Business Affairs Commission Meeting Minutes
December 15 and 16, 2014 at Edmonds Community College
Day 1: Monday, December 15, 2014
12:00 –12:05 p.m.
Lunch and Initial Welcome – Bob Williamson
Chair Bob Williamson opened the meeting. Kevin McKay provided some facility information
and “housekeeping” updates.
12:05 – 12:45 p.m.
BAC Academy “Preview of the 2015 Legislative Session” – Marty Brown
Marty shared that there would be a Governor’s town hall meeting focused on education tonight
at Newport High School at 6:30 p.m.
He reminded the group that the Book 1 budget is required with current revenue; therefore, it
will include cuts in order to demonstrate the required balanced budget with no new revenue.
Marty encouraged BAC members not to get hung up on Book 1. Book 2 will provide more detail
and is the one that we will focus on. It will include $1 billion in new revenue.
Marty encouraged members to pay attention to K-12 and early learning as it relates to the
budget.
It is very likely that there will be no tuition increase. Marty reminded that a “no cut and no
tuition increase” budget still equates to a cut. This message continues to be communicated to
legislators.
Marty recapped some legislative changes as a result of elections. There have been a number of
changes in the number of seats and committee positions.
Legislative session will be focused on McCleary and K-12, in addition to the K-12 class size
initiative. There will also be emphasis on general revenue and a focus on transportation as they
need a tax increase.
$176M budget request was made for the CTC system, focusing on Basic Education for Adults
with a request to increase the funding per FTE to be closer to K-12 funding. Also included is a
large request for additional performance funding. Funding for advising and career planning was
included in the request. STEM funding was requested totaling just over $10 million, which
includes funding to scale up the MESA program. Also, included some request for funding in
order to respond to workforce needs. There is a large ask for investing in faculty and staff
totaling more than $21 million, including I-732 funding and increments.
Three bills are needed to enact budget request: basic education for adults, corrections education
and training, and streamlining statute. A fourth bill may be needed if agreement is reached
with faculty unions regarding faculty increments. A fifth bill might be tied to the changes in the
Department of Defense tuition collection language in the GI Bill for Active Duty members.
Legislative session starts on January 12 and will run 105 days. Strong likelihood that extended
session(s) may be needed.
Marty also touched on the new allocation formula, which is not likely to start until July of 2016.
There are too many unknowns tied to the State’s budget picture.
12:45 – 1:00 p.m.
Introductions and Formal Welcome – Bob Williamson and President Jean
Hernandez
President Jean Hernandez welcomed BAC to Edmonds. She thanked everyone for being here.
She also encouraged colleges to spend their minor works appropriations.
1:00 – 1:05 p.m.
NWCCU Prepay for Substantive Changes – Kevin McKay
Kevin McKay brought up the issue regarding NWCCU’s prepayment requirement for review of
substantive changes. This may be a legal issue that will need AAG opinion.
1:05 – 1:25 p.m.
Break
BAC adjourned into break and networking.
1:25 – 2:45 p.m.
ctcLink Update – Barbara Martin
Barbara shared an update on ctcLink. The revised FirstLink Go-Live date is February 23, 2015.
The additional time is being used to complete and test core functionality, finalize production
infrastructure, provide adequate time for knowledge transfer, and give FirstLink colleges time
for training.
Critical functions that colleges must be able to do: register students, collect tuition, award
financial aid, disburse financial aid, process payroll and purchase goods.
The practice Go-Live (“dress rehearsal”) occurred in week of November 17.
Performance testing in the production environment will begin this week. Also, some technical
testing is being conducted, such as transcript printing, in the production environment.
Current project activities include testing (e.g. systems integration, user acceptance, etc.). Some
initial issues to overcome included the quality of the test scripts and data sets provided by
Ciber. This will be improved for subsequent waves.
CEMLIs are behind but in the process to be finalized. Examples include the processes for
calculating tuition and Running Start—both are customized processes within the system.
Other activities include finalizing configuration and testing connectivity to external partners,
establishing production environments and infrastructure, training, conducting weekly
strategy/activities meetings with FirstLink leadership, holding bi-weekly planning meetings
with Wave 1, and running targeted FirstLink SME meetings.
Barbara emphasized that on-campus training should not be overlooked or underestimated,
including all of the logistics and technical support. One of the biggest challenges for colleges has
been finding staff time for testing, training, research, etc.
Wave 1 colleges are working to determine a revised Go-Live date. Currently the months of
August or October are being considered. Further discussion is needed with the vendor. Decision
will likely be made no later than mid-January. Wave 2 and 3 timelines are unchanged at this
point.
It was noted that using Oracle-certified web browsers will help. It is a known issue and colleges
should be aware of it.
Colleges should consider hiring project managers 12-15 months before their respective Go-Live
dates.
2:45 – 3:00 p.m.
Break
BAC adjourned into break and reconvened into committee meetings.
3:00 – 4:30 p.m.
Committee Meetings
Committees on Information Technology, Operating Budget, Security & Safety, Operations and
Capital met.
4:45 p.m.
Executive Committee Meeting
Executive Committee met prior to the BAC dinner.
Day 2: Tuesday, December 16, 2014
8:00 – 8:05 a.m.
Call to Order and Introductions – Bob Williamson
Approval of Minutes and Treasurer’s Report – Nate Langstraat
The BAC business meeting was called to order. October 2014 meeting minutes were presented
and unanimously approved. The BAC treasurer’s report of $7,800.00 was shared and accepted
by the membership.
8:05 – 8:20 a.m.
State Board Report – Denise Graham
Denise distributed preliminary, high level information on the Governor’s education funding
proposal. Aerospace apprenticeships will be included, MESA, money for the water center, and
funding for maritime. IBEST and ABE program funding will also be included. Included was
funding for salary increases for all staff of 3% and 1.8% in first and second year respectively. We
should stay aware of how Legislature would fund these increases, particularly paying attention
to whether employees funded by fund 149 will be included. Mary Alice encouraged colleges to
use general funds to support salaries and benefits.
The WACTC Critical Issues Committee is working on rules around the coding of international
students. Currently, international FTE can be counted as either state FTE or international
contract. Strict enforcement of the current rules has not occurred; for example, some colleges are
counting in both categories. The committee is looking at the implications of the new allocation
formula and how changes in coding international students would impact colleges and the
formula.
WACTC made a decision based on a recommendation from Instruction Commission via the
Library Council on a new opt-in Ex-Libris library system. Linda Schoonmaker shared that
$500,000 would be contributed from SBCTC who then would become the coordinating entity and
fiscal agent. The financial model would be fee-based likely based on FTE. The current system is
beyond end-of-life. BAC will likely be looked to for help in developing the financial model. Mike
Scroggins is completing research and costing this week. BAC discussed the timing of the
implementation, what services are provided, and when the costs would hit. These questions
need follow up. BAC members were encouraged to visit with their respective IC representatives.
Presidents voted to purchase Highpoint mobile app as a core technology. A flat fee of $13,800
per college is required for startup. An ongoing annual fee of $2,500 per college is required after
implementation. Many questions regarding implementation and integration were asked. Follow
up is needed by the Technology Committee.
8:20 – 9:30 a.m.
Committee, Workgroup, and Liaison Reports
Operating Budget – Nate Langstraat
Nate Langstraat shared an update related to the WACTC Allocation & Accountability Task
Force sub-committee meeting. The allocation model review was presented at sub-committee and
BAC OBC. The presentation breaks the model down into discrete steps and identifies the
remaining decision points. It was suggested that Nick Lutes conduct the same presentation
with the larger BAC membership at the February 2015 meeting.
The specific work of the sub-committee to date includes: 1) reviewing the study from the
Workforce Board that identifies statewide skills gaps, 2) reviewing high-wage information –
which was determined not compelling enough to prioritize, and 3) reviewing the initial work of
the high-cost work group.
WACTC OBC is closer to making an official recommendation to WACTC regarding the
assessment method used to cover ongoing ctcLink maintenance costs. The assessment method
likely to be used will be based on total headcount of all students and all employees at individual
colleges as a percentage share of the system. The overall issue and recommendation are to be
drafted in a one-page format for review and vote by WACTC at their January meeting. It was
noted that this assessment is an ongoing cost to colleges; however, starting in 2017-2018 the
percentage of the operating fee that feeds the innovation fund should decrease from 3% to 1%.
This assumption will be included as part of WACTC OBC’s recommendation.
The Department of Defense (DOD) has made some changes that affect colleges. For veterans
programs, DOD will no longer pay out-of-state tuition. The statute is to include veterans as
residents. Also, for active duty military students who are coded as state FTE, DOD assistance
will only cover tuition (operating fee for CTCs). It will not cover other fees, books and related
expenses.
The revised Tuition and Fee Rate Schedule was shared and distributed, which includes the
approved SBCTC rates for competency-based courses/programs.
Information Technology – Barbara McCullough
Barbara McCullough shared an update on Live25 (room and events scheduling software) –
vendor selected for implementation. The cost is $35,000 per college plus an ongoing annual fee.
Colleges can opt in. The best time to implement is six months after colleges’ ctcLink Go-Live
date.
Mobile Apps core technology was mentioned and referred to the previous update shared during
the State Board report.
ctcLink Wave 1 Go-Live date will be determined by mid-January – likely August or October.
Colleges should plan for major staff time being devoted to local data configuration, user
acceptance testing, and staff training.
There is some concern related to legacy support for the financial management system (FMS). Job
knowledge transfer, content expertise and mentorship will be needed specifically within the BAR
group to ensure the breadth and depth of knowledge needed is available to the system.
Security & Safety – Frank Ashby
Frank Ashby distributed the SSEM Council’s report, which highlights the council’s recent
activities.
SSEM Committee vice chair has been elected – Kevin McKay.
The BAC Academy in April 2015 will be focused on continuity of operations. It was noted that
there is a connection to NWCCU’s standards.
Discussion about who is taking the lead on VAWA (Violence Against Women Act) at colleges –
HR, Student Services, Safety & Security. Key topics include reporting and training
requirements. BAC members were encouraged to visit with their local colleagues to ensure this
work is getting accomplished.
Training for incident command is being revised and simplified. Security officer training is also
under development with prioritization of what training is most critical.
Operations – Bruce Riveland and John Ginther
Bruce Riveland shared that procurement training is coming. The BAC Academy in June 2015
will be focused on business officer required training. Some business officers may also need
contract training. Procurement and contract training is about eight hours. WACTC will receive
the two-hour executive management training. The executive management training is currently
being finalized. John Ginther will distribute the letter that was sent to the presidents and
directors.
Accountability audit funds are held in the SBCTC revolving fund. With an increase in
whistleblower audits, the funding is out of balance. One short-term measure may be to reduce
the number of accountability audits. A longer-term solution will need to be realized. Currently
scheduled accountability audits have been reduced in scope (from 300 hours to 180 hours).
There are known issues with legacy transcripts and holds on student accounts in ctcLink.
ctcLink will transfer six years of data and the other data will be stored in a data warehouse.
However, holds on student accounts has proven to be a challenge for data migration.
Common policy development work is under way. The vendor has been hired. The initial list of
student-related policies will be ready by the February BAC meeting.
Financial statement audit reports are starting to come back to individual colleges. Results are
good which reflects the strong preparation. For 2013-2014 audits, individual colleges will work
directly with SAO to execute a contract. John Ginther will distribute the contract template for
colleges to use.
Capital – Choi Halladay
Choi Halladay mentioned that legislative budget previews seem to be on track.
The changes in the capital scoring were shared with WACTC last week. Changes include the
addition of the infrastructure category. The question of “what is a major project” was raised as it
is currently defined by square feet. A new definition would be a major project totaling more than
$5 million and taking more than one biennium to complete. The current scoring system
penalizes any square footage that is new and not either renovation or replacement—so in new
scoring, this penalty goes away. Utilization metrics have been challenging to define, specific to
square footages for specific types of spaces. More details to come at future meetings related to
the utilization metrics used for scoring.
Minor works appropriations and expenditures are still tracking behind target. There is concern
that re-appropriations may not continue in the future, which historically trends around 40% of
our appropriation. OFC is conducting a more granular survey to identify reasons why system is
unable to expend within the appropriated biennium.
9:30 – 9:45 a.m.
Break
BAC business meeting took short break.
9:45 – 10:00 a.m.
WACTC Report – Jean Hernandez, President, Edmonds
President Hernandez shared a report from WACTC. She touched on some of the philosophical
discussions occurring within the Critical Issues Committee as it relates to international student
coding. This committee will be working to bring a recommendation to WACTC. Mary Alice
Grobins shared some historical perspective on previous system decisions.
It was noted that a good academy was held on major capital, including infrastructure.
From WACTC OBC report, President Hernandez noted the sub-committee’s work on reviewing
skills gap information and the work of the high-cost workgroup. She also reiterated some of the
changes affecting colleges as a result in the Department of Defense’s veterans’ programs
changes.
President Hernandez shared updates from the Tech Committee, including ctcLink updates and
the integrated library system. WACTC is advocating for this library system, but it would be
implemented as an opt in solution for colleges. Further, mobile app implementation should be
occurring either in winter or spring 2015, which is when a one-time fee would be assessed to
each institution.
It was highlighted that Columbia Basin College has completed its substantive change process for
competency-based education with NWCCU, but each college must complete their own and
submit individually. Participating colleges were encouraged to use CBC’s submittal as a
framework. NWCCU charges for a substantive change review.
TACTC has changed their name effective spring 2015 to the Washington Association of College
Trustees to reflect a more inclusive name.
10:00 – 10:45
BAC Executive Session
BAC only members met in executive session.
10:45 a.m.
Meeting Adjournment
The regular BAC business meeting adjourned.