Board of Trustees Meeting Report - July 09
Board of Trustees Meeting Report
July 16, 2009
Story by: Michael Dawes
e-mail: dawesm@bartonccc.edu
College Remembers Mary Barrows
Barton Community College President Dr. Carl Heilman began the July Board of Trustees meeting by remembering longtime instructor Mary Barrows, who died July 13 following a sudden illness. Barrows was a longtime English faculty member at Barton, teaching English composition and literature. In 1997, she was named Distinguished Instructor by the College for her commitment to excellence in educating students.
Barrows began teaching for Barton in 1982 as an associate faculty member in her hometown of La Crosse. She was hired as full-time English faculty member in 1987, and she continued in that position until her death.
Heilman announced that the College has created a Web page for Barrows that encourages employees to help fill a scrap book about their memories of Barrows. More information about the compilation of the scrapbook can be accessed at http://dev.bartonccc.edu/community/facultyfeatures. Additionally, Heilman said there will be other memorials for Barrows at the start of the fall semester.
Board Elects New Officers for 09-10
The Barton Community College Board of Trustees elected new officers for the next academic year during its regular meeting July 16. Taking over as Board chair is Dr. Paul Maneth; serving as vice chair is Mike Johnson; and assuming the role as secretary is John Moshier. Johnson also retains his position as KACCT Delegate, and Dean of Administration Mark Dean remains the treasurer of the Board.
Leaving the position as Board chair is Robert Feldt who was first elected to that position in July 2006 and was re-elected each of the following years.
"I appreciate your efforts on the Board as chairman for the past several years," said Trustee Johnson as Chairman Feldt prepared to adjourn the meeting in his current capacity for the final time. "You have done an outstanding job."
BARTONline On Course to Exceed 10,000 Enrollments in Five Years
If projections hold true, as they have for the past decade, Barton's online education program, BARTONline should surpass 10,000 enrollments by the 2013-14 academic year.
Executive Director of Distance Learning Wynn Butler presented a report to the Board showing the advancements and the growth of BARTONline since its inception in March 1999.
"The trend line from last year said that we would pull around 6,200 students and we ended up with 6,477 on BARTONline," said Butler. "That trend line has been basically tracking, since we began."
Barton President Dr. Carl Heilman pointed out to the Board that online enrollment at Barton has increased from 17.5 percent in 2006-07 to about 22.5 percent this past academic year. The growth rate, with a small portion of that coming from Barton enrollments in Edukan, is a little more than 2 percent a year, Heilman said.
Utilizing a histogram for his presentation, Butler showed that Barton is projected to exceed expenditures by $1.8 million for BARTONline. That's a net growth of more than $400,000 from revenues realized four years earlier. That growth will likely slow, however, Butler explained, based on a drop in state aid. About 70 percent of BARTONline students receive state aid, said Butler.
Offsetting some of the drop in student aid, BARTONline signed a new E-College contract, saving approximately $306,000 annually. That contract runs through summer 2013. Tech fees will save Barton approximately $261,000 annually as calculations are now figured as flat-fees compared to the credit-hour system of the past years. And a previous charge for implementation of a data protection program has been waived, saving BARTONline $30,000 annually through the life of the contract. BARTONline will also be able to offset the drop in student aid by raising tuition $5 per credit hour to $130, starting this fall. Based on enrollment estimates, BARTONline will gain nearly $100,000.
Included in the E-College contract is the ability for Barton to utilize e-Companion and hybrid. e-Companion is used as a supplement to on-campus classes at Barton and Fort Riley campuses. e-Companion is used by Barton as an effective assessment tool, said Butler.
"People think that the e-College contract just pays for e-courses, but it's paying for things being used in every classroom," he added. "That includes automated surveys; surveys of students, and surveys of courses."
Butler commended Barton's financial aid staff members. He reported that 15 percent of BARTONline students utilize financial aid and 7 percent rely on Veterans Assistance. Eleven percent are involved with GoArmy Ed, the Army's tuition assistance program for active duty soldiers. GoArmyEd is planning to include National Guard in the near future, which could help increase BARTONline enrollments, said Butler.
Related to educating national guard troops, BARTONline is currently offering a Western Civilization class to an agriculture development team of Kansas National Guard soldiers that is working in Afghanistan. Butler reported that BARTONline has established three terms from now through December, with math and English also being offered. Butler said the plan is for the 20 soldiers who make up the team, to continue their education together and eventually complete their degrees through BARTONline, once they return to Kansas.
"If we can expand our relationship with the Guard units, that's a great opportunity," said Butler. "The goal of e-courses when we first put them out there was to have some true flexibility. This is a great example of that flexibility."
In order to serve its students effectively, BARTONline outsources its help desk. That's important, said Butler, because the service is constant and students tend to need assistance after workdays and on weekends, said Butler. There would be no way to maintain an in-house help desk as efficiently, he added.
BARTONline tracks those calls and responds to prevalent issues. Butler said BARTONline's response capabilities have improved with the hiring nearly a year ago of Cassie Kingslien, distance learning inquiry and retention coordinator.
"Cassie has the right people skills to be effective in her position," said Butler.
Monitoring Report Shows Students Enjoy Their Barton Experience
Barton's Dean of Information Services Charles Perkins presented information to the Board that supports the ENDS: Students will be positive about their Barton experience.
Overall student feedback shows that students like coming to Barton; they believe Barton has rigor in its courses; they believe faculty are teaching critical thinking skills; and they believe that they are being advised effectively and are being helped with transferring upon graduating from Barton, said Perkins.
One of the main feedback mechanisms used is a graduation survey, which students are required to fill out prior to graduation. That information shows that more than 90 percent of students enjoy taking courses at Barton.
Barton postponed using other survey instruments for "Barton Experience," the Community College Survey of Student Engagement and Noel Levitz, because of budget constraints, said Perkins.
The College is working to formulate questions for student feedback this fall, consistent with the Kansas AQIP group so that similar data can be collaborated and compared among peer institutions, reported Perkins. There are also opportunities to utilize e-College surveys, which will involve more than 90 percent of Barton students, he added.
Click here to access the "Barton Experience" monitoring report.
Board Approves Consent Agenda
The Board approved the consent agenda as presented. Those items were covered in detail by administration and staff at the Board Study Session a week earlier.
KanRen Services Memorandum - The Board authorized the College's President to approve Opton B of the KanRen Services Memorandum. KanRen stands for Kansas Research and Educational Network. Through state contract, it has provided the College's Internet connection since 1993. Through the partnership, Barton receives technical expertise in routing and networking, along with technical assistance on its ITV network. Option B, quoted at $52,599 is $2,000 less than Option A, the difference being the addition of a support package for the first option. Click here for KanRen Services Memorandum link.
Athletic Insurance - The Board approved a quote from U.S. Fire Insurance Company in the amount of $61,500 for athletic insurance during the 2009-10 academic year. The amount is a 13 percent increase over the previous year's amount, but Aetna Health Insurance, the company that provided coverage for Barton this past year, chose not to bid this year because of issues involving Kansas Insurance regulations for secondary insurance. Click here to view more insurance quote information from the Board book.
Resolution No. 09-01 - The Board authorized Chairman Paul Maneth to sign Resolution No. 09-01. The resolution addresses the acceptance of funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 and Education and Stabilization Fund. It also sets guidelines and restrictions on the use of those funds. Click here to read view additional information about Resolution No. 09-01.
The following personnel hirings were approved: Tamara Mason - Customer Service Representative; Michelle Reed - Assistant Softball Coach.
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