Athens Technical College
Board of Directors Meeting Minutes
Athens, GA
April 21, 2009
10:30 A.M.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Ms. Patricia Barron
Mr. Kenny Beck
Mr. Fred Boatwright
Mr. Bill Cabaniss
Mr. Frank Christa, Chair
Mr. Vince Dooley
Mr. Ed Geddings
Mr. Scott Hardigree
Ms. Carol Williams
Ms. Pet Williams
MEMBERS ABSENT
Mr. Stephen Felker, Jr.
Mr. Don Fortson, Vice Chair
GUESTS
Mr. Carter Stanfield, Program Chair for Air Conditioning Technology
CALL TO ORDER/WELCOME
Chair Frank Christa called the meeting to order at 10:30 AM welcoming everyone
to the April Board Meeting.
SPECIAL PRESENTATION
Mr. Christa asked Dr. Joyce Sansing to introduce the first guest for the April
meeting. Topic: “Fundamentals of HVAC/R”, Carter Stanfield, Program Chair for
Air Conditioning Technology”.
Dr. Sansing introduced Carter Stanfield who is the Program Chair for Air
Conditioning Technology. Mr. Stanfield has been with the college since 1976
and has been the program chair since 2005. Mr. Stanfield spoke about his book
“Fundamentals of HVAC/R” that he co-wrote. The book was released on March
16, 2009 and will be used in all twelve of the air conditioning technology classes.
The book will be used at schools all over the country.
Mr. Christa asked Dr. Larry Siefferman to present. Topic: “The Elbert County
Campus: A Special Report”, Dr. Larry Siefferman, Vice President for Off-campus
Operations.
Dr. Siefferman presented a PowerPoint presentation on the Elbert County
Campus. He introduced the faculty and staff and what each of them is
responsible for on the Elbert County Campus. Mr. Tommy Lyon, who is the
Manager of Corporate Customer Relations, is part of Economic Development
Services and part of the Elbert County Campus. Mr. Lyon is also Chairman of
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April 21, 2009
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the Elbert County Board of Commissioners. He has been working for the college
part-time for twelve years. Mr. Lyon spoke about the Certified Work Ready
Program. All of high school seniors in Wilkes, Elbert and Hart Counties have
been tested.
The Commercial Truck Driving Program, which is only offered on the Elbert
County Campus, has a driving range on 5.25 acres donated by the county to the
Athens Tech Foundation. The program received a new classroom in a
doublewide modular building that was partially paid for by a USDA grant. Since
the program began in January, 2003, there have been 258 students enrolled in
the program. The program has a 98% pass rate on the CDL exam.
The Cosmetology Program on the Elbert County Campus earned over $2,200
last year providing services to customers.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Mr. Christa called for approval of the March minutes for the Local Board. After
reviewing, Ed Geddings made a motion to approve the minutes and Carol
Williams seconding the motion with the remainder of the board in agreement.
The minutes were approved with no changes or corrections.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
ACADEMIC AFFAIRS
Dr. Joyce Sansing provided information on program terminations. TCSG is
attempting to eliminate as many low enrollment or similar to existing programs as
possible in an effort to reduce the number of programs that will need to be
converted to the semester calendar. The estimate is that approximately 1600
programs can be reduced to approximately 400 programs. After reviewing the
list, Patricia Barron made a motion to approve the program terminations and Fred
Boatwright seconded the motion with the remainder of the board in agreement.
The program terminations were approved.
Dr. Sansing presented a new program request for a Veterinary Assistant
Technical Certificate. This new program will provide students who are unable to
complete the entire Veterinary Technology associate degree with an option to
receive a lower level credential that can lead to employment as an animal
caretaker or veterinary assistant. After reviewing, Carol Williams made a motion
to approve the request with Patricia Barron seconding the motion and the
remainder of the board in agreement. The program request was approved.
Dr. Sansing presented a new program request for Health Information
Technology. We are working with Athens Regional Medical Center to develop
the program which will provide education in medical coding and billing and
provide an opportunity to obtain a national certification. Athens Regional has
agreed to compensate the program instructor. We are working to get some 3M
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April 21, 2009
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software donated as well as a grant to obtain some stimulus money to support
the program. After reviewing, Carol Williams made a motion to approve the
program request and Patricia Barron seconded the motion with the remainder of
the board in agreement. The program request was approved.
FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION
Ms. Kathryn Thomas provided information to the local board regarding the
Budget Amendments. The budget amendments include funds that have
additional revenue over what was projected. The amendments were approved
with Patricia Barron making a motion for approval and Pet Williams seconding
the motion with the remainder of the board in agreement.
Ms. Thomas presented the Financial Report as of March 31, 2009 which reflects
the reductions in the budget.
INSTITUIONAL EFFECTIVENESS
Mr. Dan Smith presented on Non-HOPE Eligible Fees. We are proposing that all
of the fees except three be left the same. The late registration fee needs to be
increased to bring us in line with other technical colleges. The transcript fee
needs to be increased due to the cost of transcript paper. The retest fee needs
to be increased because of the transition from a paper based test to a computer
based test.
There are some fees that are not submitted to the Technical College System of
Georgia and do not need approval. These are fees students are required to pay
to outside vendors once they get into a program. We will not need to raise these
fees unless the vendor raises their fees. Most students have health insurance
that will cover the fees.
The Non-HOPE Eligible Fees were approved with Ed Geddings making a motion
for approval and Vince Dooley seconding the motion with the remainder of the
board in agreement. The fees were approved.
PRESIDENT'S REPORT
Dr. Tydings events:
 Earth Day is tomorrow. There will be vendors on campus and different
seminars being offered. The event is sponsored by Phi Theta Kappa.
 Honor’s Day is May 5th at 11:00 am and will be held in a tent on the lawn
near the gazebo. All students who have received any honors will be
recognized at the event.
 May 14th is Spring Fling which will include a picnic, a live band, games,
activities, and booths set up by community organizations.
 Graduation is June 11th at the Classic Center. GED graduation is at 2:00
p.m. Lisa Eason, Assistant Commissioner for Administrative Offices at the
State Office will be the guest speaker. The academic ceremony is at 7:00
p.m. Commissioner Ron Jackson will be the guest speaker.
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Dr. Tydings updates:
 Our Phi Theta Kappa chapter has been rated in the top 25 international
standing.
 The brick for the Life Science building has been picked out. The slab on
grade and new parking lot grading are both done, and the lead design
phase is near completion. Subcontractor bid packages are coming in
under the cost estimate which will allow some items to be added back in
that had to be taken out. We are still on schedule with an owner
occupancy date of March 30, 2010.
 In house and state reviews are being done on the final design
development of the Elberton Building. The planning session will continue
to take place over the next few weeks. Color and finish boards should be
available at the next meeting. Pre-bid conferences will be in August.
Construction contract will be awarded September 7, 2009 with onsite
being September 21, 2009. Owner occupancy is dated September 20,
2010.
 The Career Academy at H.T. Edwards is progressing well. The blueprints
are being refined with the architectures. Construction will begin in 2010
with completion in 2011. Owner occupancy is dated July 13, 2011.
 Emerging plans include an 88,000 square feet emerging technologies
facility which will include expanding the Economic Development Services.
 When the health care programs move into the new building, the Paul
Broun building will be retrofitted to allow for expansion of new programs.
 There will be a retrofit of building across the street for the culinary
program. We will need to raise about $2 million in private funds for the
retrofit.
 We are working with Bruce Birch, who is in charge of the music program
at the University of Georgia, about developing an entertainment industry
program. Students will be able to obtain jobs in the management,
marketing, or technical side of the entertainment business. At any given
time we have over 500 bands in Athens that need someone to run their
technology. RTI Brands Company, which is one of the largest recording
companies, is moving to Athens. We will be asking for donations of large
equipment for this program.
 The final budget passed through the House and Senate and is now with
the Governor. State funds were reduced by $15.4 million, but were
replaced with federal stimulus money. The budget was reduced by
$246,000 due to House Bill 700 which was Bob Smith’s proposal that
construction components not be housed within state agencies. The final
version of the state health benefits was restored so that 75% of the
employer contribution will still be maintained. The 9 ½% budget reduction
will remain.
 Our GOAL student made the top twelve in the regional level and will be
going on to the finals.
 Spring quarter enrollment is up.
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ADJOURNMENT
Being no further business, Chair Christa adjourned the meeting with appropriate
motion and second at 12:00 p.m. Lunch was served immediately following the
meeting.
_______________________________________
Flora W. Tydings, President
Rebecca Allen
Administrative Assistant
4/22/09
Next scheduled Board Meeting: May 19, 2009.
* Denotes action items that require a vote for approval by the local board.