EL CAMINO COLLEGE
PLANNING & BUDGET COMMITTEE
November 7, 2002
MEMBERS AND ALTERNATES PRESENT:
Bobbi Villalobos, Chair
Miriam Alario-Wolski
Susan Dever
Thomas Jackson
Bo Morton
Bernie Rang
Cheryl Shenefield
David Vakil
Lance Widman
ALSO ATTENDING:
Steve Fasteau, Pam Fees, Suzanne Gates, Alice Grigsby, Victor Hanson, Alex Kelley, Vince
Robles, Arvid Spor
Bobbi Villalobos called the meeting to order at 1:05 p.m.
1.
MINUTES
It was moved and seconded (Rang/Alario-Wolski) to approve the minutes of the October
17, 2002 meeting. Miriam Alario-Wolski pointed out that although she was at the meeting,
her name did not appear as being present. The minutes were approved as corrected.
Lance Widman asked how the PBC agenda is established. Bobbi Villalobos handed out a
“PBC Chronology of Area Reports—Fall 2002” and briefly reviewed the agenda
development process. She said that when the committee makes a request for an agenda
item, she first determines who on campus is the best representative to make the report. She
then contacts the person and invites him/her to the PBC meeting. She added that calendar
conflicts sometimes prevent the individual from attending the meeting, in which case she
tries to schedule the person for the next meeting or find another representative. She
reminded the committee members that a request from the PBC for someone to give a report
does not require the person(s) to give a report. She said that some people may not wish to
make reports to the PBC.
2.
EDUCATIONAL MASTER PLAN TASK FORCE REPORT
Bobbi Villalobos reported that the Educational Master Plan Task Force Team met on
October 31st and briefly reviewed the three information source areas. She added that the
committee recommended the Area Council members participate in the scanning of articles
and materials for trends and the writing of abstracts. She reviewed the scanning and
forecasting schedule (handout) and added that establishing the teams and training team
leaders before the end of the fall semester would allow sufficient time for the information
to be developed into a master plan at a retreat tentatively scheduled for the end of the
spring semester. In response to questions from the committee, Bobbi clarified that
although the retreat is still in the planning stages, it is anticipated that it will be 2-3 days
and involve approximately 40 campus-wide representatives. Due to concerns regarding
faculty being out of the classroom, the dates for the retreat will be discussed at the next
Planning Task Force team meeting.
As the discussion of revising the master plan continued, Steve Fasteau said that all units on
campus would provide information of its needs by completing a Unit Planning Guide, a
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draft of which he handed out. This information would then be compiled into a report and
presented to the PBC and at the retreat.
Bernie Rang commented that the information requested on the UPG could be found on in
previous Program Review Reports. Bobbi commented that some of that information may
be out of date and that each unit could decide whether to use the Program Review
information or to complete the UPG. Lance Widman expressed concern that faculty may
not have time to meet to discuss the issues and provide a thorough report. After a brief
discussion, it was agreed that Bobbi would take this concern to the deans’ meeting for their
input. The general consensus of the committee remained that the planning needs to be allinclusive and not determined from the top down.
3.
AREA BUDGET REPORTS
Alice Grigsby reported the fiscal impact the Winter Intersession will have on providing
library services to students, faculty, and staff during the 24 additional instructional days.
She discussed contract requirements, reduced service hours, and limited services. She gave
the committee members a handout that showed that projected expenses, not including
fringe benefits, would be approximately $45,000. The committee members discussed
services offered during summer sessions and those planned for the winter session,
including tutoring. During the discussion, several options were discussed such as scaling
back some services during the spring and fall semesters to allow for the same services to be
provided during the summer and winter sessions. It was noted that the compressed
calendar increased the demand and need for support services for students.
As the discussion regarding the library concerns concluded, it was moved and seconded
(Rang/Alario-Wolski) that the PBC recommend that the President reconsider the decision
to run the winter session as cost neutral and direct the vice presidents to find funds to
provide support services. Miriam Alario-Wolski added that students taking classes during
winter session should not be penalized by not having support services. The motion carried
unanimously.
On behalf of Debbie Conover, Arvid Spor provided a budget status report from the Health
Center. He said that there is no budget for the Health Center to be open during the winter
session. He also said that there is no health fee during the summer session and therefore the
Center is closed during that time. He shared a memorandum from the Chancellor’s Office
stating that community colleges can charge a health fee of $12 for fall and spring semesters
and $9 for each intersession of at least four weeks. The Health Center receives no
additional funding for providing services to students. He added that increasing health fees
and providing full support services for all sessions requires approval from the Board of
Trustees.
4.
BUDGET STATUS REPORT
Vic Hanson distributed and discussed the revised projected FTES for 2002-03 based on
actual fall semester attendance accounting. This projection allows ECC to report summer
2003 FTES in the 2003-04 reporting period, which has been the goal for several years. He
anticipated that the growth will be funded the same as it was in the 2001-02 academic
year—at approximately 70 percent—and stressed again the need to develop enrollment
management procedures. In response to the question of whether the Chancellor’s Office
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may increase tuition fees, Vic responded that raising tuition would just reduce funds from
the state apportionment and therefore would not help alleviate in-house budget concerns.
Members of the committee expressed concern with the ideas of reducing class sizes or
cutting class sections as a means of enrollment management and the overall impact this
would have on programs offered by El Camino College. Alex Kelley concluded the
discussion by saying although most faculty are willing to take additional students, this does
not mean enough support services will be available for these students.
In response to questions from committee members, Vic Hanson stated that the success of
the bond is not a solution to concerns with the general fund budget. Although these funds
will be used to replace money used for the Natural Science building remodel, for example,
the cost of the relocatable classrooms, this funding is a one-time replacement. He also
cautioned that here are other items that bond money cannot be used for, such as the state
provided energy funding which has now been cut off. Another expense the campus is now
dealing with is a required PERS contribution due to losses from PERS investments in the
stock market.
5.
BOND REPORT
Vic Hanson briefly reviewed the process for funding now that the bond has successfully
passed. The first step is to have a rating established, which indicates the credit worthiness
of the investments, and to obtain insurance. It is anticipated that reimbursements to the
general fund will be made by the closing of the books for 2002-03.
Susan Dever expressed the opinion that although ECC has a good system for managing
contracts, it is lacking the procedures to coordinate end user input through the design
process. She added that expenses required to make changes after completion of the project
may be eliminated if input from the end user is considered in the early planning and
developing stages. Alex Kelly commented that another problem occurs when end users
request certain specifications and then change their minds after completion of the project.
6.
AGENDA DEVELOPMENT
Cafeteria Program – Update and Report
7.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting adjourned at 2:30p.m.
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