Athens Technical College Board of Directors Meeting Minutes Athens, GA September 20, 2011 10:30 A.M. MEMBERS PRESENT Mr. Rusty Adams Ms. Patricia Barron Mr. Bill Cabaniss Mr. Terry Chandler Mr. Vince Dooley Mr. Scott Hardigree Mr. Ed Geddings Dr. Mixon Robinson Ms. Carol Williams MEMBERS ABSENT Mr. Larry Conn Mr. Stephen Felker Ms. Pet Williams GUESTS Mr. Paul Holmes, State Board Chair, Technical College System of Georgia Ms. Judy Taylor, Director of Resource Development, Technical College System of Georgia Mr. David Hartleb, Achieving the Dream Coach Ms. Rhonda Glover, Achieving the Dream Coach Mr. James King, Athens Technical College Student CALL TO ORDER/WELCOME Chair Patricia Barron called the meeting to order at 10:30 a.m. welcoming everyone to the September Board Meeting. INTRODUCTIONS OF SPECIAL GUESTS Chair Barron introduced Mr. Paul Holmes, State Board Chair for the Technical College System of Georgia, and Ms. Judy Taylor, Director of Resource Development for the Technical College System of Georgia. Dr. Dan Smith introduced Mr. James King, Athens Technical College student who is participating in the NASA National Community College Aerospace Scholars Program (NCAS). Mr. King is enrolled in our Machine Tool Technology Program and is the only student from Georgia to be asked to participate in the program. He designed a rover to be used for core drilling on Mars. Mr. King spoke a little bit about the NCAS program and the rover he designed. He passed out a drawing of the rover. He will travel to Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama in November to participate in the program. The team will work on developing a rover to be used on Mars. His childhood dream has been to work for NASA. Local Board Meeting September 20, 2011 Page 2 of 6 NEW BUSINESS Chair Barron introduced Mr. Rusty Adams, our new board member representing Elbert County. Mr. Adams replaces Mr. Don Fortson who rolled off the board in June. Chair Barron swore in Mr. Rusty Adams and a photo was taken of the swearing in. SPECIAL PRESENTATION Dr. Dan Smith introduced the guests for the September meeting. Topic: “Achieving the Dream, Ms. Rhonda Glover and Mr. David Hartleb, Achieving the Dream Coaches”. Achieving the Dream began in 2004 and is a national initiative to help community colleges succeed. It focuses on students of color and low income. Athens Technical College was the only college in Georgia to be designated as an Achieving the Dream college. This is our first year of Achieving the Dream and we are currently in the process of collecting data. Mr. Hartleb gave the board an introduction to Achieving the Dream. Achieving the Dream has four principles which include committed leadership, use of evidence to improve programs and services, broad engagement, and systemic institutional improvement. Its goal is student success and completion and it focuses on identifying which student groups are struggling. Achieving the Dream understands that colleges face a lot of challenges in today’s society. Ms. Glover presented some data information on Achieving the Dream. Both quantitative and qualitative data is collected and examined to help the college better serve students. Between the years of 2008 and 2010 enrollment in two year colleges increased 15%. Undergraduate enrollment at colleges across the nation has increased 35%. By the year 2018, 63% of all jobs will require a college education. A majority of students who enter college will never finish. Statistics show that only about 45% will graduate. There are some key factors that help Achieving the Dream achieve higher levels of improvement which include willingness to view unflattering data and challenge it; visible leadership support; development of improvement intervention; and consistent evaluation and assessment. It is important to hear from everyone involved including students, faculty, staff, board members, and community leaders. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Chair Barron called for approval of the May minutes for the Local Board. After reviewing, there were no changes to the minutes. Carol Williams made a motion to approve the minutes and Ed Geddings seconded the motion with the remainder of the board in agreement. The minutes were approved. Local Board Meeting September 20, 2011 Page 3 of 6 COMMITTEE REPORTS ACADEMIC AFFIARS Dr. Joyce Sansing requested some program approvals. The first two Technical Certificates of Credit (TCCs), Automotive Collision Specialist and Automotive Refinishing Specialist, are for the Athens Campus. These TCCs will provide additional training to students in Automotive Body Repair and they are eligible for PELL. The third TCC, Advanced CAD Technician, is for the Athens Campus, and will allow Drafting students to have advanced coursework. It is also eligible for PELL. The fourth is a TCC, Heavy Diesel Service Technician, for the Elbert County Campus, and it is part of the Diesel Equipment Technology Program. It will allow us to work more closely with Caterpillar and prepare our students for employment with them. The fifth is an Associate Degree, Electrical Systems Technology, for the Athens Campus. We have gotten inquiries from employers about us offering an associate degree in this program. Dr. Sansing asked the board for approval of the new TCCs and Associate Degree Program. Terry Chandler made a motion to approve and Bill Cabaniss seconded the motion with the remainder of the board in agreement. The new TCCs and Associate Degree Program were approved. Dr. Sansing presented a comprehensive list of semester supply fees for approval. These are supply fees for courses which have been converted to the semester system. Dr. Sansing asked the board for approval of the semester supply fees. Ed Geddings made a motion to approve and Vince Dooley seconded the motion with the remainder of the board in agreement. The semester supply fees were approved. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT SERVICES Mr. Jerry Barrow gave board members an update on Economic Development Services. Manufacturer of the Year Luncheon has been announced for April 19, 2012. We will nominate a company for the award. Tenneco in Hartwell is working very intensely right now. They make ride control products for the automotive industry. Its employees are working seven days a week. They have over 750 employees and still growing. Of the twenty-five technical colleges, Athens Technical College produces 6% of all Work Ready Certificates in the state. They are currently testing high schools students in our service area. Local Board Meeting September 20, 2011 Page 4 of 6 On October 11th there will be an Agricultural Summit held on campus to discuss the future of agriculture in this area. It is a Joint Development Authority five county region meeting. On October 19th there will be a Master Timber Harvester conference in White Plains, Georgia. Secretary Brian Kemp will be the keynote speaker. He and Dr. Tydings are planning to attending. The Greene County Campus has nine dual enrolled students for Fall Semester. Mr. Jimmy Hogg, Director of Walton County Campus, has been working on building relationships with the high schools. Yesterday, he met with about twenty high school counselors from the area. Vampire Diaries filed part of their television episodes on the Walton County Campus last week. FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION Ms. Kathryn Thomas presented the Student Account Write-Off Summary which is write-offs of student accounts that have never been paid. The State Accounting Office has to approve the write-off list every year. This year there was $77,647 in write-offs. Before an account can be considered for write-off three letters have to be sent to the student, with the third letter being certified. If students do not pay holds are put on their accounts Ms. Kathryn Thomas presented the Fiscal Year 2011 Year-end Summary. There was approximately $13 million in locally generated funds, approximately $14 million in TCSG funds, and approximately $2 million in external grants/contracts. Ms. Kathryn Thomas presented the FY 2012 Initial Budget. The projected revenue this year, which is based on last year, is approximately $25 million. The budget does not reflect the most recent 2% state cut. The cut may be restored at the end of the year because the state’s revenue is up. Dr. Tydings commented that from 2004 to date we have lost 20% of our state funding. Ms. Thomas asked the board for approval of the FY 2012 Initial Budget. Ed Geddings made a motion to approve and Bill Cabaniss seconded the motion with the remainder of the board in agreement. The FY 2012 Initial Budget was approved. Ms. Thomas presented the 2012 Local Budgets to the board members for review. These are budgets for the different departments at the college. Ms. Thomas presented the Financial Report as of August 31, 2011. At this time our percentages should be around 16% or 17% which is about where we are. Local Board Meeting September 20, 2011 Page 5 of 6 STUDENT AFFAIRS Ms. Andrea Daniel gave board members an update on Student Affairs. She handed out a Fall Semester Event Overview which shows upcoming college events for the Fall. She invited board members to attend any of the events. We recently had an ATSAC retreat which had approximately forty-five officers attending. We also had a parent family orientation for students’ families. Our enrollment this year for Fall semester is 5,114 students. Last year for Fall Quarter it was 5,744 students. When credit hours were converted to semester, our full time enrollment increased by 12.9%. The college will be having an ATC Day of Service on October 22nd for students, faculty, and staff volunteers to give back to the community. Ms. Daniel thanked Dr. Tydings for leading the college through the quarter to semester conversion. Students have been optimistic about it. PRESIDENT'S REPORT Dr. Tydings presented the President’s Report. She thanked everyone for their work on the quarter to semester conversion. HOPE money is an issue for students who cannot afford their textbooks. She is serving on a state committee to look for alternatives for textbooks to help cut back costs for students. Our bookstore reported high sales and long lines out the door. Dr. Tydings announced that the college is going to have a choir. She thanked Mr. Yancey Gulley for working on this project. The two land swaps are still in progress and she hopes they will be completed by the November meeting. The 500/600 building renovations and repairs has been completed and the 300 building was ready for Fall Semester. The automotive building renovation and repairs should be completed by October. The program had grown so much that they were out of space. They have moved into an additional building which was the old facilities and maintenance building. The dam repair in Elberton is almost completed. There is a new facilities and maintenance building being built on the Elbert County Campus. The money left over from the Technical and Industrial Systems building that was built on that campus is being used to build the new facilities and maintenance building. Once this building it completed there will be a domino effect on the campus. Cosmetology and barbering will move to the area where the bookstore is, and the library, bookstore, and academic support center will move into the building that used to house Early Childhood Care and Education. We are in the final phase of designing and planning the renovation on that building. Local Board Meeting September 20, 2011 Page 6 of 6 OTHER BUSINESS Chair Barron mentioned to the board that they have been given an organizational chart to show the faculty/staff at the college and a new local board member directory. She asked that the board approve the 2012 local board meeting schedule. There is one change to the schedule. The board will no longer meet in May and will begin meeting in August. Carol Williams made a motion to approve and Bill Cabaniss seconded the motion with the remainder of the board in agreement. The 2012 local board meeting schedule was approved. Chair Barron announced a challenge to the board members. She would like to have 100% of the board members attend the 2012 graduation on May 3, 2012. She would like to begin including on the board meeting agenda each month activities that board members have participated in. She would like each board member to participate in an event at least twice a year and then report it to the board. Chair Barron asked for approval to nominate Don Fortson and Fred Boatwright to the status of local board member emeritus. Both retired from the local board in May, 2011. Scott Hardigree made a motion to approve and Carol Williams seconded the motion with the remainder of the board in agreement. Don Fortson and Fred Boatwright were elected to local board member emeritus status. ADJOURNMENT Being no further business, Chair Barron adjourned the meeting with appropriate motion and second at 12:30 p.m. _______________________________________ Flora W. Tydings, President Rebecca Allen Administrative Assistant 9/21/11 Next scheduled Board Meeting: October 18, 2011. * Denotes action items that require a vote for approval by the local board.