The two hundred and sixth meeting of the Central Virginia Community College Board was held at 4:30 p.m. on July 18, 2012, in the Appomattox Hall Conference Room, Room 1114. Following the business session, dinner was held at The Crown.

 

 

Dr. Robert Bashore

Mr. Richard Carter, Sr.

Ms. Beverly Jones

Mr. Skip Lamb

Mr. Nathaniel Marshall

Dr. Lloyd Tannenbaum    

Ms. Lou Tweedy

Mr. Ben Witt
Vacant

Bedford County

Appomattox County

Amherst County

City of Lynchburg

City of Lynchburg

City of Lynchburg

Campbell County

City of Bedford

State Representative

 

Ms. Vivian Brown

Mr. Keith Maxey

City of Lynchburg
Campbell County

 

 

Mr. Tom Bushley                                Facilities Manager

 

 

Dr. John Capps, President

Dr. Joey Fronheiser, Direction of Institutional Research

Dr. Ruth Hendrick, VP for Workforce

Mr. David Lightfoot, VP for Information Technology

Mr. John K. Poole, VP of Finance

Vacant, VP of Institutional Advancement 

Ms. Dianne Sykes, Administrative Staff Assistant

 

 

Mr. Lamb, Chair, called the meeting to order at 4:30 p.m.

 

 

On a motion by Mr. Witt, duly seconded, Minutes No. 205 from the regular meeting of April 25, 2012, were approved as written.

 

The motion carried unanimously.

 

 

Mr. Lamb introduced Mr. Nathaniel Marshall as CVCC’s newest Board member. He stated that the College is extremely fortunate to have a member that is so active in the community and thanked him for all of his service. Mr. Lamb stated Mr. Marshall is very familiar with the community college system as he served for many years on CVCC’s Local Board and also served on the VCCS State Board as a member and also as chair. Mr. Lamb stated he was very pleased to have Mr. Marshall return to CVCC.

 

 

On a motion by the Curriculum Committee, the memberships of the Curriculum Advisory Committees were approved with the understanding the personal information will be reviewed and corrected as needed and presented again to the Board at the October meeting.

The motion carried unanimously.

 

On a motion by the Curriculum Committee, modifications to the Administrative Support Technology, Associate of Applied Science Degree were approved.

The motion carried unanimously.

 

On a motion by the Curriculum Committee, modifications to Culinary Arts’ Certificate were approved.

The motion carried unanimously.

 

On a motion by the Curriculum Committee, modifications to Emergency Medical Technician-Basic, Career Studies Certificate were approved.

The motion carried unanimously.

 

 

The Local Fund Quarterly Financial Report and Financial Statements were reviewed. On a motion by the Local Fund Quarterly Financial Report and Financial Statements were approved. A copy of the Local Fund Quarterly Financial Report and Financial Statements are attached and made a part of these minutes.

The motion carried unanimously.

 

 

 

A copy of the State Spending Plan for 2011-2012 was provided for information. A copy of this document is attached and made a part of these minutes.

Mr. Poole introduced Mr. Tom Bushley, the new Director of Buildings and Grounds. He stated Mr. Bushley was previously the superintendent of Grounds and Roads at Fort Pickett which included over 300 miles of roads and 1,600 acres of land.

Mr. Bushley stated he began in construction work for a general contractor at the age of 12 and worked with a bridge contractor at the age of 15. He stated after completing high school, he worked in masonry and obtained his Journeyman’s Card. Mr. Bushley stated his undergraduate degree was in business and attended George Mason University for his Masters. He stated he also spent five years in the military as a Navy Seabee and worked 10 years for VDOT.

Mr. Lamb stated Mr. Bushley had a very compelling background and welcomed him to CVCC.  

Mr. Poole began his update on projects and stated the proposed idea of a stand-alone bookstore proved to be too expensive. He stated as the College was renovating the Student Center, a decision was made to relocate the bookstore to the extra space in the Amherst wing previously occupied by Weatherization (which moved to the second floor of the AREVA Technology Center.) Mr. Poole reported the area for the bookstore is in the process of renovations with Barnes and Noble providing the funding.

Mr. Poole discussed repaving the parking lot and stated VDOT is only responsible for the middle section and not the area of the parking spaces. CVCC will pay for that portion to be repaved with Capital Outlay money with that information being outlined in the Financial Statements.

Mr. Poole reported the existing space which is now the bookstore will be renovated to provide a Career Center and a Veteran’s Office.

Mr. Lamb questioned how many square feet there are in the present bookstore and how many in the new space. Mr. Poole stated there will be around 4,000 square feet in the new and only about 2,100 square feet in their present space. He stated the square footage in the new space will be about the same as proposed in the stand-alone store.  

 

 

Dr. Hendrick reported on Workforce and stated the Career Center is a new project for the College. She stated its Student Center location will be a prime area to make contact with the students. She stated four Career Counselors have been hired who will work from the Career Center, off-campus centers, and also at the Workforce Services Center at the Plaza. She stated even though the Center here on Campus has not been completed, students have already begun to seek advice on possible careers, job searching skills, and resume writing. 

Dr. Hendrick reported the Workforce Division is in the process of being reorganized to better serve the community. She stated the second part of Workforce is Continuing Education which will provide classes for personal interest and enrichment.

Dr. Hendrick reported some of the new programs for the fall will include SHRM Certification, Project Management Certification, and various safety certifications all working towards the goal of increasing the number of certifications that are achieved by the College. She also reported Workforce is working on an entrepreneurial program with Region 2000.

Dr. Hendrick reported a grant has just been received through the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for $150,000 to use toward the AREVA Summer Internship program and the Radiation Training program.

Dr. Hendrick stated there are a lot of good things going on in Workforce.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Capps began by discussing the Goals Supporting Achieve 2015 for July 2011 through June 2012 and stated the first goal of increasing headcount enrollment by 3% was not achieved but the College actually experienced a decrease of 3.1%. (He stated 12 of the 23 community colleges experienced decreases in enrollment.) However, Dr. Capps reported FTE’s only decreased by .6%. He stated to remedy decreases in enrollment, CVCC has hired two additional counselors; one who serves as a recruitment officer and another who serves as a retention officer.

Dr. Capps discussed Goal # 5 which was to support the development of the Early College program in the Lynchburg City School District. He stated this goal was achieved as CVCC has reached an agreement with the Lynchburg City Schools to begin an Early College program in fall 2013.    

Dr. Capps discussed Goals # 6-7 which was to increase Financial Aid applicants and recipients and to develop and institute a mechanism for awarding Federal Student Loans as part of a comprehensive financial aid program. He reported originally the goal was to increase by 10% but actually increased by 22%.

Dr. Capps discussed Goal # 9 which was to implement the redesign of developmental mathematics and develop curriculum for a new developmental English program. He stated that goal was achieved as the College has implemented a new developmental mathematics program and is in the process of developing the curriculum for the new developmental English program with two pilot courses beginning this fall.

Dr. Capps discussed Goals # 13-14 which were to increase the number of employers served through college credit and noncredit courses, customized training, and other outreach efforts by 10%. He stated that #13 goal was achieved with figures showing from 2010-11 to 2011-12, CVCC increased the number of employers served from 41 to 100, and # 14 was achieved as from 2010-11 to 2010-12, the number of students served increased from 1,742 to 3,178. 

Dr. Capps discussed Goals # 16-17 which were to increase fundraising and employee giving by 10%. He reported the Annual Fund increased by 21.9% and employees’ contributions increased by 11.4%.

Dr. Capps discussed Goal # 25 which was to employ additional full-time faculty and staff. He stated that goal was achieved with five new faculty hired and also numerous staff hired.

Dr. Capps discussed Goal # 26 which was to develop and institute a college-wide plan to support Professional Development. He stated $60,000 was funded for that purpose this year with an ad hoc committee developing a process for allotting this funding.

Dr. Capps discussed Goal # 29 which was to conduct planning sessions to define a new model of institutional governance. He stated this was perhaps the most important goal CVCC achieved. He stated an ad hoc committee was created and worked throughout 2011-12 to define a new model of participatory governance for CVCC. The new model has been reviewed and approved by all constituencies of the College and will be implemented fall 2012.

 

Mr. Lamb stated he did not watch a lot of television but invariably when he did, he saw ads for area community colleges but none for CVCC.  Mr. Poole stated CVCC did have ads on WSET and was in the process of negotiating timeslots on WDBJ. Mr. Lamb questioned the amount of budget CVCC had for advertising compared to area community colleges. Dr. Capps stated he did not have any budget figures except for Virginia Western who had $500,000 for advertising compared to $90,000 for CVCC.  

Dr. Tannenbaum stated he is glad that Dr. Capps recognized the importance of having a process to reach the goals he set and not just setting goals without a vehicle to obtain them.

Mr. Lamb stated Dr. Capps has certainly tried to get people involved in decision-making and not just dictated to what the decisions were. Dr. Capps stated in the past, too many people felt they were dictated to with no voice.  

Dr. Capps discussed Institutional Advancement and stated interviews are being held this week for the vice president for that area. He stated he felt the College also needed a full-time grant writer, director of alumni, and marketing in that unit and hoped to remedy that in the future. Dr. Tannenbaum questioned if other colleges had this type of staffing, and Dr. Capps replied that most did.  

Dr. Capps discussed the Goals for 2012-2013 and stated the first was to increase enrollment from underserved populations by 3% over 2011-2012, and annually develop at least one new academic program (degree, certificate, or career studies certificate) that respond to emerging, critical workforce needs in Region 2000, particularly in STEM-related areas (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). He stated all area high schools were very much in favor of beginning the STEM-H program here at CVCC and hoped to have the first students this fall.

Dr. Capps discussed Goal # 4 which is to expand the Great Expectations Enrollments. He stated a coach has been hired to help with this program.

Dr. Capps discussed goals which included    to increase the number of students who apply for and who receive financial aid and scholarships by 10% over 2011-12, and to continue to increase the number of students who apply for and who receive student loans by 10% over 2011-12.

Dr. Capps stated he had previously discussed the establishment of a Veterans Center. He stated other goals included:

·         Increase fundraising from workforce partners by 10% and donation to the Annual Fund by 10%

·         Secure $400,000 in scholarships from Tobacco Indemnification Commission

·         Implement new governance model

·         Implement Chancellor’s Faculty Diversity Program

·         Continue planning process for the 2014 reaffirmation of accreditation through SACS

Dr. Capps stated one of the most important goals is # 40 and that is to achieve Compliance with SACSCOC CS 3.3.1.1 – Institutional Effectiveness – Educational Programs  which led to his discussion on the recent sanction of probation.

Dr. Capps began by stating he is sure everyone either read his email, saw the article in the News and Advance, or TV interviews concerning the SACSCOC sanction. He reported the sanction that the College was cited for relates to the evaluation of its educational programs. He stated SACSCOCS requires that the College comply with a variety of core requirements and comprehensive standards. He stated one requirement is that the College systematically engages in an evaluation of its educational programs. He stated in practical terms, it means the College has to identify the goals for the programs, the student learning outcomes and measure to what extent students are achieving those learning outcomes, and use the results of those assessments to actually improve the programs. He stated the College had not consistently done this requirement and had stopped doing it on a regular basis around 2004. He stated this was realized during the fifth-year interim mid-term review.

Dr. Capps started with a little history and stated CVCC had an onsite visit from SACS (Substantive Change Committee) in January of 2009 at which time the College was given until October 2009 to respond to a recommendation relating to the deficiency of the College’s evaluation of its academic programs.  He stated the College requested for that report to be delayed until April 2010. He stated in spring 2010, CVCC had completed assessments for only 12 of its 70 academic programs; by spring 2011, that total was raised to 25, and today assessments are completed for all but two of the curricula. But the College still had not achieved SACSCOC compliance.  Dr. Capps also stated the report submitted to SACSCOC lacked consistencies and a cohesive assessment plan. He stated for those reasons, the College was placed on probation for the next 12 months. Dr. Capps stated CVCC has another chance to get it right by April 2013. He stated a college can be on probation for no more than two years, and after that it loses its accreditation. 

Dr. Tannenbaum questioned if the lack of quality of the original assessments necessitate a complete new assessment rewrite or just a polishing up. Dr. Fronheiser stated the overall plan is to polish up the 2012 assessment cycle and re-submit the 2013 assessment cycle to show improvement. It won’t be a restart.

Dr. Capps reiterated and stated the College went from 12 assessments to 25 assessments to 40 but still did not cross the finish line. Mr. Marshall questioned as to why this happened. Dr. Capps stated there seemed to be a lack of responsibility, accountability, institutional processes, and training and support for faculty. He stated some reasons are specific, and some are cultural.

Mr. Lamb stated this was a situation that Dr. Capps inherited, and now he must work to get the College back on track. Mr. Lamb stated he was certain Dr. Capps could do the job. Dr. Capps stated he was assured during his past year of presidency that the College was on-track but found out in the eleventh hour this was not the case.

Dr. Capps stated some of the steps being taken to remedy the problems included:

·         New governance model will require participation and not just volunteering

·         Eliminating programs longer viable here at CVCC because if a program is offered the College is obligated to assess those programs (Eliminated 22 last year)

·         Establishing Focus 14 website to emphasize solutions and to include timely updates

·         Conducting Town Hall meetings with frank discussions on what is going on

·         Creating an Institutional Effectiveness website

·         Purchasing Compliance Assist software to help create the modular reports

·         Advertising for a Research Analyst, a Coordinator, and a clerical/technical assistant for creating the website

·         Establishing program heads of faculty members who receive release time to complete program assessments

·         Developing a timeline of due dates from July 2012-April 2013 (distributed copies)

·         Recreating the Faculty/Staff Manual

·         Creating policies for creating and discontinuing of programs

·         Creating a “holy hour” so that faculty will be available to participate

·         Dr. Mark Smith, CVCC’s liaison with SACSCOC will visit the College in August to advise the process

·         Catherine Finnegan, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Institutional Effectiveness from the VCCS, will be visiting CVCC next week to give her perspective on the College’s progress

Dr. Capps stated the College needs be in compliance with SACSCOC at all times, not just at reaffirmation time. Assessments should be an ongoing thing. Mr. Carter asked if the College can get the assessment data that is needed for SACSCOC. Dr. Capps answered the data is available for the assessment from last spring 2011 but the requirement that is considered to “close the loop” is to use that data for course improvement, and that is where the College fell short.

Dr. Tannenbaum questioned who recommended the Compliance Assist software. Dr. Fronheiser stated he reviewed various software such as Weave-online, etc. but found Compliance Assist to offer more.

Mr. Witt discussed the timeline dates and questioned if any of the tasks were dependent on the others. Dr. Capps stated they were all sequential. Mr. Witt stated this was a concern of his as if any of the tasks missed their deadlines, it could cause all to be out-of-sync. Dr. Capps stated the antidote to this is accountability. Mr. Witt stated he understood (working with ISO 9000) how difficult it is to move away from getting ready for compliance to always being in compliance.

Dr. Tannenbaum questioned how the Board can help the College. Dr. Bashore suggested the Board members attend committee meetings to show their commitment, and Mr. Lamb agreed.

Dr. Capps thanked everyone for their support.

 

 

 

Mr. Lamb had no old business to report.

 

Mr. Marshall stated the College should be notified soon as to who the new State Board liaison will be.

 

 

There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 6:15 p.m.