Concord College Board of Governors
October 17, 2003
1:00 p.m.
The Concord Room
1. Call to Order and Determination of a Quorum
A quorum being present, the meeting was called to order. In attendance were: Mrs. Margaret Sayre, Chairperson; Mr. James L. Miller, Secretary; Dr. Deborah Akers; Dr. Charles Brichford, Faculty Representative; Mr. James M. Brown; Mr. Peter Fichthorn, Student Representative; Mrs. Linda Martin, Classified Representative; Mr. R. T. “Ted” Rogers. Also participating were: Dr. Jerry L. Beasley, President; Cabinet Officers: Mr. James L. Cannon; Mr. Michael Curry; Mr. Rick Dillon; Dr. Dean Turner; Ms. Loretta Young; Ms. Anita Lewis. Others attending: Chancellor Michael Mullen; Dr. Carol Manzione; Dr. Delilah O’Haynes; Mr. Anthony Underwood; Dr. Kendra Boggess; Dr. Steve Rowe. Unable to attend: Mr. Daniel Dunmyer (proxy assigned); Mr. Eugene Fife (proxy assigned); Mr. J. Franklin Long; Mr. Wayne Meisel.
2.
Approval of Minutes
The minutes of the August 21, 2003 meeting were approved as
mailed.
3.
Report of HEPC Workshop for
Boards of Governors
Mrs. Sayre reported that she, Dr. Akers, Mr. Miller, Mr. Fichthorn and Mrs. Martin attended a workshop presented by the Higher Education Policy Commission for Boards of Governors and legislative leaders. Among the issues discussed were state budget cuts, tuition and fees, and teacher education standards. Guest presenter at the workshop, Roger Benjamin, discussed the danger of tension among state leaders and higher education officials, not just in West Virginia but nationwide. An overall theme of the workshop was the need for agencies to “do more with less,” to cooperate as a group rather than individually, and to recognize the “sea change” taking place statewide. Attendees were notified of two nationally broadcasted seminars: October 30, “Surviving Price Reduction” and December 4, “Quality and Cost Containment in Higher Education,” presented by William F. Massy, Emeritus Professor from Stanford University.
Dr. Akers reported on the “No Child Left Behind” initiative, and its impact at the college level. Discussions were centered on the definition of “high quality teachers,” certification issues and their implications for colleges, the need for more special education courses in content areas, accessibility, accountability and accreditation.
4.
Administrative Reports
a.
Academic Affairs (Dr.
Turner)
Dr. Turner reported on activities in Academic Affairs (see attachment).
b.
Admissions (Mr. Curry)
Mr. Curry reported on enrollment (see attachment) and activities in the admissions area. It appears that the College’s in-state enrollment will be up over last year’s figures; out-of-state enrollment is down.
An admissions counselor, Andrea Tabor, has been added for
recruitment in the state of Virginia, and Kent Gamble has joined the admissions
staff as Director of Enrollment, and both are doing well in their respective
positions. Anthony Underwood
continues to more than adequately cover southern West Virginia for the College.
Mr. Underwood explained a program, “The Concord Bridge to
College,” to Board members, and asked for suggestions and/or input (see
attachment).
It was announced that Concord has been cited in the
September 26 edition of The Wall Street Journal, which published a ranking of “feeder schools” to each of
the country’s top five graduate schools of medicine, law and business. Concord ranked 13th among
all the state supported institutions across the country—in the top 125 among
all institutions, and was the only state institution in West Virginia (see
attachment).
c. Business
and Finance (Mr. Cannon)
Mr. Cannon reported on activities in the College’s
business and finance (see attachment).
d. Student Affairs (Mr. Dillon)
Mr. Dillon introduced Dr. Carol Manzione and Dr. Delilah O’Haynes who co-chair the Concord College Sexual Assault Response Team (S.A.R.T.). Dr. Manzione and Dr. O’Haynes explained the mission of S.A.R.T., and explained that the policy has been studied by members of the S.A.R.T. committee, residential life officials, office of Public Safety, and is now at the Cabinet level for review. The primary purposes of S.A.R.T. are: 1) victim advocacy; 2) education; 3) preventive follow-up; and 4) training of key people. The Sexual Assault Response Team will be doing programs in the residence halls and conducting special programs for athletes and other groups on campus with one focus of these programs on date rape drugs and over the counter medications that often lead to unfortunate situations. There will be on-going workshops presented by the Team on campus throughout the year.
Mr. Dillon reported to the Board on activities in the Student Affairs Division (see attachment).
e. Office of Development/Concord College Foundation
Ms. Loretta Young and Dr. Beasley reported on the College’s capital campaign and development office activities (see attachment).
Ms. Young announced that the Charleston fund raising dinner is scheduled on November 18, 2003, at Embassy Suites, and all members of the Board are invited to attend.
Dr. Beasley announced that the West Virginia Supreme Court ruled favorably on the WV Economic Grant Committee case, and it appears that Concord will receive the grant money requested, which will be used for the construction of the technology center.
5. Chancellor’s Report on the HEPC Staff Audit of the College
Chancellor Mullen referred the Board to the audit report by the Higher Education Policy Commission staff. This audit, the Chancellor said, was prompted primarily by rumors concerning the lawsuits and grievances experienced at the College. It was felt that the audit would put to rest rumors and innuendo resulting from the adverse publicity of the grievances and lawsuits. The audit found no merit to claims that the College refused to attempt to resolve grievances thus forcing them to BRIM for settlement. In fact, the opposite was found to be evident: some grievants and their counsel used the grievance process and other jurisdictions for discovery, and ultimately petitioned the courts system where substantial monetary rewards were sought.
Dr. Mullen said that the general observations gleaned from the audit have to do with “attention to detail.” For example, the College needs to do a systematic review and update of existing policies and procedures, and the Faculty Handbook needs to be updated. The Chancellor said that it is the responsibility of the Board of Governors to establish a systematic review of all policies, and to update those that need to be changed. There appears to be no systematic review of compliance of established policies among the Board of Governors, and the central office staff. Dr. Mullen advised the Board to be prepared to enforce rules and policies if they are to be continued without any changes, and emphasized that legal authority is vested in the Board of Governors for the operation of the College.
Chancellor Mullen said that the audit showed that credentials for adjunct faculty may not be as sound as those required for full-time faculty, which are strong. Dr. Mullen suggested that the College may want to look at this practice. Additionally, he cited workloads of faculty as a possible reporting discrepancy, and continued that this is not uncommon on other campuses.
The Chancellor said that the faculty evaluation process is good, but the Faculty Handbook needs to be updated, and due process needs to reflect the existence of the Board of Governors. The promotion and tenure process is valid.
Dr. Mullen stated that questions regarding Concord’s admissions process were merely data problems, and it appears that admissions practices are in compliance.
The College’s remediation program was discussed. It appears that about 15-20 percent of juniors and seniors are taking freshman or remedial courses in the fourth or fifth year. Determination could not be made whether or not students at Concord are being required to take remedial courses, and take them early.
Regarding Human Resources, the Chancellor said that the audit reflected problems with job descriptions, and evaluation instruments for classified and non-classified employees. It appears that there is not enough attention to basic business practices: evaluations, supervisory training, etc. Any employee in a supervisory capacity (whether students or other College employees) must be trained in acceptable practices. Additionally, every employee must have annual evaluations, every new employee should go through a three-month review, and new employees at the six-month point must make a clear decision about accepting continued employment. This also gives the College an opportunity to offer or decline continued employment if the situation is not satisfactory. Dr. Mullen said that the Board of Governors must ensure that job descriptions and evaluation instruments be completed on every College employee—classified and non-classified. Documentation of actions, and communication to employees is critical to the effective operation of the College. He further suggested that this may be one area of collaboration with Bluefield State College that would be beneficial to the College.
Chancellor Mullen said that the I9 Immigration files were spot checked in the audit of Human Resources, and several problems identified. Because of Homeland Security, the I9 files will be more closely scrutinized, and if documentation is not appropriate, the College will be fined. And, if visited by the Department of Education, the problem will “spill over” into federal financial aid.
There is a good array of institutional policies in place, Dr. Mullen said, but they have not been updated. This needs attention, and the policies need to be made available electronically. (Dr. Mullen said that he is trying to find money for this.) All policies must go through the same approval process—all must be approved by the Board of Governors. No one else has the authority to approve policies.
Regarding the financial aid audit, there were no problems identified.
In closing, the Chancellor said that he was prepared to tell Delegate Mezzatesta that Concord has made good faith efforts to resolve situations at the College level. Dr. Mullen said that the College’s Board of Governors needs to ask the administration to formulate a plan to assist in resolving problems, and the Board needs to be proactive in deciding which problems can be handled at the College level, and which ones need to move forward. Dr. Mullen further stated that the role of the Board of Governors needs to be fully developed and nurtured as they are the ultimate authority at the College. And, he is of the opinion that the things discovered in this audit are easily fixed.
Dr. Beasley thanked Dr. Mullen for taking the time to come to Concord, and explain the findings of the audit. He continued that the College found the audit to be helpful, and have taken the recommendations/findings very seriously, and have plans in place to correct them.
Mrs. Sayre also expressed appreciation on behalf of the Board to Dr. Mullen, and asked how to remedy the bad publicity that had emerged because of the rumor and innuendo surrounding the audit. Dr. Mullen suggested that the Board publicly accept the report and have a plan to answer the findings. This communication could come from the Board or President Beasley.
6. Action Items
a. Resolution on Unity Agenda
Mr. Brown moved the adoption of the following resolution:
See attached resolution.
Dr. Brichford seconded. Motion carried unanimously.
b. Capital Project Emergency Revolving Loan Fund
Mr. Brown moved the adoption of the following resolution:
Resolved, the Board of Governors approves repayment of the $350,000 loan from the HEPC capital project emergency revolving loan fund according to the terms set forth in the attached agreement.
Dr. Brichford seconded. Motion carried unanimously
c. Credit Card Policy
Mr. Rogers moved the adoption of the following resolution:
Resolved, that the Concord College Board of Governors approve the following credit card policy:
Recognizing the growing nationwide problem of credit card debt, Concord College does not permit on-campus solicitation of its community members by credit card companies.
Mr. Brown seconded. Motion carried unanimously.
d. Resolution on Board Reporting Policy
Dr. Brichford moved the adoption of the following resolution:
Resolved, that all reports submitted to the Board of Governors will be promptly distributed to all Board members, provided that the distribution of the particular document does not violate federal or state law.
Mrs.
Martin seconded. Motion carried
unanimously.
e. Resolution on Funding Physical Plant Positions
Mr. Brown moved the adoption of the following resolution:
Resolved, to seek funding for at least two vacant physical plant positions in order to maintain and improve College facilities.
Dr. Brichford seconded. Motion carried unanimously.
7.
Discussion Items
a. Should the College Seek University Status?
Dr. Beasley announced to the Board that a conference call is necessary before November 7 to discuss this issue.
b. How Does the College Plan to Sustain its Targeted
Enrollment of 2800 FTE?
Dr. Beasley told the Board that Mr. Curry would provide to them before the next meeting a plan to accomplish this.
8.
Information Items
a. Enrollment Report
See attachment.
b. Beckley Center Progress Report
See attachment.
c. Development Report
See attachment.
There being no further business, the meeting adjourned.
Respectfully submitted,
Margaret J. Sayre, Chairperson
James L. Miller, Secretary