The Bitterroot College Program of The University of Montana
Meeting Minutes: Wednesday, April 27, 2011
The Steering Committee of the Bitterroot College Program (BCP) of The University of Montana (UM) met
on Wednesday, April 27, 2011 from 3:00 – 5:00 PM at the Human Resource Council Conference Room in
Hamilton. The meeting was chaired by John Robinson. In alphabetical order, committee attendees
included: Tim Bronk, Terri Duncan, Suzy Foss, Roger Maclean, Patricia Meakin, Kimberley Mills, Deb
Morris, and Dixie Stark. Committee members absent were Katelyn Andersen, Perry Brown, John Cech,
Chuck Jensen, Rick O’Brien, Bobbie Roos, and Lynn Stocking. Also present was BCP Interim Director
Victoria Clark.
Members of the public present included Jessica Jenne (BCP student).
Taking meeting minutes was Kathleen O’Leary, BCP Program Assistant.
The meeting was called to order at 3:05 pm with Chair Robinson welcoming new BCP Steering
Committee member Suzy Foss from the Ravalli County Commission. After Foss’ introduction, Robinson
called for approval of the March 2011 meeting minutes. Several corrections were asked for. Dixie Stark
asked that the word “defunct”(in reference to the Bitterroot Valley Community College Effort) be
deleted. Victoria Clark asked that Cheryl Minnick’s last name be correctly spelled. Kimberley Mills asked
that her first name be correctly spelled. Patricia Meakin noted that the full text of John Robinson’s
opening remarks still needed to be inserted. The minutes were then unanimously approved with the
noted corrections/changes/additions.
Next Chair Robinson called for Old Business, Planning Discussion. Clark commented that an initial draft
of the BCP 5-year Strategic Plan had been distributed electronically to committee members on Monday,
April 25, but that with only two days for review and with Provost Perry Brown and Associate Dean Lynn
Stocking absent from today’s meeting, it was advised that while an initial discussion of the draft could
commence, that the main discussion should wait until the May meeting. Patricia Meakin stated that she
had scanned the document and her one question at this point was why the document did not include a
Vet Tech program for Ravalli County. Clark responded that neither the Maas Needs Assessment nor her
notes from the Community Conversations had referenced the development of a Vet Tech program.
Meakin responded that in her dialogue with community members that Vet Tech had come up multiple
times. Clark agreed that while she may not have specified Vet Tech in her notes (and consequently had
not put Vet Tech into the Strategic Plan), that she was generally aware of interest for a Vet Tech
program in the community. Clark went on to illuminate that both UM Western and Flathead Valley
Community College were actively pursuing Vet Tech programs, and that she had already alerted both
institutions to the BCP’s potential interest in also having such a program. Clark noted that she would
add Vet Tech to the Strategic Plan. Dixie Stark then commented that she felt an invitation to join the
Business, Industry, and Government (BIG) Committee should come from the Provost, as this added
prestige. Clark suggested that either this be changed outright in the document, or that an invitation to
the BIG Committee could be signed by both the Provost and the BCP Advisory Council Chair. Stark
thought the later was best, as then the invitation was both “local and prestigious.” Chair Robinson, with
the committee’s consent, directed Clark to change the Plan to reflect this suggestion. Tim Bronk then
turned the discussion to the BCP’s name. Bronk advised that now was the time to “rebrand” and that
the BCP needed to drop the word “Program” from its name. Chair Robinson noted that Provost Brown
had stated at the March meeting that this was a Regents’ decision. Meakin commented that this was
because dropping the word “Program” would infer that the BCP was an independent institution. Stark
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Meeting Minutes: Wednesday, April 27, 2011
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remarked that, too, perhaps the BCP was not quite ready to drop the word “Program,” that it still had
significant growing to do. Meakin noted that for some the word “Program” connoted a “special needs
program,” which was problematic for the BCP. Bronk felt that “Program” gave the BCP a sort of “less
than” brand. Meakin remarked that confusion with the name would cause some people to not apply.
Clark suggested changing the word “Program” to “Campus.” Meakin mentioned that in California a
community college started as a “campus” associated with an existing community college, and then shed
its “campus” designation once it reached independent status. Stark reminded Clark and the Committee
that the chain of command needed to be followed in recommending a name change, although she did
point out that in March the idea had been raised to only drop the word “Program” but that now the
discussion was about changing the word “Program.” Clark said that she would carry the conversation
further internally and report back to the committee.
Chair Robinson next called on Kimberley Mills and Terri Duncan to give the Student Issues report. Mills
began by introducing the logo options drawn up by UM Printing & Graphics Services. Most of the
committee favored the last option (with an outline of Trapper Peak above the word “Bitterroot”). It was
suggested that a few variations be tried with the word “Bitterroot” in all capitals rather than in lower
case. Mills said she would ask the graphics shop to submit some more options with the case change,
and then bring the revised options to the May meeting. Mills then brought up the issue of advising for
the fall semester. She noted that fall advising had gotten behind over the spring and that at one point
over 50 students were on a waiting list for advising appointments. Clark commented that Associate
Dean Lynn Stocking had simply not been able to keep up with the demand, and that eventually Clark had
led some group advising sessions to deal with the back log. Clark agreed that a new and better system
of advising needed to be in place for the fall. Mills noted that it was likely that over 190 students would
need advising come fall, and that a plan needed to be developed now to make sure all were advised in a
timely and effective manner. Mills suggested different types of advising sessions depending on student
needs, e.g., advising for new students, advising for undeclared students, advising for students with a
declared major, etc. Clark agreed and said that she and Stocking would develop a plan in advance to
have in place before the “crush” started in the fall. Roger Maclean suggested that more advisors could
be accessed from Missoula either via Skype or over the telephone. Clark said she would investigate this
option as well. Mills then brought up the issue of overrides, explaining that students did not understand
the process and that perhaps the process could be expedited by having the override option available
online via CyberBear. Clark said she would work on better communicating override procedures to
students and would ask about developing an online override option. Next, Terri Duncan introduced BCP
student Jessica Jenne. Jenne provided an introduction to and overview of the BCP’s new recycling
program, which Jenne initiated and implemented with the assistance of UM Recycling Coordinator Edi
Stan.
Chair Robinson then asked Clark to present her Director’s report. Clark began with a breakdown of
operational issues: 1) courses/enrollment—for Summer 2011—6 courses/73 duplicated students/14.6
FTE, Clark noted that enrollment should continue to increase and that she was still hoping to add M095,
but that funding for the course needed to be worked out, Clark suggested that in the future the BCP’s
summer budget be separated from the COT so that both entities weren’t vying directly from the same
funding pool (causing conflict); for Fall 2011—32 sections/114 duplicated students/20.13 FTE, Clark
noted that inadequate funding from the state for higher education affects the BCP’s ability to offer
classes, i.e., Clark had hoped to offer over 40 classes, but needed to drop the number down into the 30s
due to the impact of state higher education budget cuts; for FY2012 Clark had ended up asking for an
additional $70,000 (a number which did not include the BCP’s expanded lease or the addition of another
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Meeting Minutes: Wednesday, April 27, 2011
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fulltime staffer), Clark added that there still might be additions to the BCP’s fall course list, Clark noted
that the BCP would have more UM courses than in prior semesters and that outreach to the UM campus
for class sections had generally gone smoothly, Clark mentioned that courses using video conferencing
for the fall would be A&P I, A&P II, and Introduction to Statistics; Mills wondered about the pending BCP
expansion, Clark said Provost Brown was still in lease negotiations; 2) admissions/enrollment/ academic
advising services—new student information sessions and orientations were underway, 40 new students
had been enrolled since February; Chair Robinson commented that the college still needed a sign on
HWY 93 and that the Ravalli Entrepreneurship Center needed grass/landscaping where it fronted Old
Corvallis Road; 3) student support issues—a discussion about putting the BCP’s new electronic
newsletter into local papers as an insert was held, resulting in Clark stating she would cost-out the
suggestion, additional newsletter ideas included having BCP students write articles and sell advertising,
Suzy Foss cautioned that local businesses were currently on tight budgets and not spending much on
advertising; Clark spoke about the highly successful (and booked) career advising appointments brought
to the BCP by Internship Services’ Cheryl Minnick; Duncan added that she had an appointment with
Minnick and that it was a very positive and helpful experience; Clark commented that due to lack of
enrollment they had cancelled the second Students Strategies for Success series [Suzy Foss exits
meeting]; Clark said that she would be rethinking how to communicate this type of programming to
students, that she had presented a plan to Stocking about possibly using some Perkins Grant funding to
provide the BCP with a part-time staffer to troubleshot student learning and study skills issues on a caseby-case basis, Duncan remarked that she thought such an individual would be helpful, Clark said she
would continue to explore options for providing this type of support; 4) Operations Committee—Clark
stated that Operations Committee meetings had been scheduled for May and June and that things with
this committee should shortly be back on track; 5) continuing education—Spring BCP CE—duplicated
enrollment at 65; headcount at 27; Basic Computers, Keyboarding, QuickBooks, and business classes had
strong enrollment; Word and Excel had been cancelled; Summer BCP CE schedule was due out next
week, with Excel and QuickBooks courses offered in the evenings; Lifelong Learning in the ‘Root (LLR)
over for the term, Hal Stearns (Montana History) was a success with over 50 paying students as well as
about 20 Darby High School students attending each lecture; Meakin wondered why only Darby Schools
seemed to take advantage of the LLR series, Stark mentioned that perhaps it was because Darby was
further from Missoula than any of the other school districts, and therefore had less access to “special
offerings,” and consequently was more likely to take advantage of a “close” opportunity in Hamilton,
also Stark noted that Tim Bronk’s (Darby Schools Superintendent) membership on the BCP Steering
Committee might give BCP offerings a higher profile in Darby than in the other districts; 6) community
issues—the BCP was trying to increase its community recognition and would be doing summer outreach
at the Hamilton Farmer’s Market at least once a month and would also be at the Stevensville Creamery
Picnic and the Ravalli County Fair; Clark said she was looking forward to attending the Soroptimist’s
Options Career Fair on May 7; 7) facility issues—Clark noted that Provost Brown was in negotiations
with Falcon AMG and RCEDA about the expanded lease; Clark mentioned that two BCP students hoped
to open a small beverage/coffee stand in the new space; Clark related that she and Chair Robinson had a
positive conversation with Hamilton School District officials about possibly using the Hamilton High
School kitchen facility for a BCP Culinary Arts program.
Clark then turned to the fiscal report. Clark noted that the BCP was now only over budget by about
$1700. Clark commented that one of the issues had been with the BCP having to pick up the full amount
of extra compensation given to faculty who were hired for more than 20 credits. The COT had seen this
extra compensation as the BCP’s responsibility as the last classes these faculty were hired for were BCP
courses. Clark was contesting this as the BCP had no control over who was hired nor when someone
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Meeting Minutes: Wednesday, April 27, 2011
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was hired. Clark felt that going forward there needed to be an understanding/policy with the COT that
extra compensation for faculty over 20 credits needed to be split equally among all departments hiring
said faculty. Dean Maclean said he understood the issue and that the BCP should not take the situation
personally as all units/departments were currently struggling with budget reconciliation. Clark agreed
and said that she and Stocking would discuss the situation in more detail soon.
Chair Robinson next called for public comment. There was none. Chair Robinson then called for the
Good of the Order. Bronk stated that his last meeting on the committee would be in May as he had
resigned as Darby Schools Superintendent and would be moving on to become the new school
superintendent in Laurel, Montana. Bronk was given a round of applause for his service on the
committee. Bronk recommended Darby High School Principal Jennifer Burdette as a possible
replacement to represent Ravalli County school districts on the BCP Steering Committee. Bronk noted
that having a high school principal involved might provide a better connection to the students and
parents than having a superintendent on the committee. Committee members agreed to consider
Burdette for the open slot.
Chair Robinson then moved to adjourn the meeting, and all agreed. The meeting was adjourned at 5:04
PM.
Minutes subscribed by Kathleen O’Leary (with Victoria Clark summarizing).