a board member apply for employment by the college, the board member must resign.
• Board members may not attempt to exercise individual authority over the organization except as explicitly set forth in board policies.
  • Board members’ interaction with the president or with staff must recognize the lack of authority in any individual board member or group of board members except as noted above.
  • Board members’ interaction with the public, press, or other entities must recognize the same limitation and the similar inability of any board member or board members to speak for the board (except for the chairperson, as noted in B.050.2.C).
  • Members will give no consequence or public voice to individual judgments of the president or staff performance, except as that performance is assessed against explicit board policies by the official process.
  • As new issues come before the board, the board will first determine if a policy has been violated.  If a policy has been violated, the board will specify monitoring to correct the violation.  If no policy has been violated, the board may determine that clarification of an existing policy or creation of a new policy is necessary.
• Members will respect the confidentiality appropriate to issues of a sensitive nature.

ADOPTED:   November 9, 1998
REVISED:    January 13, 1999
REVISED:    April 14, 1999
REVISED:    February 11, 2004

POLICY NUMBER:     B.170
POLICY TYPE:     GOVERNANCE PROCESS
POLICY TITLE:     BOARD VACANCIES

When a vacancy occurs on the board, the remaining members shall meet in regular session and elect a person to fill the vacancy from any of the qualified voters of the geographic boundary from which the vacancy occurs.  The board shall request nominations from the public and shall prescribe the format in which the nominations are to be presented.  Notification will include:  The legal requirements for the position and the period of time for names to be recommended to the board.  The members so elected shall serve until the next board election at which time a successor shall be elected to fill the remainder of the unexpired term.

ADOPTED:  November 9, 1998

POLICY NUMBER:     B.180
POLICY TYPE:     GOVERNANCE PROCESS
POLICY TITLE:     NEW BOARD MEMBER ORIENTATION

All new board members will receive an orientation to Lane Community College and the role and responsibilities of the Lane board of education within the first three months of election and/or appointment.  The orientation will be conducted by board members in collaboration with the president and include topics in:  Policy governance Governing by policy model, board policies, statutory responsibilities, and institutional financial status.

ADOPTED:  November 9, 1998
REVISED:   February 11, 2004

POLICY NUMBER:     B.190
POLICY TYPE:     GOVERNANCE PROCESS
POLICY TITLE:     BOARD COMMITTEE PRINCIPLES
Board committees, when used, will be assigned so as to reinforce the wholeness of the board’s job and so as never to interfere with delegation from board to the president.

ADOPTED:   November 9, 1998
REVISED:    February 11, 2004

6)  First Reading
The board conducted a first reading of the following policies.
BOARD POLICY:    B.200
BOARD TYPE:    GOVERNANCE PROCESS
POLICY TITLE:    PARLIAMENTARY PROCEDURE

Unless otherwise provided in board policy, or as provided in Oregon Revised Statutes, the board shall conduct all of its meetings in accord with Roberts’ Rules of Order, Revised.

ADOPTED:  November 8, 2000

POLICY NUMBER:    C.010
POLICY TYPE:    BOARD-PRESIDENT LINKAGE
POLICY TITLE:    GLOBAL BOARD-PRESIDENT RELATIONSHIP

The president is accountable to the full board.  The board will instruct the president through written policies that prescribe the college Ends to be achieved and describe college situations and actions to be avoided, allowing the president to use any reasonable interpretation of these policies.

• The board’s sole official connection to the college, its achievements, and conduct will be through the president.
• Ends policies direct the president to achieve certain results; Executive Limitations Directions policies constrain the president to act within acceptable boundaries of prudence and ethics.  With respect to Ends and executive means, the president is authorized to establish all further procedures, make all decisions, take all actions and develop all activities as long as they are consistent with the board’s policies.
• The board may change its policies, thereby shifting the boundary between board and presidential domains.  By so doing, the board changes the latitude of choice given to the president.  But so long as any particular delegation is in place, the board and its members will respect and support the president’s choices.  This does not prevent the board from obtaining information in the delegated areas.
• No individual board member, officer, or committee has authority over the president.  Information or assistance may be requested by individual board members, but if such a request—in the president’s judgment—requires a material amount of staff time or funds, it may be refused, unless authorized by the board.
• Board members who have a concern or issue will first inform the president or designee, providing the administration an opportunity for response.  A board member can request that an issue be discussed at a work session or placed on a future board agenda (see B.030 – Agenda Planning).

ADOPTED:  November 9, 1998
REVISED:    May 12, 1999

7)  Resolution 490, Brown v. Board of Education’s 50th Anniversary
Romine moved, seconded by Shine, to adopt the amended Resolution 490, Brown v. Board of Education’s 50th Anniversary.
The resolution was amended to change “degrees” to “decrees.”

Motion passed unanimously.

8)    Board Meeting Location
The board agreed that it was important to meet at Lane’s major outreach centers – Florence and Cottage Grove.  The administration was directed to develop a schedule for those meetings. 

Accountability/Reports

9)    Benchmarks
Craig Taylor responded to board questions/comments on the following Benchmarks:

• Transfer:  Students Completing an AAOT Degree then Enrolled at an OUS Institution the Next Year
• Transfer:  Students Completing an AAOT Degree in 1995-96 then Enrolled at an OUS Institution in Subsequent Years
• OUS GPA of Transfer Students
• Academic Performance of Transfer Students – OUS GPA

10)    Accreditation
Associate Vice President Christian replaces former Vice President Roberts in overseeing Lane’s accreditation process.  Christian introduced Coordinating Team members, Mary Brau, Shirlee Ford, David Keebler, Sharon Kimble, Anne McGrail, Andrea Newton, Russell Shitabata, Craig Taylor and Mary Jo Workman.  Shitabata described three key changes in the process compared to the process ten years ago and presented “Plan, Do, Check, Act” t-shirts to the board.  Progress reports will be given in the spring and at the end of summer, prior to the October accreditation on-site evaluation.
11)    Asset Protection, Policy A.070

12)    Financial Conditions and Activities, Policy A.050 and Emergency President Succession, Policy A.060
Vice President Matsen responded to questions and comments on Policy A.050, Financial Conditions and Activities.

13)    Emergency President Succession, Policy A.060
President Spilde reviewed the timelines for filling the vacancy of Vice President for Instruction and Student Services.

14)    Efficiency Team Recommendations
Board members commended the work done as follow up to the Efficiency Team Report.

15)    Reports
ASLCC Senator Marcia Sexton
The following topics were reported:

• An eight percent tax is charged students, faculty, and staff on all purchases at the Bookstore and Cafeteria.  ASLCC is in favor of eliminating this tax.
• Through the support of the president, Office of Instruction, Foundation, and Bookstore, twenty-five students were able to attend the Third Annual Oregon Students of Color Coalition Conference January 30-February 1 at the University of Oregon.
• On January 29, ASLCC and the Oregon Student Association sponsored a Get-Out-The-Vote rally.  The event was a non-partisan discussion of Measure 30.   In addition, 27 new voters were registered.

LCCEF President Bob Baldwin
LCCEF will soon begin a series of meetings to receive feedback on the drafted governance proposal.  Baldwin noted that staff began showing symptoms, as a result of environmental problems in Building 1, spring 2002; and, although the administration has been responsive to the situation, health problems continue to exist.  One result of the budget reductions is fewer staff available to do the work.  A morale problem is created when classified staff are asked to do higher level, higher paid work while working within their own job descriptions.

LCCEA President Jim Salt
Faculty are working on projects including governance, accreditation, and the 3- to 4-credit conversion.  Although some sections had good results, the Fall student evaluation on-line process was not as successful as hoped for a variety of reasons.  However, an excellent team is working to improve the process.  It is vital to the college at large, faculty, and students to have a well-functioning method for collecting student evaluations.  Salt commended the administration for their work to reduce the environmental problems in Building 1.

Associate Vice President Sonya Christian
Instruction and Student Services hosted three statewide meetings:  Council of Instructional Administrators for Community Colleges, the Council for Student Services Administrators, and a Joint Conversation with the Oregon University System (OUS) Provosts.  The main theme of the conversations focused on the Higher Education Board’s restructuring and on Neil Goldschmidt’s focus on excellence -- ”More, Better & Faster.”  Florence citizens Johan and Emel Mehlum endowed $25,000 to the Foundation for the LCC Florence Center.  The winter calendar for the “Reading Together” project was distributed.  Ten professional-technical programs will be featured at the Lane County Youth Career Fair on February 12.

Vice President Marie Matsen
The goal of  Environmental Specialist Jennifer Hayward and others is to get ahead of the game and be proactive in monitoring buildings for environmental quality.  A team, headed by Janet Anderson working jointly with the grounds crew and art faculty, plan to redesign the west entrance fountain area using funds that would have been used to reseal the fountain.  The motor pool plans to replace fleet vehicles with hybrids that use less petroleum-based fuels as one way to help protect the environment.  Lane invested $15,000 in a trash compactor to reduce garbage fills.  Lane has saved over $7,000 in garbage bills in the first half year of the compactor’s use.  The compactor has an estimated payback period of just over two years and is expected to save the college almost $200,000 over its 15-year lifespan.

Board Members

Jay Bozievich attended a Lane Economic meeting where a study done by the University of Oregon on business incubation opportunities in Lane County showed that Lane’s Business Development Center (BDC) provided 80-90 percent of the services the business incubator would provide.  Compared to BDC’s at other community colleges around the country, Lane’s BDC ranked very high.  Jim Lindly and staff are to be commended for doing a great job.  Bozievich read a relevant quote relating to the board’s approval of Resolution 490, Brown v. Board of Education’s 50th Anniversary.

Roger Hall thanked all dedicated staff for their contributions to the college’s work, especially on major projects such as governance, accreditation, and evaluation reports.

Paul Holman recognized Johan and Emel Mehlum for their endowment to the Florence Center.

Dennis Shine commended “mold fighters” Dennis Carr and others for their efforts in trying to eliminate the health problems in Building 1.  Shine attended an American Community College Trustees meeting.  Senator Clinton addressed the group and stated how pleased she was that, with the new initiative to expand workforce training, community colleges are finally being recognized for their important role.  In addition to ACCT, the American Association of Community Colleges is in favor of lobbying to increase international students.

Kathleen Shelley thanked the Accreditation Team for the “Plan, Do, Check, Act” t-shirts given to the board.

Mike Rose looks forward to the faculty’s summary on student evaluations.  A good turnout of retirees attended the recent Tea.  An Oregon Community College Association board meeting will be held on February 20th.  Rose and Spilde attended a meeting with the Lane Education Service District where participants discussed how to make connections.  He said the board was sensitive to the environmental issues in Building 1.

16)  Date, Place, and Proposed Agenda Items for Next Regular Meeting
Wednesday, March 10, 2004, Boardroom, Building 3, Lane Community College.  

17)   Adjournment
The board meeting unanimously adjourned at 8:20 p.m.
 

______________________________
Mike Rose, Chair

______________________________
Mary Spilde, President/District Clerk
Lane Community College