Board Minutes - November 2023 - Western Iowa Tech Community College

Date: November 13, 2023
Time: 4:00 pm
Location: WITCC Campus - Sioux City, Iowa

WITCC Mission

As a comprehensive community college, our mission is to provide quality education and to economically enhance the communities we serve.

Board Members

Administration:
Terry Murrell, College President | Juline Albert, VP of Learning | Troy Jasman, VP of Finance and Administrative Services | Darin Moeller, Executive Dean of Instruction | Jackie Plendl, Dean of Human Resources | Tawnya Beermann, Dean of Students | Christina Brandon, Dean of Outreach and Information Technology | Revathi Vongsiprasom, Dean of Opportunity and Engagement | Erin Volk, Dean of Quality

Item

Russell Wray called the meeting to order at 4:00 pm.

Brenda Wright took a roll call of directors.

There were no oral communications brought forward.

Russell Wray reviewed the Written Communications with the board members.

Russell Wray asked for any questions regarding consent items. There were no questions. Jeremy Ogle made a motion to approve and it was seconded by Blanca Martinez. All were in favor and the motion carried.

Terry Murrell presented a Board Member Resignation. Bill Anderson submitted a notice to resign from the board. Micah Lang made a motion to approve and it was seconded by Linnea Fletcher. All were in favor and the motion carried.

Tawnya Beermann brought several students to report on various programs that help students with tuition. Three students shared their stories with how these programs have helped them. Tawnya explained the GAP program and how it helps students that have a "gap" in funding. The PACE program helps with high-demand career areas. Last Dollar Scholarship program helped 659 learners last year. There were some recent changes and now have some income guidelines. 41% decrease because of this.

Emily Shields gave an update on Community Colleges for Iowa. They are hosting their first convention and tradeshow at the end of November. There are currently almost 400 people signed up. CCFI has a few new members on their team. The legislative session will be starting in January. There are a few things we have planned to discuss. State funding and Workforce programs are two of those things. In February, there will be a Day on the Hill, Leadership and Action Week (new). We will also be focusing on New Trustees and community college governance at the Trustee conference in July. Mark your calendars.

Revathi Vongsiprasom introduced Tito Parker to report on Student Activities. Tito spoke about the different activities that students participated in. He also talked about how student activities have helped students in other areas, such has finding jobs, finding funding, and finding homes. Tito then introduced the students and they each talked about how the different student activities helped them and how much they are enjoying campus life and meeting friends. Jeremy Ogle made a motion to approve the Student Activities funding and Blanca Martinez seconded. All were in favor and the motion was carried.

Mike Tramp and Tim Dutcher presented the KWIT Audit Report. Everything looked good and was given an unmodified opinion. Linnea Fletcher made a motion to approve and it was seconded by Micah Lang. All were in favor and the motion was carried.

Mike and Tim also presented the WITCC Financial Audit. Mike thanked WITCC and their staff for all of the support they receive during the audit. WITCC also received an unmodified opinion, which is the highest you can get. Micah Lang made a motion to approve the audit and it was seconded by Tricia Sutherland.

Erin Volk presented the VFA Report. This is a voluntary system that we have participated for over ten years. VFA is specific to community colleges and compares us to our peers.

Erin Volk also brought forward a revised MHRD Grant Agreement. In the Fall of 2021, we received MHRD $250,000 grant. This funding was to help build an aviation. maintenance program. We have built the curriculum and have received approval from the Department of Education, HLC and FAA. Our challenge Is finding an ideal location. We are in the process of negotiating a location and needed a new contract for MHRD. This new program is expected to begin in Fall 2024. Jeremy Ogle made a motion to approve and it was seconded by Tricia Sutherland. All were in favor and the motion was carried.

Jackie Plendl and Amy Hueser presented a Staff Development Program Annual Report. Jackie talked about how important it is to provide training opportunities to our employees. We have also started a new ambassador program that introduces new employees to other departments and committees around campus. This has been a successful program.
Amy talked about Staff Development and how hard the committee works on organizing and setting up for Staff Development. We also have assistance from students in the Audio/Video programs that help with the filming and production of all the sessions. This past fall we did a Poverty Simulation with the assistance from the Community Action Agency.

Troy Jasman presented a request to purchase furniture for the Center for Inclusive Excellence. Linnea Fletcher made a motion to approved and it was seconded by Micah Lang. All were in favor and the motion was carried.

Troy also resented a Board Policy Revision - 704.1 for a second reading. There were not comments or suggestions made. Jeremy Ogle made a motion to approve and it was seconded by Tricia Sutherland. All were in favor and the motion was carried.

Troy Jasman also brought a closeout for the WITCC Parking Lot 5 and 6 Paving Project. The work is done and we are happy with the work done. Linnea Fletcher made a motion to approve and it was seconded Blanca Martinez. All were in favor and the motion was carried.

Darin Moeller and Carmen Wilson brought a Resolution Approving Assignment and Assumption Agreement between BioChem Sioux City Inc. Carmen explained that in 2015, Aspen API originally had this agreement and recently Aspen API was acquired by BioChem Sioux City. BioChem wants to continue with the agreement. Tricia Sutherland made a motion to approve and it was seconded by Micah All were in favor and the motion was carried.

Darin and Carmen also presented the annual SBDC Subcontract. This contract allows us to have an office located on our Sioux City campus. Todd Rausch recently was presented with the Performer of the State award. ISU is the administrator of this contract and oversees the program in all of the community colleges. Jeremy Ogle made a motion to approve and it was seconded by Blanca Martinez. All were in favor and the motion was carried.

Russ Wray asked for those that attended the ACCT conference last month to report on their experiences. Tricia thought it was an excellent conference. There was a lot of information about board leadership. Lots of discussion on completion for students.
Russ - focused on board retreat/CEO searches and longevity sessions. He is looking to bring in speakers again for retreat. Looking at dashboards and setting goals as a board.
Linnea - attended DEIB - She attended a session about how a former EEO for federal government employee is now working at a community college and is using his EEO knowledge and using it to help their HR department in procedures on how they hire people. It's been very successful.
Blanca - attended a session on how childcare was a big issue for students.

Tricia spoke about some additional information from the last Community Colleges for Iowa board meeting. They met with the Community College Presidents. There have been lots of Trustee changes. The Trustee Conference will be July 10-11, 2024.

Terry Murrell wanted to remind the board of the Holiday Reception held in the Cafe on December 21 from 11-1 pm.

Russ asked the board to review the upcoming events mentioned in the agenda. Linnea Fletcher made a motion adjourn and it was seconded by Tricia Sutherland. All were in favor and the meeting was adjourned at 5:37 pm.