Story by: Michael Dawes
e-mail: dawesm@bartonccc.edu

Barton Community College
Board of Trustees Meeting Report
Nov. 19, 2009

The Board approved the hiring of Dr. Penny Quinn as Barton’s next Vice President of Instruction and Student Services. She is expected to arrive at Barton in early January, Barton President Dr. Carl Heilman said.

Quinn replaces Dr. Gillian Gabelmann, who left in late August to assume duties as Associate Dean of Instruction at Washburn Institute of Technology. Quinn currently serves as Academic Officer for Lincoln Trail College, Robinson, Ill.

Quinn was hired from a beginning pool of 22 applicants, Heilman explained to the Board. Five candidates interviewed by telephone and three, including Quinn, were invited to Barton and Fort Riley Campuses to meet with faculty, staff and administration.

Quinn has an extensive background in student service and grant management, as well as considerable experience in administering academic and general education learning programs, researching and developing technical programs of study and administering learning services in correctional environments, said Heilman.

The Board amended the consent agenda to include Quinn. It also added the hiring of Nigel Bigby as the new assistant track and field coach at Barton. Also approved as part of the consent agenda personnel hires were Tracy Epting – Customer Service Representative; Scott Heier – Security Analyst; and Myron Kryschtal – Distance Learning Effectiveness Manager, which is a new Title III grant-funded position, it was noted.

Dean of Administration Mark Dean informed the Board that the College’s Bookstore Services, comprising Barton and Fort Riley Campuses, does approximately $1 million of business each year. That doesn’t include business done by BARTONline through virtual bookstore MBS Direct. The College receives 5 percent of MBS sales if purchases are ordered through the Barton/MBS Web site. Barton typically carries forward $100,000 of revenue from bookstore sales to the next fiscal year, Dean said.

Barton students are not required to purchase books from the College or MBS Direct, but Dean said the College doesn’t lose much business, primarily because of a competitive price and students want to ensure they are purchasing the correct textbooks. Some books also come with CDs or DVDs, and those aren’t always included in delivery through other sources. Students purchasing from other vendors, however, should verify the book edition, title, author and ISBN prior to purchase, Dean recommended.

Barton Campus provides books each year to approximately 1,800 students who have financial aid vouchers. The total benefit to students is more than $530,000, reported Dean. Barton Campus Bookstore coordinates book buy-back at the end of each semester. For those books that will be re-used, Students are paid half the purchase price of new books, whether the book was purchased new or used, said Bookstore Manager Connie Kerns. The Bookstore purchases approximately $100,000 of used books back from students annually, according to Dean’s report.

Each year, Barton Fort Riley Campus serves about 560 students who have financial aid vouchers. The total benefit to students is approximately $150,000, Dean said. Barton’s Fort Riley staff orders all books for BARTONline students who receive approved financial aid. Bookstore also assists all Barton students who order online, either through BARTONline or EduKan.

Dean said the value of Barton’s Bookstore services is greater than the direct profit received by its operations. In-house operations allow the College the option of providing scholarships and voucher programs to students receiving financial aid. The Bookstore loaner program benefits military students in the LSEC program, as well as those students on book scholarships.

Instructors generally try to use textbooks for three years, said Dean. Department heads or deans are required to sign off on textbook changes for instructors, if a change in text is requested. Some instructors at both campuses use e-books as well as online readings and articles for College programs, said Dean. However, e-books aren’t popular with Barton students, he added. Students prefer to have a hard copy of the text, some decide to keep the text for future reference, and others opt to sell the book back after using it. The choice of using an e-book or a hard bound book is up to the student, he said. Kerns said the average cost of a textbook ranges from $100 to $150, depending on the subject. Costs are rising, she said. As an example, a college algebra book that was $145 a few years ago is now $185, she said.

Dean reported that a new Bookstore Web site is being planned, with a launch date set in February. Once completed, individuals will be able to purchase merchandise online. In addition, all books and their ISBN’s will be available for each Barton course.

Measuring Ends – Perkins Reports on Data behind Monthly Statements

 Barton Dean of Information Services Charles Perkins provided a report to the Board explaining the research behind the ENDS reports that are featured at the monthly meetings. Perkins also showed the Board where to access information related to ENDs information.

Most institutional Research data can be accessed on Barton’s Web site, http://bartonccc.edu/administration/research/administration/index.html.  Information-sensitive data is kept internally, in a research shared folder used by the institution. BARTONline also has statistical information available one of the College’s networks, Perkins explained.

Perkins told the Board that data collection, by the two-person team of Coordinator Caicey Crutcher and Institutional Researcher Ray Willis, is a “tremendous amount of work,” and so it’s important that the College makes the effort worthwhile. A helpful tool he recommended for using the data is a data dictionary, found on Barton’s IR Web site at http://bartonccc.edu/administration/research/datadictionary/index.html.

Data collection reports presented by Perkins were:

Community College Student Survey of Engagement – CCSSE information used to compare statistics in the state and nation. Perkins said the cost of CCSSE is about $8,000, but it is essential because it “lets us know how we connect with students compared to other colleges.” He explained that CCSSE is a gauge for how we are doing with our learning communities; how well we advise students; and how well we are using social networking in the classroom. The CCSSE data is in paper form and can be accessed in the IR Office on the Barton Campus.

Semester and weekly enrollment data comparisons – Perkins explained that the comparisons aren’t necessarily an indication of increased or decreased enrollment because of Barton’s fluctuating class offerings throughout the year, but the comparisons do provide a snapshot according to the calendar.

Green Jobs, with research from Economic Modeling – Provides data for Kansas, Barton County and Barton’s seven-county service area. Perkins provided the Board an occupation report, which showed the economic effect if a biofuel company moved into the area.

Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) – Provides postsecondary data related to, among other areas, grants and financial aid, student attendance, student retention, and tuition rates. Perkins said that IPEDS data is two years old, but it is still good data and provides accurate college comparisons. The site also provides data feedback reports, which are helpful. Perkins pointed out an interactive tool on the IPEDS site, CollegeNavigator, which allows for side-by-side college comparisons.

The Kansas Study – A national study of community college instructional costs and productivity. Perkins said the study is being used by Kansas Postsecondary Technical Education Authority, charged with providing recommendations for aligning technical education courses and programs among the state’s 26 technical and community colleges. But lack of participation by many of the Kansas community colleges has limited the validity of data, Perkins explained.

National Community College Benchmark Project (NCCBP) – Provides community colleges with opportunities to report outcome and effectiveness data in critical performance areas, receive reports of benchmarks, and compare results with other colleges. Perkins said Barton can comment about the data, but it cannot release the data to any other party.

Perkins explained that Institutional Research information also includes program review, retention data, student funding data, and tuition rate comparisons.

He encouraged Trustees to request other data, if they needed anything in making policy decisions.

“As a trustee, I appreciate all this work and I’m fascinated with the data that is provided,” said Barton Trustee Don Learned. “It shows Barton is accountable and effective in what it does.”

 Board Approves Welding Technology Certificate Program

 Included in the approval of consent-agenda items, the Board approved the advancement of a Welding Technology Certificate program. The program will go through a process involving the KBOR and TEA. Barton Executive Director of Business Technology and Community Education Jane Howard reported that the College will most likely find out if it has final approval for the program in February.

The certificate program was developed with funds provided by the U.S. Department of Labor Community Based Job Training Grant awarded to Barton last February. The purpose of the grant is to provide vocational training to inmates prior to their release from confinement. Welding Certification was selected as one of the four vocational programs to be delivered in fulfillment of the grant objectives.

Courses for the 16-to-18-credit-hour program are: Blueprint Reading; Shielded Metal Arc Welding; Gas Tungsten Arc Welding; Cutting Processes; and Safety.

 Board Hears from 40th Anniversary Guests During Study Session

 During its study session Nov. 5 at Grandview Plaza, the Board heard from two guests, along with Board Chairman Dr. Paul Maneth about how Barton established its education roots at Fort Riley and the Junction City area more than 25 years ago. Joining Maneth and the Board were Marvin Bahr, former Dean of Continuing Education at Barton, and Mark Sodamann, Director of Education Services at Fort Riley. Read more about the College’s start-up at Fort Riley and Junction City at hilltopics.edu.

“I’ve been a trustee for 10 years and to see how far we’ve come even in that short amount of time at Fort Riley is amazing,” said Board Vice Chair Mike Johnson. “When we meet with Command Staff or anyone from Fort Riley, I like to stress that we know it’s a privilege for Barton to be on this post. It’s important that we don’t ever take that for granted. Every day we need to prove ourselves, and I believe we do a great job of that.”

 Kingslien, Nash Provide Fort Riley Program Updates

 Barton’s Dean of Fort Riley Learning Services and Military Operations Gene Kingslien reported about several education programs at Fort Riley. The Center for Adult Education established a General Education Development Program at Fort Riley last summer. Kingslien reported that the program went from having five students to about 35 students in October. The program had to be moved to a larger classroom because of the increased number of students. Those students largely are military family members, said Kingslien, because most soldiers are required to have a high school diploma or GED completion before entering the service.

Leadership Skills Enhancement Courses (LSEC) is mostly focused on the soldiers to improve leadership capabilities, but family members are able to attend on a space-available basis, Kingslien explained. LSEC College schedules are six weeks in length with seven cycles per year. There are traditional and hybrid classes offered through LSEC. Traditional classes are in the classroom for 90 minutes each class period with assignments completed online or in the classroom. Hybrid classes meet for 45 to 55 minutes each class period with reading assignments and homework completed online.

The session in January and the summer session typically have lower enrollments, explained Kingslien, because students have child-care commitments during those times, with children on vacation. He said there have been a higher number of high school students attending on post during the summer for LSEC.

College Programs are traditional and hybrid courses that are offered in evenings, weekends and at lunchtime over five cycles throughout the year to all students, general population or military. Kingslien said the hybrid courses are popular with students because they only attend class for three hours one day and conduct their other three hours online. Weekend classes are hybrid. Lunch-time classes are six weeks in length; all others are eight weeks. College Programs courses are $74 per credit hour.

Barton’s Dean of Technical Education Bill Nash provided program updates to the Board as well. He noted that MSF Motorcycle Safety Classes are back on track after the program lost its course last year, due to the tornado in nearby Chapman. This year, the College obtained a new course in Junction City and enrollments have significantly increased once again, he said.

Hazmat Emergency Management has also increased its enrollments from last fall, Nash reported. Part of that increase is due to training more than 300 people from Kansas Department of Health and Environment, Nash said. Barton developed some online classes in the Hazmat area, cutting expenses for the College as well as the students, said Nash.

Barton is providing Occupational Safety and Health Administration training and has completed an Advanced Incident Command Course for the local Civil Air Patrol and Fort Riley Post. Nash said the College is planning to do several more of those courses at Fort Riley.

Nash said that there is an overall increase in enrollment this fall of those students seeking degrees in Hazardous Materials and Emergency Services Training Institute programs. Online enrollment has increased 10 percent, while the resident enrollment has increased about 4 percent, and Hazmat has realized approximately a 3-percent increase in enrollment, noted Nash.

Emergency Management has also been busy this year, training 210 people so far in the Community Emergency Response Team program, Nash reported. More classes are pending, he said.

Military Onsite Training is also growing substantially. Nash said the program has averaged about $100,000 annually the past couple of years. Between July and October, Nash said the program has already brought in $146,000. He reported that there were about $20,000 in contracts pending in November, and eight more classes were in the signing process. Nash said that growth is due to Barton conducting more training on Army Posts at Fort Sill, Okla., Fort Knox, Tenn., and Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.

Nash reported that it’s difficult to compare enrollments for the Military Schools Program because classes are scheduled on a daily basis. He estimated an enrollment increase of more than 300 students over the previous year by the close of this semester.