HARFORD COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Minutes of Open Meeting
January 10, 2012
The Board of Trustees of Harford Community College met on Tuesday, January 10, 2012, at
6:00 p.m. in the Chesapeake Center Board Room.
Trustees present: Mrs. Doris G. Carey; Mrs. April L. Fritts; Mr. John F. Haggerty; Mr. Bryan
E. Kelly; Mr. Bradley R. Stover; Dr. Douglas G. Wright; and, Dr. Dennis Golladay as
Secretary-Treasurer
Trustees absent: Mr. Howard K. McComas, IV; Mrs. Susan E. Mull; and Dr. James J. Valdes
Staff present: C. Allen, J. Brewer, J. Cox, D. Cruise, G. Deal, V. Dodson, N. Dysard, S. Garey,
A. Haggray, K. Hathaway, C. Henderson, A. Kastern, P. Labe, M. Lieb, J. Mayhorne,
J. Mayo, B. Morrison, B. Napfel, S. Phillips, L. Preston, D. Resides, C. Sherman,
S. Stowers, A. Ward, and D. Wrobel
I.
CALL TO ORDER
B. Kelly called the meeting to order.
The following is noted for the record:
The business of the Harford Community College Board of Trustees, as
empowered by Maryland law, is to oversee all personnel, programs and
facilities. The Board employs its president to implement and to interpret
its policies. The Board directs the president to establish guidelines,
procedures, and practices that flow from and support the policies of the
Board of Trustees as contained in the Board Manual for By-laws and
Policies. The Board meets the second Tuesday each month (except July) to
consider and transact public business.
II.
ROLL CALL
C. Sherman called the roll. Quorum was present.
III.
CONSENT AGENDA
Consent agenda was approved by consensus; items included:
Agenda of the 01/10/12 meeting
Minutes of the 12/13/11 regular session
Personnel Update
IV.
PUBLIC COMMENT
There was no public comment.
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V.
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BOARD REPORTS
A.
Chair’s Report
B. Kelly announced that a Board work session is planned for Friday, February 24,
from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. to prepare for the upcoming Middle States Commission on
Higher Education team site visit March 4-7. Additionally, work sessions are
tentatively scheduled from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. for Friday, April 27, and Friday,
November 30. He asked trustees to review their calendars and advise the
President’s office of any scheduling conflict.
In addition, B. Kelly announced other upcoming events and encouraged
participation:
MACC Trustees Leadership Conference and legislative reception will be held
on January 23 at the Calvert House in Annapolis.
Harford Night in Annapolis will be held on January 25 at 6 p.m. at the Calvert
House. This event is sponsored by the Greater Harford Committee.
Wine Expo, fundraiser benefitting the Alumni and Friends Scholarship Fund,
will be held on February 26 in the Student Center.
B.
VI.
Member Reports
No reports.
PRESIDENT’S REPORT
A.
Information Items
The Board information packet included a report on the President’s meetings and
activities over the last month. D. Golladay noted specifically:
The Higher Education and Conference Center (HECC) Advisory Board is
beginning its work on a strategic plan for the Center. With a recommendation
to expand HECC from the Task Force to Study the Creation of Regional
Higher Education Center in Northeastern Maryland, the development of the
strategic plan will provide valuable information to complement the work of
the Task Force.
Six noncredit students participated in the Spring 2011 SHRM (Society for
Human Resources Management) Learning System® courses and took the
Professional in Human Resources certification exam administered by the
Human Resources Certification Institute. All passed. This compares to a
national pass rate for the certification exam of 59%.
B.
Academic Reports – Sociology Means Community Engagement
Jan Brewer, Assistant Professor of Sociology, and Sharon Stowers, Associate
Professor of Sociology and Anthropology, discussed how the
sociology/anthropology program continues to actualize the College’s mission of
community involvement. They commented on the College’s rich history and
commitment to community engagement. They also discussed sociology program
options providing a brief overview of the three tracks – general sociology, social
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work and sociology/anthropology. Enrollment information, opportunities for
service and experiential learning, and social work partnerships were also
discussed.
C.
VII.
Introduction of New Employees
New employee Dr. Jessie Mayo, engineering faculty, was introduced to the
Board.
ACTION ITEMS
A.
FY 2013 Proposed Operating Budget
J. Cox reviewed FY 2013 budget highlights noting revisions that have occurred
since the December presentation. The FY 2013 operating budget of $46,536,655
contains an overall increase of .50% in total revenues and transfers. It includes a
$5 increase in tuition bringing in-county tuition to $87/credit. A table showing
tuition data from 2004 through 2013 was reviewed.
Revenue projections:
Increase in State funding of $268,698 which represents the amount previously
included in Other Revenues as the Keeping Maryland Community Colleges
Affordable grant.
Increase in other revenue of $680,764; other revenue includes dividends,
interest, and building use fees.
County funding flat.
Expenditures:
2% wage increase among full-time and part-time employees
modest increases in the number of adjunct faculty and equipment refresh
price escalations associated with software maintenance agreements,
housekeeping and security services, health insurance, liability coverage, and
credit card processing fees
salaries and benefits at 68.6% (or 72.3% when contract services for security,
housekeeping and grounds are included) are within the Board of Trustees’
guideline to keep such expenditures at no more than 75% of the entire budget.
Wages and benefits:
The budget includes wage and benefits adjustments
○ 2 new faculty positions
○ Increase in adjuncts to support 25 course and lab
sections
○ Medical benefits 9% projected increase
○ 2% wage adjustment for all eligible employees
$122,631
$54,446
$281,000
$526,686
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Contracted services adjustments include:
○ Continuing education programs, including CDL
training, summer camps, and discovering college
○ Power to Achieve Campaign
○ Instructional consulting and business program
accreditation
○ Software maintenance agreements, price escalation,
additional modules
○ BlackBoard lease escalation for eLearning
○ Cultural events on-line ticketing
○ Escalation of housekeeping and grounds
○ Snow removal
○ DegreeWorks implementation
Other expenditure adjustments
○ Communications
○ Professional development/training
○ Utilities
○ Fixed charges
Waivers and Transfers:
○ Transfers to capital budget programs for support of
Susquehanna, computer equipment and technology,
plant services annex, library infrastructure, water
and wastewater
○ Transfer to support scholarships
○ Decrease for tuition waivers to align with current
trending
○ Transfer to support the Susquehanna facility
$23,000
$42,000
$20,000
$61,000
$15,700
$17,500
$133,520
$20,000
$120,000
$21,401
($89,352)
($79,308)
$50,217
$1,601,583
$470,064
($27,569)
$143,411
Considerable discussion centered around the tuition increase. J. Haggerty spoke in
opposition to any increase in tuition and suggested that other options be
identified, i.e. reductions in spending coupled with additional revenue sources.
D. Golladay pointed out that the current environment reflects declining State
funding and flat County funding while operational costs are increasing. The
College is frugal with resources. While the College will be aggressively pursuing
grant opportunities, a moderate tuition increase is necessary to continue to provide
the education and services expected.
Several trustees spoke in support of small incremental tuition increases
periodically rather than significant increases after several years of flat tuition
rates.
J. Cox discussed the establishment of the Susquehanna Arena auxiliary fund. This
will allow the College to track the expenses and revenues of the operation.
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Initially the operating budget will fund management and marketing the facility
and it will likely be 3-5 years before it reaches a breakeven point as an auxiliary
fund.
Enrollment information for 1957-2011 and fiscal trends for FY 2007 to FY 2011
were shared.
Motion was made by B. Stover, seconded by A. Fritts:
The Board of Trustees of Harford Community College approves the
FY 2013 operating budget request totaling $46,536,655. This operating
budget includes an increase in the county resident tuition rate at $87 per
credit hour. Out of-county tuition will be set at $174 per credit hour, and
out-of-state tuition will be set at $261 per credit hour. The consolidated
fee will remain at 12% of $87 per credit hour.
Further discussion followed on fund balance, employee benefits and salary
increase.
Vote: Five voted in favor of the motion; one opposed the motion. Motion adopted.
B.
Contract Authorization: Website Redesign Services Including a Content
Management System Software
The College desires a website presence that speaks to the unique strengths of the
College and serves as both a strategic tool for outreach to prospective students
and a communication and engagement tool for current HCC students, the local
Harford County community, and alumni. The current website, which was
launched in July 2006, is outdated, difficult to navigate and search, lacks a content
management system, and contains much content that is not appropriate for the
web. It has no mobile functionality.
To address these issues, a request for proposal (RFP) was issued for website
redesign services, including a content management system. A team evaluated the
responses to the RFP. The team included representatives from marketing,
computing and technology services, library, and procurement. Three bidders were
non-responsive as they did not meet the requirements of the RFP. The team
reached consensus to invite BMWW, Digital Wave, and Systems Alliance for oral
presentations. Best and final proposals including confirmations and clarifications
from the oral presentations, were received following the oral presentations.
In the team’s evaluation of the perspective companies, Digital Wave earned the
highest overall score (sum of technical score and cost score). Specifically with
regard to technical score, Digital Wave was significantly higher than both System
Alliance and BMWW for the following reasons:
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1. Digital Wave’s content management system operates on a .NET platform
which the College uses for all of its programming needs and can be easily
integrated into the College’s plan to move to Microsoft SharePoint.
2. Offered a comprehensive approach to involve the entire campus community in
the redesign and content migration processes.
3. Provided significantly more design templates than other bidders.
4. Included best training package including training for web writing, migration,
and content management system in their proposal.
5. Provided strong website examples and references.
Recommendation is to award the bid to Digital Wave as the best value for the
College.
Motion was made by D. Carey, seconded by A. Fritts:
The Board of Trustees of Harford Community College authorizes a
contract with Digital Wave Technologies Inc. of Huntingdon Valley,
Pennsylvania, to provide complete website redesign services, including
content management system software, at a cost of $169,800.00 in the first
year. This represents the best value to the College. The annual license and
maintenance fee for years 2 through 5 will be $7,200.00 per year.
Discussion related to the life-cycle of a new web design and functions of a
content management system
Vote: unanimously adopted.
C.
Contract Authorization: Athletic Fields and Campus Grounds Maintenance
Harford Community College contracts the Sports Complex athletic fields and
general campus grounds maintenance. The services include all daily maintenance
and preparation of all baseball and athletic fields, active and practice, and adjacent
areas. This includes work on natural grass and artificial turf surfaces. The general
campus grounds maintenance includes grass cutting, edging, trimming, and leaf
removal.
A request for proposal was issued allowing bidders to submit a proposal for either
portion of the work or both. The contract period is for one year beginning March
2012, with the sole option of the College to renew for up to four additional oneyear periods.
Three proposals were received for athletic fields and four proposals for the
campus grounds. Expert Landscape Management Corporation was the low bidder
and is recommended. Expert Landscape demonstrated to the evaluation team that
they understand the scope of work, they have adequate equipment and staff, and
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they are capable of handling both areas of work. Expert Landscape has been in
business at this location since 1989.
The base contract period for the athletic fields is March 1 through October 31.
The base contract period for the campus grounds is April 1 through October 31. If
work is performed outside of the base contract period, weather permitting and as
directed by the College, the work will be billed at an additional cost.
The evaluation team recommends awarding both contracts to Expert Landscape
Management. The 2012 base contract prices represent a 28% cost reduction,
approximately $40,000, compared to 2011.
Motion was made by D. Wright, seconded by A. Fritts:
The Board of Trustees of Harford Community College authorizes a
contract with Expert Landscape Management Services of Edgewood,
Maryland, for one year, with an option to extend up to four additional
one-year periods for both the athletic fields and the campus grounds. The
base contract price for the athletic fields in 2012 will be $58,560.00, and
the campus grounds will be $35,879.97, with no escalation in either base
contract for 2013 and 2014. Escalation in 2015 and 2016 shall not exceed
3.5 %.
Vote: Five voted in favor of the motion; B. Stover abstained. The motion was
adopted.
VIII.
BOARD REVIEW
A.
Policies – Employment Period Policy
The Board continued the review of policies to reaffirm currency as written or to
identify changes/revisions that need to be made. For the January meeting, the
“Employment Period” policy was reviewed.
By consensus, the Board agreed that the policy would remain unchanged.
IX.
CLOSED SESSION
B. Kelly asked for a motion to go into closed session to discuss personnel matters.
In accordance with State Government Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland,
Article 10-508(a)(1)(i) and (ii), closed sessions permitted, motion was made by
J. Haggerty, seconded by B. Stover to move into closed session to discuss personnel
matters. Six voted in favor of the motion; no one opposed the motion; motion adopted.
At 7:30 p.m. the Board moved into closed session. The closed session adjourned at
7:35 p.m.
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X.
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ADJOURNMENT
The Board meeting adjourned at 7:36 p.m.
____________________________________
Dennis Golladay
Secretary-Treasurer
____________________________________
Bryan E. Kelly
Chair