NORTH GEORGIA TECHNICAL COLLEGE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Meeting Minutes
April 1, 2009
Opening:
Mr. Jeff Gooch called the Board of Directors’ meeting to order at 11:45 a.m. on April 1, 2009, in the
Boardroom of the Visual Arts Building on the Clarkesville Campus. The reporting period for committee
reports is February 16 – March 15, 2009. A quorum was not present; all motions are suspended until the
next scheduled meeting on May 6, 2009.
Present: Kathy Blalock, Joe Hatfield, Jeff Gooch, Lynn Doss, Beth Wright
Staff: Mark Ivester, Mike King, George Sanders, Larry Culpepper, Vicki Nichols, Gail Taylor, and Jeannie
Barrett
Absent: Don Jamison, John Chastain, Jeff Patterson, Joe Wilbanks, Jim Wade
Invocation and Introductions
Larry Culpepper gave the invocation for the meeting.
Committee Reports
Administrative Services (presented by Mark Ivester)
 Machine Tool Instructor, Michael Boyd, accepted the Director of Facilities position left vacant from
the retirement of Jerry Ivester. He will continue teaching some classes.
 Mark Ivester participated in a Georgia Power seminar which included topics dealing with boiler
efficiencies, lighting efficiencies, and other general ideas dealing with energy savings.
Representatives from Georgia Power visited our Clarkesville Campus and performed energy audits
on four of our buildings. We are awaiting the formal report.
 Quotes are being obtained from several structural engineers for assessing eight of our older
buildings on the Clarkesville Campus. This is a necessary step prior to determining if additional funds
should be used to renovate the buildings.
 NGTC agreed to terms with Fowler Design Group to plan and design renovation to the existing
Dining Hall on the Clarkesville Campus.
 The 2010 capital outlay project was submitted to TCSG. These are:
o Renovate Hoyt Coe
o Renovate Parker Nellis
o Health wing at Blairsville.
 The business office began the 2010 budget process by distributing budget requests forms to all
departments. This year’s budget process includes budget meetings to allow department heads an
opportunity to elaborate on any special budget requests.
 Year end spending cut-off date to be set in April. This is an annual practice that allows the college an
opportunity to assess spending levels and work toward a zero balance on June 30.
 Finances are in decent shape considering the problems that were encountered earlier. This is due to
several things. One was the changing the cap on credit hours from 12 to 15, and another was an
increase in enrollment.
Blairsville Campus (presented by Beth Wright)
 Early registration for spring quarter was held March 6. There are 448 registered students for Spring
Quarter. Looking for around 500 by the time the quarter begins.
 The first Grad Fair was held on the Blairsville Campus on March 9.
 December 2008 marked the 10th year for the Blairsville Campus. A 10 year anniversary celebration is
scheduled for May 14.
 Conference Center hosted five events with a total of 515 in attendance.
Currahee Campus (presented by George Sanders)
 Student testing activity for this period included:
o Compass Tests – 47
o ASSET Tests – 33
o Work Ready Tests – 38
o Career Scope Assessments – 4
 The Conference Center hosted several events creating a total of 2,193 people visiting Currahee
Campus.
 Four Currahee Campus students were selected to participate in GOAL this year: Bernardo Barboza,
Anthony Brown, Charles Kinnard, and Crystal Shook. Anthony Brown and Charles Kinnard placed in
the top four in the GOAL competition.
 Grading on the hill in front of the building has begun. The county will be using the dirt removed as
landfill.
Economic Development (presented by Joe Hatfield)
 Work Ready tests continue with events scheduled in Stephens County (paper-and-pencil test for 240
seniors in February) and Rabun County High School in January. Work Ready testing for Franklin
County is scheduled for March 20 at the Franklin County High School. Franklin County is officially
certified Work Ready.
 Stephens County High School seniors were recently Work Ready tested resulting very good test
scores.
 The Winter Quarter Lineworker Job Fair was held on May 3, and all 18 graduating students had the
opportunity to interview with representatives from eight different companies in the industry.
 The Spring Mountain Message (included with handouts) was completed and mailed.
 A Cosmetology CEU class (Hair Show) for local professionals was held on March 9 in the Clegg
Auditorium. 100 stylists were in attendance. For the first time in four years, there were no
complaints at all with the event!
 Special guest Chad Foster, internationally recognized entrepreneur and motivational speaker,
inspired many at the Energized Entrepreneur event on March 5. Each participant also got a signed
copy of one of his recent books. This event was sponsored by a grant from ARC.
 Lego Spring Break Camp is scheduled for April 6 10 at the Currahee Campus.
 The Bus Technicians will be on the Clarkesville Campus June 15 – 19.
Institutional Effectiveness (presented by Gail Taylor)
 The FY09-FY11 Strategic Plan was finalized.
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Capital Outlay requests were submitted to TCSG on March 2.
IE Staff met with faculty at each campus during the week of February 16 regarding the TCSG
Performance Accountability System (PAS).
Continuing to assist faculty and staff as they complete Part 2 – Operational Objectives of the FY2010
annual plans Prepare an Executive Summary of the Performance Accountability System Planning and
Budget Information to present to the Local Board for approval at the May meeting.
A copy of the Executive Summary for PAS and the One-Year Funding Application for Perkins Federal
Funds for FY2010 are included in the report for review. Improvement plans for several programs are
in the reports. The Perkins Federal Funds budget allocation for NGTC is $467,528.
Academic Affairs (presented by Kathy Blalock)
 Kevin McCurry has been hired as an Automotive Technology instructor for the Clarkesville Campus.
 Allyson Smith has been hired as an English instructor for the Clarkesville and Currahee Campuses.
Allyson is currently teaching part-time for NGTC. This is a new position.
 Dan Pressley has been hired as a Dean of Academic Affairs. Dan is currently the department chair.
 Two students in the Turf & Golf Course Management program will be serving internships at Augusta
National Golf Club and Fenway Park in Boston with the Red Sox.
 Vicki Nichols and Larry Culpepper met with Young Harris College on February 23 to begin work on an
articulation agreement.
 Vicki Nichols met with Piedmont College on March 16 to begin work on an articulation agreement in
the area of Business.
 The articulation agreement with Piedmont College for the PN to BSN bridge program is expected to
be finalized soon. Piedmont will begin a new cohort of nursing students in the fall.
 Vicki Nichols will be serving as an “off site” reviewer for the Commission on Colleges of SACS for
three colleges undergoing reaffirmation. This will give Vicki better insight as NGTC prepares for
reaffirmation in 2013.
 The following motions were reviewed and discussed: 1) A motion to approve Health Care Assistant
TCC on the Clarkesville, Blairsville, and Currahee campuses effective Fall 2009. 2) A motion to
approve Paramedic Technology degree on the Clarkesville Campus effective Fall 2009. 3) A motion
to approve Health Care Science TCC on the Currahee Campus effective Fall 2009.
Student Affairs (presented by Mike King)
 New Student Registration was held on March 6 with 185 students registering for Spring Quarter.
 Grad Fairs have been held on all three campus locations and seem to have been very successful.
Currently we have 375 graduates listed on the program with approximately 250 students walking.
 ASSET/COMPASS tests given to 152 potential students.
 The GOAL Banquet was held and the NGTC Winner, Rob Seneca from the Turf & Golf Course
program was named as the finalist to progress to the Northeast Consortium judging in Gainesville
which will be on April 2.
 A new recruitment tool, view book, is being formatted that will highlight the best of NGTC.
 Graduation was held at the Torch on March 24 and went very well.
 April 6 is new student registration.
Chairman’s Report (Presented by Jeff Gooch)
 A survey was distributed at the last meeting regarding a change of meeting dates. The survey
indicated flexibility and that Wednesdays work well. There was a suggestion of changing the date to
the second or third Wednesday of the month.
 Next meeting is May 6 at the Currahee Campus.
 Copies of newspaper articles were distributed.
President’s Report (Presented by Mark Ivester)
 Mr. Dougherty is at the capitol today receiving $10,000 from the 2008 Specialty Crops Block Grant
Program. He will be visiting our legislators seeking support for the $6M Hoyt Coe Renovation.
 Master Plan meetings were held at each campus and went very well. The top three priorities for
NGTC are 1) Hoyt Coe Renovation, 2) Renovate Parker Nellis Classroom Building, and 3) Construct a
Health Wing at the Blairsville Campus.
 Toby Goodlett has resigned from the Board. Al Huber, President of Patterson Pump, has accepted
the offer to replace Toby. This should be approved by the State Board at the May meeting.
 Graduation at The Torch was March 24 and it went very well. Many positive comments were
received.
 SPSU visit to NGTC scheduled for April 14. All the counselors from our service area have been
invited to attend an informational session as well as a demonstration of how the BAS degrees will
work.
 A print of the new truck wrap was presented.
Adjournment:
Mr. Gooch adjourned the meeting at 12:35 p.m. The next meeting will be May 6, 2009, at the Currahee
Campus.
Minutes submitted by:
___________________________
President
North Georgia Technical College
Approved by:
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Chair
North Georgia Technical College