Bitterroot College of The University of Montana
Minutes of the Advisory Council
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Meeting Location: Community Room, Bedford Building, 223 South 2nd Street, Hamilton
Meeting Time and Date: 3:00– 5:00 PM, Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Chair: Lynn Stocking
Vice Chair: Dixie Stark
1) Call to Order and Roll Call
a) Advisory Council members present: Terry Berkhouse, Perry Brown, Roger Maclean, John Meakin, Al
Mitchell, Deb Morris, Dixie Stark, Lynn Stocking, and Connie Ward
b) Advisory Council members absent: Jennifer Burdette, Pat Connell, and Heather Green
c) BC staff present: Victoria Clark (Director), Kathleen O’Leary (Advising and Enrollment Services), Patricia
Skinner (Operations; taking notes), and Roch Turner (AmeriCorps VISTA)
d) Special guests: UM President Royce Engstrom, UM Vice President of Integrated Communications Peggy
Kuhr, and UM Associate Provost Arlene Walker-Andrews
e) Members of the public present: Allen Bjergo (RC&D Board Chair), Corrine Gantt (Hamilton School Board
member), Norma Gilmore, Tom Korst (Hamilton Schools Superintendent), Ralph Johnson (MSU Extension
Agent), Colleen Murphy-Southwick (past BC adjunct instructor), Elliot Oppenheim, and John Robinson
(past BCP SC Chair)
2) Introductions
a) Special Guest
i) UM President Royce Engstrom
Discussion Summary: President Engstrom opened by saying that the Bitterroot College was a success story. He
noted that the college had 211 students and was continuing to grow. He remarked that an expanded facility would
be needed in the future. He mentioned that the Bitterroot College Strategic Plan provided a map forward,
although he noted that funding was an issue. He stated that currently the Bitterroot College was funded from the
UM General Fund but that this funding stream was not nearly enough for Bitterroot College operations. He
commented that the statewide College!NOW initiative was focusing on ways to expand 2-year education in
Montana. He thanked everyone for all their hard work in making the Bitterroot College a success and singled out
Bitterroot College Director Victoria (Tory) Clark and Missoula College Associate Dean Lynn Stocking for their efforts
in support of the Bitterroot College.
President Engstrom asked for questions from the Council and then from the public. Dixie Stark asked about
the UM’s strategic goal that the Bitterroot College reach 800 students by 2020. Stark wondered how this goal was
to be reached unless there was a plan to remedy the college’s budget shortage. President Engstrom explained that
currently enrollment drove funding, with the UM General Fund comprised of two thirds tuition revenue and one
third state appropriation. He noted that the Legislature with Board of Regents approval was likely to add a
performance-based component to the state appropriation in this legislative session. Provost Brown commented
that performance measures for two-year campuses would be different than for 4-year campuses.
The next question was from member of the public Elliot Oppenheim. Oppenheim asked about the possibility
of the Bitterroot College providing personal enrichment (non-college credit) programming. President Engstrom
referred the question to Director Clark and Council Member Roger Maclean (UM School of Extended and Lifelong
Learning [SELL] Dean). Clark responded that the goal was for the Bitterroot College to operate as both a provider
of personal enrichment programming and an umbrella for such programming with the school districts continuing
to play the lead role as programming providers. Clark said that the college had offered some personal enrichment
courses in the past in coordination with SELL but that at present she was marshaling her resources (time and
budget) and focusing on workforce development continuing education over personal enrichment continuing
education. Dean Maclean remarked that SELL provided numerous personal enrichment programming
opportunities in Missoula, including their Osher Lifelong Learning Institute courses for individuals 50+. He noted
that SELL collaborated with UM Departments to secure dynamic faculty lecturers and workshop presenters. He
also remarked that recently SELL had begun expanding into workforce development programming as well.
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BC Advisory Council Meeting Minutes, 03-27-2013, Page 2 of 3
3) Information Item
a) Higher Education Assessment Overview – UM Associate Provost Arlene Walker-Andrews
Discussion Summary: Associate Provost Walker-Andrews presented overview information on institutional
assessments. She provided a handout of The University of Montana – Missoula, 2012 Institutional Assessment
Report. She discussed various ways an institution’s performance can be assessed including evaluations completed
by students and faculty, evaluations of student performance, and programmatic evaluations. She commented on
the importance of all programs/courses having objectives which students must meet. She noted the importance of
pre/post evaluations to show that learning had been achieved. She highlighted the difference between formative
assessments and summative assessments (e.g., pop quiz versus comprehensive final exam). In terms of summative
assessments, she mentioned other internal evaluations such as portfolios, the senior thesis, and various
professional licensure exams (e.g., nursing) and external evaluations such as the Graduate Record Exam (GRE).
Kathleen O’Leary asked Walker-Andrews if knowledge of technology was taken into account when nontraditional students were evaluated. Walker-Andrews said it took a sophisticated assessment to analyze this issue.
She noted that at the UM the junior year writing assessment was given in both electronic and paper format. Roch
Turner asked about the coordination between the MUS and OPI in terms of assessing the readiness of students for
college. Walker-Andrews said this could be improved. Walker-Andrews stressed that institutional assessments
were not about evaluating the faculty but rather about evaluating entire programs/institutions. Walker-Andrews
said she would be happy to work with the Advisory Council in determining planning an overall assessment tool for
the Bitterroot College. She noted that UM Provost’s website has links to assessments used by the UM.
4) Announcements and Documents Received
None
5) Approval of Advisory Council Meeting Minutes from February 27, 2013
Discussion Summary: The minutes from February 27, 2013 were unanimously approved. John Meakin
commented that Patricia Meakin (absent) had reviewed the minutes and that she suggested no amendments.
6) Director’s Report – see supplemental materials (Victoria Clark)
a) Questions on Director’s Report
Discussion Summary: Clark said that she had provided the Council with various summary graphs and tables on the
college’s spring 2013 students as an initial tool for the Council to use as it began to consider its institutional
assessment format. Points of interest from the data for Clark included the drop in student credit load between fall
and spring, the drop in enrollment of online and Missoula campus classes between fall and spring, the high number
of freshman versus sophomore students at the college, the relatively high percentage of non-Ravalli County high
school graduates at the college, and the relative success of students entering the college with a GED compared to
those entering with a traditional high school diploma.
John Meakin asked if the college was conducting outreach to local high schools to expand enrollment. Clark
then introduced AmeriCorps VISTA Roch Turner to the Council. Turner explained that his year-long task was to
establish a local College Access Network (CAN) whereby local high schools and other organizations had a clear
understanding of the path to college (and, when appropriate, a path to the Bitterroot College). As part of this
effort Turner was connecting with all area high schools, meeting with superintendents, principals, counselors,
teachers, and students in order to promote college matriculation among local teenagers. In looking at the data,
Stark noted that Victor’s representation at the college was particularly high with respect to their size. Clark agreed
and mentioned that Pinesdale also had a large student base at the college with respect to their total population.
7) Old Business
a) Communications Protocol discussion and vote – see supplemental material
b) Bitterroot College Vision and Mission discussion and vote – see supplemental material
Discussion Summary: The Council unanimously approved the amended version of the college Vision and Mission
(verb in second sentence of the Mission statement was changed from “ensure” to “achieve”). The Council agreed
to vote on the changes to the Communications Protocol at the May meeting.
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BC Advisory Council Meeting Minutes, 03-27-2013, Page 3 of 3
8) New Business
a) Nominating Committee for new FY2014 members
Discussion Summary: With time limited, it was decided that the Nominating Committee would be seated at the
May meeting. There was discussion that the student position on the Council should be changed from an annual
appointment to a semester appointment. The issue was that a potential student member could not be certain for
an entire year that he/she wouldn’t have a course conflict with the Council meeting time (as was currently the case
with student representative Heather Green).
9) Public Comment
Discussion Summary: Norma Gilmore spoke of the importance of eye examinations for struggling students,
mentioning that specific eye exercises oftentimes made all the difference for children struggling in school. Corrine
Gantt (Hamilton School Board member) and Tom Korst (Hamilton Schools Superintendent) spoke in favor of the
college and of future partnerships between the college and Hamilton schools, especially with respect to dual
enrollment.
10) For the Good of the Order
Discussion Summary: Stark reported that the GED test in Montana was going to be replaced by a HSE (High School
Equivalency) assessment. She said that the GED testing service was upgrading to a more expensive, all “online”
test run by a for-profit company and as a consequence the state of Montana had decided to use a less expensive
test which still had a paper option to assess for high school equivalency. She said the new test would be of equal
validity but that it would no longer be called the GED. Al Mitchell announced that at the previous weekend’s
Bitterroot Valley Chamber of Commerce Annual Banquet Dixie Stark had been presented with the Laurel Award for
showing an “unselfish desire to improve the overall well-being of our valley.”
11) Adjournment
Meeting adjourned at 5:00 PM
Meeting notes subscribed by Patricia Skinner and summarized by Victoria Clark