REGULAR MEETING
OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
HOUSTON COMMUNITY COLLEGE SYSTEM
July 22, 2004
Minutes
The Board of Trustees of the Houston Community College System held a
Regular Meeting on Thursday, July 22, 2004, at the System Administration
Building, Second Floor Auditorium, 3100 Main, Houston, Texas.
BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT
Herman Litt, Chairman
Yolanda Navarro Flores, Secretary
Diane Olmos Guzmán, Deputy Secretary
Jay K. Aiyer
Bruce A. Austin
James R. Murphy
Christopher W. Oliver
BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT
Michael P. Williams, D. Min., Vice Chairman
Abel Davila
ADMINISTRATION
Bruce H. Leslie, Chancellor
Doretha Eason, Interim Deputy to the Chancellor
Charles Cook, Vice Chancellor, Educational Development
Irene Porcarello, Interim Vice Chancellor, Institutional Development
Jose Villarreal, Vice Chancellor, Economic Development
Gloria Walker, Vice Chancellor, Finance and Administration
Johnella Bradford for Diana Castillo, Interim President, Southeast College
Winston Dahse for Sue Cox, President, Southwest College
Margaret Forde, President, Northeast College
Maya Durnovo for Zachary Hodges, President, Northwest College
Patricia Williamson, Interim President, Central College
Rosie Barrera, Associate Vice Chancellor, Communications
Charles Hebert, Associate Vice Chancellor, Workforce Development
Miles LeBlanc, General Counsel
Bryan Gerard, Executive Director, Information Technology
Michael Kyme, Executive Director of Purchasing
Willie Williams, Jr., Interim Executive Director, Human Resources
OTHERS PRESENT
Jarvis Hollingsworth, System Counsel, Bracewell & Patterson
Butch Herod, President, Faculty Association
Crystal Bonner, President, COPA
Other administrators, citizens and representatives from the news media
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Regular Board Meeting – July 22, 2004 – Page 2
CALL TO ORDER
Chairman Litt called the meeting to order at 3:45 p.m. and declared the Board
convened to consider matters pertaining to the Houston Community College
System as listed on the duly posted meeting notice.
Present were Trustees Litt, Navarro Flores, Olmos Guzman, Oliver, Austin and
Murphy.
PRAYER AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Mr. Murphy led the prayer and pledge of allegiance.
HEARING OF CITIZENS
Chairman Litt gave preface to the hearing of citizens and asked if anyone were
present to speak.
Rebecca Bryant, Bailey Architects, spoke in support of the resolution to adopt
LEED green building standards for HCCS facilities.
Mary Jane Hancock, attorney, addressed the Board regarding an alleged conflict
of interest and misuse of taxpayers funds for private gain in the Film Program at
Northwest College.
Mr. Litt asked the Chancellor and legal counsel to investigate this matter. The
Trustees will be provided with the materials from Ms. Hancock.
AWARDS AND PRESENTATIONS
AMI Scholarship – Glenda Regenbaum, President and COO of Association
Management Inc. (AMI) presented a $2,500 scholarship to the HCCS
Foundation.
Correctional Education Association Certificate - Dr. Margaret Forde thanked the
Board for their support of the Inmate Education Program and indicated that
HCCS and the Harris County Sheriff’s Department have been partners for 31
years in offering education and training. The Inmate Education Program has
been reviewed and approved for national certification by the Correctional
Education Association.
Major Terry Enloe, representative from the Harris County Sheriff’s Department,
presented the certificate to the Chancellor and Board and indicated that HCC is a
national leader as the only community college with a Correctional Education
Association certificate in partnership with a correctional facility.
CHANCELLOR'S REPORT
Financial Report - Ms. Walker presented the financial report for the month ending
June 30, 2004 and entertained questions from the Board. In reply to questions
about enrollment, Dr. Leslie explained that the enrollment decline was due to the
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Regular Board Meeting – July 22, 2004 – Page 3
decline in international student enrollment following 9/11 and the decline is the
number of out-of-district students probably because of the increase to out-ofdistrict fees. Actual in-district enrollments have been growing, including Adult
Education. Administration will strive to reach out-of district students and to target
certain categories of students in programs or student groups with opportunities
for growth. A summer program was initiated to encourage students to come to
HCC campuses for more individualized attention in financial aid and enrollment
assistance. Gigi Do is working with the AACC on an international initiative to
recruit students.
Board Retreat – Ms. Olmos Guzman discussed a Board retreat program
developed by Dr. Narcisa Polonia, ACCT Director of Board Leadership Services.
The program includes topics intended to provide a valuable educational
experience that will enrich the Trustee’s knowledge of the role of the Board and
their role as individual members. Ms. Olmos Guzman also distributed a preretreat survey with questions to prepare for a meaningful and relevant retreat.
She asked that the Trustees return the survey to Board Services by August 12.
The Board Operations Committee will coordinate arrangements for a retreat in
late September and a report on the retreat will be presented at the August
meeting of the Committee of the Whole for Board approval.
(Mr. Aiyer arrived at 4:30 p.m.)
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Motion – Mr. Oliver moved approval of the minutes from the Regular Meeting of
February 26, 2004; Special Meeting of May 15, 2004; Meeting of the Committee
of the Whole of June 17, 2004; and the Regular Meeting of June 24, 2004. Mr.
Murphy seconded the motion, which carried 7-0
APPROVAL OF CONSENT AGENDA
Motion – Mr. Oliver made a motion to consider the consent agenda, with the
exception of items set aside for further discussion. Mr. Austin seconded the
motion. Motion carried 7-0.
The following item was approved by consent:
Approved the purchase of an injection-molding machine for Central College from
Arburg, Inc., in an amount not to exceed $68,175.00
TUITION AND FEE EXEMPTIONS AND WAIVERS APPROVED
Motion – Mr. Oliver moved approval of the list of student tuition and fee
exemptions and waivers for fiscal year 2004-2005, at a proposed cost of $2.7
million. Mr. Austin seconded the motion.
Mr. Murphy questioned the validity of offering dual credit programs free of
charge. He pointed out that the cost of operating the programs exceeded
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Regular Board Meeting – July 22, 2004 – Page 4
revenue. In his opinion, HCCS is a value at full price. He also expressed
concern over focusing growth efforts in an area that will potentially lose money.
He proposed recovering some of the costs to fund needs in other areas.
Mr. Aiyer suggested a system in which some students would pay for dual credit
courses, while needier students received the waiver. Mr. Austin agreed and felt
an “ability to pay” scale should be developed. Ms. Olmos Guzman proposed
providing waivers for in-district students only.
Dr. Cook stated that if students were charged a higher amount, enrollment and
state reimbursement would drop. He asked the Board to consider that HCCS
had spent an enormous amount of time and effort in recruiting HISD classes on
the basis that students would not be charged for enrollment. Since this is a base
year, he requested a year to evaluate the program and develop an “ability to pay”
plan that could be implemented in fall 2005. Dr. Leslie also appealed to the
Board to defer any action this year to charge higher tuition for dual credit. Mr. Litt
felt that once students are enrolled in dual credit, the potential exists for them to
stay in college. Ms. Navarro Flores asked for additional information about the
dual credit program for 2004-2005. Dr. Cook reported that as of July 21, 208
sections were planned for this year.
Motion carried 6-1. Trustees Aiyer, Austin, Litt, Navarro Flores, Oliver and
Olmos Guzman voted in favor of the motion; Trustee Murphy was opposed.
RESOLUTION FOR LEED STANDARDS OF CONSTRUCTION APPROVED
Motion – Ms. Navarro Flores made a motion to approve a Resolution adopting
LEED standards of construction for HCCS facilities. Mr. Aiyer seconded the
motion.
Ms. Navarro Flores questioned why buildings with less than 10,000 sq. ft would
not be subject to the standards. Ms. Walker answered that the resolution was
modeled after the City of Houston resolution and could be modified. Motion
carried 6-0 (Mr. Oliver was away from the table).
ENROLLMENT, COLLEGE RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION REPORT
Irene Porcarello and Jose de la Isla presented a report on factors impacting
HCCS enrollment in recent terms and a program to expand college recruitment
and retention.
The information included clear baseline data in terms of enrollment and retention
rates in order to determine where the problems are, where the capacities are,
where we can recruit and retain, and where we need improvement.
Several factors were identified as impacting enrollment, including competition
from the new Cy-Fair College, other area colleges and proprietary schools; the
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Regular Board Meeting – July 22, 2004 – Page 5
decrease in foreign student enrollment since 9/11; the increase in out-of-district
tuition and the perception that HCCS lacks adequate facilities.
Dr. Leslie stated that the average target class size was increased to 23.5 and
probably needs to be expanded further. As a result, administration will be in a
better position to determine the need for portable buildings or leased facilities.
He noted that up to now we have been unable to implement classroom
management software system; however, once the PeopleSoft upgrade is in place
this can be done to determine better efficiency in the use of facilities.
Mr. Austin inquired about strategies for impacting the African American
population. Mr. Oliver suggested that a stronger alumni association could assist
in reaching underserved communities. He also noted that Juan Diaz, WBA
lightweight champion, is a student at Central College and asked administration to
plan an appropriate recognition at a future meeting.
Dr. Leslie recommended filling community development positions at the colleges.
These positions are needed to go out into the communities, identify
neighborhood associations and organizations and those who need to be
engaged in the process. Community-based partners work with the colleges in
dual credit and other initiatives and refer students to HCCS. Mr. Murphy was of
the opinion that the opening of the Cy-Fair College was the primary reason for
the decrease in out-of-district enrollment, rather than the tuition increase.
ADJOURNMENT TO CLOSED OR EXECUTIVE SESSION
Chairman Litt adjourned the meeting to Executive Session at 5:41 p.m., notice
having previously been given and reiterated by him in accordance with Sections
551.071 of the Open Meetings Law. He stated that any final action, vote or
decision on any item discussed in Executive Session would be taken up in Open
Session or in a subsequent Public Meeting. He reconvened the meeting in Open
Session at 7:40 p.m. and entertained motions on pending matters.
Present were Trustees Aiyer, Austin, Murphy, Litt, Oliver, and Olmos Guzman.
ITEM WITHDRAWN BY CHANCELLOR
The Chancellor withdrew the item for establishing a Chief Operating Officer for
further discussion.
ESTABLISHMENT OF COLEMAN MEDICAL COLLEGE APPROVED
Motion – Ms. Olmos Guzman made a motion to approve the establishment of the
HCC Health Center as the John B. Coleman Medical College and to authorize
the Chancellor to establish an implementation and expenditure plan. Mr. Oliver
seconded the motion.
Mr. Murphy asked if the implementation and expenditure plans would be brought
before the Board and the Chancellor responded they would. Motion carried 6-0.
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Regular Board Meeting – July 22, 2004 – Page 6
PERSONNEL AGENDA APPROVED AS SUBMITTED
Mr. Oliver moved approval of the Personnel Agenda as submitted. Mr. Austin
seconded the motion, which carried 6-0.
CLOSING COMMENTS
• Mr. Oliver acknowledged his Aunt Theresa who is a faithful viewer of
Board Meetings on HCC-TV.
•
Mr. Litt announced that former HISD Board Member Laurie Bricker was
appointed to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. He offered
congratulations to Ms. Bricker, noting she is a strong advocate of
community colleges.
•
Mr. Aiyer requested that discussion on adding temporary buildings for
certain programs and additional classrooms be placed on the agenda for
the next Facilities Committee.
•
Mr. Litt announced that the evaluation of the screening process used to
select the construction program management services (CPMS) firm
resulted in findings that the HCCS staff adhered to all procurement
policies and procedures; that the process was not tainted or flawed; that
there was no wrongdoing on the part of anyone involved in the selection
process and the staff conducted itself in a highly dedicated and
professional manner.
ADJOURNMENT
With no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 7:45 p.m.
DINNER
Following adjournment, the Board of Trustees met for dinner in the Chancellor’s
Conference Room on the 12th floor, where they may discuss System business
but will not take action on such business.
Reviewed and Submitted by:
Yolanda Navarro Flores, Secretary
Board of Trustees
Minutes Approved as Submitted:
August 26, 2004
Reliable Transcription Services
July 29, 2004