ACCT Summer 2008 by carol kincaid

Green Collar Jobs: The Next Industrial Revolution | 110th Congress Community College Caucus summer 2008

Accountability in the Electronic

Age

Technology has changed the way trustees work â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and provided new tools for transparency and communication.

“As a public institution, we have an obligation to demonstrate the professional ethics of our work to our internal constituency and our community. We do that with precision-tuned data sets built with help from The Datatel Center for Institutional Effectiveness. Through our partnership with the Center, we’ve been able to laser in on the key issues so critical for our sustainability.” Daniel J. Phelan, Ph.D., President, Jackson Community College. Using a Continuous Quality Improvement model, The Datatel Center for Institutional Effectiveness provides programs to guide campus leaders in developing effective management strategies, with the added value of programs to guide campus leaders to stay accountable to their communities and stakeholders.

Daniel J. Phelan, Ph.D. President Jackson Community College

The Datatel Center for Institutional Effectiveness is just one of Datatel’s many professional services helping institutions perform day-to-day business operations more efficiently. With Datatel behind you, your school experiences enhanced student life, stronger communities, and increased job satisfaction — the ActiveCampus Experience. Learn more at www.datatel.com/precise about experiencing precision in your institution’s business processes.

www.datatel.com/precise 1.800.DATATEL

Board of Directors

2007-2008 Chair

Lynda Stanley Brunswick Community College, NC

From the Chair Focus on the Future

Chair-Elect Arthur Anthonisen Orange County Community College, NY

Vice Chair Thomas M. Bennett Parkland College, IL

Secretary-Treasurer Peter E. Sercer, Sr. Midlands Technical College, SC

Immediate Past Chair Kitty Boyle Dallas County Community College District, TX

Central Region Chair Dave Maguire Spoon River Community College, IL

Northeast Region Chair James R. Perry Union County College, NJ

Pacific Region Chair Gloria Guzman Cental Arizona College

Southern Region Chair Greg Schuckman Northern Virginia Community College

Western Region Chair M. Thomas Perkins Western Nebraska Community College Lauren Baker Milwaukee Area Technical College, WI Ken Bartlett Rose State College, OK Jeanne-Marie Boylan Bunker Hill Community College, MA Elizabeth Y. Chen Highline Community College, WA Doris Dewton Colorado Mountain College Anita Grier City College of San Francisco, CA James Polk Illinois Central College Talmadge Portis, Jr. Hinds Community College District, MS Kathy Sellers-Johnson Louisiana Community and Technical College System Donald L. Singer San Bernardino Community College District, CA Dorothy Smith State Center Community College District, CA Jean Torgeson North Iowa Area Community College Carmie Lynn Toulouse Central New Mexico Community College Celia Turner Mott Community College, MI Roberto Uranga Long Beach Community College District, CA Nancy Watkins Hillsborough Community College, FL

IF WE HAD NOT ACCOMPLISHED SO MUCH OVER the past six months, it would be hard for me to believe that summer is already upon us and that I am eight months into my term as Chair of the ACCT Board of Directors. And yet, as much as we’ve accomplished, there is still much to do. The so-called lazy days of summer are busy days at ACCT as we plan for the 39th Annual ACCT Leadership Congress, the 2008 ACCT Awards and something entirely new and exciting, the first-ever Governance Leadership Institute on Diversity. This year’s Congress is shaping up to be one of the biggest and best ever. ACCT has seen record early Congress enrollment. No doubt New York City has been a major draw, but what is most exciting are the dynamic speakers and forward-thinking content. We see the Congress as an opportunity for trustees to work together, learn from one another, and learn from the esteemed speakers and panelists who will be presenting sessions and pre-Congress academies. We expect over 1,600 trustees to participate, including representatives from Canada and the United Kingdom, among other countries. The Congress will offer over 90 informational sessions, including topics such as student access and success, workforce development, addressing the equity gap, campus security, the greening of the campus, and effective governance. We also have an incredible group of keynote speakers from some of the most important foundations or corporations in this country, including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Ford Foundation, and Colgate Palmolive Corporation. This year, the Congress will begin with a town hall meeting — an interactive session open to all attendees that will focus on the critical role that community colleges play in combating poverty through educational opportunities. The meeting will also address pressing social issues, including the growing economic gap, the digital divide, the missing minority male, and the growing need for remedial education. I encourage all Congress attendees to think ahead about the issues that concern you and possible solutions, and to bring these thoughts with you to the town hall meeting so that others can benefit from your ideas. The Congress’s focus on poverty, the upcoming Governance Leadership Institute’s focus on diversity, and this issue of Trustee Quarterly’s dual focus on how technology continues to affect community colleges and board governance, as well as on growing environmental consciousness, all have one thing in common: a focus on the future. It is the role of trustees and presidents to stay abreast of trends and prepare their schools and students for what is on the horizon. ACCT’s sessions, institutes, publications, Web site and staff are resources for the forward-thinking president, chief executive and trustee. Your position gives you great responsibility; please take advantage of the resources and community that ACCT can provide you with to make sure your college and students continue to succeed in the future. Thank you for staying engaged with your peers through ACCT. I look forward to sharing ideas and learning from each of you in New York this fall. LYNDA STANLEY BRUNSWICK COMMUNITY COLLEGE, NC

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Trustee

QUA R T ERLY

The Voice of Community College Leaders

From the President & CEO

Summer 2008

Editorial Team Managing Editor David Conner Marketing & Communications Specialist

Editor Mark Toner Editorial associate Kit Gray

Design & Production www.moirestudio.com – Washington, D.C. Your Opinion Matters contact:

David Conner Trustee Quarterly 866-895-ACCT (2228)

or E-mail to:

acctinfo@acct.org

The TRUSTEE QUARTERLY (ISSN 0271-9746) is published four times per year as a membership service of the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT). ACCT is a non-profit educational organization of governing boards of public and private community, technical, and junior colleges. Membership is also open to state coordinating boards, advisory boards, and state associations. The purpose of ACCT is to foster greater understanding of and appreciation for community college boards; support boards in their efforts to develop public policies focusing on meeting community needs; help build board governance leadership and advocacy capacity through in-service education and training programs; and support boards through specialized services and programs. Opinions expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of ACCT. Non-members may subscribe to the TRUSTEE QUARTERLY for $60.00 a year and postage outside USA. Third-class postage paid at Washington, DC.

1233 20th Street, NW Suite 301 Washington DC 20036 202.775.4667 FAX: 202.223.1297 E-mail: acctinfo@acct.org www.acct.org

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Somebody Is Always Watching What We Do In this presidential election year, I am reminded of the increasing scrutiny placed on public officials and leaders in this country. Between the bloggers, “watchdog” groups, new ethics and finance disclosure laws, electronic media blasts and locally televised council and board meetings, virtually everything public leaders say and do is analyzed, interpreted, and made available to many more community residents than ever before. With this in mind, this issue of Trustee Quarterly focuses on “Accountability in an Electronic Age.” The cover story by Mark Toner (p. 14) explores several aspects of how technology is changing both how boards operate and how they are perceived by stakeholders. There is good and bad news to be shared in terms of how boards are changing their governance style and operations. Greater scrutiny also requires that boards address increasingly complex issues of accountability, such as environmental stewardship, campus safety and communicating with their communities. ACCT General Counsel Ira Shepard focuses on these issues from a legal perspective in his column (p. 26), touching on such topics as security, the green movement, electronic communications, and the importance of colleges’ reputations within their communities and beyond. We also are pleased to bring you the second installment in a series of articles by Sherri Negrea on the sustainable development movement and what boards can do about training students, faculty and staff for the new “green-collar” jobs in our communities. I am proud to inform you that this issue of Trustee Quarterly is our first to be printed on Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified recycled paper, which conserves trees, water, energy, and greenhouse gases. This issue also brings a new Managing Editor, David Conner (dconner@acct.org). David takes over as ACCT’s marketing and communications specialist, and we are looking forward to his contributions. Finally, I must add my heartfelt thanks to all ACCT member boards and trustees. The continuing support that you provide to our association’s programs and services is not only appreciated, but serves as a true testament to the growing influence of community college leaders. Everywhere I travel, I encounter people eager to share stories and insights about how community colleges are changing higher education and lives every day. I smile when I hear these stories, because I know who is responsible. You are. Have a wonderful summer. I look forward to seeing many of you in New York City this autumn at the ACCT Community College Leadership Congress! J. Noah Brown President and CEO

Contents

TRUSTEE QUARTERLY | Summer 2008

Departments 9

ADVOCACY Transparency and Accountability, or Just Confusion? Jee Hang Lee

12 sustainability

Green Collar Jobs: The Next

Industrial Revolution Sherrie Negrea

23 Technology Tech Tools & Tips for Trustees

24 Leadership ACCT’s Governance Leadership Institute

14 Features

LEGAL Oversight in an Electronic Age Ira Michael Shepard

31 Case study

12 Green Collar Jobs: The Next Industrial Revolution Sherrie Negrea 14

Presidential Oversight and Support: Striking the Right Balance Narcisa Polonio

Accountability in the Electronic Age Mark Toner

20 Here, There, Everywhere Mark Toner

in every issue 1

From the Chair

18 Around the Regions

From the President & CEO

28 Searches and Retreats

4 News

33 Interface

36 Advisor

Corporate Council News

cover illustrations by Carl Wiens

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Briefs Preserving Veterans’ Stories Stanly Community College in Albemarle, N.C., is one of roughly a dozen community colleges across the country working with the Library of Congress to collect and preserve first-person accounts of veterans’ stories from American wars, from World War I through the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. SCC has worked closely with local World War II veterans groups to record almost 80 interviews, which have been sent to the Library of Congress to be included in its Veterans History Project. “We are focusing on WWII veterans because of their age,” explained SCC President Dr. Michael Taylor. Due to the passage of time, WWII veterans represent a group whose voices will be silenced forever if we do not record them.” Among those documented at SCC was a trustee who served as a Marine officer in the Pacific Theater during WWII, Taylor said. “I suspect that there are many trustees at community colleges around the country who served during WWII or are veterans of other wars, and this would be a great project for their colleges to get involved in,” he said. “Community colleges, with their local focus, are best positioned to reach out to veterans and record their stories.”

News

California Community College Looks to China Ohlone College in Freemont, Calif., is the first community college to establish a campus at a new training center in Suzhou, China. Ohlone faculty members, along with counterparts from China, Australia, and England, will teach Chinese students English and American business practices at the International Educational Exchange and Training Center. The center, developed in partnership with the governments of China and Singapore, is part of the college’s “strong international outreach,” says President Doug Treadway.

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Left to Right: Contra Costa Community College District (CA) Trustee Jo Ann Cookman presents the National Education Service Award to Congressman George Miller, along with Contra Costa Community College District Chancellor Helen Benjamin.

Congressman Miller Awarded for Service to Community Colleges The Association of Community College Trustees and the American Association of Community Colleges presented the 2008 National Education Service Award to Rep. George Miller at the 2008 National Legislative Summit in Washington, D.C., in February. Congressman Miller was recognized for his outstanding work on behalf of community college students and institutions. A native Californian, Miller graduated from Diablo Valley Community College, San Francisco State University, and earned his law degree from the University of California, Davis. Congressman Miller is chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee. He is a leading advocate in Congress on education, labor, the economy, and the environment. He holds a number of other important positions in addition to his work on education and labor: He is a member of the Democratic leadership, serving Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi as chairman of the House Democratic Policy Committee. Miller was the lead author of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act, the single largest expansion of federal financial aid for college since the GI Bill. The bill, which was signed into law by President Bush last year, cut interest rates on Stafford Loans in half, provided substantial guaranteed Pell grant increases, offered loan forgiveness to qualified public service employees with student loan debt, and gave new funds to Hispanic-serving institutions and predominantly black institutions.

Credit Crunch Hits CC Loans Community college students have become the latest victims of the nation’s credit squeeze. In early summer, many banks — including Chase, Citibank, Citizens Bank, and Wells Fargo — announced that they have stopped offering student loans at many community colleges across the country, prompting students to scramble to find alternate lenders. The banks have said they are suspending unprofitable loans at all colleges, particularly where the loans tend to be fewer, smaller, and have shorter repayment terms. The unspoken assumption is that loans at four-year institutions are more profitable and less likely to go into default, even though the federal government guarantees 95 percent of the loans’ value. “I think it stinks,” Sherri Ballantyne, assistant dean of financial aid at Bellevue Community College in Washington, told the Seattle Times. “It doesn’t seem fair that because [the banks] are making more profit at a four-year, they would be excluding students.” The average amount borrowed by community college students is about $3,200 a year, according to the College Board — a comparatively small but critical amount for students. “If we put too many hurdles in their way to get a loan, they’ll take a third job or use a credit card,” Jacqueline K. Bradley, assistant dean for financial aid at Mendocino College in California, told The New York Times. “That almost guarantees that they won’t be as successful in their college career.” Loans made directly through the federal government aren’t affected, but as private lenders dry up, additional colleges are looking into the Federal Direct Loan Program, which has not been affected by the credit crunch. At Tacoma Community College, President Pamela Transue sent a letter of protest to Washington state’s Congressional representatives, calling the bank actions “an unfair blow to those who need the loans most,” according to the Seattle Times.

Meeting Mechatronics Needs Five community and technical colleges in upstate South Carolina have joined forces to offer a technical degree program in mechatronics, a profession that integrates electronics and mechanics. Greenville Technical College, Piedmont Technical College, Spartanburg Community College, Tri-County Technical College, and York Technical College will offer a technical degree program developed with a grant from AdvanceSC, a Duke Energy program which supports education and

economic development initiatives. The fast-growing field is in demand by state manufacturing industries that see the need for workers who have been cross-trained in a variety of fields. “Manufacturing today is much different than it was 15 or 20 years ago. We’re dealing with robotics… and computer-based engineering,” Duke Moses of BMW explains in a video on the program’s Web site, www.techreadysc.com.

Columbia Gorge Looks to Wind Technology The chief academic officer at Columbia Gorge Community College in The Dalles, Ore., kept passing turbine components on her commute to work and decided to investigate. She found that there were hundreds of jobs — but not nearly enough people to fill them. It’s estimated that it takes one skilled operations and maintenance worker for every 10 wind turbines installed, and as more turbines are added across the country, more skilled workers will be needed. A new program at Columbia Gorge is one of three in the nation producing graduates prepared to work in the turbine industry. The college started just two years ago with a six-month, non-credit pilot program in wind technology. Now it offers a one-year certificate and a two-year associates’ degree. The college has also hosted a national wind energy conference.

Study: CC Enrollment Varies By State The percentage of higher education students who attend community colleges varies dramatically by state, according to a study by the Rockefeller Institute of Government. Wyoming leads the pack, with 47 percent of higher education students attending community colleges, compared to 8 percent in Vermont, the lowest percentage nationwide. The national average is 27.7 percent, according to the study, the first to compare results across all 50 states. Overall community college enrollments grew by 11.5 percent between 2000 and 2005, the study said. “Given the importance of community colleges, it’s essential that we understand how these institutions are being used, and then start to explore the reasons for the differences between the states,” says David Shaffer, a senior fellow at the Institute. The study found the greatest rates of growth in community college enrollment in states with smaller populations, including West Virginia, Maine, and Montana. West Virginia’s community college enrollment grew by 67 percent between 2000 and 2005, according to the study. It also found that community college tuition remains a bargain — lower than four-year schools in all 50 states, and at least half their cost in 33 states.

Maryland College Wins Top Award for Excellence When it comes to quality and process improvement, a Maryland community college has proved that it can compete with the best of any industry. Howard Community College in Columbia, Md., has received the U.S. Senate Productivity Award, Maryland’s most prestigious award for performance excellence. “Community colleges are the gateway to the future. Howard Community College is an example of everything we want for our higher education facilities in Maryland,” said Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski.

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News Oil Demand Drives CC Programs As the oil boom returns to Texas, two community colleges there are offering programs to help meet the needs of employers in the oil and natural gas fields. Navarro College in Corsicana launched a program in January in partnership with EnCana Oil & Gas and XTO Energy Inc. The three-semester program leads to an oil and gas production technology certificate, and the school plans to add an additional semester and offer an associate of applied science degree next year. The third semester of the program involves an internship with EnCana as a lease operator, environmental safety and health technician, or gas plant operator. Navarro also now has live data links to 441 wells, which students analyze for problems as part of their training. North Central Texas College in Bowie will launch a similar program in the fall, sponsored by EOG Resources Inc. and several other companies. A new 6,560-square-foot addition will house the program, which will include a one-year certificate and a two-year associate degree. The two community colleges will work together to develop their programs.

SUNY Orange Honors William Kaplan SUNY Orange presented William Kaplan with the 2008 New York Community College Trustees Friend of the Community College Award to thank him for his commitment to the college and his work to launch a new branch campus in Newburgh, N.Y. The college also gave Kaplan copies of resolutions passed by SUNY Orange’s Board of Trustees, one that approved naming the first building on the new branch campus Kaplan Hall, and the other commemorating the Kaplan family’s contributions to the college. The three-story, 85,000-square-foot Kaplan Hall will feature a library, student services, classrooms, and laboratories for nursing, biology and science programs. The building also will house offices, conference rooms, and a small art gallery.

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A rendering of Alabama’s Advanced Technology Robotics Research and Development Complex.

Calhoun Receives $71 Million for Robotics Research, Education, Training Calhoun Community College in Decatur, Ala., is set to receive $71 million for a new robotics complex. A collaboration among Alabama’s state government, its two-year college system, the Alabama Industrial Development Training agency, and robotics industry leaders, the planned Advanced Technology Robotics Research and Development Complex is expected to include three buildings and span over 53 acres. Among the specific features of the complex are a Robotic Maintenance Training Center that will house an industry training program, an Advanced Technology Research and Development Center that will serve as a test facility for companies currently in the robotics manufacturing industry, and an Integration and Entrepreneurial Center that will bring together higher education and industry technology.

Dallas County Community College District Issues New ‘Board Briefs’ ACCT awarded the its first-ever Trust Fund Grant in 2007 to the Dallas County Community College District for the purpose of financing projects pertaining to the education and training of community college and technical institution governing board members. The college district just issued its premiere issue of Board Briefs, a six-page newsletter developed under the provisions of the grant. The first issue details the history and founding philosophy of the community college movement, from William Rainey Harper’s plan and the founding of Joliet Junior College in 1901 through to the vital roles that two-year colleges play in communities and society today. Board Briefs is the first part of a formal program DCCCD is developing for orienting new board members and keeping current board members up to date. This fall, ACCT will issue a call for proposals for its second annual ACCT Trust Fund Grant. Visit www.acct.org for more information and updates on the Trust Fund Grant and other exciting projects.

Gas Prices Prompt Four-Day Weeks With gas prices rising, many community colleges are moving to four-day weeks to help commuting students pay less at the pump. According to USA Today, the shift has been most common in rural areas, where students often drive great distances to attend college. The chancellor of Alabama’s two-year college system, for example, recently urged its member institutions to adopt a four-day schedule because of high gas prices. In Mississippi, Meridian Community College President Scott Elliott told the newspaper that his students, who on average drive 30 miles round-trip to campus, could save $200 or more a semester with the four-day schedule. “When you’re… working a minimum-wage job and (taking) care of a child or two, that could be a lot of money,” he said.

Collaboration, Financial Aid May Boost Retention A survey of more than 13,000 students at 22 community colleges in eight states suggests that nearly half do not return to school after their first year. Among the findings of the pilot Survey of Entering Student Engagement (SENSE), which was conducted in fall 2007 by the University of Texas at Austin’s College of Education’s Community College Leadership Program: • 20 percent of entering students “strongly agreed” that they “felt welcome” the first time they attended the college. • 64 percent did not attend student success courses. • 23 percent reported that they never worked with other students on class projects during their first three weeks of class; 66 percent said they never worked with classmates outside of class. • 41 percent had not used academic planning or advising services. • 40 percent of traditional-age students and 62 percent of nontraditional students reported completing all assignments and readings before coming to class. • While 67 percent of entering students were told they could apply for financial aid, only 29 percent said a financial aid staff member helped them analyze their needs.

Model Standards of Good Practice for Trustee Boards In Support Of Effective Community College Governance, The Board Believes: n

That it derives its authority from the community and that it must always act as an advocate on behalf of the entire community;

That it must clearly define and articulate its role;

That it is responsible for creating and maintaining a spirit of true cooperation and a mutually supportive relationship with its CEO;

That it always strives to differentiate between external and internal processes in the exercise of its authority;

That its trustee members should engage in a regular and ongoing process of in-service training and continuous improvement;

That its trustee members come to each meeting prepared and ready to debate issues fully and openly;

That its trustee members vote their conscience and support the decision or policy made;

That its behavior, and that of its members, exemplify ethical behavior and conduct that is above reproach;

That it endeavors to remain always accountable to the community;

That it honestly debates the issues affecting its community and speaks with one voice once a decision or policy is made.

A national survey of nearly 100 community colleges will be conducted this fall.

40 Community Colleges Forge Biomanufacturing Alliance More than 40 community colleges across the country are seeking a $5 million grant from the National Science Foundation that would allow them to create regional alliances with employers to train workers for biomanufacturing careers. Dubbed the National Biomanufacturing Collaborative, the group intends to submit the proposal to the NSF this fall, according to BioRegion News. One regional center will build on the current work of the Northeast

Biomanufacturing Center and Collaborative (NBC2), a 35-school, 10-state alliance based at Great Bay Community College in Portsmouth, N.H. Other proposed hubs include IvyTech Community College in Indianapolis, MiraCosta College in San Diego, and the North Carolina Community College System. Other hubs are being considered in Puerto Rico, New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland, according to the newspaper.

Adopted by the ACCT Board of Directors, October 2000. * The term “board” refers to a community college board of trustees or appropriate governing authority.

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Corporate Council News Revisiting Our Charge, Making a Difference ACCT Corporate Council members had a very GOOD discussion during February’s Community College National Legislative Summit. ACCT Chair Lynda Stanley spoke passionately about the focus of the upcoming Leadership Congress in New York: “The American Promise: Combating Poverty through Education.” Council members support ACCT’s efforts to draw attention to this imperative and to remind community college leaders about the critical connection between their work and the opportunities to move people from poverty to self-sufficiency through the programs and services their institutions offer. ACCT Corporate Council members play varied roles in this regard. The services and expertise they offer assist boards and presidents in expanding the reach of their institutions and creating resource efficiencies in the administration and delivery of programs. There has been much made in the press lately about high-profile investigations involving corporate sponsorship of nonprofit organizations. The good news is that the corporate sector is focusing much more heavily on partnerships that support and elevate programming and content delivery to constituencies. The strength of the ACCT Corporate Council has been its role as expert advisers to the ACCT Board and management on opportunities to enhance and expand content to boards on cutting-edge issues, such as technology, student services, scholarship delivery and administration, construction, public policy, and other important concerns. With greater scrutiny on our sector, the ACCT Corporate Council will revisit its charge this autumn and explore ways in which we can be of even greater assistance to boards, helping them to understand and confront ever-changing issues of program delivery and college services. In addition, the autumn meeting affords us with an opportunity to hear about the key public policy challenges confronting boards and to revisit how the ACCT Corporate Council can continue providing expertise and assistance in addressing those challenges successfully. The summer months are upon us, but they are anything but lazy. The members of the ACCT Corporate Council are working hard to ensure that they focus on the needs of community colleges. These are exciting times. Greater opportunities exist for us to help ACCT meet the needs of boards and trustees. We look forward to continuing the dialogue and to the continuing opportunity to work with ACCT to make a difference.

The Association of Community College Trustees Corporate Council

Allsteel CampusWorks, Inc. EMSI/CCbenefits The College Board CollegeNet Datatel Educational Testing Service Global Financial Aid Services, Inc.

Jon Alexiou ACCT Corporate Council Chair

Parsons SunGard Higher Education TIAA-CREF Jacobs Carter Burgess

If your company is interested in becoming a member of ACCT’s Corporate Council, please contact Noah Brown at nbrown@acct.org or by phone at 202-775-4667.

GOVERNANCE leadership INSTITUTE on diversity August 3 – 5, 2008 Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort & Spa, Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico Call ACCT for more info at 866-895-ACCT (2228) ext. 130 Visit www.acct.org to register Hosted by Central New Mexico Community College | ACCT Diversity Committee

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A d v ocac y

Transparency and Accountability, or Just Confusion?

by Jee Hang Lee

Since the last reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (HEA), the political discourse in Washington, D.C., has focused on the increasing cost of post-secondary education as a whole. From the Spellings Commission on the Future of Higher Education to Congress, the rhetoric on this discourse has been lively. The recent funding increase in the Pell Grant program has also increased attention around holding colleges and universities more responsible for restraining costs. Furthermore, recent public polling shows growing anxiety about the rising cost of higher education. As Congress works to finalize the HEA, the proposed legislation promotes transparency and accountability as a way to draw public attention to the rising cost of higher education. The reauthorization would create a new playing field for institutions by including a number of new reporting requirements and lists. These lists are Congress’s way of trying to clamp down on college costs. The bill would create a series of “transparency lists,” requiring each institution to provide annual information on its tuition and fees, as well as its net price (tuition, fees, and cost of attendance minus student aid).

These lists would be posted on the Department of Education’s College Navigator Web site (http://nces. ed.gov/collegenavigator). All sectors of higher education will be part of the lists, but each list would only include institutions from its respective sector, such as four-year or two-year public institutions. Approximately 60 community colleges, or 5 percent of the sector, will be on each list.

Proposed HEA ‘Transparency Lists’ The top 5 percent of colleges with the highest tuition and fees.

As a sector, community colleges are not the driving force behind the discourse on rising costs. In 2007-08, the average tuition and fees for two-year public institutions was $2,361, according to the College Board. As public institutions with publicly elected or appointed trustees, community colleges are highly transparent and accountable to their respective local communities. However, trustees need to take a more vocal role with policymakers and community and business leaders about their institutions’ costs and benefits. It’s time to debunk the myth about the soaring price of community colleges. Your voices are vital in making this happen.

The top 5 percent of colleges with the highest net price. The top 5 percent of colleges with the largest percentage increase in tuition and fees.

GREG MABLY

The top 5 percent of colleges with the largest percentage increase in net price. The top 10 percent of colleges with the lowest tuition and fees. The top 10 percent of colleges with the lowest net price.

ACCT Director of Public Policy Jee Hang Lee can be reached by e-mail at jhlee@acct.org, or by phone at 202-775-4667.

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110 Congress Comm th

US Senate | 33 Members

State

As of July 8, 2008

Region Name Southern

Blanche Lincoln*

Southern

Mark Pryor

Pacific

John McCain

Pacific

Barbara Boxer

Northeast

Christopher Dodd

Northeast

Joe Lieberman

Southern

Saxby Chambliss

Southern

Johnny Isakson

Central

Charles Grassley

Central

Richard Durbin

Northeast

Edward Kennedy

Northeast

John Kerry

Northeast

Barbara Mikulski

Central

Debbie Stabenow

Southern

Thad Cochran

Southern

Roger Wicker*

Western

Jon Tester

Southern

Richard Burr*

Southern

Elizabeth Dole

Western

Kent Conrad

Western

Byron Dorgan

Western

Benjamin Nelson*

Western

Pete Domenici

Northeast

Charles Schumer

Pacific

Gordon Smith

Southern

Jim DeMint

Southern

Lindsey Graham

Southern

Lamar Alexander

Western

John Cornyn

Western

Kay Bailey Hutchison

Pacific

Maria Cantwell

Pacific

Patty Murray

Western

Michael Enzi

Party

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

St. DIST. Region Name 4

Southern Robert Aderholt

Southern Spencer Bachus

AR AR AR AZ AZ AZ CA CA CA CA CA CA CA CA CA CA CA CA CA CA CA CA CA CO CO CT CT CT DE FL FL FL FL FL FL FL FL FL FL FL FL

•

Co-Chair DEMOCRAT

• Independent • REPUBLICAN

IA IA IA

Are your local members of U.S. Congress missing from the Congressional Community College Caucus? Go to www.acct.org/policy and click “Policy Center” to send your representatives a letter urging them to join this important Caucus today.

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• • 1 Southern Marion Berry • 2 Southern Victor Snyder • 3 Southern John Boozman • 4 Southern Mike Ross • 1 Pacific Rick Renzi • 7 Pacific Raul Grijalva • 8 Pacific Gabrielle Giffords • 1 Pacific Mike Thompson • 10 Pacific Ellen Tauscher • 11 Pacific Jerry McNerney • 15 Pacific Mike Honda • 18 Pacific Dennis Cardoza • 20 Pacific Jim Costa • 23 Pacific Lois Capps • 28 Pacific Howard Berman • 29 Pacific Adam Schiff • 30 Pacific Henry Waxman • 34 Pacific Lucille Roybal-Allard • 37 Pacific Laura Richardson • 38 Pacific Grace Napolitano • 39 Pacific Linda Sanchez • 43 Pacific Joe Baca • 49 Pacific Darrell Issa • 51 Pacific Bob Filner • 2 Western Mark Udall • 3 Western John Salazar • 1 Northeast John Larson • 2 Northeast Joe Courtney • 4 Northeast Christopher Shays • AL Northeast Mike Castle* • 2 Southern Allen Boyd • 3 Southern Corrine Brown • 4 Southern Ander Crenshaw • 5 Southern Ginny Brown-Waite • 6 Southern Cliff Stearns • 8 Southern Ric Keller • 9 Southern Gus Bilirakis • 12 Southern Adam Putnam • 18 Southern Ileana Ros-Lehtinen • 21 Southern Lincoln Diaz-Balart • 23 Southern Alcee Hastings • 24 Southern Tom Feeney • DEL Pacific Madeleine Bordallo • 1 Central Bruce Braley • 2 Central Dave Loebsack • 4 Central Tom Latham* • 5 Central Steve King • 3 Central Dan Lipinski • 7 Central Danny Davis •

AL AR

IA IL IL

Party

unity College Caucus US House of Representatives | 205 Members St. DIST. Region Name

• • Central Jerry Costello • Central Bill Foster • Central Tim Johnson • Central Donald Manzullo • Central Phil Hare • Central Ray LaHood • Central Mike Pence • Central Brad Ellsworth • Central Baron Hill • Western Jerry Moran • Western Nancy Boyda • Western Dennis Moore • Western Todd Tiahrt • Central Ron Lewis • Central John Yarmouth • Central Geoff Davis • Central Harold Rogers • Central Ben Chandler • Northeast John Olver • Northeast James McGovern • Northeast Niki Tsongas • Northeast John Tierney • Northeast Mike Capuano • Northeast Dutch Ruppersberger • Northeast John Sarbanes • Northeast Albert Wynn • Northeast Elijah Cummings • Northeast Chris Van Hollen • Northeast Michael Michaud • Central Bart Stupak • Central Vernon Ehlers • Central Dave Camp • Central Dale Kildee • Central Fred Upton • Central Candice Miller • Central Thaddeus McCotter • Central Sandy Levin • Central John Conyers • Central John Kline • Central Jim Ramstad • Central Betty McCollum • Central Collin Peterson • Central James Oberstar • Central Wm. Lacy Clay • Central Russ Carnahan • Central Emanuel Cleaver • Central Kenny Hulshof • Southern Chip Pickering • Southern G.K. Butterfield •

10 Central

MD 2 MD 3 MD 4 MD 7 MD 8 ME

MI 10 MI

MN 2 MN 3 MN 4 MN 7 MN 8 MO 1 MO 3 MO 5 MO 9 MS

Party

Central

St. DIST. Region Name

As of July 8, 2008

Party

• • Southern Virginia Foxx • Southern Howard Coble • Southern Mike McIntyre • Southern Robin Hayes • Southern Patrick McHenry • Southern Mel Watt • Southern Brad Miller* • Southern Heath Shuler • Western Earl Pomeroy • Western Lee Terry • Western Adrian Smith • Northeast Robert Andrews • Northeast Frank LoBiondo • Northeast Jim Saxton • Northeast Chris Smith • Northeast Mike Ferguson • Northeast Bill Pascrell • Northeast Steve Rothman • Northeast Rodney Frelinghuysen • Northeast Rush Holt • Northeast Albio Sires • Western Tom Udall • Northeast Tim Bishop • Northeast Steve Israel • Northeast Carolyn Maloney • Northeast Eliot Engel • Northeast John McHugh • Central Patrick Tiberi • Central Betty Sutton • Western Dan Boren • Western Frank Luca • Western Tom Cole • Western Mary Fallin • Pacific David Wu* • Pacific Greg Walden • Pacific Earl Blumenauer • Pacific Peter DeFazio • Pacific Darlene Hooley • Northeast Robert Brady • Northeast Chaka Fattah • Northeast Jason Altmire • Northeast John Peterson • Northeast Jim Gerlach • Northeast Joe Sestak • Northeast Patrick Murphy • Northeast Paul Kanjorski • Northeast John Murtha • Northeast Allyson Schwartz • Northeast Charles Dent •

St. DIST. Region Name

Melissa Bean

Southern Bob Etheridge

17 Northeast Tim Holden

Mark Kirk

Southern David Price

DEL Southern Luis Fortuno

Southern Henry Brown

Southern Joe Wilson

Southern Gresham Barrett

Southern Bob Inglis

Southern John Spratt

Southern James Clyburn

Southern John Duncan

Southern Zach Wamp

Southern Jim Cooper

Southern Bart Gordon

Southern John Tanner

Southern Steve Cohen

Western

Sam Johnson

Western

Jeb Hensarling

Western

Al Green

11 Western

Mike Conaway

15 Western

Ruben Hinojosa

17 Western

Chet Edwards

19 Western

Randy Neugebauer

23 Western

Ciro Rodriguez

24 Western

Kenny Marchant

25 Western

Lloyd Doggett

27 Western

Solomon Ortiz

29 Western

Gene Green

30 Western

Eddie B. Johnson

32 Western

Pete Sessions

Western

Rob Bishop

Southern Robert Wittman

Southern Robert Scott

Southern Randy Forbes

Southern Virgil Goode

Southern Bob Goodlatte

Southern Rick Boucher

10 Southern Frank Wolf

11 Southern Tom Davis

Pacific

Jay Inslee

Pacific

Rick Larsen

Pacific

Brian Baird

Pacific

Cathy M. Rodgers

Pacific

Norman Dicks

Pacific

Jim McDermott

Pacific

Dave Reichert

Pacific

Adam Smith

Central

Paul Ryan

Central

Tammy Baldwin

Central

Ron Kind

Central

Thomas Petri

Southern Alan Mollohan

Western

NC 14 ND

NJ 2 NJ

NM 3 NY

PA 6 PA

Barbara Cubin

T R U S T E E Q U A RT E R LY S U M M E R 2 0 0 8

Party

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 11

Sustainability

Green Collar Jobs: The Next Industrial Revolution

Green Jobs While green jobs are being created in a variety of fields, the largest number of

s u m m e r 2 0 0 8 T RUS T EE Q U A R T ER L Y

new positions in sustainable development likely will relate to the area of energy efficiency, which includes retrofitting and auditing buildings and installing energy-saving appliances, according to Susan Christopherson, the J. Thomas Clark Professor of City and Regional Planning at Cornell University. “The reason that energy efficiency is potentially going to produce more jobs is that we’re all going to have to be engaged in retrofitting our houses and our commercial and public buildings to make them more energy efficient,” she says. It is within the energy efficiency arena that most training programs have been cropping up on community college campuses. Cedar Valley College in Lancaster, Tex., for example, started an Energy Efficient Green Building Institute two years ago that trains students to create energy-efficient homes in both new and existing housing stock. Since 85

percent of the program is offered online, it has attracted students from across Texas, according to Jennifer Wimbish, president of Cedar Valley College. The college is now evaluating the value of adding a program in solar technology, based on the demand from Texas companies. After speaking in April at a panel in Austin that examined the state of solar power in Texas, Wimbish was bombarded by company representatives who want to hire technicians. “I bet there were easily 60 or 70 solar companies in the room,” she says, “and all of these people were running to me because they need technicians now.”

Supply and Demand Before training programs are created, Christopherson cautions that two conditions must be in place: cities and states have to create a market by passing laws mandating the use of renewable

dan page

With demand for environmentally savvy technicians skyrocketing, community colleges are establishing flexible training programs to meet the needs of the emerging clean-energy economy. Less than two years after California launched a $3.3 billion program to install solar power on a million roofs across the state, Sierra College, a community college near Sacramento, received a $468,000 state grant to train students in photovoltaic technology. With 36 solar companies in the region employing nearly 400 people, the college will fill a gap in training for the estimated 130 jobs that will be added to the field each year. While California may be ahead of other states in priming the job market in sustainable development, community colleges across the country are establishing training programs to prepare students for emerging “greencollar” jobs. Not only are two-year colleges adding associate degrees in fields such as renewable energy, they also are revamping existing programs such as automotive technology by infusing them with green principles. “Providing associate degrees is one of the most important things you can do in the new clean-energy economy,” says Kate Gordon, national program director of the Apollo Alliance, a San Franciscobased coalition that promotes sustainable energy policies and initiatives. “It’s not all about hiring technical people with four-year college degrees. A lot of the jobs will require a two-year associate degree because they’re in the trades.”

by Sherrie Negrea

who has consulted with administrators at Merritt College in Oakland, Calif., about preparing students for solar technology jobs. “Trained installers are definitely hard to come by.”

energy or sustainable building practices; and governments have to provide incentives such as low-cost loans for homeowners and businesses to retrofit buildings or switch to renewable energy. “There has to be a connection between the creation of the market and the creation of incentives and job training,” Christopherson says. “These things all have to be tied together to create jobs.” While jobs in the solar power field have been multiplying in California as a result of that state’s initiative, demand for photovoltaic technicians is spreading across the country as other states strengthen their incentive programs. Mike Hall, president of Borego Solar Systems Inc., based in Berkeley, Calif., says his company expanded into New England last year after attractive state rebate programs made the region an emerging solar market. “It’s a growing industry that essentially wasn’t here five years ago,” says Hall,

“Providing associate degrees is one of the

Get the LEED Out

most important things

As new technologies and energy-saving devices enter the market, community colleges are prepared to step in and provide job training because they are equipped to adapt quickly to shifting employment trends. Onondaga Community College in Syracuse, N.Y., was awarded a $700,000 state grant last year to create a Sustainability Institute that will offer degrees in energy and environmental systems, as well as automotive technology. This spring, students also completed the college’s first-ever course in photovoltaic training, a partnership with the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse. “We are responding to the demands of employers who are already hiring people in these green-collar jobs, and we are also preparing people for jobs that are emerging — and by all indications, will be there in the future,” says Debbie Sydow, president of Onondaga Community College. One growing need is employees who can help developers design buildings that qualify for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification. “The pool of people out there who understand the rapidly changing world of LEED certification and green technology is becoming larger and larger, which is why you see developers taking a harder look at understanding it,” says David W. Murphy, chair of the Onondaga

you can do in the new clean-energy economy.”

Community College Board of Trustees and president of Pioneer Companies, a development firm in Syracuse. “So many people are just beginning to wake up to sustainability, which I maintain is at the dead center of the community college mission,” says Rusty Stephens, president of Wilson Community College in Wilson, N.C. “I believe that [sustainability is] so fundamental that it’s going to allow us to reinvent ourselves within the context of a new framework of thought, a new relationship to our communities, and certainly a whole new curriculum content. I believe it is nothing less than the next industrial revolution.” The next issue of Trustee Quarterly will examine how sustainability saves money in construction and operating costs on college campuses. Sherrie Negrea is a writer for the Institute for Community College Development at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y. She can be reached at ICCD@cornell.edu.

T RUS T EE Q U A R T ER L Y s u m m e r 2 0 0 8

Accountability in the

Electronic Age Technology has made sweeping changes in the responsibilities faced by trustees — and provided new tools to promote transparency and make inroads into their communities. By Mark Toner

TAccountability he morning of February 8 is one

that people at the Louisiana Technical College

Baton Rouge Campus would rather forget. When a 23-year-old student walked into

a classroom with a .357 revolver just before 8:30 a.m., killing two classmates before taking her own life, the

school took center stage locally and nationally. Besides

in the

the obvious attention to the tragedy of the event, it would

Electronic Age also set an example for a timely and effective response to an unexpected, violent incident on a college campus.

Police arrived within two minutes of the first 911 calls, and LTC Baton Rouge immediately activated its emergency response plan. Students were kept in classrooms for two hours, while college officials coordinated with Baton Rouge police and state officials on the investigation and a safe dismissal procedure. The college’s Web site was updated throughout the day, keeping a step ahead of the relentless 24/7 news cycle by providing information as officials received it. At noon, the site confirmed that “the two victims and shooter were students at the LTC Baton Rouge Campus. Their identities have not been released at this time, but their ages are known — 21, 23, and 26.”

Illustration by Carl Wiens

T R U S T E E Q U A R T E R L Y su m m er 2 0 0 8

“Rather than waiting until the next morning to pick up the newspaper, within an hour of the board meeting, it’s up on the Web site.”

By day’s end, the site included a statement from Louisiana Community and Technical College System President Dr. Joe May, who began by “acknowledging the rapid and professional response of Dr. Kay McDaniel, Regional Director for the LTC Region 2, and her staff in handling this tragedy.” The incident was a reminder of the importance of wellexecuted emergency-response plans — and the responsibilities trustees face in a world in which the stakes are higher than ever before. Emergency plans are “an area trustees should continue to examine and probe for new ideas as part of their oversight role,” says ACCT General Counsel Ira Michael Shepard (see p. 26). More and more community college trustees have done just that, and in recent months boards in several states have debated whether to let campus security officials carry guns. But oversight and accountability don’t only come into play during crisis situations. The proliferation of the Internet within virtually every aspect of daily life and the never-ending 24-hour news cycle — via television, newspapers, magazines, the Internet, and even mobile phones — has placed trustees’ day-to-day roles as stewards and spokespeople for their community colleges under even greater scrutiny. Technology has changed trustees’ roles in the same way it has altered other professionals’ responsibilities throughout the world. Information can be acquired in an instant — from both reliable and unreliable sources, it’s worth noting — and people can stay in constant communication by way of e-mail, instant messaging, cell phones, PDAs such as Blackberries, and other means. But the rapid pace of technological change has also given college boards new ways to reach out to their communities — and tools to promote transparency at a time when the need to be immediately responsive has become as expected as finding something to watch on 500 cable channels or reading one of a million stories instantly accessible at a click of Google’s “I feel lucky” button. “Accountability is now 24/7,” says ACCT President and CEO J. Noah Brown.

Information Overload During her nearly nine years as a trustee, Kathy Wessel has watched as local media coverage of her board meetings has been transformed by the Web. “Stories are posted on the local newspapers’ Web sites immediately,” says Wessel, a trustee of the College of DuPage and

su m m er 2 0 0 8 T R U S T E E Q U A R T E R L Y

president of the Illinois Community College Trustees Association (ICCTA). “Rather than waiting until the next morning to pick up the newspaper, within an hour of the board meeting, it’s up on the Web site.” So far, so good. But one of the newspapers allows readers to post comments about news stories — and “of course, they respond anonymously,” Wessel adds, admitting that she “checks them out, but I don’t take them very seriously. It’s made it more interesting.” In both good ways and bad, the Internet has led to a massive increase in the amount of information trustees must now sift through. Media relations staffs at many colleges have long compiled coverage of the college across various outlets — television, radio, and now, the Internet — to keep trustees up to speed on what goes out every day. Because of the proliferation of news sources, the monthly report of media “hits” included in the board members’ monthly meeting packets have ballooned, and they often include clippings from sources far from the colleges’ local areas. While college trustees are working as hard as they can to keep up with the technology, in many ways technology also makes the work easier and faster due to its immediacy. Board management software, for instance, promises to streamline the work of keeping trustees well-informed and well-organized. Such tools help schedule meetings and communicate information to trustees, as well as keep information about board members in a secure, centralized location. The tools, usually Web-based, are also used to collate and electronically distribute documents ahead of meetings. Quick access to information is critical for trustees charged with making decisions that can impact their institutions for decades. For example, online searches using Google, Yahoo! and similar search engines can yield information about candidates in the midst of presidential searches. At the same time, though, there are limitations to becoming overly reliant on technology — and the potential for serious problems. “There’s a place for technology, and times where technology doesn’t have a place,” says ACCT Vice President Dr. Narcisa Polonio, who has sourced scores of presidential and executive candidates for two-year institutions (see pp. 28-29). “The Internet can be a great tool, but at the end of the day, conscientious and thorough searches require old-fashioned, face-to-face contact even more than data mining. Who a person is as a human being has everything to do with how effective she or he will be as an executive in charge of an educational institution.”

When Searching Doesn’t Involve Google Polonio points to how an ill-timed Google search once threatened to do considerable damage to a presidential search on one community college campus. During the search, a faculty member did a search of his own, and found one candidate named as a party in a lawsuit. The faculty member “spread that information across the campus” — without being aware that in most lawsuits against institutions, the president is named as a defendant. “It had nothing to do with the president,” Polonio says. “A lot of damage control had to take place to make sure the candidate would be treated the way they should be.” “Lots of things can be misinterpreted,” she adds. At the same time, community colleges can use their own Web sites as a way to communicate information about ongoing searches — including timetables, announcements of the finalists and selection criteria — as a way to keep the entire community informed, according to Polonio. “It allows everyone to get the same information at the same time from an accurate source,” she says. “What I like about that most is that it’s an instrument that equalizes the distribution of information” — particularly important for community colleges with high commuter student populations who can keep abreast of developments from their computers at home. At the same time college communities may be scouring the Internet for information about prospective candidates, those candidates often look to the Web as a key source about prospective jobs. “The college’s Web site becomes a recruitment tool,” Polonio says, including information not just about the position but also links to such material as strategic plans, budgets, accreditation reports and community organizations such as chambers of commerce. The logistics of many searches, including all those conducted with the assistance of ACCT, are now conducted almost exclusively online, with applications and communications with candidates exchanged electronically, according to Polonio. On balance, the Internet has provided “more positives than negatives,” she says.

Bobby Knight, E-mail, and Open Meetings Most people are probably familiar with Bobby Knight’s name for one reason or another. Arguably as well known for his public outbursts as his basketball championships, the legendary coach now has a new, somewhat dubious distinction to add to his list of accomplishments: an open-meetings provision unofficially named in his honor. When Myles Brand, then president of Indiana University, decided in 2000 that he wanted to fire Knight, he convened the university’s board of trustees during Homecoming weekend. To skirt open meeting laws that would have required public notice of a meeting at a time IU alumni were present on campus in large numbers, Brand held a series of meetings with trustees in different rooms of his house — each room holding too few board members to constitute the quorum that would trigger the public-notification requirement. Nearly seven years later, the state’s governor signed into a law a provision that effectively barred such “serial meetings,” a move that’s been repeated in several other states.

Most community colleges don’t have world-class basketball programs, but they still must remain up-to-date on such changes to open-meeting laws. “The press is very watchful, and is always looking to make sure we haven’t violated the open meetings act,” says Wessel, adding that ICCTA discusses changes in open meetings laws during its legal update seminars every year. “We are made constantly aware of what’s appropriate and what isn’t,” she says. “We’re very conscientious about following the law to the letter.” As e-mail has replaced letters, however, much of the focus on open meetings and freedom of information laws has centered on that form of electronic communication. At the College of DuPage, board members consulted with their attorney and developed a policy, which now is posted on the college’s Web site (www.cod. edu), according to Wessel. Aside from information such as the meeting packets and memos from the board office and the college’s president, very little communication — and no business whatsoever — happens online. “We occasionally communicate one-on-one, but not with great frequency — and when we do, we do it with great care,” Wessel says. “The chairman, for example, doesn’t send out information to the whole board and doesn’t ask for responses. Our attorneys have been very good with this, and we’ve been scrupulous because we want to be as transparent as we possibly can.” While technology such as e-mail presents new challenges, it also provides new ways for trustees to stay connected to their duties. Technology has made it easier for trustees to stay apprised of legislative issues and improve their own knowledge of their role. “There’s a real interest in communicating and learning what’s going on in other places — and from each other,” Wessel says. ACCT Public Policy Director Jee Hang Lee has maintained regular updates about federal legislation of importance to community college trustees on ACCT’s Web site (www.acct.org) for some time now. Because of the timeliness and facility of e-mail, he recently began a “Latest Legal Action in Washington E-Alert” newsletter to update ACCT members on public policy and ACCT’s advocacy efforts virtually minutes after he gets wind of changes in legislation. “Years ago, the telephone was the only way to let people know about important actions taking place on Capitol Hill, and there was no way to call everyone who needed and wanted to know,” Lee says. “E-mail and Web sites have made what used to be impossible possible, and thanks to these technologies community college trustees can make better-informed decisions and become involved in the political process.” Changing technologies have also made it easier for trustees to reach out to their communities. Growing numbers of community colleges, for example, are televising their board meetings — or broadcasting them on the Internet — reaching new audiences and ensuring transparency (see story, pp. 20-22). One thing is certain: Navigating the ongoing technological changes that are continually reshaping society will likely remain a continuous learning process.

T R U S T E E Q U A R T E R L Y su m m er 2 0 0 8

Around Regions the

high-demand fields for the first time this summer — including courses in nursing, surgical technician, occupational therapy, and dental hygiene.

central Region The Eastern Iowa Community College District (EICCD) signed an admissions partnership agreement with Iowa State University in May, making it easier for students from Clinton Community College, Muscatine Community College, and Scott Community College to transfer to the four-year university. ISU piloted the program in 2006 with the Des Moines Area Community College. With the agreement with EICCD, Iowa State now has partnership agreements with every community college in the state. Kentucky’s Community and Technical College System Board of Regents passed a budget including $13.5 million in cuts and the elimination of 240 positions across the system’s 16 colleges. Most cuts would be met by not filling open positions and through attrition, state officials said. A decline in state budget appropriations forced the cuts, officials said. Growing enrollments, limited space and tight budgets are prompting the Wayne County Community College District and other Michigan community colleges to close classes in

Michigan’s funding for community colleges has dropped 9 percent since 2002 and funding to replace the district’s northwest campus is in doubt after the state stripped higher education projects from a capital outlay budget that would have paid for half of the $42 million project.

NORTHEAST Region Massachusetts education officials are calling for a unified statewide transfer system between community colleges and four-year institutions. About half of all transfer students come from state public institutions, a task force said. With a $1.33 million grant, New Jersey has renewed funding for an innovative Basic Skills Workforce Training Program, which in its first year trained over 3,500 people employed by 226 New Jersey businesses. The program is a partnership among the New Jersey Business & Industry Association, the

s u m m e r 2 0 0 8 T RUS T EE Q U A R T ER L Y

state’s 19 community colleges, which provide the training through the NJ Community College Consortium for Workforce and Economic Development, and the NJ Department of Labor and Workforce Development, which supplies the funding.

a network of resources from various institutions. Supporters tout the district’s high poverty rate and low numbers of residents with college degrees — just 14 percent have attended some college or hold a two-year degree.

The second year of the program began in June. Over the next 12 months, it will be open to private-sector employers seeking training for their employees in basic computer operations, mathematics and measurement, verbal and written communications, and English as a second language.

A local hospital system created a scholarship program for high school graduates in Buffalo, New York, who enroll in registered nurse programs at Erie Community College, Genesee Community College, or Niagara Community College. With 300 nursing vacancies at Keledia Health, the scholarships require a three-year work commitment with the company after graduating.

New Hampshire’s seven state community colleges will keep tuition rates level for the upcoming year, at $175 per credit hour. The system’s aid fund also grew by 25 percent, providing nearly $600,000 in scholarships. The decision was part of a twoyear plan to keep community college costs level in New Hampshire, where costs have been among the nation’s highest, officials say. A group of community leaders in the District of Columbia are calling for the creation of the district’s first community college. The Brookings Institution, the D.C. Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, and the D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute, along with city council members and officials at the University of the District of Columbia are exploring options, including starting a free-standing community college, creating one within UDC, or building

Pacific Region Washington’s State Board of Community and Technical Colleges launched a Web site to encourage high school students to attend community and technical colleges. The site, www.checkoutacollege. com, includes a statewide search engine and a career selfassessment test, along with information about financial aid. The incoming chancellor of California’s community

college system is already pushing to increase accountability within the 109-campus system. State Sen. Jack Scott will become chancellor in January 2009, but as the current chairman of the state’s assembly’s Higher Education Committee, he is promoting a bill in the state legislature that would require increased reporting across a wide range of areas, including costs, graduation rates, diversity and job placement. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger restored $236.2 million in funding for community colleges in 2008-09. In January, more than $500 million in cuts to community college funding were made to address a $24 billion state budget deficit.

form the Community Colleges Association of Texas Trustees. Led by Roberto Zárate, chair of the board of Alamo Community College in San Antonio, the group intends to push for a bigger share of the state’s higher education budget for the next biennium. Last fall, community colleges accounted for 60 percent of higher education budget in the next biennium. A task force appointed by the state’s legislature is working with the Wyoming Community College Commission to study the state’s seven community colleges, along with workforce development and capital construction issues. The Community College Task Force plans to review written input submitted by commission members by November, at which time it will provide a report to the state’s legislative education committee, which could draft new laws based on its findings.

western Region Following Gov. Rick Perry’s attempted veto of $154 million of funding for Texas community colleges at the end of the state’s last legislative session, trustees from community colleges across the state have joined forces to

Southern Region Florida Gov. Charlie Crist signed into law a bill allowing community colleges to award

four-year degrees, particularly in teaching, nursing, and applied sciences. The bill creates the Florida College System Task Force, comprised of community college presidents and other higher education leaders, to explore criteria for new baccalaureate degree programs. The law also created a State College Project, in which nine community colleges will begin offering additional four-year degrees. They are: • Chipola College, Marianna • Daytona Beach College, Daytona • Edison College, Fort Myers • Indian River College, Fort Pierce • Miami-Dade College, Miami-Dade • Okaloosa-Walton College, Niceville • Polk College, Winter Haven • Santa Fe College, Gainesville • St. Petersburg College, St. Petersburg Alabama’s community college system will not increase tuition for the fourth year running, Community College System Chancellor Bradley Byrne announced in late spring. Tuition and fees at the state’s community and technical colleges have averaged $90 per credit hour since the fall of 2004. Five North Carolina community colleges received a $733,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education to attract high

school dropouts to their campuses to learn workforce skills. The programs at Pamlico Community College, Pitt Community College in Winterville, South Piedmont Community College in Monroe, Davidson Community College in Lexington, and Forsyth Technical Community College in Winston-Salem will complement dropoutprevention programs at state high schools, officials said. “This is not a case of people who aren’t able to learn. It is a case of people who are not academically prepared,” Vonna Vigilone of the office of strategic planning and initiatives for the state community college system, told the Sun Journal. “Community colleges can be valuable in preparing people to work.” As Virginia’s community college system nears the end of its Dateline 2009 strategic plan, it will hold town meetings across the state to help shape its next six-year plan. Over the past six years, enrollment has reached record levels — 240,000 students in 2007 — while tuition costs have remained at one-third the level of public four-year institutions. The system is also on track to meet its goal of expanding workforce training programs by 80 percent, Chancellor Glenn DuBois said in a statement.

Around the Regions provides an opportunity to share what’s happening in the states and around the regions. This section focuses on state legislative and budgetary issues, economic development and finance. Please e-mail items from press releases or newsletters to ACCT at acctinfo@acct.org. Fax submissions to 202-223-1297.

T RUS T EE Q U A R T ER L Y s u m m e r 2 0 0 8

Her

eThere

Trustees use the Internet and other technologies to make sure they stay connected with their boards — and their communities.

By Mark Toner

Everywhere

ometimes, it can’t be helped:

Trustees occasionally have to be in two places at once. Board meetings can be

scheduled

after

cross-country

trips

have

been

booked;

personal

business can crop up unexpectedly. Depending on the state, public meeting laws often forbid proxy votes or voice votes over the phone. But if

Carl Wiens

board bylaws permit it, another option does exist: videoconferencing. At times, trustees have used the technology — often available at a local FedEx Kinko’s or similar franchise — to attend critical board meetings, even when they’re on the opposite side of the country. Many community colleges already use videoconferencing technology for classroom instruction, and all it basically requires is an ISDN connection and a camera on the remote end to make it work. Of course, the technology has its downsides as well. Because videoconferencing is so easy to use, it’s always possible that it could

make it easier for board members to avoid attending meetings, some trustees say. One trustee who paid the $600 out-of-pocket cost of a recent teleconferencing session during a board meeting suggests making trustees responsible for all costs to dissuade frivolous requests to participate remotely. After all, even with the advantages of available technology, videoconferencing and similar electronic means of communication can’t replace face-to-face contact for building and maintaining relationships and trust.

T R U S T E E Q U A RT E R LY

su m m er 2 0 0 8

“When people have access to information, they feel empowered. [Technology has] been invaluable in providing access and transparency.” — Tracy Daly South Orange County Community College District

Online, Any Time

Televised Meetings: C-SPAN or Spam?

As with videoconferencing, technology holds the promise of extending connections to communities and constituencies, especially when in-person contact is difficult or impossible. At many schools, board meetings are piped across campuses via the school’s closed-circuit television systems or intranets. But in California, several community college districts are now using the Internet to let anyone watch board meetings online, at any time. The South Orange County Community College District (SOCCCD) in Mission Viejo, Calif., has televised board of trustees meetings via public-access cable television for a decade, says Tracy Daly, the district’s director of public affairs and intergovernmental relations. To ensure the system’s 2,500 employees could watch the meetings as well, SOCCCD also had placed videotapes, and then DVDs, in the schools’ libraries. “Very few people attend board meetings, even though they impact thousands and thousands of students,” Daly says. As staff watched local city governments start broadcasting their own public meetings online, they began researching ways to bring the district’s meetings to larger audiences. A key concern was ensuring that large video files of the two-hour meetings — or the high bandwidth requirements of streaming video — wouldn’t slow the district’s computer networks to a crawl. SOCCCD ultimately partnered with a video-streaming company called Granicus (www.granicus.com), which began posting the board of trustees meetings online in August 2007. “Because it’s a streaming video, it doesn’t bog down our servers at all,” Daly says. “[The video] is on a Granicus server in another state.” While board meetings typically draw as many as 100 members of the public when a high-interest topic is under consideration, more than 1,000 people now watch some or all of each meeting online, Daly says. The online broadcasts are also accompanied by a hyperlinked list of agenda items for each meeting; clicking on an agenda item cues the video directly to that part of the discussion. “Before, they would have to watch for an hour or more and not know exactly where any specific part of the discussion was going to be, or they’d have to tape it and fast-forward through it,” Daly says. “Now they can go online and click on the item they want to know about and hear the board members deliberate.” Since the video streaming began nearly a year ago, the amount of misinformation and calls seeking clarity about board decisions has dropped dramatically, according to Daly. “When people have access to information, they feel empowered,” she says. “It’s been invaluable in terms of providing access and transparency.”

While the number of community colleges that currently post board meetings online is still the minority, those that are doing so are continuing a practice that began more than a decade ago when the first schools began broadcasting trustee meetings on public-access cable networks. Consider it the community college version of C-SPAN, the public affairs channel that began airing Congressional proceedings during the dawn of the cable-television era. One board chair admits that she “wasn’t totally sold” on the idea of televising board meetings when the technology first surfaced at her campus about six years ago. “I felt board members might take advantage of that,” she said. To be sure, there’s always the potential that board members will play to the camera as they make sound bite-worthy speeches that do little to advance the board’s agenda. Incorporating new technologies into governance processes inevitably presents new challenges, but those who are willing to face those challenges are finding new opportunities for better communication. Broadcasting board meetings helps trustees reach larger audiences, ensuring greater transparency. “People I never would have thought would watch” the meetings are watching, according to one board member. Another big hit on public-access television: replays of graduation ceremonies, which are aired repeatedly to ensure anyone with a vested interest in a matriculating student can watch. In Illinois, audio recordings of trustee board meetings have been available on the College of DuPage’s Web site (www.cod.edu) for nearly a year. While “I’ve never had anybody come up to me and say, ‘Gee, I listened to your podcast,’ that doesn’t mean that they don’t,” says Trustee Kathy Wessel, president of the Illinois Community College Trustees Association (ICCTA). Reporters have also used the podcasts to go back and re-listen to key parts of meetings, she adds. Now the school is getting ready to televise those meetings on its own public-access station, which is rebroadcast by all the cable companies that serve DuPage County. “We’ve talked about it a little, but not in a really serious vein,” Wessel says. “Maybe the first meeting or two might be slightly uncomfortable, but I don’t anticipate it changing things.” Having talked to K-12 school board members who’ve had their own meetings televised for some time, she was advised that “after the first meeting or two, you forget the camera’s even there,” she adds. “I expect that’s what will happen.”

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T R U S T E E Q U A RT E R LY

Tech

Tools & Tips

for Trustees

CCTV & VIDEOCONFERENCING TIPS Broadcasting or recording board proceedings and other meetings gives those who cannot be present the opportunity to observe the meetings at a later date. When taking advantage of this technology to improve transparency, always remember: • Everything that is stated is being recorded, so great diligence must be paid to use of language and adherence to policy. • As a member of the board, your full attention should be given to the agenda and discussion — not to the camera. • These technologies should be used only after verifying that policy allows for them, and making sure that any necessary changes have been made to bylaws.

INTERNET TIPS Just about everything can be found online these days — and that includes every e-mail sent, and every document posted online. Here are some things to remember when taking advantage of what the Internet has to offer: • Everything that passes through an Internet server, including e-mail messages, blog and message board posts, and even Web sites that have been visited, may be recorded forever and retrieved at any time. Use extreme care when communicating anything online, and keep in mind that what you write or attach can come back to haunt you. The good news for boards and for business is that this well-known byproduct of Internet technology has led to greater attention to staying on point and remaining accountable. • Google and related search engines and “cloud applications” are powerful and increasingly indispensable tools for research and for certain programs. However, bear in mind that all Internet-based searches and programs are tracked. Also remember that the Internet is still a storehouse for false, unverified, and out of date information. When conducting research for presidential searches, proposals, or for any other reason, make sure to use only reputable Web sites as information sources. Also, be sure that the information is up to date, and that what you’ve found is the full story and not abridged or incomplete.

MOBILE PHONE/PDA TIPS Remember pagers? Many of us remember when these devices, and then cell phones when they were new, were seen as both technological marvels — and considerable nuisances. These days, it seems everyone has at least one mobile phone and a personal digital assistant (PDA). But most of us still resent how intrusive they can be, especially during critical public events such as board meetings. • Be considerate with mobile devices. Turn your Blackberry off during meetings whenever possible — and if you can’t, explain to your colleagues that you will limit your use as much as possible during the meeting. • Many of us store our entire professional lives — schedules, confidential and personal e-mail messages, budgets and other attachments, and contact information — on our Blackberries or PDAs. Back up the information on your electronic devices often in case you break or lose them, and secure access to your devices with a password so strangers will not have access to important and highly sensitive information if they find it. Better yet, try to keep any highly sensitive information on a laptop computer that stands a lesser chance of being lost or stolen, and password-protect the machine.

ACCT’s Governance Leadership Institute

70 participants — 18 states/territories

chairs

vice-chairs

board members

presidents

11 4 44 11

46 completed evaluations

89%

of responses rated the Institute as “very good to outstanding.”

Talent and Experience Seventy board chairs, trustees and presidents traveled to San Antonio, TeX., to participate in ACCT’s Governance Leadership Institute on April 13 – 15. Attendees worked in an interactive learning environment which included timely and important topics related to governance. Here are a few highlights and comments about the institute:

a new board member, I was able “toAslearn a lot about the role, goals and mission of trustees. ”

all the trustees on my “If onlyboard would take these suggestions and use them!” 24

S U M M E R 2 0 0 8 T R U S T E E Q U A RT E R LY

Above: ACCT extends sincere thanks to the Alamo Community College District for hosting a reception for Institute attendees at the beautiful Koehler Cultural Center on the San Antonio College campus. Food, entertainment and transportation were provided by the Alamo Community College District, and beverages were provided by the Alamo Community College District Foundation. Below: While at the reception, attendees participated in the traditional GLI T-shirt exchange.

On The Agenda • Key Indicators of an Effective Board • Understanding Leadership and Group/Team Dynamics • The Role of the Leadership Team of the Board • Board/CEO Relationship • Running Effective Meetings • Public Speaking Techniques & Handling the Media • Team Building & Planning • Board Self-Assessment as a Leadership Tool • Elements of a Leadership Plan

“A great learning experience.” “What I learned will help me be a better chairman.” An ACCT Governance Leadership Institute was held June 20 – 22 in Washington, D.C., and a special GLI focusing on diversity on community college campuses is slated for August 3 – 5 in Santa Ana Pueblo, N.M. Visit www.acct.org/events/ institute for more information and to register.

T R U S T E E Q U A R T E R L Y S ummer 2 0 0 8

legal

Oversight in an Electronic Age by Ira Michael Shepard ACCT General Counsel

s u m m e r 2 0 0 8 T RUS T EE Q U A R T ER L Y

strides in efficiency that interlace every element of a college’s administrative and communications networks. Along with these benefits come the responsibility of ensuring that the college’s overall community, including employees and students, do not abuse electronic communications. Community college policies on employee use of communications systems must be reviewed periodically to protect the college from liability. On the student front, intellectual property, privacy, and harassment are important issues that must be addressed by college policy. The proactive trustee should periodically ask questions to make sure these issues are being properly addressed. The trustee’s age-old stewardship of the college’s reputation in the local community — and on a state, national, and sometimes even international level — is of added importance in today’s complex and interrelated world. Proactive

probing on curriculum, employee relations, financial responsibility, and the issues discussed here ultimately will enhance the college’s reputation. Contingency planning for unforeseeable and unavoidable developments is just as important in minimizing the impact and communicating the community college’s side during potentially challenging times. While this article transcends my usual discussion of current legal issues, it is important to revisit the big picture of trustee responsibility and chronicle new developments that are largely quasi-legal, but have a direct impact on the day-to-day responsibilities that each trustee must address and fulfill. Ira Michael Shepard is co-managing partner with the law firm of Saul Ewing, LLP, in Washington, D.C., and ACCT’s general counsel.

It is no secret that our ever-MORE complex world has brought renewed concern over the traditional issues that have long faced trustees in their stewardship of colleges. Adherence to the institution’s mission statement, monitoring the budget, and overseeing presidential performance will always be the trustee’s basic responsibilities. However, recent technological and societal developments have added new twists to old concerns and added new areas that require a trustee’s continued vigilance and oversight. Student, faculty, and public safety have always been a concern, but the recent emergence of multiple shootings at higher education institutions in all corners of our country have forced a reexamination of traditional campus safety issues. Dusting off and modernizing old security and safety plans should be a priority for every board. It is an area trustees should continue to examine and probe for new ideas as part of their oversight role. The green movement is here and has been embraced by higher education. Community colleges are heavy users of energy, as well as a continuing source of new construction and renovation. Community colleges should provide leadership by example through their support of environmentally conscious building and renovation projects, as well as smart and safe energy use — which also can help cut staggering energy costs. Trustees should be proactive in this area. The dividends of being a leader in energy savings benefit our colleges, our communities, our country, and the world. Very few areas of activity have such a broad potential to do good. The advent of electronic communication has brought with it great

www.acct.org has a new look!

When you visit www.acct.org, you can now: > Update your member profile > Contribute to ACCT’s new ‘show and tell’ section > Navigate the site with easy color coded sections > Locate information about how to become involved in your Association > Read past issues of publications > Contact ACCT to find out how we can serve you

> Send a letter through ACCT’s Legislative Action Center > Increase or decrease text size to fit your needs > Sign up for news and alerts > Register for meetings and events > So much more!

PRESIDENTIAL SEARCHES The Board Leadership Services staff and consultants of the Association of Community College Trustees are pleased to have assisted in the search for the following community college chief executive officers.

Ohlone College, CA Dr. Gari Browning President

Rich Mountain Community College, AR Dr. Wayne Hatcher President

Former Vice President of Instruction

Former Vice President of Student Services

College of the Desert, CA

Labette Community College, KS

“The Board believes that Dr. Browning is the best fit for Ohlone College at this time. We all look forward to working with Dr. Browning to build upon the great work of Ohlone College.” — Garrett Yee, Board of Trustees President

“We had a wonderful pool of applicants and we are pleased with the process. We appreciate the assistance of ACCT and the input provided the Board by the faculty, staff, and community. We look forward to the continued progress and prosperity of the College.” — Randolph Emerson, RMCC Board of Trustees Chairman

Illinois Valley Community College, IL Dr. Jerome Corcoran President Former Vice-President for Business Services and Finance/Treasurer Illinois Valley Community College, IL “Dr. Jerry Corcoran has been a leader on the IVCC campus for many years. We are excited and proud that he is now our college president.” — Lori Scroggs, Search Committee Chair and Trustee

Moorpark College, Ventura Community College District, CA Dr. Pam Eddinger President Former Executive Vice President of Student Learning Moorpark College, CA “The Board believes Dr. Eddinger has the vision and experience to lead Moorpark College at the level of excellence and distinction it stands for in the community. She has an impressive resume of achievements that will serve the college well.” — Dr. Larry Miller, Chair of the Board of Trustees “We are pleased Dr. Eddinger will be stepping into the role of President at Moorpark College. Ventura County residents will find her to be responsive to the needs of the academy and community.” — Dr. James Meznek, Chancellor of Ventura County Community College District

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Macomb Community College, MI Dr. James Jacobs President Former Director of the Center for Workforce Development and Policy Macomb Community College, MI

and Former Associate Director for Community College Operations at the Community College Research Center Teachers College, Columbia University, NY “While Macomb Community College is known locally as a highquality institution of higher education, we’re looking forward to Dr. Jacobs’s leadership in raising Macomb’s visibility beyond state lines, creating recognition and heightened stature for the college, both regionally and nationally.” — Nancy Falcone Sullivan, Chair, Macomb Board of Trustees

Lake Tahoe Community College, CA Dr. Paul Killpatrick President Former President Great Basin College, NV “It was a very difficult decision because of the high caliber of all the candidates. We are looking forward to working with [Dr. Killpatrick] and with the new ideas he will bring to the college and to the community. He is going to challenge us, the staff, and the board to new heights of growth and success.” — Roberta Mason, Board President

Riverside Community College District, Moreno Valley College, CA Dr. Monte Perez President Former Vice President of Student Services Golden West College, CA “Dr. Monte Perez is a role model for our young people — a living example of what education can help make possible in a person’s life. [He] brings hope to a low college-going region. And he is a person of great vision in education.” — Mary Figueroa, Riverside Community College Board President

BOARD RETREATS ACCT and its consultants are proud to have facilitated the following board retreats and training workshops: Kellogg Community College, MI Brian Hice Board Chair

Joliet Junior College, IL

Lone Star College — Kingwood, Lone Star College System, TX Dr. Katherine Persson President Former President Rock Creek Campus of Portland Community College, OR “Her past experience and relationship to the Lone Star College System will serve as a valuable asset to the system and to the community as a whole.” — Dr. Richard Carpenter, Lone Star College System Chancellor

Bob Wunderlich Board Chair

Ohlone College, CA Garrett Yee Board Chair

State Center Community College District, CA Ronald Feaver Board Chair

Prairie State College, IL Dr. Eric C. Radtke President Former Executive Vice President of Administration Cuyahoga Community College, OH “The efforts of the ACCT search consultant could not have gone better and led to the selection of a candidate that the entire college feels is an exceptional educational leader. We are excited to welcome Dr. Eric Radtke to Prairie State this summer.” — Mark Fazzini, Prairie State College Board of Trustees Chair

Long Beach City College, CA Doug Otto Board Chair

Houston Community College System, TX Yolanda Navarro Flores Board Chair

H. Lavity Stoutt Community College, British Virgin Islands Elihu Rhymer

HOW CAN ACCT HELP YOUR BOARD OR COLLEGE?

Board Chair

Riverside Community College District, CA

For additional information on ACCT’s Board Services, please contact Narcisa A. Polonio, Ed.D. at npolonio@acct.org or 202-276-1983.

Mary Figueroa Board Chair

T RUS T EE Q U A R T ER L Y S u m m e r 2 0 0 8

ACCT Awards Program � 2008

s n o i nat

mi o N r 2008 o , 1 1 f y Ca l l D e a d li n e : J u l Submit a nomination for ACCT’s 2008 Regional & Annual Awards Program

REGIONAL AWARDS CATEGORIES

ACCT ASSOCIATION AWARDS

� Trustee Leadership

� M. Dale Ensign Trustee Leadership

� Equity

� Charles Kennedy Equity

� Chief Executive Officer

� Marie Y. Martin Chief Executive Officer

� Faculty Member � Professional Board Staff Member

� William H. Meardy Faculty Member � Professional Board Staff Member

To be considered for an annual Association Award, you must submit a nomination at the Regional level.

Visit www.acct.org today for specific nomination criteria and to submit a nomination online.

Regional Award recipients are automatically nominated and will be the sole nominees for the appropriate Association Award.

Call (202) 775-4667 with any questions. All nominations must be received by July 11, 2008.

Regional Award Recipients will be notified in August 2008 and will be recognized during a General Session at ACCT’s 2008 Community College Leadership Congress, October 29-November 1, 2008.

TRUSTEE

EQUITY

CEO

FACULTY

STAFF

Case Study advancing governance

Presidential Oversight and Support: Striking the Right Balance This case is provided as a tool to foster discussion of important governance issues.

ohn Task was not used to getting evening calls about the college. The president’s office would always call John at his office if there was a need to go over any information involving the college or to confirm his attendance at a college or public event. The calls from the college were very predictable. Every first Thursday of the month, the president would call to review the agenda, and every third Thursday, the president’s office would call to confirm his Saturday golf game with the president, Dr. Honor. John appreciated the routine. It maximized his effort around the most critical issues and did not waste his time. He strongly believed that the board’s role was to support the president, review policies when needed, and allow the administration to do its job. As a business owner, he would never tolerate the idea of having someone from the outside come in and tell him how to run his business — so why should he or any other trustees try to tell the president how to manage the college? As John reflected, he caught himself smiling at the realization of how well the board meetings were organized, and how they had gotten the meetings down to one hour every month. There was a sense of pride in having brought greater efficiencies to the operations of the board — as he often reminded his fellow trustees, “we need to run a tight ship and stay on schedule.” John was entering his fifth year as board chair and was pleased the college had an experienced president in Dr. Honor. The president had been at the college for eight years and was well liked and respected. John and Dr. Honor had become close friends and golf buddies. For the last couple of years, their families even had vacationed together. So it was a surprise when the phone rang and a reporter from the local newspaper was on the other end. The reporter quickly

asked John for his opinion of the allegations that the president was being charged with sexual harassment by a secretary. John’s reaction was quick and forceful. “Dr. Honor is a highly respected member of the community and a dedicated family man,” John told the reporter. “The president has served this college with distinction. Mrs. Honor serves on the college’s foundation and is chair of the beautification committee. Their son even attended the college before transferring to the state university.” John added that “the board has the upmost confidence in Dr. Honor and fully supports him. Any allegations of this nature must be unfounded and must be from a disgruntled employee. Clearly, these allegations are meritless. I have the privilege and honor of considering President Honor to be one of my best friends.”

He strongly believed that the board’s role was to support the president, review policies, and allow the administration to do its job. John quickly ended the call after he had made his statement, but not before instructing the reporter to have the newspaper’s editor call him. The editor was an old acquaintance, and John was sure he would take care of this issue quickly. He sat down to resume reading. He reflected for a moment on the odd nature of the call, but he was sure there was no merit to the allegations and that everything would be taken care of during his scheduled monthly briefing with the president.

Discussion Questions: 1. Did the chair handle the call with the newspaper reporter appropriately? What would you do differently? 2. What is the right balance between supporting the president and providing oversight?

3. When is it appropriate for the board chair to seek the advice from the board’s attorney? 4. What role does the board play when allegations are made against the president?

ACCT Vice President Narcisa Polonio can be reached at 202-775-4670, by cell phone at 202-276-1983, or by e-mail at npolonio@acct.org T R U S T E E Q U A R T E R L Y su m m er 2 0 0 8

NEW York City Sutton Place

Twelfth Ave

E. 14th St

Janice Ln

62 64

Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum

Plan now to Join ACCT in New York City in 2008 for the Association of Community College Trustees Annual Congress at the New York Marriott Marquis Times Square

The American Promise Combating Poverty Through Education — The Role of Community College Trustees Congress participants are eligible for discounts on JetBlue Airways tickets, go Airlink shuttle transportation to and from NYC airports, and Broadway theatre tickets. Go to www.acct.org/events/annualcongress/08 for more information and to book your discounted rates now!

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HELL'S KITCHEN

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MEAT PACKING DISTRICT

Ninth Ave

DeWitt Clinton Park

J o e D i Ma g g i o H

W. 47th St

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Chelsea Park

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Eighth Ave

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CLINTON

West End Ave

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E. 28th

General Post Office

Birth Place E.Miller Poet

Diamond Center

GARMENT DISTRICT

Seventh Ave

Seventh Ave Fashion Institute of Technology

Tenth Ave W. 59th St

Amsterdam Houses

St. Vincent's Hospital

Ninth Ave

Lincoln Center For The Performing Arts

W. 61st St

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Avenue of the Americas

Madison Square Garden

Time Warner Center

NYC Ballet/Opera

Metropolitan Opera House

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Penn Station

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y all

Seventh Ave way Broad

Fifth Ave

Manhattan Mall

Macy's

One Times Square

Ave rth Fou ay w d a Bro

University Place

FlatIron Building

Madison Square Park

ay adw Bro

Ave of the Americas

THEATRE DISTRICT Eighth Ave

W. 53rd St

Avery Fisher Hall

NYC Visitors Bureau

Bryant Park

Union Square Park

W. 19th St

Carnegie Hall

Columbus Circle

W. 63rd St

Museum of American Folk Art

HOTEL

City Center

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ark West

International Center of Photography

Radio City Music Hall

Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace

Empire State Building

NY Public Library

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W. 35th St

Heckscher Playground

American Craft Museum

Park Ave

Pierpont Morgan Library

Fifth Ave Rockefeller Center

Museum of Television & Radio

W. 55th St

eep adow

Nature Sanctuary Wollman Memorial Rink

Museum of Modern Art

Grand Army Plaza

Central Park South

65th T ransve rse Rd

Childrens Zoo

Central Park The Zoo Pond

Madison Ave

Stuyvesant Square

Irving Place GRAMERCY PARK

W. 23rd St

Park Ave

Saint Patrick's Cathedral

EA GREEN VILLA

Beth Israel Med Ctr.

Gramercy Park

W. 25th St

Park Ave

KIP’S BAY Lexington Ave

E. 32nd St

Grand Central Terminal Whitney Museum Annex

E. 34th St

Park Ave

E. 36th St

Met Life Building

Vets Hospital

First Ave

E. 30th

MURRAY HILL

Chrysler Building

24th St Park

Bellevue Hospital Center

Second Ave

Lexington Ave

Trump Tower

Queens Midtown Tunnel

E. 38th St

Saint Gabriel's Park

Second Ave

Citigroup Center

Third Ave

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ne's

NYU Medical Center

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United Nations

E. 22nd St

Beekman

Place TURTLE BAY (MIDTOWN EAST)

E. 20th St

October 29 – November 1, 2008

STUYVESANT TOWN

E. 12th St

Peter Cooper Rd

ckefeller iversity

Szold

W. 21st St

Queensboro Bridge

Roosevelt Island Tramway

ACCT ANNUAL CONGRESS

NET WORK NEWS SUMMER 2008

INTERFACE

A publication of the Community College Professional Board Staff Network in cooperation with the Association of Community College Trustees

Professional Board Staff Network 2007–2008 Executive Committee Officers Pam Perkins, President Administrative Assistant to the President Seward County Community College, KS pam.perkins@sccc.edu Carol Gregory, Vice-President Executive Assistant to the President/Board Rose State College, OK cgregory@rose.edu B.J. Marcil, Secretary Administrative Assistant to President/Board of Trustees North Arkansas College bjmarcil@northark.edu Gloria Smith, Immediate Past President Governing Board Assistant Maricopa Community College District, AZ gloria.smith@domail.maricopa.edu Members-at-Large Central Region Terri Grimes Executive Assistant, President/Board Highland Community College, IL terri.grimes@highland.edu Northeast Region Brittany Williams Executive Assistant to the President & Director for Board Services Atlantic Cape Community College, NJ bwilliam@atlantic.edu Pacific Region Gail Patton Executive Assistant to the President and District Governing Board Arizona Western College Southern Region gail.patton@azwestern.edu Southern Region Sherri Bowen Executive Assistant to the President Forsyth Technical Community College, NC sbowen@forsythtech.edu Western Region Debbie Novak Assistant to the College President Colorado Mountain College dnovak@coloradomtn.edu

Facing Our Fears Fear can be daunting at times, debilitating at others. I’ve learned to conquer fear by seeking divine inspiration for help and advice before I do anything else. The next thing I do is read as much about the issue or problem as I can. I seek to become empowered by knowledge in order to overcome my fear. You’ve heard the expression “there’s nothing to fear but fear itself.” This sentiment can come in handy when changes occur in our lives — things such as new job responsibilities, health complications, and attending ACCT’s Leadership Congress as PBSN president for the first time. A powerful fear came into my life on September 28, 2007, in San Diego, when I was faced with the realization that I was the new PBSN president. Of course, I’d had a year to prepare myself, but I rested on my laurels knowing that Past President Gloria Smith had everything under control, including organizing the very first three-hour workshop designed for PBSN members. My first hint that fear had taken hold of me was the sensation that I had a ton of bricks sitting on my chest while I was standing in front of a group of extremely distinguished and vital Congress attendees — also known as PBSN members — giving my presidential message. I spoke about the need and opportunity to reach out and be linked with other members who were not there to help PBSN become stronger as an organization and grow in active membership. While there is no such book as How to Be a PBSN President for Dummies, I’m here to tell you that you don’t need a manual to be PBSN president. Everything I needed was right at my fingertips. I was ecstatic when, with the help of Lila Farmer of ACCT, Elizabeth Henkin, formerly of ACCT, and Cecil Stoll of Seward County Community College, I had my very own database connecting me with all of ACCT’s PBSN members — not only my wonderful and supportive executive committee members, but the entire professional board staff network. I was linked to the wisdom of Lila, Liz, Cecil and the technology to do everything I needed to do. My content resource was you — the many professional, experienced, positive PBSN members sitting in the vast number of ACCT community colleges. I was even more delighted to find out that there were those out there who actually shared my pleasure at being connected. Thank you for that reassurance! Working with you has enhanced my professional development and given me more guidance than any how-to book ever could. To all the PBSN members I’ve worked with during my term as president, thank you for your unwavering support and for alleviating my fears with your many e-mails. I’ve had a wonderful experience, and I hope to see you in New York City so that I can thank each of you in person. I thank PBSN Vice President Carol Gregory for her constant reminders that “we’ll get there,” despite all of my occasional trepidation, and to the executive committee for lending their patience and wisdom through countless e-mails. I have been blessed many times over during my 2007-08 term as PBSN president, and I cherish the friendships I’ve made. Pamela M. Perkins, PBSN PRESIDENT ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT SEWARD COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE

T R U S T EE Q U AR T ERL Y s u m m e r 2 0 0 8

NET WORK NEWS SUMMER 2008

INTERFACE Value Adds By Carol Gregory

It’s hard to believe that another academic year has concluded. Your PBSN Executive Committee is working diligently to prepare for this fall 2008’s Annual Congress in New York City. Via conference call, we met to solidify arrangements for the second annual three-hour workshop and agenda for the upcoming annual PBSN business meeting. The conversation was energizing, to say the least. The expansion of the executive committee by four members, with the one at-large member replaced by one member-at-large position from each region, has added talent and energy to the group. PBSN’s history of outstanding leadership continues with technologically savvy and eager-to-serve members who offer innovative ideas and suggestions. My thanks go to past and current PBSN members for sharing their experiences and thoughts on the “value added” from participating in the Professional Board Staff Network and attending the Congress. What follows are some of the words PBSN members shared with me.

“I don’t believe there are better professional development opportunities than attending PBSN programs and meetings during ACCT’s Congress. The information presented at the meetings and gained from discussions with my PBSN peers was invaluable and enabled me to try new and better ways of doing my job. Being elected to an office and serving on the PBSN board for five years was certainly a highlight of my career and did wonders for my self-confidence. Finally, through the PBSN, I came in contact with many wonderful people and made friends I will never forget.” — Marilynn Williams 2002 PBSN President (retired Executive Assistant to the President and Board, Johnson County Community College, Kansas)

“How much we can learn from the experiences of others — what works, what doesn’t, what we can use in our own particular situations! I first learned about electronic board agendas from Anita Simpson’s PBSN workshop. A few months ago, I was contacted about a presentation I made regarding ‘laptop’ boards, and I shared my presentation with another Professional Board 34

s u m m e r 2 0 0 8 T R U S T EE Q U AR T ERL Y

The Executive Committee of the Professional Board Staff Network Front: BJ Marcil, Pam Perkins, Gloria Smith, and Carol Gregory. Back: Sherri Bowen, Gail Patton, Brittany Williams, Terri Grimes, and Debbie Novak.

Staff Network participant who now plans to use parts of it with her board. For ACCT PBSN conference participants, the conference is not just a one-time event that lasts for a few days. It helps to establish a ‘go-to’ network of resources that participants can use throughout the year as we continue to develop efficiencies in working with our boards and with others at our colleges.” — Julie Whyte 2005 PBSN President (Assistant to the President, Gateway Technical College, Kenosha, Wisconsin)

“There is an unbelievable amount of knowledge and experience within the PBSN, and it is always much easier to ask someone for help once you have met him or her.”

NET WORK NEWS SPRING 2008

INTERFACE

“What a wonderful opportunity it has been for me over past years to attend ACCT Annual Congresses. The multi-conference sessions are organized specifically for professional staff and trustees, offering an opportunity to learn the best practices shared by colleagues from across the country, which allows us to perform our duties more efficiently and effectively. I plan to retire effective June 1, and I will miss seeing each of you at the 2008 meeting in New York City. My replacement is Angela S. Bond, who has 23 years’ experience working in the Vice President for Instruction and Student Services’ office. Welcome her to the meeting in October. She will be an asset to the PBSN. May God’s blessings be with each of you as you continue to grow this wonderful network for professional staff.” — Betty Jo “BJ” Burcham (recently retired Executive Assistant to the President, Wilkes Community College, Wilkesboro, North Carolina)

“I don’t believe there are better professional development opportunities than attending PBSN programs and meetings during ACCT Congress.”

“PBSN business meetings offer an opportunity to enhance members’ professional development and growth. No price can be put on the benefit of networking with others who perform the same job functions as yours. Participants leave the ACCT Congress with a sense of pride in the job we are doing, and the drive to keep doing it, and do it better.” — BJ Marcil PBSN Secretary (Assistant to the President/Board of Trustees, North Arkansas College, Harrison, Arkansas)

“The annual ACCT Leadership Congress has been a valuable experience, providing learning opportunities that have allowed me to grow professionally. I began attending PBSN meetings in 1997 and have never looked back. I always take away so much from these meetings in terms of new ideas, new information, new ways to do things and, of course, new friendships. I always return to my college campus reenergized and with lots of good ideas. In addition, the networking opportunities are phenomenal. I wouldn’t miss it for the world!” — Terri Grimes PBSN Central Region Member-at-Large (Executive Assistant, President/Board Secretary, Highland Community College, Illinois)

“There are a few reasons I feel it is important to attend the ACCT Congress. With workshops just for PBSN members, there is always much for us to learn. I believe that the opportunity to network at the Congress is also very important. There is an unbelievable amount of knowledge and experience within the PBSN, and it is always much easier to ask someone for help once you have met him or her. Also, by learning more about how boards of trustees work, one becomes a more valuable asset to his or her college and board of trustees.”

These testimonials point to the professional and personal benefits gained by attending and participating in ACCT’s meetings. The ability for PBSN members to network on a daily basis is a tremendous resource to each of us, and each professional board staff member is a vital part of ACCT’s Professional Board Staff Network. If your college is a member of ACCT, you are a member of PBSN. Take advantage of membership and make sure to attend the Annual Congress this fall.

— Debbie Novak PBSN Western Region Member-at-Large (Assistant to the College President, Colorado Mountain College)

Carol Gregory Rose State College Oklahoma

We hope to see you in New York City!

T R U S T EE Q U AR T ERL Y Su m m e r 2 0 0 8

advisor ELECTION OF REGIONAL NOMINATING COMMITTEE MEMBERS

2008 Candidates for ACCT Board of Directors

Regional Nominating Committee elections will take place during the 2008 Community College Leadership Congress at the Regional Caucuses and Meetings on Thursday, October 30. Based on the ACCT Regional Nominating Committee structure, each committee consists of five members elected for two-year staggered terms. No more than one member shall be from the same state. The following seats need to be filled for the 2009-10 term:

Regional Director

CENTRAL REGION Three (3) positions will be available to members from the following states: Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin. NORTHEAST REGION Two (2) positions will be available to members from the following states: Connecticut, Delaware, New Hampshire, New Jersey and New York. PACIFIC REGION Two (2) positions will be available to members from the following states: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. SOUTHERN REGION Two (2) positions will be available to members from the following states: Alabama, Arkansas, Bermuda, Georgia, Louisiana, South Carolina, Virgin Islands, Virginia and West Virginia. WESTERN REGION Two (2) positions will be available to members from the following states: Colorado, Kansas, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Texas and Alberta.

ACCT VOTING DELEGATES FOR ELECTIONS In September, ACCT’s President and Chief Executive Officer will send detailed information to the board chairs of each ACCT voting member district outlining how many voting delegates the college district governing board is entitled to under ACCT’s Bylaws. The number of delegates will be based on fall headcount enrollment of those students taking courses for credit. Each member board should decide who will serve as the voting delegate(s) for the Congress. Voting members may designate for each voting delegate an alternative who may serve as the voting delegate in the absence of any voting delegate from the same voting member. ACCT does not need to be notified. Upon arrival at the Congress, the delegate(s) will need to sign in at the appropriate desk to receive voting credentials.

s u m m e r 2 0 0 8 T RUS T EE Q U A R T ER L Y

(1) Three-year term in each region. The following is the slate of nominees: Central Region — Thomas M. Bennett Parkland Community College, IL

2008 Candidates for acct DIVERSITY COMMITTEE (1) Two-year term in each region unless otherwise stated. The following is the slate of nominees:

Northeast Region — James R. Perry Union County College, NJ

Central Region – Robin M. Smith Lansing Community College, MI

Pacific Region — Rebecca Garcia Cabrillo College, CA

– Jody Wadhwa Oakton Community College, IL

Southern Region — Peter E. Serwcer Sr. Northeast Region Midlands Technical College, SC – Cid Wilson Bergen Community College, NJ Western Region — Diane Olmos Guzmán Houston Community College, TX

Pacific Region – Walter G. Howald Coast Community College District, CA

DIRECTOR-AT-LARGE

Southern Region (3) Three-year terms. The following is – Harriett Gardin Fields the slate of nominees as of June 20, 2008. Midlands Technical College, SC – Denise Chachere St. Louis Community College, MO

– Vacant One-Year Partial Term**

– James Polk Illinois Central College

Western Region – Yolanda Navarro Flores Houston Community College, TX

– Carmie Lynn Toulouse Central New Mexico Community College

All candidates received support of their respective Nominating Committee. **ACCT

Diversity Committee Seeks Candidates for the Southern Region

Georgia Jacques Lewis, trustee from Central Piedmont Community College (NC), will resign from the ACCT Diversity Committee this summer. Lewis holds a Southern Region seat on the Committee that expires in 2009. In accordance with the ACCT Bylaws, a special election will take place to fill the remainder of the term (one-year) at the Southern Regional Meeting and Caucus, 3:30 – 5 p.m. on October 30. Note: Nominations will be accepted from the floor on all elections. Nominations must be made by a Voting Delegate from each candidate’s respective institution. The Voting Delegate making the nomination must make the nomination on behalf of the member board and provide a letter affirming the member board’s support at or before the nomination.

GOVERNANCE leadership INSTITUTE on diversity Hosted by Central New Mexico Community College | ACCT Diversity Committee

August 3 – 5, 2008 Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort & Spa, Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico The Institute will focus on proven practices, tools and techniques that strengthen and help trustees carry out their leadership roles. GOALS — The Institute will equip trustees with the knowledge to: • Examine the complexity of a multi-cultural community; • Determine institutional effectiveness in serving historically underserved groups; • Prevent and remedy prejudicial, discriminatory or racist behaviors and policies; • Ensure that students will succeed in an increasingly diverse world community; and • Promote respect for all, regardless of race, color, religion, gender, national origin, sexual orientation, disability, age or socioeconomic status.

Who should attend? A must-attend for trustees and presidents committed to learning, promoting and sharing their perspectives of diversity-related issues.

Call ACCT for more info at 866-895-ACCT (2228) ext. 130 Visit www.acct.org to register

Fostering Leadership, Awareness and Communication to Enable Trustees to Further Commit to an Educational Environment of Inclusiveness

2008 New

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THE AMERICAN PROMISE

combating poverty through education — the role of community college trustees

ONLINE REGISTER at www.acct.org

www.acct.org 1223 20th Street, NW

Suite 301 Washington, D.C. 20036 202.775.4667 866.895.2228

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