President’s State of the College Address Summary
Dr. Leah Bornstein: President
Opening comments:
President, Dr. Leah Bornstein opened with mentioning that of the College’s 87 initiatives within year one of the the strategic plan 88% of those initiatives were achieved, congratulations to all for their efforts. She mentioned that CCC implemented 100 initiatives in tiers one and two of the sustainable financial plan (see SFP attached).
Recognition:
Dr. Bornstein recognized Shawn Nittmann for his contribution to student affairs as interim vice president from July 1 2009 through August 31, 2009, and then acknowledged Veronica Hipolito who will take over the position from September 1 through October 30.
Dr. Bornstein welcomed Scott Talboom to the college as Director of Marketing and Public Relations and thanked Brian Harris for his work as Interim Director for filling the gap for the three month period between Bonnie Stevens and Mr. Talboom.
Big picture:
Dr. Bornstein showed several charts and graphs showing the demise of state funding with a key statistic being that in 1996, the college received 45% of our funding from the state of Arizona. In 2009 only 16% of our budget came from the State, and it is likely that the number will steadily decrease. This leaves us dependent on tuition, property taxes and creative ways to continue to reduce costs. Stimulus money from the Federal Government may help us maintain for the next year, but there will still be a gap between expenses and income.
Jami Van Ess: VP Administrative Support
Budget:
Jami also presented charts and graphs revealing similar statistics, but wanted to emphasis that we have achieved great efficiencies with the cost cutting measures and creative use of resources.
Cost Effectiveness:
One example was the cost savings throughout the summer, going to a 4 day week at the Lone Tree and Fourth Street Campuses, and closing Williams for the summer. Cost savings for those measures amount to $30,000. Elimination of paper towels in the bathrooms amounted to a savings of $2,000.
Stimulus Money:
Jami reviewed the ARRA funding (approximately $649,000) and mentioned that it would actually go into the FY 2009 budget because of government requirements. ARRA projects will likely be used for efficiency and to support instruction by remodeling the current child care facility into classrooms.
Ingrid Lee: Dean of Arts and Sciences
Initiatives in Academic Affairs:
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Developmental English position has been filled by Jeremy Martin.
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Developmental Math will be taught on an interim basis by Janice Pulley until the position can be filled.
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Barbara Kilmowski has been named department chairman for Fine Arts.
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Ingrid praised the staff for making great strides with SNAPPY advising.
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Implementation of Fast Fridays which will begin in the Spring of 2010
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Three year course plan is under way and having initial success.
Shawn Nittmann: Interim Vice President for Student Affairs (through August 31, 2009)
Shawn discussed preliminary enrollment figures and presented the following statistics:
This equated to the following increase in student per section numbers:
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1.8 students per section for General Studies
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1.8 students per section for Arts and Sciences
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1.7 students per section for Career Tech
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Page reported a whopping 5.7 students per section, a 50% increase.
Lloyd Hammond: Page/Lake Powell CCC Campus Executive Director
Accreditation:
Lloyd presented on accreditation, first presenting an overview and drilling down to specifics later in the presentation. Essentially accreditation is a self- study project involving virtually all members of faculty and staff, run by a non-governmental, regional accrediting organization called the Higher Learning Commission.
Focus of accreditation:
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Assess the quality of an institution and its effectiveness
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Assist the institution in making improvements in its operations and effectiveness.
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Provide mission driven accreditation
PEAQ:
The Commission offers two programs for achieving continued accreditation (note, this is the preferred terminology). PEAQ, is the Program to Evaluate and Advance Quality and AQIP, Academic Quality Improvement Program. We have chosen to use the PEAQ program.
PEAQ Focus
Continued Accreditation: Boils down to accomplishing three tasks
Self-Study Organization
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Self-Study Coordinator
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Self-Study Steering Committee
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Criterion Committees
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Editing Committee
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Technical Support Committee
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Visit/Hospitality Committee
Big Picture:
Lloyd reiterated that accreditation should not be looked at as a task, but rather an exciting opportunity to make CCC a better institution. The process will be laborious, but the rewards will outweigh the additional work load.
Q & A & Ending summary:
Dr. Bornstein was asked about FTSE money which is essentially where most of the state dollars originate. Dr. Bornstein said “We have to look at the possibility that the state money we are now receiving could go away entirely.” Currently, Jami is working on models showing what would happen if we did not receive any state aid. Basically the message is that CCC needs to look at the possibility of thriving not surviving without state money through creative efficiencies and attempt to increase other income streams.
*“Creativity Does Not Come From The Heights of Success, It Arises From The Depths Of Despair”.
-Dean Smith, Head Basketball Coach, UNC
*Special thanks to Ingrid Lee for providing the inspirational quote.