LANE COMMUNITY COLLEGE
BOARD OF EDUCATION MINUTES
July 9, 2014
1. Attendance
Board members present: Bob Ackerman, Pat Albright, Matt Keating, Gary LeClair, and Tony McCown, Rosie Pryor, and Sharon Stiles. Also present were: President Mary Spilde; Vice President Brian Kelly, Executive Dean Dawn DeWolf; Lane Community College Education Association President Jim Salt, Lane Community College Employees Federation Officer Rodger Gamblin, and Associated Students of Lane Community College President Michael Weed.
A. Chair Pryor called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m.
B. Election of Chair and Vice Chair
Chair Pryor opened nominations for chair of the board of education.
Ackerman nominated Pat Albright for chair of the board. Keating seconded.
Motion passed unanimously.
Nominations were opened for vice chair of the board of education.
Ackerman nominated Matt Keating for vice chair. McCown seconded.
Motion passed unanimously.
1) Statements from Newly-elected Chair and Vice Chair
Albright stated that it was an honor to accept the position of board chair. One of his favorite books is that of the history of Lane Community College which records the history of the vote to establish a community college in Lane County. It will be an incredible opportunity to lead the board as we celebrate Lane's 50th anniversary.
Keating thanked Ackerman for his nomination and recognized Pryor and Ackerman for their service over the past year.
C. President's Report
Congratulations to Pat and Matt on your election as chair and vice chair. I know you'll do a wonderful job.
I'd like to thank Rosie Pryor for an outstanding year as board chair, and present a small token of appreciation.
I would like to thank all of you who attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the CLASS project on June 16. I would especially like to thank Russ Pierson, Todd Smith, Gary Cummins, Brett Rowlett, and everyone from Lease Crutcher Lewis who helped with the event. We had great attendance, both from staff and our state legislative delegation, and the weather cooperated as well.
I want to thank our Executive Team for all their hard work last year. We had a great retreat last week. We face tough issues again this year, but we have a great team, and I am energized.
Congratulations to Sharon Stiles, Mary Jeanne Kuhar and our entire Florence center staff and community. We raised $48,000 at this year's Florence Scholarship Night.
The Foundation recently finalized an estate gift of more than $225,000 to support student scholarships at Lane. The scholarships will be named for the donors' daughter, Barbara Swezey Allen, who was an alumna of LCC, and who passed away as a young adult in 1987. The donors are Barbara's parents, Shirley and John, who passed away in 2012 and 2013, respectively. Thank you to Wendy Jett and her Foundation staff for helping make this wonderful gift possible.
Enrollment is still troubling. Summer term registrations for all classes are down 31.2% compared to the same point last year. Fall term registrations are down 22.6% compared to the same point in the registration cycle last year.
The College Council Governance Sub-Committee produced a summary of its governance survey. 215 faculty, staff and students participated. The summary noted issues that need to be addressed and will help focus our work to improve the system.
As you've probably heard by now, this year's Eugene Celebration has been cancelled. However, thanks to support from Lane, the City of Eugene, and Kesey Enterprises, the parade will go on as scheduled. Lane Community College will be the parade's grand marshal this year, giving us a great opportunity to kick off our year of 50th anniversary activities. You are all invited to join us and march in the parade, so please mark your calendars for the morning of Saturday, August 23. Brett will be sending out additional information as soon as the details are confirmed.
Late last month the Senate passed a bipartisan, bicameral bill to reauthorize the Workforce Investment Act. The bill contains a number of positive aspects for community colleges. It places a greater emphasis on career pathways and the attainment of postsecondary credentials. It also eliminates the current sequence of services, creates common performance indicators across programs, and allows local areas increased flexibility to contract with institutions of higher education. The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) passed by a vote of 95 to 3 as a substitute to the House-passed SKILLS Act. The bill is expected to be taken up soon by the House.
Following numerous hearings in the House and Senate, both chambers have released priorities for the upcoming reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (HEA). Both proposals support year-round Pell Grant access, consolidation of repayment options, better loan counseling, and demonstration projects, such as competency-based learning. However, the House bill would diverge in key ways, setting the stage for potential partisan clashes this year. Most notably, the House bill would prevent implementation of the White House's college rating system and gainful employment rules.
The college participated in the ACCT/TICAS project on financial aid cohort default rates and will be included in a forthcoming report. Thanks to Helen Faith and her staff for providing information for our profile. We noted that the recession brought many older enrollees to Lane who "may have lacked the necessary preparation for college and had other competing financial and life responsibilities" which contributed to the default rate.
Student debt also continues to interest the media. I interviewed with Oregonian reporter Jeff Manning on that topic, and sent him data. We don't yet know when that story will be published.
Last Monday I attended a meeting regarding performance based funding model in Tennessee. The HECC will recommend at least some portion of community college funds to be distributed on performance.
I was involved in presenting at an Executive Leadership for Sustainability program at Harvard. I worked with a couple of Harvard professors and one other community college president and the executive director for the Center for Green Schools at the US Green Building Council to develop a model for integrating sustainability from a leadership perspective. There were about 50 people there, but 200 people actually applied to be a part of this. Lots of corporate people, people from South Africa, Dubai, Saudi Arabia, and many countries. I was involved in developing the model and did a presentation. I think it went very well. I made a lot of connections with businesses who are interested in sustainability.
In August I will attend the Oregon Presidents' Council Retreat, and then I am off to Scotland to take care of my mother.
I hope everyone has a great summer. I'll see you in September.
1) Personnel
The college's current personnel appointments were presented.
E. Board Agenda Review/Changes
The first reading of board policy Freedom of Inquiry and Expression was added to the agenda as item 4.B.3.
F. Statements from Audience
Justin Blakely, former student, expressed dissatisfaction with services he received from Disability Resources.
2A. Consent Agenda
McCown moved, and seconded by Stiles, to approve the Consent Agenda consisting of:
• Approval of the June 11, 2014 minutes
• Resolution No. 599, President's Annual Authorizations for FY 2014-15
Motion passed unanimously.
Ackerman noted that the June minutes included a tribute to retiring employee Bob Mention in the President's Report. Before he was an employee, Mention was a board member at the time that Ackerman served on the board. Mention competed for an appointment to the board against Ken Kesey. The vote was tied 3 to 3; the board held a second vote, and it was tied again. And so it continued until someone changed their vote in Mention's favor, and Kesey's candidacy for the board was history.
4. Discussion/Action Items
A. Oregon Community College Association (OCCA)
John Wykoff, Director of Governmental Relations at the Oregon Community College Association, updated the board on state issues. OCCA will move forward with an ask of $650 million for the community college support fund during the next legislative session. It is an aggressive ask, but community colleges cannot continue to operate at the current level.
The good news is that the last budget forecast showed that state income tax revenue is increasing, and the economy is recovering. There is still a shortfall for current service level funding but revenues are expected to go up.
There has been a lot of discussion regarding outcomes based funding which is likely to happen. OCCA is advocating for a base that has to be funded and then a percentage beyond that for outcomes.
Wykoff updated the board on the work of the Higher Education Coordinating Commission, workforce issues and the Department of Community College Workforce Development, and recent changes to the Oregon Opportunity Grant.
B. Spotlight on Student Success: Quality Progression and Completion
Maurice Hamington, Executive Dean, discussed the philosophy behind student success versus completion. Completion is clearly one goal, student success is defined more broadly in terms of what moves students toward their goal, whether that is taking a continuing education class, transferring to a university, or completing a degree or certificate.
At Lane, a culture of evidence and inquiry is created where student success information is available at the aggregate level and at individual departments and programs. This is reinforced by internal needs and external forces such as accreditation, Title III, and Achieving the Dream.
Strategies implemented to support quality progression and completion include a liberal approach to student learning, online learning and education resources, a sustainable learning environment, and a diverse and inclusive learning environment. The accreditation self study gives another opportunity to gauge this work and provide indicators for success. For example, Lane has much higher persistence rates and lower rates of stopping out than other schools in our Achieving the Dream cohort.
B. Board Appointments to Community Organizations
LeClair was appointed to serve as the Lane Community College representative to the Foundation for 2014-15. Sharon Stiles will be the alternate.
Keating was appointed to serve as the Lane Community College representative to the Lane Council of Governments for 2014-15. Tony McCown will be the alternate.
Albright was appointed to serve as the Lane Community College representative to the Lane Economic Committee of the Lane Council of Governments for 2014-15. Jim Lindley, Small Business Development Center Director, will be the alternate.
McCown was appointed to serve as the Lane Community College representative to the Oregon Community College Association for 2014-15. Matt Keating will be the alternate.
LeClair moved to approve the above appointments. Pryor seconded.
Motion passed unanimously.
D. Lane Council of Governments (LCOG)
Keating, Lane's representative on LCOG, provided an update on possible changes to LCOG's charter, including a revision allowing non-elected government entities to have voting privileges on LCOG's board. Keating presented two versions of the proposed charter. Version 1 does not allow entities with appointed boards to be voting members, and Version 3 does. (Version 2 was voted down at the recent LCOG meeting). Lane Transit District (LTD) is one of the entities that is currently excluded from voting, but LTD is routinely represented at the LCOG meetings. LCOG members were asked to gather feedback from their boards regarding the changes.
The consensus of Lane's board members was to approve Version 3, allowing LTD and other entities with appointed board to have a vote at the meetings. Keating will share that feedback with LCOG.
E. Board Evaluation
After a brief discussion, the board decided to review the results of the evaluation and the instrument at the retreat in November.
F. Accreditation
Hamington reported that the self study is still being written. The writers are fine tuning the document and looking to line things up and wrap it up in August.
G. Central Plant Update
Vice President Brian Kelly distributed a handout with funding options for a central plant upgrade. The goal is to change the role of the central plant in an effort to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. There is a $3.7 million gap in funding. If the college chooses to seek outside financing, the options include a public loan, a private loan, and a public/private partnership. Kelly discussed the importance of funding renewable energy and honoring the climate commitment. One exciting piece is that Lane is nationally recognized as a leader in sustainability, and organizations want to partner with us.
Spilde stated that the college will further evaluate investment options and this item will be brought back for discussion at a future meeting when a recommendation can be provided.
H. Tobacco Free Campus
The board discussed the possibility of making Lane a completely tobacco free campus. This is something that should be considered with much communication and input from affected constituencies. Portland Community College banned smoking completely and it drove people into neighborhoods. After a year and a half, PCC went back to allowing smoking in designated areas.
McCown moved that the college conduct conversations with students, staff, and the community and come back to the board with data in eight months. LeClair seconded.
Motion passed unanimously.
4. Policy Review
A. Second Reading
1. Curriculum Development
McCown moved, seconded by LeClair, to approve the second reading of board policy BP 025, Curriculum Development.
Motion passed unanimously.
Policy Number: BP 025
Category: ACADEMIC
Policy Title: CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT
The College curriculum is central to its vision of transforming lives through learning. Curriculum content and assessment of individual student mastery of College content should be organized to facilitate student learning. The curriculum, as a whole, should reflect a commitment to excellent education and is essential to the achievement of high standards in the academic program.
In supporting the mission of Lane, the President shall assure that responsible faculty, staff and administrators provide oversight of the academic quality and content of the curriculum. Towards that end, the President is authorized to initiate specific strategies to promote academic breadth, depth and integrity, and to facilitate innovation in the programs offered to students.
Curriculum approval shall be in accordance with Board policy guidelines, Oregon Department of Education regulations; the higher education guidelines of the US Department of Education and applicable accreditation standards.
ADOPTED: July 9, 2014
2. Employment of Family Members
Stiles moved, seconded by LeClair, to approve the second reading of board policy BP 525, Employment of Family Members.
Motion passed unanimously.
Policy Number: BP 525
Category: HUMAN RESOURCES
Policy Title: EMPLOYMENT OF FAMILY MEMBERS
Lane Community College requires strict adherence to Oregon's Government Ethics laws. No College employee may participate in a personnel action taken by the College that would impact the employment of a relative or a member of the employee's household. Relatives include spouse, domestic partner, or children of the person or spouse, or domestic partner or the brothers, sisters or parents of the person or the person's spouse or domestic partner and any individual to whom the person owes a duty of support.
The prohibition against employee participation includes the following:
1. Appointing, employing or promoting;
2. Discharging, firing or demoting;
3. Interviewing; and
4. Discussing or debating the appointment, employment, promotion, discharge, firing or demotion of the relative or a member of the employee's household with any employee who has the authority to influence these decisions.
The Government Ethics Act set forth in ORS Chapter 244 is applicable to all College employees.
ADOPTED: July 9, 2014
3. Consensual Relationships
McCown moved, seconded by Pryor, to approve the second reading of board policy BP 615, Consensual Relationships.
Motion passed 6 – 1. Keating dissented.
Policy Number: BP 615
Category: INSTITUTIONAL INTEGRITY
Policy Title: CONSENSUAL RELATIONSHIPS
The College is committed to a learning environment that fosters respect, integrity, professional behavior, and fair and impartial treatment of students and staff.
Consensual sexual or mutually recognized romantic or dating relationships pose an apparent or actual conflict of interest if one of the parties in the relationship has responsibility for supervising, evaluating, directing, or overseeing the other, or has the power to directly influence the other person's educational or employment status.
The conflict of interest these relationships pose can undermine both the integrity of the supervisory or evaluative relationship and the College's commitment to a positive educational/employment environment.
If these relationships exist, the person in the position of greater authority or power will bear the primary burden of accountability in ensuring that the relationship is consensual, and that he or she exercises no supervisory or evaluative function over the other person in the relationship.
The President shall assure that College procedures regarding consensual sexual or mutually recognized romantic or dating relationships between employees and with students are clearly stated and consistently administered.
ADOPTED: July 9, 2014
4. Admissions for Credit Students
Pryor moved, seconded by Stiles, to approve the second reading of board policy BP 705, Admissions for Credit Students.
Motion passed unanimously.
Policy Number: BP 705
Category: STUDENTS
Policy Title: ADMISSIONS FOR CREDIT STUDENTS
Lane Community College accepts all students who are 18 or over or have a high school diploma or GED. Students who are under 18 and have not graduated may still attend if they follow the guidelines for Under 18 Students. Under no circumstances shall an applicant who is otherwise qualified be denied admission or given a preference for admission to the college based on an individual's race, color, national origin, sex, age, marital status, familial relationship, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, mental or physical disability, religion, expunged record, veterans' status or association with any member of these protected groups.
ADOPTED: November 9, 1998
REVISED: June 9, 2004
REVISED: October 17, 2006
REVISED: May 13, 2009
REVISED: July 9, 2014
5. Instructor Selection and Development
Pryor moved, seconded by McCown, to approve the second reading of board policy BP 040, Instructor Selection and Development.
Motion passed unanimously.
Policy Number: BP 040
Category: ACADEMIC
Policy Title: INSTRUCTOR SELECTION AND DEVELOPMENT
Qualified, professional and effective instructors are necessary to fulfill the College's core mission of providing comprehensive, accessible, quality, learning‐centered educational opportunities that promote student success.
The President is responsible to ensure that the selection and development of instructors encourages the hiring, retention and professional development of well-qualified instructors.
Towards that end, the President shall assure that college policies and procedures regarding instructor selection and development are clearly stated, readily available, administered in a fair and consistent manner and include, but need not be limited to, the following:
(a) Institutional standards for instructor qualifications;
(b) Institutional standards for teachers of community education and other reimbursable courses;
(c) Instructor position descriptions and current personnel postings;
(d) Procedures for instructor selection, including compliance with EEO/AA guidelines;
(e) Procedures for instructor approval, including period of instructor approval;
(f) Procedures for instructor development for full-time and part-time instructors;
(g) Procedures for instructor evaluations;
(h) Standards to ensure that the institution employs appropriately qualified faculty sufficient in number to achieve its educational objectives, establish and oversee academic policies, and assure the integrity and continuity of its academic programs, wherever offered and however delivered.
ADOPTED: July 9, 2014
1. Budget Preparation and Adoption
No changes were recommended to this policy. A second reading will be held in September.
Policy Number: BP 220
Category: FINANCE AND BUDGET
Policy Title: BUDGET PREPARATION AND ADOPTION
At the direction of the board of education, the president shall study budget needs and prepare recommendations on programs and services for budget committee consideration. The recommendation of advisory committees and interested citizens and organizations within the college district shall be considered by the president in developing the budget document.
The college budget shall be prepared and adopted in compliance with Oregon Local Budget Law [ORS 294].
ADOPTED: November 9, 1998
REVISED: December 10, 2003
REVIEWED: January 9, 2008
2. Governing Style
No changes were recommended to this policy. A second reading will be held in September.
Policy Number: BP 360
Category: GOVERNANCE AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTIONS
Policy Title: GOVERNING STYLE
The board will govern with an emphasis on meeting community needs, respecting diverse viewpoints, leading strategically, clearly distinguishing board and president roles, making collective decisions, being future-oriented, and being proactive.
More specifically, the board will:
1. Operate in all ways mindful of its obligation to the people of its district.
2. Strive to govern with excellence, particularly in matters such as attendance, policy-making principles, respect of roles, speaking with one voice, and adherence to ethical practices.
3. Keep adequately informed about relevant global and local educational and other issues, actively gathering information to fulfill this role.
4. Direct, control, and inspire the organization through the careful establishment of the broadest organizational values and perspectives through written policies.
5. Focus chiefly on intended long-term impacts on the world outside the organization (Ends), not on the administrative or programmatic means of attaining those effects.
6. Be an initiator of policy. The board will be responsible for board performance.
7. Use the expertise of individual members to enhance the ability of the board.
8. Monitor and regularly discuss the board's own process and performance.
A. Self-monitoring will include an annual comparison of board activity and discipline to its Governance Process and Board-Staff Relationship policies.
B. Continual redevelopment will include orientation of new members in the board's adopted governance process and periodic board discussion of process improvement.
9. Acting as a committee of the whole, perform the functions of the Audit Committee including:
A. The appointment, compensation and oversight of the work of any public accounting firm employed by the College to audit its financial statements.
B. The appointment, compensation and oversight of independent counsel or other advisor as deemed necessary to carry out its audit duties.
Additionally, the President shall be responsible for establishing and reporting to the Board procedures for:
1. The receipt, retention and treatment of complaints received by the College regarding accounting, internal controls and auditing matters.
2. The confidential, anonymous submission by employees regarding questionable accounting or auditing matters.
ADOPTED: November 9, 1998
REVISED: July 27, 2004
REVISED: March 9, 2005
REVISED: November 5, 2008
3. Freedom of Inquiry and Expression
The board reviewed the following new policy. The following changes were recommended. It was also suggested that constitutional rights be listed. Legal counsel will review and bring recommendations to the September meeting.
Category: INSTITUTIONAL INTEGRITY
Policy Title: FREEDOM OF INQUIRY AND EXPRESSION
Free inquiry and expression are indispensable to enable students to pursue and achieve their educational and vocational goals. As a public institution, the College does not promote any particular political or religious point of view, but rather encourages exploration of many points of view.
Members of the campus community shall have the right to freely and peaceably assemble in accordance with the exercise of their constitutional rights.
Discussion and expression of all views within the College shall be limited only as allowed by law.
Discussion and expression of all views within the College shall be limited only as allowed prohibited by law.
Members of the campus community shall have the right to freely and peaceably assemble in accordance with the exercise of their constitutional rights.
5. Accountability/Reports
A. Benchmarks
The following Benchmarks were presented to the board:
• Gender and Enrollment Status (All Credit Student): Fall Term
B. Facilities Update
An update on the status of bond and facility projects was presented.
6. Reports
ASLCC President Michael Weed reported that he is on the hiring committee for the gardening specialist. ASLCC has partnered with Energy Trust of Oregon and received water saving kits to distribute at the Food Pantry and the No Cash Clothing Stash for low income students. He is finalizing the agenda for the student government retreat to be held at Siltcoos Station. He attended the 4th of July parade in Creswell and felt it would be a good event for Lane to be involved in on an annual basis. ASLCC officers attended a training at the Oregon Student Association. Weed reminded everyone about past President Zito's recommendation that all groups work together to lobby at Salem during the next session.
LCCEF Officer Rodger Gamblin commended the plans for the central plant upgrade. He touched on the subject of empowerment, which should mean free choice. Going completely tobacco free would send a message to students that Lane is making decisions for them, and he did not feel that it is Lane's place to make decisions for others. He brought up a subject that Baldwin had previously reported on and hoped the message might be better received. Lane has a good Human Resources Department with dedicated employees. Sometimes when the senior staff in HR believes that someone is taking advantage of the college, they can get antagonistic. That might not always be a bad thing, but the board should direct the president to ensure that no lines are crossed in that area.
LCCEA President Jim Salt reported that the faculty agreement is no longer tentative and is now a collective bargaining agreement. One element was the enrollment capacity enhancement agreement. Impacted faculty are raising concerns, some of which are legitimate, but he was confident that the association and the college can work through those. Last month he reported on 15 grievances; that number has been reduced to 11, 5 of which are going to arbitration. He also commended the idea of the central plant upgrade to for sustainability reasons but cautioned the college regarding the cost involved. He was surprised to see the proposed Freedom of Inquiry and Expression board policy since the college already has a policy. He wondered why it is necessary to duplicate college policies with board policies.
Executive Dean Dawn DeWolf distributed the highlights from Academic and Student Affairs. She commented on the Executive Team retreat held at President Spilde's house, stating that it was a valuable time to reflect on the successes of the past year, affirm the team, and identify strategies to move forward this coming year. She recently met with the partners involved in the Early College program to discuss the success of the program. All parties felt that it was a good collaboration and the students involved did amazingly well. Continuing Education is offering a community health worker class and is collaborating with Health Professions.
Vice President Brian Kelly thanked Pryor and Ackerman for their service as Chair and Vice Chair. He looked forward to working with Albright and Keating and thanked all of the board members for their service to the community. He appreciated the Executive Team and was impressed by the work done at the recent retreat. He announced that the Downtown Center academic building was certified LEED Platinum and the student housing building was certified LEED Gold. He congratulated Tripp Sommer at KLCC for winning the Leo C. Lee Award.
Board Reports
LeClair reported that two of his patients have recently come to Lane and changed their lives for the better.
Stiles recently visited her dentist and saw one of our students shadowing the hygienist, who was a Lane graduate. It was great to hear her telling the student of her positive experience at Florence and the main campus. The Florence Center is working on a fundraising campaign for a student success study center. They have $25,000 and are looking for a matching grant. Stiles thanked Spilde, Tiana Marrone-Creech, and Wendy Jett for attending the Florence scholarship night. Enrollment at Florence is down about 8% and the Center is operating on reduced hours 3 days a week. The Center recently had a couple of bear sightings.
McCown reported that, during the recession ("he-cession"), nearly 77% of the jobs lost were in manufacturing and the construction industry. Education and health services saw increases. Unemployment rates for males were higher, and men spent 12 weeks more on average on unemployment. The success rate of males at colleges is a disturbing trend.
Ackerman attended graduation, which interrupted the celebration of his mother's 102nd birthday. He noted that he did not see enough people of color graduating. However, the enthusiasm as the event is infectious. When someone at the college says that morale is low, they should attend graduation.
Pryor thanked everyone for working with her over the last year and congratulated Albright and Keating. She complimented Gamblin for his approach and the nature of his comments. She appreciated the collaborative manner and will give some thought to what he said. She attended graduation, the "feel good" event of the year. She attended the League of United Latin American Citizens' installation of the youth council and the room was packed. Representatives from all school districts were in attendance. Elected officials were asked to stand and make a commitment to them to support them.
Keating thanked Weed for joining him at the Creswell parade. It was nice to see Vice President Kelly there, and he would like to see everyone represent Lane at the Eugene Celebration. He expressed interest in conducting listening tours over the next year and engaging constituents. He thanked his colleagues for their support and looked forward to a raucous 50th anniversary celebration.
Albright thanked Pryor and Ackerman for their service. He will be meeting with an advertising agency to discuss what ideas they have for Lane. He thanked Gamblin for his comments. He agreed that the central plant upgrade is a great idea and acknowledged that sometimes it is not about what we can afford, it is about doing what is right.
7. Date, Place, and Proposed Agenda Items for the Next Regular Meeting
Tuesday, September 16, 2014, Boardroom, Building 3, Lane Community College
8. The board meeting unanimously adjourned at 9:20 p.m.
______________________________ _____________________________
Mary Spilde, President/District Clerk Pat Albright, Board Chair
Prepared by:
Donna Zmolek, Assistant to the Board
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