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Mr. Poole stated usually a Board meeting presentation has included new programs but today the backroom operations will be discussed. He introduced Ms. Cat Mobley, CVCC’s Business Manager, Ms. Kimely Davis, Procurement Manager, and Ms. Leticia Forster, Interim Human Resource Manager and read their credentials.
Ms. Mobley began by stating the Accounting office has four full-time and two part-time staff with their combined 49 years of experience just here at CVCC. She stated the four main focuses of the Accounting Office are internal controls, collecting money, spending money, and reporting on the money that is spent and collected. Ms. Mobley stated internal controls revolve around policies and procedures the College must follow to be good stewards of the student’s tuition, the tax dollars, and also to make sure the College is in compliance with any financial reporting requirements or laws and regulations. She stated years ago, the College focused on internal controls but did not document them as well as it does today. Ms. Mobley stated with the Enron and Sarbanes–Oxley scandals in the private sector caused the Commonwealth of Virginia to take a firmer stand. The College now annually updates and tests it internal controls in accordance with the Commonwealth of Virginia Agency Risk Management and Internal Control Standards (ARMICS). Ms. Mobley stated because of this, the College is now doing a better job of documenting and testing the internal controls on an annual basis. She stated the College is audited by internal auditors, external auditors, federal auditors for grants, and by the College itself.
Ms. Mobley discussed another focus which is collecting money. She stated in accordance with the Commonwealth of Virginia Policies and Procedures Manual, all collections are deposited the next business day. She stated this ensures the money is accounted for properly and also is safe. She stated local funds are invested in the Local Government Investment Pool (LGIP). She reported while the College may not get its greatest of returns, it does meet the Code of Virginia requirements.
Ms. Mobley stated the Accounting Office deals with a lot of credit card numbers and takes precautions to ensure those numbers are not written down on any documents for security reasons.
Ms. Mobley discussed payment of expenditures, and stated the College pays for only goods received. She stated payments are approved by a supervisor, grant payments are reviewed by the grant’s accountant, and then she reviews all payments. She stated if anything appears out of the ordinary, it is questioned. She stated the same goes for the employees’ travel. All travel requests are reviewed to make sure the guidelines are followed.
Ms. Mobley stated the last focus is financial reporting. Annual Financial Statements for the College are prepared in accordance with Governmental Accounting Standards (GASB), and Financial Reports are prepared for grant funds in accordance with the grantor’s instructions and requirements. She stated all Financial Reports are reviewed by a supervisor for accuracy.
Dr. Tannebaum asked if the Accounting Office was involved in employees’ salaries. Ms. Mobley stated that took place in the Human Resources Department.
Ms. Kimely Davis, Procurement Manager, stated the Procurement Office has three full-time employees, and she stated this group utilizes all state approved sources such as the Virginia Public Procurement Act, the Agency Procurement and Surplus Property Manual, and eVA:
· eVA is the Commonwealth’s Electronic Procurement System
· It has surpassed 20 billion dollars in purchases of goods and services
· It has saved the Commonwealth and taxpayers more than $280 million through streamline purchasing
· eVA has leveled the playing field for small, women, and minority-owned businesses to participate in the state’s business opportunities
· Since the program was started in 2001, eVA has had more than five million products posted online and more than 38,000 private vendors registered
Ms. Davis stated with the above mentioned information, her office researches for the lowest deal with the best value. She stated not only is the procurement staff trained but also the end users on how to properly prepare orders so they will not spend extra fees for expedited orders. She reported all of the state’s contracts are utilized because it is known these contracts have been through a process that ensures the best price and product available from reliable suppliers. Ms. Davis stated her department also monitors CVCC’s Purchasing Card Program to ensure that only state required items are purchased. A “check off” system is in place that the card holders’ supervisor or a higher level person approves the card holders’ transactions.
Ms. Davis stated the procurement staff also works closely with the Campus to place surplus items on GovDeals. She stated this is a state approved site (compared to eBay) that all state agencies can sell used equipment like facilities’ lawnmowers and tractors, trucks, and etc. In turn, she stated, the College receives the funds that are deposited into an account to purchase new equipment. Ms. Davis stated she personally oversees this account and for the months of July through December 2011, the College received over $2,500 for goods sold.
Ms. Davis stated she attended a conference and learned that there was a state approved site called Creative Recycling Systems, Inc. (CRS, Inc.) to recycle the College’s used computer and electronic equipment. She stated this has resulted in a huge cost savings. In the past, she reported, the College had to pay to store and ship the outdated equipment to an offsite location but now CRS, Inc. comes to the Campus to pick up the equipment at no cost to CVCC. She stated last year the College received over $700 in refunds.
Ms. Davis reported last year she completed a cost savings analysis for the College’s printing and copying needs. She stated she arranged meetings with every department at CVCC to ascertain their needs. She stated she discovered that some areas had a fax, scanner, printer, and a copier in separate areas, and they all had their own ink/toners purchased separately. Ms. Davis stated she utilized a state contract and replaced all of the multiple machines down to one multi-functional unit per department. She stated the state contract even included the toner. She stated this proved to not only be a cost saver but a time saver as well by eliminating the need for employees to walk from one machine to another and even sometimes to a different building.
Ms. Davis also reported her office often combines orders to receive free shipping and other discounts for several of the orders up to and including the Centers. She stated for example the Bedford Center may need office supplies and the Amherst Center needs paper products, and by combining the orders resulted in a cost savings. She stated the order is shipped to each individual Center for convenience.
Ms. Davis concluded by stating all systems are set in place to ensure the proper handling of state funds from the beginning to end and over again. (During her presentation, Ms. Davis distributed a printout of GovDeals, eVA, and Creative Recycling.)
Ms. Forster, Interim Human Resource Director, stated the HR Department was in charge of recruiting, payroll, benefits, salary surveys, and training. She stated there were three full-time employees and hopefully a part-time position will be hired soon.
Ms. Forster stated that in April 2011, the new Human Resource Management System (HMRS) through PeopleSoft was implemented which was required by the VCCS. She stated HRMS is used for payroll, Human Resources, time sheets, and leave requests. She stated their department worked together as a team to learn the new system and now manages to get the job done.
Ms. Forster reported her office processes payroll for 153 full-time faculty and staff, approximately 179 adjunct faculty, and 182 part-time employees. She stated the office also administers all the benefits for the full-time employees and even some for the part-timers. She stated the benefits included the 403 plan, 457 plan, leave plans, health and dental insurance, and process all deductions while working with third party administrators and also the state on a daily basis.
Ms. Forster discussed recruiting and stated the College is now advertising for all part-time positions. She stated all print advertising has been discontinued because it is neither cost effective nor advantageous. Ms. Forster stated posting available jobs online is instantaneous and available for all to see. She stated it seems they are receiving more qualified applicants because they do look online. She stated there is now a one-week turnaround from the end time a job is posted to the time the referrals are sent to the hiring manager.
Ms. Forster discussed the hiring process and stated they meet with the hiring manager to create the job posting, then it is posted online, and after all the applications are received, they are screened to see if they meet the required qualifications. The most qualified applications are sent to the hiring manager. A search committee selected by the hiring manager interviews the candidates of their choice, and the decision to whom they want to hire is sent back to Human Resources for a background check.
Ms. Forster stated the HRMS Knowledge Center is being utilized for mandatory training purposes. She stated two topics included Sexual Harassment and Worker’s Compensation. She stated training will be developed this summer for performance management and supervisory skills. She stated they will discuss the evaluation process with the supervisors to show them the timeline and to discuss the importance of it. She stated this needs to be a win-win situation.
Ms. Forster stated salary surveys have been conducted for all classified positions and information is also being gathered for faculty and administrator faculty positions. She stated the completion goal is the end of this year.
Ms. Forster stated a Benefits Fair is scheduled for this spring, and a benefits summary presentation is scheduled for the next Classified Staff Association meeting to let everyone know what is actually available.
Mr. Lamb questioned as to how often are employees evaluated. Ms. Forster answered officially once a year.
Mr. Poole stated he thought it was important to see what goes on behind the scenes and stated he would be lost without all their support. He thanked Ms. Forster, Ms. Mobley, and Ms. Davis for their presentations.
Mr. Lamb and Mr. Witt both stated they learned a lot of information about the working of the College. Mr. Lamb thanked everyone for their presentation.
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