COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT 9

HIGHLINE COMMUNITY COLLEGE

 

MINUTES OF BOARD OF TRUSTEES’ MEETING

 

July 12, 2007

 

 

STUDY SESSION

Executive Session

Board Discussion

Election of Board of Trustees Officers for 2007-2008

Marketing Plans

MaST Update

Strategic Initiative Highlights for Spring Quarter

 

 

 

MEETING

 

Call to Order

Elizabeth Chen, Chair, called the meeting to order at 10:35 a.m.

 

 

Roll Call

Members Present:                              Elizabeth Chen

                                                            Rita Creighton

                                                            Karen Vander Ark

                                                            Mike Regeimbal

                                                            Edward Davila

                                                                                                             

Attorney General Representative:       Derek Edwards

 

 

 

Approval of Minutes

The Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the Board of Trustees on June 14, 2007, and the minutes of the Special Meetings of the Board of Trustees on the dates of June 9, 2007 and June 20, 2007      were approved.

 

 

Dr. Chen called for a change in the order of the agenda; requesting that the action item be first on the agenda.  Apologies were expressed for the delay in the starting time of the meeting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ACTION ITEMS

 

a. Election of Board Officers

 

It was moved by Ed Davila that the following officers be approved for 2007-2008.

 

 

                        Chairperson:                                                 Karen Vander Ark                            

 

                        Vice Chairperson:                                         Mike Regeimbal                               

 

                        TACTC Representative:                              Ed Davila                                          

 

                        TACTC Legislative Representative:         Ed Davila                                          

 

                        HCC Foundation Board Representative:  Mike Regeimbal                               

 

 

The motion was seconded by Rita Creighton. 

Motion carried.

 

b. An additional action item was introduced to direct the college to issue a Request for Proposals for a Presidential Search Consultant

 

It was moved by Karen Vander Ark that the Board direct the college to issue a request for qualifications and proposals for a presidential search consultant. 

 

The motion was seconded by Ed Davila. 

Motion carried.

 

Karen Vander Ark commented that two community forums were held during the week of July 9th in order to gather information on the qualifications required for the next president of Highline Community College.  She said this was an important piece of information to consider on whether to go ahead with a presidential search or to make an appointment. Ms. Vander Ark said the Board felt this would be an important part of the decision-making criteria.

 

Rita Creighton added that the RFP candidate information should come back to the Board Members in a timely manner; hopefully by the return of faculty members to the campus in the fall.  She expressed the Board had pledged from the beginning that this process was to be an open and transparent one, and that the information was requested quickly in order that the community and the campus would know of the services that could be provided if the Board were to proceed with a selection process and also to be aware of the costs involved. The reason for taking this action at this meeting was to allow the necessary information to be brought back to Board members by the end of August which would allow the Board to have further discussion at the September Board meeting.

 

Dr. Chen emphasized this was just part of information collecting process.

 

STANDING REPORTS

 

Associated Students of Highline Community College

Helen Burn, Chair of the Math Department, reported for Student Body President, Steven Simpkins.  Ms. Burn explained that since Steven was taking an exam for her class, she agreed to stand in for him to give his report.

 

  • Regarding Student Body Leadership Activities, Ms. Burn reported that Student Leadership members were trying to get a number of people to attend the July 23 student forum.   They have also planned a forum on August 10 to bring students together to talk about the Associated Student Body.  Clubs are inactive right now during the summer; however Club Fair is planned for the 27th.
  • Ms. Burns also mentioned Steven Simpkin’s Award from the Coca Cola Scholarship, and Toni Castro said that the Board will have a chance to hear more this award and Steve’s accomplishments about this during the September Board meeting.

 

Washington Public Employees Association

Lydia Bracco reported.

 

  • WPEA brown bag chapter meeting will be on Wednesday, July 18.
  • Lydia introduced a new segment to the report.  Job representatives felt it was important to add a personal touch and highlight more classified staff.
  • This month’s spotlight is on Cheryl Carino-Burr.  Cheryl graduated with honors from Highline in 2006, which took her 10 years to complete.  She is currently attending UW Tacoma pursuing in an interdisciplinary Arts & Science degree (Self & Society emphasis with a minor in Human Rights.) She began her employment at Highline in 2001 in her current position as ESL program assistant.  She is the ABE /ESL liaison for educational planning and handles registration, testing and trouble shooting for ABE ESL students.  She is a member of the Critical Moments Team at highline, WPEA job rep, and volunteers at the UW/Tacoma Multicultural Center and is a member of the Filipino/American National Historical Society.  Her future plans are to continue learning and being involved in the college process.

 

Highline College Education Association

The Senate does not meet in the summer; the next report will be in September.

 

Faculty Senate

No report.

REPORTS

 

High Demand for Math and Science

 

  • Marie Zimmermann introduced Jeff Wagnitz, dean of pre-college and transfer programs who gave the report on High Demand for Math and Science.  Jeff explained this was a new funding stream from the latest legislative appropriations on math and science.  He was joined by Helen Burns for the final section of the report.
  • This report on High Demand FTE allocation, allowed an opportunity to focus on the college transfer program, which remains a large part of what we do. About 1/3 of our student population is in the college transfer program, and is the largest section of the student population that obtains a degree at the end of the year.  It’s an area where many initiatives are underway.  Ten years ago we talked about the Associate of Science degree, but now there are a number of specific transfer degrees in other areas.  There is more emphasis in math and science such as the Northwest Engineering Talent Expansive Program (ETEP) that Bob Embrey and Rich Bankhead are heading up, and there is a lot of transferability between workforce and the transfer program.  Many future students may start out as workforce and move into transfer, so a lot of effort is being placed in moving those courses together. 
  • The High Demand FTE allocation in math and science is a visible recognition of that fact. The legislature recognizes these shortage areas, and high demand occupations include people that have bachelor’s degrees in technology, i.e., engineering, biology, and chemistry. Community colleges are now seen as playing a role toward moving people to those kinds of credentials.  Highline is now going to get 28 FTEs funded specifically for students in high demand areas, who intend to transfer (excluding students in health care so this will not affect anatomy, physiology, cell biology or respiratory care.)   Although those are important areas, this is specifically targeted at physics, chemistry, and areas such as engineering.
  • The student will only have to take courses in those areas to be identified as a major, but everything the student takes is counted toward the FTE.  This allocation was based on the number of FTEs that we had been generating in that area. Highline has the second largest allocation of any campus in the state, and this is a chance to capitalize on that. 
  • Helen Burn, who just finished her PhD in higher education at the University of Michigan, is now back leading the Math Division, and implementing this program is one of her recent responsibilities.  She said there are 2 components:  enrollment in certain courses, and series classes where we can offer new sections.  One area that offers a struggle is chemistry where we have lost an instructor and there is limited lab space.  Another area that was reviewed was the enrollment from quarter to quarter.  Only about ½ of the students took the second class in the chemistry series in spring quarter, from those who had taken it in winter.  Helen felt that there could be strategies put in place to boost that number and work on quarter to quarter retention.
  • Another strategy that was discussed was to enhance relationships with the tutoring center, to make sure that students are aware of this resource. Community colleges can be a portal for traditionally underrepresented students to come into science fields.  Faculty have not been as active as they might be in speaking to students about careers in science that might be available to them, so this topic will be discussed in division meetings to remind them about “intrusive advising.”  There are also expanded scholarship offerings in math/science areas which will be promoted in order to cultivate new talent.  Helen suggested that putting the developmental student through the pipeline who can go forward to a college level math class is a big plus.
  • The Math Department is also involved in the Achieving the Dream Initiative.  The mentoring section of this initiative should assist in the main environment, as well.

 

Board members commented on the mentoring program.  It was suggested that the learning communities’ concept be emphasized, especially with the challenges of a commuter campus.  Jeff Wagnitz also explained the 28FTEs would be phased in, and if we are not able to increase the total number to the allocation, we would have a conversation with the state and the state would assess the numbers for a right sizing process.  It was also mentioned that the High Demand could be a recruitment area for outreach with high schools to let them know of the strength Highline has in these areas; to stress our successes in the numbers of college transfer students who successfully go on to 4-year colleges.

 

AREA REPORTS:

 

Student Services

Toni Castro reported.

  • Toni highlighted an event at Highline, which is sponsored by the Student Services Multicultural Center.  Multicultural Services hosted the first annual multicultural graduation event on June 12.  The event was well received by over 70 family and friends of 21 graduates.  Dr. Bermingham provided a keynote address along with a student leader, Anna Lee, who is on her way to UW this fall.  Highline hopes to continue this event in the future which would be scheduled the week before graduation.
  • Shelly Flippen is the new Director of the Early Childhood Education and Learning Center.  She was appointed after the completion of a successful search, coordinated by Jonathan Brown.  She has a Bachelor’s degree from Washington State University in Human Development and recently received a Master’s Degree in Organizational Development.  She has outstanding experience and is well versed in training for early childhood directors.
  • Toni announced the summer retreat for Student Affairs to be held July 13.  The theme is one of Reorganizing, Renovating and Reshaping toward excellence and quality service to students and faculty.  The focus is on empowering to achieve from the roots up.  They will also focus on the foundations of how to grow professionally and as an organization.  Toni made a commitment to meet with every staff member this year when she assumed her current role and has met that goal.  She asked questions of each staff member on job satisfaction and professional development interests.  She also asked for recommendations on how to improve services for the campus community and the community at large.  She will share these findings and trends with Division Leaders at the retreat. Akimi Matsumoto is the scheduled facilitator who will work with them on effective team building and how to promote multicultural communication. 
  • Toni also spoke of the success story of the day as Steve Simpkins.  Steve is student body president for the upcoming year, and is returning to Highline after 20 years in the grocery business as a produce manager.  He now wants a career in which he can help others and is pursuing nursing.  He found another niche in student programs when he applied for a work study position.  He became interested in student leadership and is now student body president, an honor student and member of Phi Theta Kappa.

 

General Administration

Larry Yok reported.

  • Larry reported that there has been significant progress on the MaST project.  The original estimate of $1.3M for that project was low, as the bids came back at $1.6M which is completely consistent with the construction market.  They engaged in a value engineering project with the architects and came up with a very well designed project by reducing the scope by about $54,000.  This was accomplished through minor changes in the window design, but none of the changes impacted the structural design. The Foundation will provide a little more money and Highline will be looking at awarding the contract.  Larry will continue to advise the Board of the timelines as the process moves along.
  • Larry reported some changes in personnel.  Danette Lale resigned as budget director, however, we were very fortunate that our former budget director, Lisa Peterson, who was with us for more than 6 years, decided to return to us from Bates Community College. She has been very generous, assisting us on an hourly contract and has been working with Shirley Bean to close out the books for 2006-2007 and they are working on the budget process for 2007-2008.

 

There was discussion on the Campus Master Plan and it was explained that there would be a meeting soon concerning the Capital Projects report that goes to the State.  Rita Creighton commented on the fine job that has been undertaken on the Emergency Management Planning.  Larry gave credit to Jonathan Koehler for the progress being made on beginning the pathway for this plan and the training that will be involved.

 

Instruction

Marie Zimmermann reported.

  • Marie explained that at the 3rd week of summer quarter, we have hit our target enrollment which matches last summer.  Typically the demand is for basic courses such as Speech, Writing, Psychology, and Biology.  These are often courses where students are home for the summer, wanting to pick up another course before going back to their 4-year school, as well as a number of our own students picking up an extra class, so it is an interesting mix of students.
  • High interest has been shown in online classes. 
  • Highline was on front edge of starting the I-Best programs and we are offering three this summer.  The faculty was involved in statewide training a couple months ago, and they are now able to make some additions.  An ESL faculty member put together a new special ESL class which focuses on vocabulary.  This will be a bridge class, giving the student a head start on course content before they enter.  72 people signed up for special bridge classes.   Also, our early adoption of the I-best approach has now been set up in 3 different curriculums and certificate programs can be obtained in these areas.  We are going to keep working on integrating ESL and course content to improve effectiveness.
  • Summit Project students will be coming in August.  Representative Hudgins expressed high interest in this and agreed to meet with us later in the month.  Dr. Bermingham had asked Representative Hudgins to be involved, and this is a significant step.

 

Discussion was held about which online classes were most popular, and it was noted that it would be of interest to see if there was a profile for the type of student who would be most interested and if that could be used as a marketing tool.

 

Institutional Advancement

Rod Stephenson reported for Lisa Skari. Lisa was participating in the National Summer Meeting for the Council for Resource Development.  

 

  • Rod was asked to share the information that Highline sponsored an audio conference held in the Mt. Skokomish Room concerning issues surrounding MySpace and online forums.  There was a lot of discussion on privacy concerns and student protection.
  • The Foundation sent out 55 award letters totaling $70,000 for foundation scholarships.  A lot of high quality applications were received, with a great deal of science emphasis.  There were a total of 250 applications which could be accessed online, and then printed.  The Foundation expects to work on a total online process for these applications in the future so that students can track their status.  They would also be told immediately about any missing sections of the application, so the process could be much more efficient.  The Foundation is also trying to work with departments to inform more students about this process.
  • There are a number of Foundation Board members who volunteer to review the applications.    Scholarships are generated from income, specific donors, and also from the Gala.  The Foundation does not track ethnicity; however, many recipients are persons new to the area, often from immigrant populations or relocation.  There is concern that a lot of students who could benefit don’t want to apply as it is easier to apply for financial aid than for a scholarship.  There is a need to streamline the process to obtain more applicants and make it more user-friendly.   The Foundation is also working hand in hand with financial aid to try to partner resources. There are also 3 emergency funds in which the Foundation can provide up to $200 which are actually grants. 
  • In the fall, the Foundation will hold a donor recognition event where students will get to meet the donors. 

 

Discussion

 

Marie Zimmermann noted that in one of the forums a remark had been made that Highline has a reputation for its faculty all coming from Seattle.  She expressed that the catalog does indicated where faculty have obtained their degrees.  She said that out of152 faculty listed in 2005-2007; only 37 had obtained their degrees locally or from UW.  Most faculty members are from other locations across the US, and internationally, which indicates another way in which Highline expresses its diversity.  Board members commented that they believe that the community does recognize the quality and integrity of Highline’s faculty members.

 

Dr. Bermingham expressed his thanks to Jeff Wagnitz in working with Highline’s School District on the Toyota grant.  Out of the 230 applicants who filled out the capability survey, only 15 were invited to participate and Highline was proud to be one of the finalists.  Highline is continuing to look for opportunities for community partnerships, such as Marie Zimmermann’s contacts with the Office of refuge and immigrant assistance.  It was noted that these types of partnerships are very important in bringing these resources into the community.

 

Dr. Chen asked about the Letter from UW President Mark Emmert on the Husky Promise and how that could affect Highline students.  It was noted that direct transfer students can take advantage of those opportunities, and that since both UW and WSU are interested in diversity, Highline is an excellent source from which to draw enrollment into these 4-year schools. 

 

Rita Creighton expressed her thanks to Dr. Elizabeth Chen for her leadership as Chair and appreciated all the extra effort she has provided to the Board members, as she passes the gavel on to Karen Vander Ark.

 

Unscheduled Business

None.

 

New Business

None.

 

Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 11:45 a.m.

 

 

Next Regularly Scheduled Meeting of the Board of Trustees

The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Board of Trustees will be October 11, 2007.

 

              8:00 a.m.       Study Session             Building 25, Room 411

            10:00 a.m.       Meeting                        Building 25, Board Room

 

______________________________            _________________________________

Karen Vander Ark, Chair                                 Jack Bermingham, Ph.D., Secretary