ACCT Trustee Quarterly Fall 2013 by Moire Marketing Partners

Principles of Trustee Leadership | ‘Boot Camp’ Training | Q&A: J. Noah Brown

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Society Demands, Community Colleges Deliver The 2013 ACCT Leadership Congress focuses on partnerships that move the needle by empowering community colleges to meet the nation’s needs.

DIVERSITY IN HIGHER EDUCATION REMAINS AN ESSENTIAL NATIONAL PRIORITY ACT

American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education American Association of Colleges of Nursing American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers American Association of Community Colleges American Association of State Colleges and Universities American Association of University Professors American College Personnel Association American Council on Education American Dental Education Association American Indian Higher Education Consortium APPA—Leadership in Educational Facilities Association of American Colleges and Universities Association of American Law Schools Association of American Medical Colleges Association of American Universities Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities Association of Community College Trustees Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities Association of Public and Land-grant Universities Association of Research Libraries College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR) College Board Council for Higher Education Accreditation Council for Opportunity in Education Council on Governmental Relations Council of Graduate Schools Educational Testing Service EDUCAUSE Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities NASPA: Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education National Association for College Admission Counseling National Association of College and University Business Officers National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators

In 1957, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter articulated the “‘four essential freedoms’ of a university—to determine for itself on academic grounds who may teach, what may be taught, how it shall be taught, and who may be admitted to study.” More than 50 years after Frankfurter’s elegant formulation, the Supreme Court recently reaffirmed the fourth of these freedoms. The decision in Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin et al. leaves intact the longstanding legal principle that the educational benefits of a widely diverse student body are a compelling governmental interest. We strongly agree. The case now returns to the Fifth Circuit for review under clarified standards of strict scrutiny, and it will be some time before there is a final decision. But a central issue for colleges and universities—the educational benefits of diversity—remains unchanged. A diverse student body enables all students to have the transformational experience of interacting with their peers who have varied perspectives and come from different backgrounds. These experiences, which are highly valued by employers because of their importance in the workplace, also prepare students with the skills they need to live in an interconnected world and to be more engaged citizens. Our economic future, democracy, and global standing will suffer if the next generation is not ready to engage and work with people whose backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives are different from their own. Our nation’s higher education institutions, whether they are community colleges or four-year institutions, public or private, nonprofit or for-profit, religiously affiliated or secular, professional, vocational, or liberal-arts focused, stand committed to furthering the goals of equal opportunity and diversity in education. We pledge to reinvigorate our work to ensure that all who enroll in higher education experience a rigorous, horizon-expanding, and intellectually challenging education. We remain dedicated to the mission of discovering and disseminating knowledge, including the knowledge gained through direct experiences with diverse colleagues—a resource for achieving a stronger democracy and nation.

National Collegiate Athletic Association UNCF

For more information, please visit whes.org. This statement was originally printed in the New York Times on July 1, 2013, sponsored by the Washington Higher Education Secretariat.

Board of Directors

2012-2013 Chair Jean Torgeson North Iowa Area Community College, IA

From the Chair Around the World for Our Community Colleges

Chair-Elect LeRoy W. Mitchell Westchester Community College, NY

Vice Chair Vacant

Secretary-Treasurer Robin M. Smith Lansing Community College, MI

Immediate Past Chair Roberto Uranga Long Beach City College, CA

Central Regional Chair Jeffrey A. May Joliet Junior College, IL

Northeast Regional Chair Bakari Lee Hudson County Community College, NJ

Pacific Regional Chair Jim Harper Portland Community College, OR

Southern Regional Chair Randall “Mack” Jackson Midlands Technical College, SC

Western Regional Chair Roberto Zárate Alamo Colleges, TX

Sean Alveshire Broward College, FL William E. Coleman, Jr. Mercer County Community College, NJ Colton J. Crane Central Wyoming College, WY Kirsten Diederich North Dakota University System, ND Stanley Edwards Halifax Community College, NC Robert “Bob” Feit Southeast Community College, NE Mary Figueroa Riverside Community College District, CA Connie Hornbeck Iowa Western Community College Vernon Jung Moraine Park Technical College, WI Clare Ollayos Elgin Community College, IL George Regan Robeson Community College, NC

The past year has been one of the busiest of my life, and has taken me across the country — and the world — in a whirlwind of activities that will stay with me as some of my most cherished memories. It all started in Boston last October, when I was sworn in as Chair of the ACCT Board of Directors. Before I knew it, I was in Beijing and Shanghai with the College Board Chinese Bridge Delegation and then spending Thanksgiving in Birmingham, England, representing ACCT at the Association of Colleges conferences. These meetings were personally illuminating, showing me the ever-growing importance of thinking globally when we want to act locally. But more importantly, they offered an opportunity to promote the important work being done at American community colleges. I’ve also had great opportunities to travel domestically, including several trips to Washington, D.C., Orlando, Florida, and to San Jose and San Francisco, California. While all this jetsetting may seem glamorous, the truth is that I have yet to see some of these places’ greatest sights because these trips are important business — and the agendas are jam-packed. And that’s the way it should be. As trustees, our work is not always glamorous work, and we certainly do not do it for the pay. We do it because of our commitment to our colleges, our communities, and of course, our students. It is hard to believe, but the year is coming full circle, and my next flight will be to Seattle this October for the 44th Annual ACCT Leadership Congress — ACCT’s highestprofile event, and perhaps the highest-profile one in recent history, thanks to our esteemed keynote speakers Bill Gates from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Jamie Merisotis from Lumina Foundation, two of ACCT’s most important partners in truly moving the needle on student success and completion. In the spirit of coming full circle and moving the needle, I’d like to revisit the first letter I wrote in this space for Trustee Quarterly. As I took the seat of ACCT Chair, I made it my mission to raise awareness about our colleges’ unique ability to prepare students for the jobs that are available — jobs that can offer real living wages. I have told countless people here and abroad about this unique ability. Our colleges can deliver — but it is up to us as trustees and governing boards to deliver on our promise to help students find meaningful, sustainable work. To do that, we have to ask questions and go where the answers lead us. This October, both answers and questions will lead us to the ACCT Leadership Congress in Seattle. I look forward to meeting you there.

Dorothy “Dottie” Smith State Center Community College District, CA David H. Talley Palm Beach State College, FL Rafael C. Turner Mott Community College, MI

Jean Torgeson North Iowa Area Community College

Cid Wilson, Diversity Committee Chair Bergen Community College, NJ Emily Yim Edmonds Community College, WA

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Trustee

QUA R T ERLY

The Voice of Community College Leaders

From the President & CEO

FALL 2013

Editorial Team EDITOR-IN-CHIEF J. Noah Brown

Back to the Future

President & CEO

Managing Editor David Conner Communications & Publications Manager

Editor Mark Toner CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Jee Hang Lee Vice President of Public Policy and External Relations

Ira Michael Shepard ACCT Legal Counsel

EDITORIAL ASSOCIATES Karen Lomax Executive Assistant to the President and CEO

Jennifer Stiddard Senior Public Policy Associate

PROOFREADER Indya Rogers Board and Publications Assistant

Design & Production www.moiremarketing.com – Washington, D.C. Your Opinion Matters contact: David Conner (866) 895-ACCT (2228) dconner@acct.org

TRUSTEE QUARTERLY (ISSN 0271-9746) is published three or four times per year as a membership service of the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT). ACCT is a not-for-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 mission 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 do not necessarily reflect the opinions and values of the Association of Community College Trustees. Non-members may subscribe to TRUSTEE QUARTERLY for $60.00 per year (plus postage for international subscriptions). Third-class postage paid at Washington, D.C.

1233 20th Street, NW, Suite 301 Washington DC 20036 (202) 775-4667 FAX: (202) 775-4455 E-mail: acctinfo@acct.org www.acct.org

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As we were planning this issue of Trustee Quarterly and looking toward the upcoming ACCT Leadership Congress in Seattle, I realized that our return to Seattle will mark a full revolution of sorts. ACCT was last in Seattle in 2005, only weeks after which I took the helm of ACCT as president and CEO. So our return this year has given me an opportunity to reflect on the past, and to think about where we were then and where we will be in another seven or eight years. I discuss some of the highlights on page 10. As I write this, the Seattle Congress is just around the corner, and on page 14, you will find information about our truly esteemed keynote speakers, including Bill Gates, Jamie Merisotis, and the executive directors of the nation’s accrediting agencies. We have a near-record number of registrations for the event, which promises to be one of the most significant in terms of content that we have ever convened. And just as the success of the ACCT Congress is dependent on colleagues and members coming together to share information, so is this magazine. This issue is full of real information that you can use. Jee Hang Lee’s advocacy column (p. 8) and an article from the Wisconsin Technical College System (p. 20) both examine ways by which student success can be measured — an ongoing and complex issue that will certainly be a hot topic for the foreseeable future — while Moraine Park Technical College and ACCT Corporate Council Member ConnectEDU both describe different ways that community colleges can not only get students through the pipeline, but also find them meaningful employment (pp. 22 and 24). Rob Abel, CEO of the IMS Global Learning Consortium, discusses how technology and open standards can enable student success on page 30. And as always, ACCT General Counsel Ira Shepard contributes to our body of legal knowledge, in this issue discussing tax-exempt reporting requirements on page 36. The time you spend reading through these pages is time invested in your college board. I thank you for everything you do, and I look forward to seeing you in Seattle, where we will continue to move the needle on student success.

J. Noah Brown ACCT President and CEO

Contents

TRUSTEE QUARTERLY | FALL 2013

Departments 8

Advocacy Seeking Meaningful Measures for Career College Programs Jee Hang Lee

28 CEO’s Voice

Three Principles of Trustee Leadership Bruce Leslie

36 Legal IRS Examines Tax-Exempt Reporting Requirements Ira Michael Shepard

15 Features 10 Q&A: J. Noah Brown — By David Conner As he returns to the site of his first Congress as ACCT’s top executive, Brown reflects on how community colleges — and society — are continuing to evolve.

15 Society Demands, Community Colleges Deliver The 2013 ACCT Leadership Congress focuses on partnerships that move the needle by empowering community colleges to meet the nation’s needs.

in every issue 1

From the Chair

From the President & CEO

News

26 Around the Regions 34 ACCT Lifetime Members 38 Searches 41 Interface 44 Advisor

20 Making it Count — Conor Smyth Wisconsin’s technical colleges are finding new ways to measure student success.

22 Filling in the Gaps — James V. Eden

COVER ILLUSTRATION: RAFAEL LOPEZ

Moraine Park Technical College’s “boot camp” training fills job shortages and finds students gainful employment — fast.

24 Modern Ways to Fill the Talent Gap — Stan Jackson and Toni Pace Community colleges can leverage technology to connect qualified talent to unfilled jobs.

30 Open Standards for Student Success — Rob Abel Connecting technology can lead to better pathways that help students succeed.

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President Brown Continues ‘First in the World ’ Tour ACCT President and CEO J. Noah Brown has been busy speaking at ACCT member colleges and state associations this spring. In March, he spoke at the Iowa Association of Community College Trustees state meeting; in April, he spoke at a meeting of the Wisconsin Technical College District Boards Association; the Community College League of California in May; and the Community College Association of Texas Trustees in June. President Brown also keynoted the State Legislative Leader Foundation Conference in March and served as the keynote speaker for the Hudson County (N.J.) Community College 35th Annual Commencement Ceremonies on May 23, where he was presented with the HCCC Heritage Award for his commitment to the community college mission. In April, Brown and ACCT Chair Jean Torgeson, a trustee at North Iowa Area Community College, attended the Phi Theta Kappa Annual Convention. Brown continues to promote the message of his Bellwether Award-winning book First in the World: Community Colleges and America’s Future — that community and technical colleges are imperative to the future success of the nation’s higher education system and its local and national economies. If your college is interested in scheduling Brown for a speaking engagement, please contact David Conner at dconner@acct.org.

News 2013 ACCT Regional Awards Announced The ACCT Awards Committees are pleased to announce the 2013 ACCT Regional Awards recipients. Each Regional Awards recipient is automatically nominated for a national-level Association Award in the same category. The Association Awards will be announced during the 2013 ACCT Leadership Congress Awards Gala Banquet in Seattle, Washington, on Friday, October 4, 2013. Trustee Leadership Award Recipients CENTRAL REGION: NORTHEAST REGION: PACIFIC REGION: SOUTHERN REGION: WESTERN REGION:

Vickie Miller, Danville Area Community College, Ill. Denise Murphy McGraw, Schenectady County Community College, N.Y. Donald Campbell, Maricopa County Community College District, Ariz. Rao Musunuru, Pasco-Hernando Community College, Fla. Marie Flickinger, San Jacinto Community College District, Texas

Equity Award Recipients CENTRAL REGION: NORTHEAST REGION: PACIFIC REGION: SOUTHERN REGION: WESTERN REGION:

Washtenaw Community College, Mich. Howard Community College, Md. Long Beach City College, Calif. Midlands Technical College, S.C. Alamo Colleges, Texas

Chief Executive Officer Award Recipients CENTRAL REGION: NORTHEAST REGION: PACIFIC REGION: SOUTHERN REGION: WESTERN REGION:

Robert Breuder, College of DuPage, Ill. Glen Gabert, Hudson County Community College, N.J. Cindy Miles, Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District, Calif. Edwin Massey, Indian River State College, Fla. Katharine Winograd, Central New Mexico Community College

Faculty Member Award Recipients CENTRAL REGION: NORTHEAST REGION: PACIFIC REGION: SOUTHERN REGION: WESTERN REGION:

Kenneth Ekegren, North Central State College, Ohio Ellen Padilla, Rockland Community College, N.Y. Lois Roma-Deeley, Maricopa County Community College District, Ariz. Laura Franklin, Northern Virginia Community College Dan Leingang, Bismarck State College, N.D.

Professional Board Staff Member Award Recipients CENTRAL REGION: NORTHEAST REGION: PACIFIC REGION: SOUTHERN REGION: WESTERN REGION:

Kimberly Olson, Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College, Wisc. Cathy Costello, Genesee Community College, N.Y. Violet Ayon, North Orange County Community College District, Calif. Patsy Bee, West Virginia University at Parkersburg Gloria Rincon, Coastal Bend College, Texas

ACCT congratulates the 2013 ACCT Regional Award recipients for their outstanding work. Visit www.acct.org to learn more about the ACCT Awards program.

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ACCT and Single Stop Release White Paper on Student Success On June 10, ACCT and Single Stop USA convened higher education leaders and federal officials on Capitol Hill to discuss findings of a white paper, “Clearing the Path to a Brighter Future: Addressing Barriers to Community College Access and Success.” The event, held in the Rayburn House Office Building, featured presentations by ACCT President and CEO J. Noah Brown, Single Stop USA CEO and Co-Founder Elisabeth Mason, Miami Dade College (MDC) President Eduardo Padron, the paper’s principal author and University of Wisconsin-Madison Associate Professor Sara Goldrick-Rab, Kresge Foundation Senior Program Officer Caroline Altman Smith, and community college students from the City University of New York (CUNY) and MDC. “ACCT and Single Stop are excited to share a bold approach in assisting students to break through the barriers that many low-income and first-generation individuals at community colleges face in obtaining a degree,” said Brown. “By providing a clear access point to federal tax credits and benefits, and additional community resources such as legal and financial counseling, this partnership has helped to redefine how participating students approach student support services,” Mason added. Case studies from CUNY and MDC campuses are featured in the white paper. Padron expressed appreciation for MDC’s opportunity to take part in the Single Stop model, which seeks to decrease poverty by connecting low-income students with existing resources and services that help them become self-sufficient and achieve economic mobility. “Because of the Single Stop program,” Padron said, “there has been a real change in the cultures of how our participating campuses serve students — a change for the better. MDC’s mission is to change lives through the opportunity of education, and thanks to this program, we can offer more and better opportunities than ever before.” Although “Clearing the Path to a Brighter Future” assesses Single Stop operations at CUNY and MDC, the paper is intended to serve as a practical guide to improve and reform educational and social policy, explained Goldrick-Rab. “The research yielded important findings that will truly help more students from low-income families attain and complete their educational goals,” she said. The paper offers 16 specific recommendations broken down under the following headings: Modernize Student Services; Reform Financial Aid in the Reauthorization of the Higher Education Act; Coordinate Social Policy and Education Policy; and Evaluate the Evidence. “Policy is at the heart of student success,” Brown said. “ACCT’s members — trustees throughout the United States and beyond — are strongly urged to read this report and heed its suggestions. It is incumbent upon community college boards to set policy that

furthers student success and completion, and to support their presidents in executing those policies.” Altman Smith lauded the report, saying that “the Kresge Foundation works to expand opportunities for low-income people — and this report highlights areas where we can have a significant and positive impact on the trajectory of community college students. We hope that both educational and political leaders will pay attention to this innovative model and the report’s recommendations for improving student success.” The Kresge Foundation, based in metropolitan Detroit, underwrote the report. The white paper is available for download at www.acct.org and www.singlestop.org.

ACCT Welcomes New and Reinstated Members American Samoa Community College Dine College, Ariz. H. Lavity Stoutt Community College, B.V.I. Ilisagvik College, Alaska Lower Columbia College, Wash. Mount Wachusett Community College, Mass. Odessa College, Texas

Peralta Community College District, Calif. Salt Lake Community College, Utah Somerset Community College, Ky. Texas Southmost College District, Texas Western Dakota Technical Institute, S.D. Yakima Valley Community College, Wash.

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ACCT Sponsors 20th Anniversary Bellwether Legacy Award

News ACCT, 36 Higher Ed Associations Sign Diversity Statement in NY Times

In commemoration of its 20th anniversary, the Community College Futures Assembly has announced that it will present a special Legacy Award during its January 25-28, 2014 event in Orlando, Florida. The Legacy Award acknowledges outstanding Bellwether Award-winning programs that have illustrated five or more years of successful implementation and replication.

In the wake of a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision concerning the consideration of race and ethnicity in college admissions, the higher education community stands committed to furthering the goals of equal opportunity and diversity on In 1957, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter articulated the “‘four essential freedoms’ of a university—to college campuses. determine for itself on academic grounds who may teach, In an advertisement what may be taught, how it shall be taught, and who may be admitted to study.” Last week, more than 50 years after published in The New York Frankfurter’s elegant formulation, the Supreme Court reaffirmed the fourth of these freedoms. The decision in Fisher Times on Sunday, June 30, v. University of Texas at Austin et al. leaves intact the longstanding legal principle that the educational benefits of a ACCT and 36 other higher widely diverse student body are a compelling governmental interest. We strongly agree. education organizations The case now returns to the Fifth Circuit for review under clarified standards of strict scrutiny, and it will be some pledge to “reinvigorate time before there is a final decision. But a central issue for our work to ensure that colleges and universities—the educational benefits of diversity—remains unchanged. all who enroll in higher A diverse student body enables all students to have the transformational experience of interacting with their peers education experience who have varied perspectives and come from different backgrounds. These experiences, which are highly valued by a rigorous, horizonemployers because of their importance in the workplace, also prepare students with the skills they need to live in an expanding, and intellectually interconnected world and to be more engaged citizens. Our economic future, democracy, and global standing will suffer challenging education.” if the next generation is not ready to engage and work with The higher education people whose backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives are different from their own. community statement Our nation’s higher education institutions, whether they are community colleges or four-year institutions, public or praises the Supreme private, nonprofit or for-profit, religiously affiliated or secular, professional, vocational, or liberal-arts focused, stand Court’s ruling in Fisher v. committed to furthering the goals of equal opportunity and diversity in education. University of Texas at Austin We pledge to reinvigorate our work to ensure that all who (UT) for leaving intact the enroll in higher education experience a rigorous, horizonexpanding, and intellectually challenging education. We longstanding legal principle remain dedicated to the mission of discovering and disseminating knowledge, including the knowledge gained that the educational benefits through direct experiences with diverse colleagues—a resource for achieving a stronger democracy and nation. of a widely diverse student body are a compelling governmental interest. “We strongly agree,” the statement says. “We remain dedicated to the mission of discovering and disseminating knowledge, including the knowledge gained through direct experiences with diverse colleagues — a resource for achieving a stronger democracy and nation.” The American Council on Education (ACE) submitted an amicus brief on behalf of 36 other higher education organizations in support of UT. The amicus brief can be accessed online at http://bit.ly/15ZDmYo. Background about the Fisher case and other resources on this issue can be found at http://bit.ly/12dIzO9. The higher education community statement notes that the Fisher case now returns to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit for review under the “strict scrutiny” standard, and it will be some time before there is a final decision. “But a central issue for colleges and universities — the educational benefits of diversity — remains unchanged,” says the statement, which can be found on the inside cover of this issue.

DIVERSITY IN HIGHER EDUCATION REMAINS AN ESSENTIAL NATIONAL PRIORITY ACT

American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education

American Association of Colleges of Nursing

American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers

American Association of Community Colleges American Association of State Colleges and Universities

American Association of University Professors American College Personnel Association

American Council on Education

American Dental Education Association

American Indian Higher Education Consortium

APPA—Leadership in Educational Facilities

Association of American Colleges and Universities Association of American Law Schools

Association of American Medical Colleges

Association of American Universities

For 20 years, the Community College Futures Assembly has not only been a national policy summit but has also recognized and promoted cuttingedge, trendsetting programs that other colleges might find worthy of replicating. Since 1995, the Assembly, sponsored by the Institute of Higher Education at the University of Florida, has recognized exemplary and effective programs through the awarding of the coveted Bellwether Award. With over 60 institutions receiving the Bellwether Award and 500 Bellwether finalists, these award-winning programs have advanced to further recognition and prestige. Selected through a national panel of expert judges, ten finalists for the coveted Legacy Award will be asked to present their programs at the 2014 Community College Futures Assembly from January 25-28 in Orlando, Florida. Applications are being accepted from Bellwether Award winners through October 25, 2013 at http://education.ufl.edu/futures/.

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Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities Association of Community College Trustees Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges

Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities

Association of Public and Land-grant Universities Association of Research Libraries

College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR) College Board

Council for Higher Education Accreditation Council on Governmental Relations Council of Graduate Schools

Educational Testing Service EDUCAUSE

Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities NASPA: Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education National Association for College Admission Counseling

National Association of College and University Business Officers

National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities

National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators

National Collegiate Athletic Association UNCF

DIG DEEPER

Subscribe to ACCT’s Monthly In-Depth Legislative Analysis Newsletter

ACCT’s Capitol Connection is an advocacy e-newsletter designed to provide monthly updates on legislative and regulatory issues impacting community colleges. Capitol Connection will complement ACCT’s hugely successful Latest Action in Washington (LAW) E-Alerts by providing in-depth coverage of the most pertinent policy matters facing higher education.

To subscribe to Capitol Connection and the LAW E-Alert, e-mail publicpolicy@acct.org with the PHRASE “LAW ALERT” in the subject line.

advocacy

Seeking Meaningful Measures for Career College Programs Following a court challenge, the ‘gainful employment’ regulatory process begins anew. By Jee Hang Lee

In 2009, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and the Obama Administration began a process to examine the student outcomes and federal financial aid eligibility of career college programs through a regulatory process that came to be known as “gainful employment” (GE). GE was largely devised to scrutinize the value and success of the for-profit sector of higher education. Virtually all programs at for-profit institutions — both degree and non-degree — fall under GE rules, totaling more than 13,000 programs. However, programs at public and non-profit private institutions that lead to a certificate or non-degree credential are also GE programs. Totaling more than 42,000 programs, offerings by public and non-profit private institutions represent the bulk of covered programs under GE rules. A negotiated rulemaking committee convened by ED released the first set of “final” GE program rules in October 2010. These regulations took effect July 1, 2011, and imposed extensive new reporting and disclosure requirements for all GE programs, as well as a new notice and approval process for new GE programs. Community colleges have been largely supportive of the overall goal of protecting students from extremely high levels of indebtedness relative to earnings. Unfortunately, compliance under GE rules has been convoluted and the reporting process has been burdensome for community colleges. Additionally, reporting requirements which publicize “on-time” graduation rates and average indebtedness use data that is confusing to students and costs institutions heavily in compliance. On June 2, 2011, ED issued a second set of “final” GE program rules which established “debt measures” that GE programs would be required to meet in 8

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order to remain eligible for Title IV student aid. Although the regulations took effect July 1, 2012, the first year a program could lose eligibility for Title IV was set to be 2015. To remain eligible for Title IV aid, GE programs would need to satisfy at least one of the following three tests: (1) A federal loan repayment rate of at least 35 percent. (Generally, a loan qualifies when it has been paid in full, the balance of the loan is reduced by at least $1, the student is on track for public service forgiveness, or the student is making income-based payments.); (2) The annual loan payment does not exceed 12 percent of a typical graduate’s total income; or (3) The annual loan payment does not exceed 30 percent of a typical graduate’s discretionary income.

Under the rules, failure to satisfy at least one of the three tests related to debt measures in a single year would result in additional disclosures to students. Failure to satisfy the debt measure two times in a three-year period would require warnings to students, including that their debts may be unaffordable and that the program they are enrolled in may lose Title IV eligibility. A program that fails to satisfy the debt measure requirements three times in a four-year period would be ineligible for Title IV aid for at least three years. Small programs with fewer than 30 borrowers in their third and fourth years of repayments were exempted.

What Do the Data Show? According to ED data released in June 2012, a total of 193 programs at 93 institutions, or 5 percent of all such

programs, failed to meet any of the benchmarks in the first year of the program rules. The data released covered 3,695 vocational programs at 1,336 institutions, which enroll 43 percent of all students in career-training programs. No community colleges failed all three debt-measure tests. However, a total of 34 programs at community colleges and fouryear private institutions failed two of the tests, indicating some danger of missing the benchmarks in the future. Enormous amounts of money and time have been spent on compliance that has yielded very little concrete benefit for students. Complicating matters, institutions generally did not have access to all data necessary to calculate independently the previous debt measures due to privacy concerns. ED used actual earnings data provided by the Social Security Administration (SSA) for debt-to-income tests, and institutions were permitted to verify the list of students submitted. The rule also permitted institutions to challenge ED’s debt-to-income calculation through use of earnings from state-sponsored data systems, an institutional survey conducted in accordance with strict standards for reliability, and for a three-year transitional period, Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

Federal Court Invalidates Major Components of GE After ED released its second final rules, the Association of Private Sector Colleges and Universities, which represents the for-profit sector, filed a lawsuit to block implementation of the regulations in 2011. On June 30, 2012, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia vacated the regulation’s repayment rate measure, finding that ED did not provide an adequate rationale to support an “arbitrary and capricious” 35 percent threshold. Because the three tests work together, vacating the 35 percent repayment rate threshold portion rendered much of the regulation inoperable. However, the judge did specify that ED continues to have the authority to interpret the phrase “gainful employment” and craft regulations accordingly. “Concerned about inadequate programs and unscrupulous institutions,” he wrote,

“the Department has gone looking for rats in ratholes — as the statute empowers it to do.” The Department did seek to appeal the District Court’s ruling. However, on March 19, 2013, the judge dealt another blow to its efforts to modify to the initial ruling. ED had requested that the courts reinstate the data reporting requirement and portions of the previously vacated debt measures. Instead, the District Court held that data collection required by gainful employment regulations was unlawful under legislation passed by Congress in 2008 which banned the collection of “identifiable student data.” Given the court challenges, ED announced earlier this year that it would pursue a new round of negotiated rulemaking on program integrity. In June, the Department confirmed that a separate committee would address gainful employment. ACCT, along with the American Association of Community Colleges, submitted names of individuals to represent community college concerns on the committee. The committee will meet for two sessions on September 9-11 and October 21-23, 2013, and is expected to discuss new debt measures and thresholds and any potential research basis therein.

Community College Comments ACCT continues to push against overly broad and burdensome regulations and has submitted public comments outlining key provisions to GE: •R egulatory interventions surrounding student debt and repayment should be focused on programs with high rates of borrowing and high rates of institutional dependence on Title IV. Data reporting should be limited to programs where at least half of completing students take out loans over a three-year rolling average. • In addition to the evaluation for programs, GE also sought to provide useful information for students. However, the data provided under GE was insufficient in this regard. Access to earnings data for program completers should be more broadly available to colleges

and their representatives. Students have an interest in the earnings of program completers in areas that extend far beyond those covered under the statutory definition of gainful employment. • Programs for which there are historically very small numbers of completers should continue to be exempted from having to report data, because in all likelihood the data will either be suppressed or too small to provide meaningful information to students or to serve as the basis for eligibility determinations. The original exemption for programs with 30 or fewer completers or borrowers over a four-year period should be retained but the time period of exemption should be reduced by at least one year. • The “on-time” program completion rate should be eliminated. Colleges are already calculating and disclosing three different graduation rates under the Higher Education Act. Community college students also move to lower enrollment intensity during their course of study, which quickly reduces and distorts the meaning of the completion rate. If a programmatic completion rate is included, it should be longer than 100 percent of the normal time, because this standard does not comport with the practical realities facing community college students, about 60 percent of whom attend part-time. ACCT will continue to ensure that the aim of these regulations are focused on the bad actors and not on successful GE programs, as well as to work to limit the burden on institutions. To follow along as the Department of Education continues its work on gainful employment, sign up for ACCT’s Latest Action in Washington and Capitol Connection newsletters. To join, email publicpolicy@acct.org.

ACCT Vice President for Public Policy and External Relations Jee Hang Lee can be reached by e-mail at jhlee@acct.org, or by phone at 202-775-4667. T R U S T E E Q U A RT E R LY F A L L 2 0 1 3

J. Noah Brown By David Conner

As he returns to the site of his first Congress as ACCT’s top executive, Brown reflects on how community colleges — and society — are continuing to evolve. For ACCT President & CEO J. Noah Brown, this fall’s Annual ACCT Leadership Congress in Seattle represents a homecoming of sorts. Back in 2005, he was introduced as ACCT’s new CEO at the last Congress held in Seattle; the following month, he took on the role of president. President Brown gives remarks at the 2005 ACCT Leadership Congress.

Nearly a decade later, Brown has led ACCT through a period during which community colleges grew in both prominence and importance as economic drivers for their communities. His book exploring this evolving role, First in the World: Community Colleges and America’s Future (Rowman & Littlefield, 2012), recently won the 2013 Bellwether Book Award from the Community College Futures Assembly.

Quarterly about how ACCT has evolved, the changing role of community colleges, and why he is optimistic that the nation will once again become a leader in college completion.

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As Brown prepares to return to Seattle for this fall’s Congress, he spoke with Trustee

Back in 2005 when you became president and CEO of ACCT, you said that “community colleges don’t get the attention they deserve…they still get maligned in the press.” In the years since, community colleges have enjoyed unprecedented attention from both policymakers and the public. How has the growing public awareness of community colleges affected your perspective as president of ACCT? As I came into my presidency, one of my big goals was to figure out how we can help raise the profile of the work that community college boards are doing every day. We have succeeded beyond any expectations I had in 2005. One goal was to develop content and programs that would draw media attention, and I think we’ve been doing a lot of that with good effect. There’s a lot of good conversation going on nationally about the importance and value of community colleges. It’s what we’ve worked so hard for over the years. But we have not been as successful in translating the newfound public awareness into real action — particularly where it comes to resources. Part of what is driving that conversation is that we are, as a sector, increasingly underresourced. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, every state but North Dakota and Wyoming has cut funding for higher education, and 36 states have cut funding more than 20 percent since 2008. So this is becoming a growing imperative not only for ACCT, but also for the sector. To the extent that we’ve gained a foothold on the media beginning to recognize us and to acknowledge that community colleges accomplish a great deal, we haven’t been able yet to figure out how to take that attention and really, for lack of a better word, apply pressure to state legislatures, governors, mayors, and even the U.S. Congress in a significant way to address what is, in my opinion, the slow and consistent starvation of the sector in terms of public resources. If we don’t find ways of reversing those trends, then I have real concerns about the sustainable livelihood of the sector. We can’t continue like this. My book, First in the World: Community Colleges and America’s Future, is part of a strategy to really help people connect community colleges with social and economic imperatives. One of the points made in the book is the fact that we’re not doing the work that we did in the past as a nation, in terms of making those kinds of investments — and not making those investments has long-term, significant impacts. I think this is really the next chapter for the work that ACCT is about — to change the national conversation around how we are going to resource our institutions to do the economic and workforce development work that we all say is important.

You stated three clear goals when you became president and CEO of ACCT: 1) to get people to understand that community colleges are “incredibly important, successful, and transformative institutions;” 2) to build bigger and more powerful partnerships with key organizations; and 3) to partner more closely with state community college

organizations. How has ACCT fared on meeting those three goals? We’ve worked hard on all three areas in varying ways. And these things are all interconnected. A lot of the relationships that we’ve been pursuing are designed to multiply and expand that kind of visibility by becoming affiliated with larger initiatives and projects. And obviously in terms of partnerships, there’s the philanthropic piece. ACCT made a radical change from operating with no philanthropic support four years ago to receiving significant investments through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Lumina Foundation, and Kresge Foundation. We’re also talking to other foundations that share our goals and believe in our mission. But we’ve also been building partnerships with other organizations with influence and capacity. Single Stop USA is a perfect example. We got involved with the organization three years ago because we quickly realized that Single Stop had a powerful model for integrating and harmonizing student-support services — not just financial aid, but also career counseling and guidance, legal services, tax preparation — and to shift the dynamic for students in community colleges. So we have been collaborating with them, and we are now working in 17 community colleges and building an initiative on the Gulf Coast, funded in part by some of the BP oil spill settlement fund via the BP Foundation. So suddenly we are now able to take what was a huge tragedy in the Gulf and build out the economic and workforce assets of the colleges in the region that will really benefit its residents. We collaborate with the National Governors Association, mayors, counties, state legislatures, and other organizations that represent the various political sectors that influence and have sway over not only how our institutions are funded, but also how trustees are selected. Recently, we’ve had four representatives of similar organizations join our board for discussions, and our board has given us the marching orders to continue to expand those partnerships. It’s very exciting. We have in some ways redefined and deepened our relationship with our sister association, the American Association of Community Colleges. I’ve been involved on the 21st Century Commission for the Future of Community Colleges. I am now on the implementation steering committee, which is building a Web-based toolkit, a mechanism for helping our institutions to understand how to do this completion work, and I am on three of nine task forces working around those issues. We have an agreement with AACC to begin to build a joint leadership development series of activities because, obviously, we care deeply about the future of the community college enterprise and the future of leadership. We know that a lot of presidents will be retiring in the near future — so what is our role? We have the opportunity to play another role through our digital library webinar capabilities, and we continue to involve others in high-quality programs. For example, understanding accreditation is an imperative, especially right now. We had the opportunity to essentially interview the heads of all the T R U S T E E Q U A RT E R LY

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& regional accrediting bodies, and we put together a webinar on accreditation — what is it, why should boards care about it, and what is their role? We’ll be building on that this fall at the 44th Annual ACCT Leadership Congress in Seattle, where we’ll host those regional accrediting agency heads for a dynamic, interactive conversation as a general session. It goes on and on and on. We don’t have time or space to chronicle all of our partnerships here, but the genesis for all of this work was the idea that we would look for ways to connect ACCT with other organizations that have influence. By doing so, our own influence would grow and expand, and without question, ACCT is not the organization it was in 2005. Financially, in terms of staff capability, in terms of impact, ACCT is almost 180 degrees different across those areas.

One of the interviews you gave years back touched on the demise of another higher-education organization — due in large part to its sudden rapid growth and expansion. Are there any limitations to the growth and expansion of ACCT? Absolutely. The primary reason the organization you’re referring to ran into difficulty is that it lost its vision. It lost its ability to be relevant to its membership. It was drifting. After a period of time, members legitimately and rightfully questioned the purpose of the organization. And I learned an important lesson from that: everything I’ve done in guiding the organization has always been to make sure that what we do connects directly to our mission, and that ACCT is highly relevant to our members. That’s what I think about all the time, every day. We kept a lid on this type of growth for the first three, four, almost five years, in terms of staffing, budget, and initiatives. We needed to realign our strategic vision and purpose, which we did. Secondly, we had to realign our budget to give us the flexibility and, frankly, the security to begin to become more entrepreneurial, take more risks, try new things out. So we did those things very deliberately. And so while it is true that we have grown a lot within the last three or four years, the growth has been very focused around the things we just talked about in terms of relationships, relevance, and increasing public perception and understanding. It’s all related directly to our mission. We have three primary missions at ACCT. One is education — effective and informed governance. The second is advocacy — in our case, federal or national in scope. And the third is service — how we are being of service to member boards, whether through searches for college presidents or board retreats, or the 12

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many other services we offer. Recently, we have done a lot of vice president searches because it’s something that presidents and boards need and trust us to do. Anything that falls outside of those three pots, we just don’t do. We do think a lot about the future. For example, we recently had a discussion with the ACCT Board of Directors about the big picture, about what’s going on in the world of higher education. We talked about four-year degrees. We talked about the continuing fiscal resource pressure on institutions. We talked about the changing nature of governance structures in certain states. We talked about accreditation. We talked about increasing competition, particularly around board services. All of this was to determine what we think ACCT should be doing now and in the future to remain relevant, because as I said back in 2005, it’s legitimate for people to question the relevance of their associations. When the most recent recession hit, this association, unlike many others, saw its budget increase — and our membership participation and roles increased as well. How was that possible during arguably the greatest recession since the Great Depression? I think it’s because we were doing the things that not only empower our membership, but also help our members navigate the pressures at home. As long as we keep thinking about things like that, I feel really confident about ACCT and the ability to provide the services that our members require.

And back in 2005, not nearly as many philanthropic foundations were even involved in education. In 2008 and 2009, I recall you saying that the recession is a challenge, but that it should also be seen as an opportunity. Do you think the recession had anything to do with philanthropic interests in community colleges increasing? I think it’s a two-way street. It’s partially a function of growing the impact and visibility of the organization and the impact and visibility of community colleges. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation became very interested in higher education, and have been very quick to jump into the community college world, which is great. Lumina was always focused on higher education, but when my colleague Jamie Merisotis took over as president…I knew Jamie for years, back when he was a policy wonk here in Washington like I was, and we used to have lots of meetings about how things could be better. Well, he got to be president of Lumina, and he has transformed it from an operating foundation to a policy foundation. Jamie is looking for ways to shift the conversation around changing both national and state

“We’ve worked hard on all three areas in varying ways. And these things are all interconnected. A lot of the partnerships that we’ve been pursuing are designed to multiply and expand that kind of visibility by becoming affiliated with larger initiatives and projects. And obviously in terms of partnerships, there’s the philanthropic piece.”

policy. That has given us an opportunity to engage with Lumina in a relatively new and exceedingly important way. ACCT’s Symposium on Student Success series, supported by both the Gates and Lumina Foundations, is fundamentally about changing the policy conversation. Prior to that, both foundations funded the initial work of the Voluntary Framework of Accountability. They embraced it in part because the community college sector finally had the courage to step forward and say, “we have to be involved in this national discussion about accountability. If we say that the old accountability systems do us a disservice because they don’t reflect the way we do business and our student population, then we have to do something to change it.” Once we made that decision — which was not without risk, by the way — we had the opportunity to involve the foundations and talk to members directly about it, which we did intensively for two years. And we turned the corner. Now that initiative is up and running, and it has given us the potential for the first time to be accountable for what we do as a sector, which will in turn empower us to make students more successful. So I think those visibility and policy opportunities have driven it. But I also think that reality drives this. Talk to any college president now, and they will tell you that public-private partnerships hold the key to our ability to continue to do things, because public resources are declining. We have to find new pots of money. Philanthropy is obviously a major part, but there are also other public-private partnerships. We at ACCT, like many others, have started to identify ways in which our Corporate Council members and other corporate affiliates can invest in our work in a substantive way, whether directly or indirectly. We can create greater content; they can help us deliver programs more easily. The digital library we are creating online is an example. Most organizations and colleges are pushing that and actively seeking that engagement, and I don’t see that changing in the near future. We have to do it as a matter of survival, but also because of the tremendous added value.

You mentioned that ACCT is not the same organization it was seven or eight years ago. Keeping in mind how much things really can change in such a short time, do you believe that the country can actually meet the 2020 goal of becoming first in the world in college completion? I’ve been very encouraged by how quickly the student success and completion agenda has caught fire. In my thirty-some years involved in policy in Washington, I can’t recall a movement

that has so galvanized our sector so quickly and so completely. So I am very much encouraged. We have the potential. I’ve had the privilege of speaking at several community college commencements. My experience is that the number of graduates is increasing, and if those trends continue, we are well on our way. More importantly, the work that ACCT is doing around the completion agenda — we were one of the first organizations to sign the compact Democracy’s Colleges back in 2010, we were among the first to get out of the box with some real initiatives and funded projects around that work — I think that’s been helping to move the efforts forward. But I also learn more and more every day about colleges doing things that we’ve talked about to make a difference. Eliminating a graduation fee, for example, or going back out into the community and determining who earned virtually enough credits to earn a diploma, recruiting them, and having them come back. Building these articulations between institutions. Beginning to really start talking in a serious way about working with K-12 schools to reduce the need for remediation. So a lot of things make me believe that if we don’t hit it exactly in 2020, we will do it in the near future.

Why is the completion agenda so critical? As a student of history, I know well how important it is that we have enough citizens in the country who have the credentials that we need. We’ve been there and done that. The tragedy is that in the past 40 years, we didn’t move the needle at all in terms of college completion, and it is hurting us in many ways. So I am excited and encouraged that the conversation has kind of reset in terms of completion, and the key now is to sustain this work. It can’t be the issue du jour. It can’t be another five-year plan. This has to be the plan. My colleague [AACC President] Walter Bumphus repeated to me this morning that this completion and success agenda is the beacon now for the community college system, and I agree. It has to be the organizing theme by which we do work in the future. ACCT is invested in this work, and we intend to sustain this work.

Speaking of history, your book discusses the Truman Commission and other historical landmarks for American higher education. So in looking back, what should people remember about history and apply to the next seven years as we approach 2020? When we go back and look at the GI Bill in 1944, the Truman Commission in 1947, or even Sputnik, around each of those T R U S T E E Q U A RT E R LY

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events was a collective commitment to change the dynamic. We did it not only by investing a lot of money, but also culturally and societally. There were shared values around the importance of building out our intellectual capital and creating a sector in the United States that was not only entrepreneurial, but also highly innovative. One of the examples I mention in the book is Sputnik in 1957, which led Congress in 1958 to enact the National Defense and Education Act, where we literally transformed education around what we now call STEM — science, technology, mathematics, and engineering. And that was significant. In under 10 years, it led in part to landing men on the moon. It became part of the national identity, and we made deliberate and sustained investments. When we look back at things, we should ask ourselves the question, if those things mattered, and if they transformed this country and led it to become an economic superpower, is it not important today? Because if it is important, in my opinion, then there is a way to do it. It concerns me now that the higher education system in many ways is adrift. It’s bigger than it ever was before. It’s more expensive than it ever was before. Students are incurring way too much debt. And to a certain extent, colleges are becoming too synonymous with getting a job. That isn’t all college is meant to be. We’ve neglected other things, like the importance of colleges creating entrepreneurs in this country, creating innovators, people who take out patents. The multiplier effects of what having a certain proportion of college graduates means in terms of our economy, taxes…we seem to forget those things. Forty, 50, 60 years ago, we really got it and did some very deliberate things to make it happen. Part of my goal in writing First in the World was getting people to take a breath, turn off the noise, and just return for a moment to an earlier time. Just a quick look — not to read a deeply embedded research report or history book, but a look at things that happened and their impacts. Do we want to be this country again? If so, we need to do these kinds of things.

So what’s the next big goal? The next moon landing? Well, they’re working on sending someone to Mars…

Is the country working as well toward big goals as it did in the past? To a certain extent we are, but it is disjointed, so much more complex now. People do say, “Noah, you really oversimplify what happened in the past. There were huge crisis moments that drove Congress and others to invest.” I don’t disagree. I think our difficulty now is that we have had a number of big crises in America, not the least of which is the most recent recession, but for some reason we haven’t been able to galvanize the public and the policymaking sector around doing similar big things. Now we’re in a world that’s a lot noisier than it was because of consumerism and many other factors. We’re terribly in debt. So now it’s very difficult to make some of these 14

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decisions because we have this huge federal deficit, this huge national debt. I would also argue that our politics have changed somewhat. It’s been disheartening to me that in my thirty-something years of living and working in Washington, it’s become virtually impossible to have civil discourse — in Congress or anywhere else for that matter — about getting things done. About making the deal. Where both sides get something in order to achieve a greater good. And so we’re stuck. It’s a self-fulfilling prophesy, though. The more we talk about the inability to compromise, the harder it becomes.

How would you break through? In the community college world, we can and will do our part. And hopefully through our work and our relationships with other organizations, we can incite the conversation and begin to shift values. That’s all I know how to do, but I think that’s what we have to do. Of course, we have to recognize that America is different today than it was in 1944, but it is our world, and we have to figure out how to navigate and do things. I get frustrated when people throw up roadblocks. Demographics and economics are totally different? Yeah! Don’t you think it was totally different for my parents in their day? It’s always been different. It’ll always be different. It frustrates me when people use that as an excuse.

So many things were different as recently as 2005, where we started this conversation. Technology has evolved more rapidly than ever, and the economy… The economy was very different, the federal budget was very different. Nobody was talking about student success in any significant way. In our sector, a lot has changed for the better. But there’s a lot of work to do, and I think ACCT — or any other national organization — has a responsibility to help its members do the work, and to influence the sector over which they have some legitimacy. I’m optimistic. You have to be optimistic to do a job like this and live in a town like this for so many decades. I still believe in the power of the human spirit and the fact that there are no challenges we can’t ultimately rise above if we are willing to put the time into it. The country was built by people who took risks, who started with nothing, who had that can-do attitude. They weren’t buying everything on credit and taking an easy road. It is possible. You can do these things if you’re driven by a vision and a strategic purpose, if you’re transparent and open and figure out where there are areas of commonality. I knew that intellectually, but now I’ve lived it: you can actually do things that are important to you. Sometimes faster than you planned — looking back over the past eight years, some of this has come on extraordinarily quickly. That gives me lots of hope for the future. I still have some ideas, and I plan on being around a while to help see those things come to fruition.

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Society Demands, Community Colleges Deliver ILLUSTRATION BY RAFAEL LOPEZ

To the 12 million students who attend community colleges every year, higher education is the foundation of their future success. With students’ future livelihoods at stake, society makes great demands on community colleges — and community colleges deliver. But colleges can’t accomplish everything their students and communities expect of them alone. Partnerships with area industries, governmental authorities, and — more and more often — foundations are vital to empowering community colleges to meet the demands of society. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Lumina Foundation are two of the most committed and effective community college partners, and the leaders of both organizations are slated to address the more than 1,500 trustees, presidents, and other community college leaders and advocates who will attend the 2013 ACCT Leadership Congress in Seattle this October.

Bill and Melinda Gates work together to expand opportunity to the world’s most disadvantaged people by collaborating with grantees and partners.

Bill Gates

Co-Chair & Trustee Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

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Bill Gates is co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Along with co-chair Melinda Gates, he shapes and approves grantmaking strategies, advocates for the foundation’s issues, and helps set the overall direction of the organization. Bill and Melinda Gates work together to expand opportunity to the world’s most disadvantaged people by collaborating with grantees and partners. They also participate in national and international events and travel extensively to focus attention on the issues the foundation champions. Gates began his major philanthropic efforts in 1994, when he created the William H. Gates Foundation, which focused on global health. Three years later, he and Melinda created the Gates Library Foundation, which worked to bring public access computers with Internet connections to libraries in the United States. Its name changed to the Gates Learning Foundation in 1999 to reflect its focus on ensuring that low-income minority students are prepared for college and have the means to attend. In 2000, to increase efficiency and communication, the two groups merged into the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. In 1975, Gates left Harvard University in his junior year to focus on Microsoft, the company he founded with his childhood friend Paul Allen. As chief software architect and chairman, Gates led the company to become the worldwide leader in business and personal software, services, and solutions. In July 2008, Gates transitioned into a new role as chairman of Microsoft and advisor on some key development projects. Gates also founded Corbis, which is developing a comprehensive digital archive of art and photography from public and private collections around the globe. He is a member of the board of directors of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Gates grew up in Seattle with his two sisters. His father, William H. Gates Sr., is a co-chair of the foundation and a retired attorney. His late mother, Mary Gates, was a schoolteacher, University of Washington regent, and chairwoman of United Way International. The Gateses have three children.

Jamie Merisotis President & CEO Lumina Foundation

Lumina Foundation is the nation’s largest private foundation committed solely to enrolling and graduating more students from college. Long a champion of the idea that higher education enhances both society and individuals, Merisotis has worked for decades to increase educational opportunity among low-income, minority, and other historically underrepresented populations. At Lumina, Merisotis is continuing that effort by employing a strategic, outcomes-based approach in pursuing the foundation’s mission of expanding college access and success. Under his leadership, Lumina has embraced an ambitious and specific goal: to ensure that, by 2025, 60 percent of Americans hold high-quality degrees, certificates, and other credentials — up from the current level of less than 40 percent. Merisotis is an expert on a wide range of higher-education issues. He is well versed in domestic and international issues related to higher-education access and success, including student financial aid, minority-serving colleges and universities, global higher-education policy strategies, learning outcomes, and the social and economic benefits of higher education. He is recognized as an authority on college and university financing and has published major studies and reports on topics ranging from higher-education rankings to the financing of higher education in Southern Africa. Before joining Lumina Foundation in January 2008, Merisotis was founding president of the Institute for Higher Education Policy. Established in Washington, D.C., in 1993, IHEP is an independent, non-partisan organization regarded as one of the world’s premier higher-education research and policy centers.

At Lumina, Merisotis is employing a strategic, outcomes-based approach in pursuing the foundation’s mission of expanding college access and success. T R U S T E E Q U A RT E R LY

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The View on Higher Education Accreditation Accreditation is the cornerstone of quality assurance in higher education, and failing to meet the standards set by regional accrediting agencies can spell disaster for a college or university. Modeled after the hit television show “The View,” a special session will focus on debates surrounding the “hot topics” of accreditation featuring the presidents of each of the five regional accrediting bodies.

Barbara A. Beno, Ph.D. President, Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges

Barbara Beno joined the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) as president in August 2001. Prior to her appointment, she served as commissioner for both the ACCJC and the Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities, Western Association of Schools and Colleges. Beno served as president of Berkeley City College (formerly Vista Community College) for 12 years, and was previously assistant chancellor of the San Mateo Community College District, research and planning director for the Peralta Community College District, and a university faculty member in sociology. She was chair of the Council of Regional Accrediting Commissions from 2006 to 2009. The Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges, Western Association of Schools and Colleges (ACCJC, WASC) accredits community colleges and other associate degree granting institutions in the Western region of the U.S, including California, Hawaii, the territories of Guam and American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Republic of Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands. The ACCJC is one of seven regional accrediting commissions. The ACCJC is authorized to operate by the U.S. Department of Education through the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008.

Barbara Brittingham, Ph.D. Director of the Commission, New England Association of Schools and Colleges Commission on Institutions of Higher Education

Barbara Brittingham is director/ president of the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education (CIHE), New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), where she has worked since 2000. NEASC accredits 238 colleges and universities in the six New England 18

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States and eight institutions in other countries. Previously, she served as a member and chair of the commission. Brittingham was founding dean of the College of Education at Zayed University in the United Arab Emirates and worked in Ankara, Turkey, while on a World Bank project. She was dean of the College of Human Science and Services at the University of Rhode Island, where she also served as interim dean of university libraries, director of the Curriculum Research and Development Center, and professor of education. She currently serves on the Committee on Recognition for the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA); on the Higher Education Training and Awards Council (HETAC) in Ireland; and on the Quality Council in Iceland. Brittingham has served on the boards of six national accreditation organizations and has worked with ministries and universities in over 25 countries, sponsored by the Fulbright Commission, the U.S. State Department, the World Bank, and local governments and universities. The Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges is the regional accreditation agency for colleges and universities in the six New England states: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Three institutions in Greece, three in Switzerland, and one in Bulgaria, Bermuda, Lebanon, and Morocco, respectively, are also affiliated with CIHE.

Sandra E. Elman, Ph.D. President, Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities

Sandra Elman is the President of the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) in Redmond, Washington. From 2003-2006, Dr. Elman served as Chair of the Council of Regional Accrediting Commissions (CRAC) that is comprised of the directors and chairs of the seven regional accrediting commissions. Prior to assuming the position of president of NWCCU in 1996, Elman was the Associate Director of the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. Before joining regional accreditation, Dr. Elman held a variety of administrative and faculty positions at the John McCormack Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Massachusetts, the University of

Maryland, and the University of California, Berkeley. She has published extensively in the fields of public policy and higher education and is co-author of New Priorities for the University: Educating Competent Individuals for Applied Knowledge and Societal Needs. Elman has lectured nationally and internationally on issues related to quality assurance, institutional finance and governance, and the roles of government and business/industry. She is an adjunct faculty member at Oregon State University and serves as an evaluator for international quality assurance agencies, including for the Center for Accreditation and Quality Assurance of Swiss Universities. She is a past Chair of the Board of Trustees of Unity College in Unity, Maine, which is an environmentally focused liberal arts institution. Her academic areas of interest include accreditation/federal/institutional relations; quality assurance in the U.S. and Europe; governance of public and private higher education institutions; and conflict resolution and international peace. Elman received her B.A. degree in history and political science from Hunter College in New York and her M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in policy, planning, and administration from the University of California, Berkeley. She is a 2005 graduate of the Department of Defense National Security Seminar, U.S. Army War College. The Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) is an independent, non-profit membership organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as the regional authority on educational quality and institutional effectiveness of higher education institutions in the seven-state Northwest region of Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington. It fulfills its mission by establishing accreditation criteria and evaluation procedures by which institutions are reviewed. The Commission oversees regional accreditation for 163 institutions. Its decision-making body consists of up to 26 commissioners who represent the public and the diversity of higher education institutions within the Northwest region.

Sylvia Manning, Ph.D. President, The Higher Learning Commission for the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools

Sylvia Manning became President of The Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association in 2008 after eight years as Chancellor at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She had served as vice president for academic affairs for the University of Illinois and prior to that held a variety of positions at the University of Southern California. She began her academic career at what is today the California State University, East Bay. The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) is an independent corporation and one of two commission members of the North

Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA), which was founded in 1895 as one of six regional institutional accreditors in the United States. The Higher Learning Commission accredits, and thereby grants membership in the Commission and in the North Central Association, degree-granting post-secondary educational institutions in the North Central region, including Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

Belle S. Wheelan, Ph.D. President, Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Belle Wheelan currently serves as president of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges and is the first African American and first woman to serve in this capacity. Her career spans over 30 years and includes the roles of faculty member, chief student services officer, campus provost, college president, and Secretary of Education. In several of those roles, she was the first African American and/or woman to serve in those capacities. She has received numerous awards and recognition, including four honorary degrees, the Distinguished Graduate Award from Trinity University (2002), and from the College of Education at the University of Texas at Austin (1992); Washingtonian Magazine’s 100 Most Powerful Women in Washington, D.C. (2001); the AAUW Woman of Distinction Award (2002); the Suanne Davis Roueche National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development’s Distinguished Lecturer Award (2007); the John E. Roueche National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development’s International Leadership Award (2010); and the AACC Leadership Award (2011). The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges is the regional body for the accreditation of degree-granting higher education institutions in the Southern states. It serves as the common denominator of shared values and practices among the diverse institutions in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Latin America and other international sites approved by the Commission on Colleges that award associate, baccalaureate, master’s, or doctoral degrees. The Commission also accepts applications from other international institutions of higher education. T R U S T E E Q U A RT E R LY

FALL 2013

Making

By Conor Smyth

it Count

Wisconsin’s technical colleges are finding new ways to measure student success. Wausau is “in the middle of everything that is best about Wisconsin,” according to the region’s Chamber of Commerce. Home to an increasingly diverse employer base and a vibrant hub for exploring Wisconsin’s beautiful north woods, the city of Wausau and the communities that surround it are in many ways a picture of the state’s economic transition.

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technology. The college offers similar shorter-term certificate options across sectors, including health occupations, information technology, business, agriculture, transportation and others. Similar programs are offered at technical colleges across the state (see related story, p. 22). The challenge facing Wisconsin — and community and technical colleges nationally — is that these shorter-term, high-value education options are typically not reflected in routine outcomes reporting. Instead, that reporting has historically focused on traditional measures of student success, like the attainment of an associate degree.

Redefining Student Success In January 2012, the American Association of Community Colleges released a “metrics manual” for the Voluntary Framework of Accountability (VFA). One important result of that work has been heightened national awareness that traditional measures of student success don’t adequately reflect the complex missions of community and technical colleges. The VFA project is a partnership of AACC, the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT), and the College Board, with support from the Lumina Foundation. Vernon Jung, a member of the ACCT Board of Directors and a trustee from Moraine Park Technical College, brought this discussion of student success back to Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Technical College District Boards Association, the private, non-profit membership organization of the state’s 144 technical college trustees, seized the opportunity to spur a collaborative, system-wide review of how Wisconsin’s technical colleges define and measure student success.

NTC Photo and WTCS Stock Photo

Despite its attributes, the region has not been immune to the challenges posed by this transition. For example, the paper industry — foundational to the regional economy for generations — has been hard-hit by changes in print media and a decreasing demand for paper products, a decline hastened by the Great Recession. Employers and workers faced with industry and career transitions are looking to Northcentral Technical College (NTC) for solutions. With an impressive mix of program offerings, NTC serves a 5,900 square mile, 10-county region, with a main campus in Wausau and five additional campuses in surrounding communities. “We have deep, long-standing ties to the employers and communities we serve,” said Dr. Kristine Gilmore, a Northcentral trustee and superintendent of one of the largest school districts in the region. “This gives us a real advantage in anticipating and meeting educational needs. Many times, those needs are met with flexible, short-term options.” For example, when local industry leaders identified the need for a discrete set of competencies needed to maintain manufacturing equipment, the college developed a 10-credit certificate in manufacturing electronics maintenance. Students who complete the certificate are prepared to perform routine maintenance on high-value manufacturing parts and equipment, hydraulic and pneumatic systems, and electrical and electronic devices and systems. Of value to the employer and the student, completers can also count these credits towards Northcentral’s two-year associate degree in electromechanical

Northcentral Technical College President Lori Weyers, right, and her Vice President for Student Affairs, Laurie Borowicz, have been actively engaged in defining student success in Wisconsin.

For Wisconsin’s technical colleges, developing and accounting for short-term credentials is an important strategy for solving the skills gap in key programs like welding.

Dr. Lori Weyers, Northcentral Technical College’s president and the Wisconsin Technical College System (WTCS) Presidents’ Liaison to Student Services, played a key role in the review, as did NTC Vice President of Student Services Dr. Laurie Borowicz and Madison College Vice President of Student Development Dr. Keith Cornille. “These were some tough, frank conversations,” Weyers reported. “We issued the challenge: If you don’t think the historical framework fits what we’re doing for our customers, what should it look like?” The result — a common definition of student success, as well as proposed metrics for assessing outcomes — is now being adopted across the system.

diplomas, which can be less than a year in duration or require one or two years to complete. Complicating matters is that many states refer to these options as certificates, as does IPEDS, the federal Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System. Moreover, because Wisconsin’s technical colleges are not required to seek state approval for shorter-term certificate offerings, they can’t currently be reported at a system level. The Technical College System serves many individuals who are interested in highly targeted education or training programs that don’t necessarily end with a formal degree or diploma. “By any existing measure of student success, that would be considered a failure because the individual didn’t finish a traditional program,” Foy says. “In Wisconsin, we’re intent on recognizing certificate completion as a success for the student and the college.”

Performance-Based Funding Agreeing on measures of student success took on a new level of importance when Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker unveiled his biennial budget proposal in January 2013. In it, he included a performance-based funding model for the state’s technical colleges. The model will base a portion of state funding on certain performance measures. “We proposed performance funding in our budget request to the Governor last fall,” said WTCS President Morna Foy. “Our colleges are widely viewed as responsive and accountable, evidenced by the Governor’s inclusion of measures identified in our four-year strategic plan.” Foy drove the development of that plan prior to becoming the system’s 12th president in January 2013, and encouraged the systemwide group defining student success to focus on the state’s long track record of successful outcomes for technical college students. Wisconsin has been measuring key student success performance outcomes like graduate job placement and wages for decades, and Foy has been steadfast in her insistence that the system use existing data sources to the greatest extent possible. “Performance measurement is costly,” she says, “and we want to take full advantage of what already exists.” Foy has, however, identified one notable exception — accounting for shorter-term certificate offerings. WTCS collects completion data for associate degree and applied associate degree offerings, as well as intensive occupational skill-focused programs known as technical

Forward Wisconsin’s state motto is “Forward.” Given its central geographical location in the state and experiences representative of Wisconsin’s economic transition, perhaps it’s fitting that Northcentral finds itself in the middle of a high-profile effort to modernize how two-year colleges with highly complex missions define and measure student success. Foy expects that her office’s effort to outline a common definition of a certificate that is tied to student success, and a way to automate an accounting of them, will conclude in early 2014, on the same timeline provided in the Governor’s budget for developing the system’s performance based funding framework. “This gives Wisconsin a unique opportunity to set a strong lead model for other two-year colleges and to realize that student success varies through measurable outcomes and systems nationally,” says Jung. “Forward.”

Conor Smyth is the director of strategic partnerships and external relations for the Wisconsin Technical College System.

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FALL 2013

Filling Gaps in the

Moraine Park Technical College’s “boot camp” training fills job shortages and finds students gainful employment — fast. b y J a m e s V. E d e n

Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development Secretary Reggie Newson, left, congratulates a member of Moraine Park Technical College’s first class of CNC Boot Camp graduates in January 2013, while Anne Lemke, boot camp coordinator, looks on.

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Focused on Student Success The intense 10- to 15-week boot camps require students to achieve a 98 percent attendance rate and a grade of C or better in each course. Focused on retention and building student self-esteem, the program requires a $500 fee at orientation. Seventy-five percent of that sum is refunded upon successful completion. The boot camps combine a 72-hour paid internship with course work, including Occupational Math, Print Reading, and Team Building and Problem Solving. The Welding Boot Camp also includes Intro to Welding Processes, while the CNC Boot Camp includes courses in Basic Programing, CNC Machining Center Operation, and Turning Center Operation. At graduation, students earn a credentialed certificate, and in most cases, immediate employment. All of this was designed by partnering businesses invested in the boot camp educational process. Brenner Tank — one of the largest stainless steel chemical tank manufacturers in North America — is a participating employer. Thus far, the company, based in Fond du Lac, has hired five full-time boot camp graduates. “The boot camp allows for a basic foundation of training that would normally have to take place on the production floor,” says Dawn Peterson, Brenner Tank’s human resources manager. “With the boot camp resource, we are able to reduce the time of on-the-job training, which provides a leg up for employees becoming productive contributors.” Because of the early success of these “skills academies,” Moraine Park President Sheila Ruhland urges other colleges to explore starting their own. “Consider the boot camp concept,” suggests Ruhland. “It works. The training academies address workforce shortage areas, link employers to graduates, focus on student success and self-esteem, and get employers working in the educational process.” Critical to Moraine Park’s intensive training workshops is a strong partnership with participating businesses; the ability to secure federal and state grant funding; and a cohort-style classroom/internship structure boasting built-in student incentives and focusing on student success.

isconsin’s shortage of welders and Computer Numerical Control (CNC) operators recently spurred Moraine Park Technical College in Fond du Lac to partner with area businesses to develop and execute a series of training boot camps. The boot camps, funded mostly by grants, pair classroom learning and hands-on internships to quickly qualify displaced and unemployed workers for entry-level welding and CNC openings — jobs that provide real living wages. So far, 52 individuals have completed a boot camp. Of those, 42 have secured employment, received job offers, or are continuing their education in related manufacturing fields. Over three years, Moraine Park hopes to train more than 180 workers, and in doing so, fill a welding and CNC workforce void.

Determining Need: Is There a Void in the Workforce? The first step, according to Ruhland, is to determine if there is a need. In the Wisconsin counties served by Moraine Park, welders and CNC operators are in high demand. “We looked at the areas where there was high unemployment,” said Ruhland. “Then we identified employers who needed skilled workers. The employers came to the table to help design the boot camp curriculum. The students can’t learn an entire program in the timeframe given, so employers helped us determine which components were most important.”

Funding Boot Camps Funding was also secured. Moraine Park is the recipient of a $707,647 Wisconsin Workforce Partnership Grant from the Wisconsin Covenant Foundation Inc., and a $647,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Labor Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training Grant Program (TAACCCT). Together, the grants help fund the cost of boot camp development and execution, as well as some technology needs. The TAACCCT grant funded five VRTEX 360 welding simulation stations, two of which will be placed in Moraine Park’s new 10,000-square-foot leased Jackson Regional Center in Washington County. Constructed to better serve businesses in that area, the facility features new welding and CNC learning labs. Labs are also located at Moraine Park’s other campuses in Beaver Dam, West Bend, and Fond du Lac. The new “virtual welders” help Moraine Park better meet the needs of employers by enabling students to learn more quickly as well as receive real-time feedback on their skills, noted Ruhland.

Businesses Invest in Educational Process Getting businesses on board with the boot camp concept was the next step. “It wasn’t difficult,” says Jo Ann Hall, dean of economic and workforce development. “Many of these companies work with us on incumbent worker training for current staff, so helping them find good entry-level candidates to hire was a natural extension of our partnership.” Company involvement, however, requires an investment of time and money. Not only do partnering businesses help develop the boot camp curriculum and structure, they also select the students they want to participate and provide them with paid internships. “Four partnering companies on our steering committee provide input on the curriculum and structure,” says Hall. Thus far, 16 businesses participate, and in doing so, pay interns for 72 hours of work and technical skill coaching throughout the program. “We molded the courses around employer feedback,” added Hall, who said Moraine Park initially came to employers with boot camp courses focused on technical skills. “After discussions regarding hiring difficulties, team building and problem solving were added to address soft skill concerns.”

Boot Camp Structure Critical to Success What makes the boot camp structure so successful is its holistic approach, according to Hall and Ruhland. It promotes cohort learning; embeds student incentives that impact retention; involves employers with each step; graduates unemployed and displaced workers; and, in many cases, places those graduates immediately into jobs with starting wages of $14 to $20 per hour. Moreover, each of the 10-15 boot camp credits counts toward a degree in a related field. “There’s a lot of value in the cohort model because students travel through the program together, help each other, and struggle and succeed together,” Hall says. “In addition, the participants create a network for job searching and support long past the boot camp.” “The process moves quickly, and students have to be committed to succeed. Students complete a boot camp orientation, and the next week, start 30 to 40 hours of work, Monday through Friday,” she adds. “In a typical week, they will be in class three or four days, touching each topic at least once. They then spend one day at their respective internships applying what they learned in class.”

Selection of Students Open to people who are currently unemployed or are not employed as CNC machinists or welders, the boot camps quickly provide workers with the skills to get their foot in the door at a good-paying company. But in order to be selected to participate, individuals must meet set standards in reading and math — established by partnering businesses. Those who meet the standards move into a pool of candidates. Meanwhile, those who test below the standards are urged to accept help on basic skills free of charge at Moraine Park’s Student Success Center, and become eligible for the program once they meet those levels. Ultimately, businesses select the boot camp participants through an interview and hiring process for the internship. “Just like the job market, it’s a competitive process,” Hall says. “At the end of the process, and there is no guarantee, our hope is that they get selected for an internship, and ultimately hired full time.” So far, the boot camps are working — boasting a 90 percent completion rate, coupled with an employment rate of 79 percent. “Boot camps are a more holistic approach to training,” says Vernon Jung, Moraine Park District Board vice chair. “I think the old saying ‘pulled up by the boot straps’ says it all. They get individuals into higher-paying jobs in a very short amount of time.” Boot camp graduate Jason Martin, of Cedar Grove, Wis., agrees. “When I started this program, I thought the way to turn a computer off and on was to unplug it and plug it in,” he says. “Now, nearly three months later, I am operating a complicated piece of CNC machinery and creating complicated and wonderful products.”

James V. Eden, Ph.D., is vice president of academic affairs for Moraine Park Technical College. To learn more about Moraine Park’s boot camps, visit www.morainepark.edu/bootcamp, or call Jo Ann Hall at 920-924-3289. T R U S T E E Q U A RT E R LY

FALL 2013

Modern Ways to Fill the Talent Gap b y St a n J a c k s o n a n d T o n i P a c e

Community colleges can leverage technology to connect qualified talent to unfilled jobs. Each February, ACCT and AACC release a “green sheet” of community college legislative priorities that determine the legislative agenda for that year. This year, workforce development was identified as one of these priorities, reflecting the critical role community colleges play in producing the talent that will help close America’s skills gap. In fact, community colleges are uniquely positioned in higher education to respond to this issue, given their focus on servicing non-traditional students like adult learners and veterans looking for immediate career placement. Yet in reality, community colleges are having trouble placing their graduates into fulfilling careers post-graduation. Communities have open jobs that need to be filled with qualified workers, and community colleges have qualified talent that needs to be placed in jobs. Yet somehow, the two remain unconnected. How can we reconcile this reality and solve the gap between supply and demand for a local workforce? This article will explore the ways in which community colleges and technology can address local industry needs for both immediate and long-term talent, while helping community college students find fulfilling post-graduation careers and closing the skills gap. To start, we will look at the skills gap itself, explaining the complex origin of a pervasive problem. Then, we will pose a potential solution — online “talent communities” built to foster communication between employers and qualified talent seeking job opportunities. Finally, we will highlight a talent community created to help veterans re-enter the workforce, showing the potential success technology can provide in helping close the skills gap. 24

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Understanding the Skills Gap A New York Times article, “Education and Training Has Not Kept Pace,” written by Celia Conrad, an economist and the vice president for academic affairs and the dean of Pomona College in California, describes the origin of the skills gap. Conrad writes: The skills gap originated with the tectonic change in the economy that began in the 1970s: increased offshore competition for traditional manufacturing jobs and technological innovations that changed the content of remaining jobs. The comparative advantage of the United States in global markets shifted to knowledge-based, science and technology intensive activities, but our education and training infrastructure did not keep pace with the needs of these industries.1 In other words, a change in workforce needs and a corresponding failure to meet that change through appropriate education and training created the skills gap. Because of this, workforce-development activities were suddenly prioritized. The need for new types of education and training programs and an increased development of graduates with math and sciencerelated skills and knowledge were put at the forefront of both Americans’ minds and educational directives. Different solutions to closing the skills gap are being explored. The problem is complicated, but the solution does not have to be. Community colleges can leverage technology to close the skills gap.

Solving the Problem: Community Colleges and Technology A recent report by the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program reveals an interesting insight: “Federal support of STEM education at the sub-bachelor’s level — such as community colleges — should be strengthened, considering a high number of [STEM jobs] require less than a bachelor’s degree.”2 In other words, many of these unfilled jobs, understood to need higher levels of training and education, actually require less. The report confirmed what many have long known: jobs that require less than a bachelor’s degree are a key part of the economy, and because of this, community colleges are uniquely positioned to provide the talent to fill those jobs.3 With the confirmation of the important role community colleges play in closing the skills gap, one question remains: How do we connect unemployed talent to unfilled positions? This is precisely where technology comes into play. Online “talent communities” — branded websites designed to connect qualified talent and employers around a common purpose (skills, industry, community, company) — are being built with the mission of bridging the communication gap between

employers with open positions and qualified candidates seeking employment. When used in conjunction with a community college, a talent community provides the platform to connect graduates to meaningful work and assist community colleges in their role as the key player in closing the skills gap.

Case Study: U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Hiring our Heroes Initiative According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, jobless rates for U.S. military veterans have slowly declined, falling a full 1.3 percent in 2012.4 However, the current unemployment rate for veterans who served on active duty any time following September 2001 is still just under 10 percent.5 In response, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation set up a nationwide initiative called Hiring our Heroes to help veterans and military spouses find meaningful employment.6 The chamber partnered with the Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University to create Fast Track, a single online destination for military candidates to find jobs in high-demand employment regions and industries across the country, connect directly with employers, complete self-assessments, and identify critical career paths to designated occupations. Elements of this talent community include: • Mapping careers by industry/sector; • Identifying qualifications needed for employment opportunities; • Showing how to target the GI Bill for use at community colleges, vocational schools, and apprenticeships; and • Credentialing programs to earn specific qualifications to land a job. To close the skills gap, community colleges and employers must both understand the need and avenues through which that need can be met. Technology solutions such as talent communities can help facilitate this coordination by bridging the communication gap between these two entities. To learn more about talent communities, attend “How to Close the Skills Gap with Online Talent Communities: A Network for Community Colleges to Meet Local Workforce Needs” at ACCT’s 2013 Leadership Congress in Seattle. If you are unable to attend the meeting, feel free to contact ConnectEDU Inc. Partner Marketing & Communications Manager Abby Zwier at azwier@connectedu.com.

Stan Jackson is chief business intelligence officer at ConnectEDU. Toni Pace is ConnectEDU’s content manager. ConnectEDU Inc. is a member of the ACCT Corporate Council. To learn more, visit info. connectedu.com/modern-ways-to-fill-a-talent-gap.

Conrad, Celia. “Education and Training Has Not Kept Pace.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 10 July 2012. Web.

McVicar, Brian. Investing in STEM education at two-year colleges could fill skills gap, GRCC says.” MLive. MLive, 10 June 2013. Web.

McVicar, Brian. “Investing in STEM education at two-year colleges could fill skills gap, GRCC says.” MLive. MLive, 10 June 2013. Web.

“Employment Situation of Veterans Summary.” United States Department of Labor. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 20 Mar. 2013. Web.

Hiring our Heroes: A Program of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 June 2013. <http://www.uschamber.com/hiringourheroes>.

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FALL 2013

Around Regions the

2.86 percent and provide 2 percent pay raises to faculty and staff.

central Region Bipartisan pension reform to deal with Illinois’ $100 billion in unfunded liabilities is still in a state of flux, but statewide goals for retention and graduation remain a primary focus. Community college trustees, the Illinois Student Assistance Commission, the United Way, and Chicago’s One Million Degrees are sharing best retention practices. Illinois Community College Trustees Association President Bob Johnson and Dr. Karen Anderson, executive director of the Illinois Community College Board, encourage trustees to advocate for funding that was saved from major cuts.

As part of a three-year-old state initiative on coursesharing, Lorain County Community College in Ohio is exporting two one-year certificate courses in medical assisting and supply chain management to an adult career and technical center in Plain City. LCCC has also provided health programs to a number of community colleges in recent years, including helping Eastern Gateway Community College establish a program until it gained accreditation for its own offerings. Three years ago, state lawmakers approved legislation to establish a Course and Program Sharing Network among community colleges, four-year colleges, and adult career centers to avoid duplication of services.

Ivy Tech Community College in Indiana received approval from the state’s budget committee for $63 million in expansion projects at three campuses in Anderson, Bloomington, and Indianapolis. The Kentucky Community and Technical College System board of regents voted to raise tuition at the state’s 16 community and technical colleges by

NORTHEAST Region Recognizing the need to meet the state’s completion goals, Maryland community college presidents supported with amendments the College and Career Readiness Completion Act

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of 2013, one of the most comprehensive education reform bills in state history. Community college workgroups reviewed the legislation and outlined amendments. Dr. Brad Gottfried, president of the College of Southern Maryland, and Maryland Association of Community Colleges Executive Director Dr. Bernard Sadusky presented testimony to state legislatures. Carroll Community College in Maryland has decided to participate in the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program for the first time this fall. Middlesex Community College in Massachusetts is offering an associate degree for medical laboratory technicians and a Chinese studies option within its global studies program for the first time this fall. Cape Cod Community College in Massachusetts entered a three-year contract with the Plymouth school district to offer dualcredit offerings at Plymouth North High School. Credit for the evening courses would be accepted at all of the state’s public universities, colleges, and community colleges. New Jersey Council of Community Colleges Chairman and ACCT Northeast Regional Chair Bakari Gerard Lee, vice

chairman of the Hudson County Community College Board of Trustees, delivered the keynote speech during Atlantic Cape Community College’s 2013 commencement ceremony and received an honorary degree from Atlantic Cape for his years of service, leadership, and advocacy for New Jersey’s community college sector. Luzerne County Community College in Pennsylvania is adding an associate of science in English and an associate of science in theater to its offerings this fall. The degree programs are being added as part of the state’s program-to-program transfer system between community colleges and four-year institutions.

Southern Region Arkansas higher education officials received a $500,000 grant from the Kresge Foundation to create a system to help award associate degrees to qualifying students who transferred from community colleges to universities. The state’s participation in the “Credit When It’s Due”

program is part of an initiative promoted by Gov. Mike Beebe to double the number of state residents with college degrees by 2025. This fall, Miami Dade College in Florida will introduce a new Executive Bachelor of Applied Science (EBAS) program in Supervision and Management. The accelerated classes are designed to be completed within 4 to 8 weeks and are designed for students who want to enhance their knowledge or are currently working and require a degree to advance their careers. Classes will be offered at night and during weekends in a combination of face-to-face and online sessions. Blue Ridge Community College in North Carolina is seeking state approval for a two-year associates degree program in craft beer brewing, developed in partnership with a local craft brewery. Two other state colleges, Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College and Rockingham Community College, have developed similar programs. Tennessee established a $35 million endowment through the Tennessee Student Assistant Corporation to provide support to need-based students at the state’s community colleges. Part of Gov. Bill Haslam’s “Drive

to 55” initiative that aims to increase the percentage of state residents with at least a two-year degree from 32 to 55 percent by 2025, the ceremonial bill signing was held at Chattanooga State Community College in July.

Pacific Region Arguing that the policy violates state law, Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne is suing the Maricopa County Community College district for charging in-state tuition to undocumented immigrants with federal work permits. Citing new rules and rising default rates that could potentially cut off Pell Grants and other forms of financial aid, the Yuba Community College District in California voted in July to suspend participation in the federal student loan program. Some 275 YCCD students borrowed through the federal loan program during the 2012-13 school year, compared to more than 6,800 students

who received other forms of financial aid. Its two colleges are now among 17 California community colleges that do not offer federal loans. Washington state community and technical colleges will freeze tuition for the upcoming academic year for the first time since 1989. The state’s 2013-15 operating budget spared higher education from budget cuts. Washington state community colleges will include questions on sexual orientation and gender identity on registration forms this fall. It will become the first system of community and technical colleges in the nation to track these demographics, although students can opt not to answer the questions.

western Region Three Kansas community colleges have created an insurance consortium in response to higher rates and new laws that allow some weapons on campus.

Independence Community College, Coffeyville Community College, and Neosho Community Colleges formed the consortium in response to increased insurance rates in the wake of the new legislation. San Jacinto College in Texas is accelerating its Men of Honor program to increase retention and transfer rates among male African American students through the hiring of Ron Hopkins as the program’s director. Since the program, which provides mentors to male African American students, was launched four years ago, SJC has seen an 11.7 percent increase in the number of students that stayed enrolled, an 8.9 percent increase in the number of passing students, and a 12.2 percent increase in the number of Men of Honor students who were both retained and passed. With the support of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, eight community colleges have launched a statewide consortium of community college marketing professionals. More than 100 representatives from 40 colleges attended the inaugural conference of the Texas Association of Community College Marketers in June.

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 dconner@acct.org. Fax submissions to 202-223-1297. T R U S T E E Q U A RT E R LY F A L L 2 0 1 3

C E O ’ s V oice

Three Principles of Trustee Leadership

Alamo Colleges’ chancellor outlines three key factors that determine whether institutions ‘flourish or fail.’

Given the enormous changes, challenges, and opportunities facing the entire educational industry and every individual college, a critical foundation of effective organizational stewardship that will foster the imperatives of change is harmony. Harmony among trustees — and especially between trustees and the CEO — creates the environment necessary for the board and CEO to implement the strategic changes that are absolutely required today. For over 30 years as a CEO, I have worked directly for four community college boards and served on numerous community-based and business boards. This experience has affirmed that trustees and CEOs must fundamentally trust each other in order to achieve the optimum relationship necessary for an organization’s success. Establishing and maintaining trust requires mutually respectful behaviors — in other words, harmony. Trustees of any and all organizations must assert the lead to establish the foundation for the organization’s success. Recently, I had the opportunity to briefly address the nation’s community college trustees at the 2013 ACCT Leadership Congress in Boston. I encouraged trustees to act according to three principles that determine whether their organization flourishes or fails. In my view, the three primary principles are: 1. Stewardship: All trustees, individually and collectively, must stand united for the best interests of the students, protecting the community’s investment in the college’s assets, including the employees, and continuously seek 28

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By Bruce Leslie

a collaborative consensus among themselves and the CEO. The individual trustee must set aside the personal agenda, and often the agenda of particular groups or individuals who have the trustee’s ear, maturely discuss and debate issues, take a vote, and then respect the majority decision. The board acts by majority decision, not by individual preference. The board that permits individual directives to the CEO, or even worse, those reporting to the CEO, reaps havoc for the leader and organization and contradicts the effective benefits of cohesive, trusting stewardship.

2. Strategic Leadership: All trustees, individually and collectively, must affirm a clear, strategic agenda for the CEO and organization. A board’s success is determined by clear, transparent direction. This is expressed in policy and resolutions made by the board voting in formal session. They provide intent to the organization. The more closely aligned policies and resolutions are to the strategic agenda, the greater the positive impact and effectiveness of the Board, CEO, and organization. 3. Delegation: All trustees, individually and collectively, must establish clear strategic charges for the CEO, who is the board’s only employee. They

Looking for a

must delegate the implementation of their policies to her/him and clarify expected results. The board and CEO must communicate continuously, and the board must formally update its charges and regularly and visibly support the CEO in the implementation of the agenda. The board that ensures employees and students understand that the CEO is acting on its behest will enable a more harmonious relationship. In return, the board should expect the CEO to provide full and continuous information on the implementation of the board’s agenda, especially before controversies arise so the trustees understand the context and complexities of the issues and can assure the CEO that they will stand with him/her. It is only in this environment of mutual respect that real institutional progress can be made. Courage has always been a key requirement for a CEO, but is especially critical in today’s dramatically changing environment. A board cannot expect the CEO to lead, take risks, and challenge the status quo unless the trustees are fully supportive and back him/her if challenged. That’s honest stewardship and strategic leadership because it is through the CEO that the board acts. If there is no clear strategic and philosophic agenda, trustees may become at odds with each other and with the CEO, and personal agendas prevail. Those opposed to change will seize the opening and the CEO will be jeopardized, sending the board’s agenda into disarray to the detriment of the institution and its stakeholders.

Trustees of any and all organizations must assert the lead to establish the foundation for the organization’s success. These principles are fundamental, but often an individual trustee asserts his/ her personal agenda by contending that stewardship requires “speaking out for one’s constituency or representing the stakeholder’s ‘trust.’” Such personal agendas must either win the support of the majority of trustees or be set aside. Certainly, a trustee with major disagreements with the CEO should seek to resolve them privately with the assistance of the full board. If the disagreement is with fellow trustees, then she/he should consider collective strategies that achieve a more productive direction. In extreme situations, the trustees collectively must assert their stewardship responsibility with their peer and address the problem collectively. Otherwise, trust and harmony are lost, and it is the CEO and organization that suffer the consequences of a distracted or dysfunctional board.

Bruce Leslie is chancellor of The Alamo Colleges in Texas. This article was originally published on the author’s Huffington Post blog, www.huffingtonpost. com/bruce-leslie, on March 12, 2013.

New President, Vice President, Provost, or Vice Chancellor? OUR SUCCESS ACCT Board Leadership Services brings over 30 years of experience to every executive search. We have assisted more than 300 colleges and governing boards in successfully identifying the best candidates for new presidents and chancellors. ACCT’s services have been expanded to work with chancellors and presidents to identify the most outstanding candidates for vice presidential positions at your college.

OUR STRENGTHS • We understand the needs of community colleges. • We find and cultivate highcaliber talent. • We build a unique pool of candidates for each search to “fit” the college. • We have extensive contacts with women and minorities poised to advance. • We have the advantage of the ACCT membership as a source of contacts.

For more information, please contact Narcisa Polonio at npolonio@acct.org or 202-276-1983.

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FALL 2013

pen Standards By Rob Abel

for Student Success

Connecting technology can lead to better pathways THAT HELP STUDENTS SUCCEED.

We are living in a world full of exciting developments in terms of digital content, sophisticated gaming, iPads, social networking, massive open online courses (MOOCs), open educational resources, and open-source software. The hopes for educational technology are high as educational materials transition from print to digital and educational experiences shift from face-to-face interaction to online communications, and from measuring time spent in the classroom toward measuring competencies. Venture-capital investing in educational technology has ramped up to historic levels, growing at a 57 percent compound annual growth rate since 2005. Private investors are expecting technology to play a much greater, if not disruptive, role in education by the year 2020. While the promise of technology holds great promise for personalizing learning, the reality of integrating and using it can be complicated. Implementing such change requires more work by faculty than sticking with traditional approaches. Add in the desire to integrate traditional classroom learning with applications on mobile platforms, emerging educational content, and new competency-based learning models, or the desire to integrate with social networks outside of the academy, and getting to a state at which the use of technology actually makes life better for faculty and students becomes daunting. And with content and data coming from different suppliers, the challenges of tying everything together strain the resources of most 30

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IT departments. Unfortunately, as digital technology evolves, the demand on those limited resources increases exponentially. Think how frustrating life would be if your computer didn’t have that Universal Serial Bus (USB) port. All those devices and applications you plug in and use each day — your phone, printer, and iPod, among others — might not work, at least not without a considerable amount of configuring. Now extrapolate that thought and consider the growing nightmare community college IT staff and faculty face when trying to figure out ways to deliver content using a variety of learning-management systems to their students, who in turn use a variety of devices as their learning tools. “The problem is not that there isn’t enough information or systems available to students. The problem is that they often exist in formats that can’t be consumed in the most practical way to allow students to be as successful as possible,” said Shah Ardalan, president of Lone Star College — University Park in Texas. “Today’s students take courses from us and our partner universities, but also from massive open online courses. They take courses online and face to face. Some are traditional courses, some continuing education, and some competencybased. How can we process all these data in a way that the information can easily be owned and accessed by the students, no matter where and how they take classes? To me, this is where interoperability standards become critically important. If there are no standards, then it is almost impossible to assist students in a personal and effective manner.”

How can community colleges and universities bridge the gap from the reality of today’s fragmented technologies to realizing the potential of technology to help more students succeed? The missing link is an open platform based on open standards.

Embracing Interoperability How can community colleges and universities bridge the gap from the reality of today’s fragmented technologies to realizing the potential of technology to help more students succeed? The missing link is an open platform based on open standards. The IMS Global Learning Consortium (IMS), a non-profit member-driven standards organization, provides such a platform, and IMS-enabled products are exploding into the education community through the viral adoption of IMS standards by leading technology suppliers, including several of ACCT’s Corporate Council partners. Any community college can move naturally over time towards an open academic enterprise by simply requiring IMS Conformance Certification as part of the procurement process. One example is Ocean County College, a two-year public institution based in Toms River, New Jersey. OCC offers 12 fully online degree programs and seven certification programs and relies on Pearson’s eCollege for its learning management system (LMS), as well as for recruiting and marketing support. Patricia Fenn, Ocean’s executive director for e-learning and continuing and professional studies, said the college depends on Pearson, which is an IMS member, to ensure the interoperability of its programs, but she believes the institution will increasingly become reliant on IMS standards as it signs articulation agreements with four-year institutions. “We’ve already signed articulation agreements with Bellevue University in Omaha and Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, and we have many more such agreements in the works,” said Fenn. “The standards become even more important if you’re linking one system to another. The value to us is going to increase as those articulation agreements fall into place.”

A Collaboration to Improve Efficiency and Learning Experiences To empower colleges to lead the evolution to the future, IMS created the Technology in Higher Education in Support of Innovation for Student Success initiative — THESIS for short. Developed in collaboration with leaders of all types of institutions, THESIS encourages institutions to break the status quo of closed proprietary systems so that digital innovation

can live up to its promises in meeting the needs of faculty, students, administrators, and parents. Community college leaders pledging support for THESIS signify an institutional commitment to evolve to an academic IT enterprise that is based on open standards to enable a multifold improvement in the deployment time, cost, and usability of educational platforms, applications, and content. They also signify a commitment to empowering students in new ways, according to Lone Star College’s Ardalan. “Ideally, the open nature of standards allows students to navigate, simulate, validate, and plan their own personal education and career pathways,” he says. “This is not a future vision, but the very reason why Lone Star College System has pledged support for THESIS.” The college has also partnered with IMS on the development of the Education and Career Positioning platform (www.EPS4.Me), which Ardalan calls “a perfect example of open and interoperable data at the student level.” Technology providers also tout the benefits of open standards. “By tapping into the amplifying leverage inherent in IMS standards, academic leaders can design and roll out innovations for scaling up educational opportunities while creating economies of scale for their institutions and students — and the governments that support them,” said Bill Graves, senior vice president for academic strategy at Ellucian, an ACCT Corporate Council member company. “Ellucian is proud to help develop and adhere to the IMS standards that are the underpinning of the THESIS initiative.” Participation in THESIS is open to all institutions, and the support IMS provides is designed to help colleges make procurements and upgrades that advance the adoption of open standards with relative ease and at no additional cost. The end result? Effective, efficient, and scalable use of technology to improve student success.

Rob Abel is chief executive officer of the IMS Global Learning Consortium. For more information about THESIS, visit www.imsglobal. org/thesis/index.html.

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FALL 2013

acct’s Public Policy Resources for Community College Trustees

community college

national Legislative Summit

Held each February in Washington, D.C., the Community College National Legislative Summit (NLS) is an important opportunity for community college leaders to become informed on cuttingedge policy issues and advocate to key Members of Congress and the Administration on behalf of community and technical colleges. www.acct.org/events/legislativesummit

LAW

Latest Action in washington

ACCT’s highly successful Latest Action in Washington (LAW) e-mail alerts offer immediate, concise updates on legislative activity important to community colleges. Sign up to receive LAW E-Alerts by sending an e-mail with “LAW E-Alerts” in the subject line to: publicpolicy@acct.org

visit acct advocacy online www.acct.org/advocacy

ACCT’s website contains resources for trustees on advocacy and public policy. Information includes: legislative priorities and federal funding; ACCT letters to Congress; tips on becoming a federal advocate for your college; and an action center to write your representatives.

www.twitter.com/cctrustees

www.facebook.com/cctrustees

2013 Governance Leadership Institute Held in Washington, D.C.

Participants exchange T-shirts from their colleges.

August 6-8, 2013

and Trustees Their Presidents

New

Gather in Washington, D.C., for the 2013 New Trustees Governance Leadership Institute

The New and Experienced Trustees Governance Leadership Institute took place August 6 – 8 at the National Center for Higher Education in Washington, D.C. Twenty-six trustees, including two student trustees, and presidents attended the annual education meeting. Participants came from nine states, including Arkansas, California, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, Texas, and Wisconsin.

Topics

“I always learn new information and get energized at all of these workshops.”

• What Trustees Need to Know about Accreditation • Student Success, Accountability, and Outcomes • How to become and Effective Trustee • Budget, Finances, and Capital Projects

“Each presenter was knowledgeable and passionate about their subject area.”

• Roles and Responsibilities of the Board and the President • Advocacy

“These small gatherings are highly effective.”

In the spring 2013 issue of Trustee Quarterly, we highlighted the 2013 Governance Leadership Institute that took place in San Antonio, Texas, from March 21-23. We neglected to note that the Alamo Colleges Board of Trustees graciously hosted 80 trustees and presidents at this event, including a welcome reception at the beautiful Heritage House on the campus of San Antonio College. Alamo Colleges also provided the venue for one full day of the GLI at St. Philip’s College, and the attendees were treated to a lunch prepared by the talented students of the college’s culinary program. We regret this omission and truly appreciate the extraordinary graciousness of the Alamo Colleges.

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Richard N. Adams Kenneth R. Allbaugh Arthur C. Anthonisen Alwin Arce Joan Athen Chuck Ayala James Ayers Steven J. Ballard Ken Bartlett Elmer Beckendorf Manuel Benavidez, Jr.* Marilyn Blocker E. Stewart Blume George Boggs Kitty Boyle Lewis S. Braxton Harold Brock* Robert Burch Ken Burke Donald Campbell Lois Carson Dennis Christensen Gene P. Ciafre Don Coffey Brian Conley Angelo Cortinas Carole Currey Clara Dasher Robert Davidson* John Dent Beatrice Doser* Denise Ducheny Isobel Dvorsky Dorothy Ehrhart-Morrison M. Dale Ensign Nino Falcone Mark Fazzini H. Ronald Feaver Phyllis Folarin Paul Fong John Forte* Frank S. Gallagher Rebeca Garcia Robert E. Garrison* Norma Jean Germond 34

John Giardino Paul J. Gomez Maureen Grady Jane Gregory Jan Guy Gloria Guzman Diane Olmos Guzman David W. Hackett* Daniel Hall Joyce Hanes Fred Harcleroad* Thomas Harding Robert W. Harrell, Jr. Raymond Hartstein Jody T. Hendry William T. Hiering James D. Hittle* Troy Holliday Walter Howald Nancy M. Hubers Jo Ann Huerter Rosie Hussey Melanie L. Jackson B.A. Jensen* Joan Jenstead* Patricia Jones Worth Keene Bruce Ketron Dick Klassen Kirby Kleffmann* Brenda Knight Sheila Korhammer Ruthann Kurose Robert Lawrence Hugh Lee* Morrison Lewis George Little Donald Loff Gloria Lopez James Lumber Judith Madonia Doreen Margolin* Marie Y. Martin Montez C. Martin, Jr. Fred Mathews

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David Mathis Robert Matteucci Bennie Matthews Donald M. Mawhinney Robert G. McBride Robert McCray William McDaniel* Gene E. McDonald Carla McGee Jean M. McPheeters William H. Meardy Frank Mensel Michael Monteleone Della-May Moore David Murphy* Moudy Nabulsi Rich Nay Helen Newsome* Wayne Newton Ed Nicklaus Shirley Okerstrom Joann L Ordinachev Kathleen Orringer Therese G. Pauly Debra Pearson James R. Perry George Potter Pattie Powell Naomi Pursel Raymond Reddrick Rebecca L. Redman Carl Robinson Elizabeth Rocklin Herbert Roney Nancy R. Rosasco Wanda Rosenbaugh Linda B. Rosenthal William O. Rowell* Armando Ruiz David Rutledge Steve Salazar Edward “Sandy” Sanders Lydia Santibanez Evonne Seron Schulze Anne V. Scott

Virginia Scott Peter E. Sercer, Sr. Jo Ann Sharp Vaughn A. Sherman C. Louis Shields Darrell Shumway W.L. “Levi” Smallwood William J. Smith James Smith Lillie J. Solomon Lynda Stanley Betty K. Steege Victor F. Stewart, Jr.* James Stribling* Pete Tafoya Esther D. Tang James B. Tatum Leslie Thonesen Charles Tice Dick Trammel Celia M. Turner* Linda Upmeyer Roberto Uranga David Viar Jim Voss Franklin Walker Barbara Wallace William C Warren Nancy Watkins Lauren A. Welch Denise Wellons-Glover Mary Beth Williams Ronald Winthers Jerry Wright John Wright M.W. “Bill” Wyckoff Brad W. Young J. Pete Zepeda* * Deceased

A Lifetime of Appreciation ACCT Lifetime Membership Community college trustees give a lot of themselves — time, energy, wisdom — and ask for little or nothing in return. The gift of an ACCT Lifetime Membership is a way to thank trustees for everything they do, and to empower them to keep doing it for as long as they choose. A lifetime membership is a perfect way to… • Recognize outstanding trustees whose dedication to your college has made a difference and set an example. • Thank outgoing members for their service. • Remain involved with your peers and make a tax-deductible donation to your national association by purchasing a Lifetime Membership for yourself.

7 REASONS TO BESTOW A LIFETIME MEMBERSHIP

Giving outstanding and retiring board members a Lifetime Membership to ACCT is a way to thank them for their service, recognize them among their peers, and ensure their ongoing interest in your college.

Lifetime Members receive complimentary registration to all ACCT meetings, including the Annual Leadership Congress and the National Legislative Summit, after retiring from their local boards.

Lifetime Members receive all of ACCT’s award-winning publications, including Trustee Quarterly magazine, and the Advisor and From the Desk of ACCT newsletters.

4 Lifetime Members are recognized publicly in Trustee Quarterly, on the ACCT Web site, and elsewhere. Lifetime Membership program supports and promotes ACCT’s continuing trustee education and 5 The professional development. 6 Colleges that purchase Lifetime Memberships can deduct the expense from taxes to the fullest extent allowed by law. 7 It’s just a nice thing to do — and haven’t your most exceptional trustees earned it? For more information and to submit an application, go to www.acct.org/membership/lifetime or contact ACCT’s Member Services at 202.775.4667 or acctinfo@acct.org.

legal

IRS Examines Tax-Exempt Reporting Requirements Significant underreporting was found in survey of 400 colleges and universities.

A recent Internal Revenue Service report found significant areas of concern with reporting requirements in a multiyear audit of tax-exempt colleges and universities. The IRS Exempt Organizations (EO) division report focuses on three areas: (1) underreporting of unrelated business income, (2) executive compensation, and (3) employment tax and retirement plan returns. On April 25, 2013, Exempt Organizations Director Lois G. Lerner announced the release of the IRS’ Colleges and Universities Compliance Project Final Report, a multi-year project in which detailed questionnaires were sent to 400 colleges and universities and 34 selected institutions were subsequently audited. Lerner cited the study as an example of the long-term compliance projects the IRS’ EO division will undertake, focusing on the three areas of concern discussed below.

Unrelated Business Income IRS staff “routinely find that exempt organizations offset most of their unrelated business income (UBI) with deductions, and that only about half of organizations required to file a 990-T report any tax liability,” Lerner said in her remarks. According to the final report, UBI was underreported at 90 percent of the colleges and universities examined, with underreported amounts totaling over $90 million. The majority of audit adjustments resulted from five types of unrelated business activities: • Fitness and recreation centers and sports camps, • Advertising, • Facility rentals, • Arenas, and • Golf courses. In total, the IRS disallowed more than

$170 million in losses and net operating losses (NOLs), which could result in more than $60 million in tax liability for the impacted organizations. The IRS report attributes underreporting of UBI to several recurring practices, the most common of which, by far, is claiming losses from activities that do not qualify as a trade or business. “Nearly 70 percent of examined colleges and universities reported losses from activities where for many successive years, the expenses exceeded income,” Lerner reported. Lerner further explained that continual losses from an activity for a protracted period indicates a lack of profit motive required for an activity to qualify as a trade or business. Because the examined activities did not qualify as a trade or business, the losses claimed for those activities could no longer be used to offset profits from other unrelated activities in current or future years. Accordingly, the IRS disallowed more than $150 million in losses and NOLs reported by the institutions under examination. Lerner also attributed underreporting of UBI to misallocated expenses (where expenses did not have the proximate and primary connection to the unrelated business activity); misclassification of certain income producing activities as exempt activities; and to erroneously calculated or unsubstantiated NOLs.

Executive Compensation

“It was Socrates, wasn’t it, who said, ‘The unexamined life is not worth living’?” 36

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Examinations related to compensation focused mainly on compliance with Internal Revenue Code § 4958, which prohibits private colleges and universities from paying unreasonable compensation to their officers, directors, trustees, and key employees. An organization can shift

By Ira Michael Shepard ACCT General Counsel

Recent Developments in Employment Law

the burden of proving unreasonable compensation to the IRS by adhering to the rebuttable presumption process as follows: • Using an independent body to review and determine the amount of compensation; • Relying on appropriate comparability data to set the compensation amount; and • Contemporaneously documenting the compensationsetting process. “Experts found that, in about 20 percent of the examined schools, the comparability data used to set compensation was not appropriate data, which means the schools failed to meet the requirements of rebuttable presumption of reasonableness,” according to Lerner. Problems with compensation data included: • Use of information from schools that were not similarly situated; • Compensation studies that neither specified the selection criteria for the supposed comparable schools nor explained how those schools were like the school relying on the study; and • Compensation surveys that did not specify whether amounts reported included only salary or included other types of compensation, as required by Code 4958. “I want to stress the need for organizations to review and question the data provided by consultants or others before relying on it to determine compensation amounts,” Lerner stressed. “Otherwise, an organization may find itself outside of the rebuttable presumption, and be required to prove to the IRS that the compensation in question is reasonable.”

Employment Tax and Retirement Plans In addition to looking at Forms 990 and Form 990-T, the IRS reviewed employment tax returns for about one-third of the colleges and universities examined and found issues at all of them, resulting in about $36 million in increased wages and over $7 million in taxes and penalties. On the retirement plan front, EO looked at reporting of about a quarter of the colleges and universities examined and found problems at about half of them. Examinations resulted in increases in wages of more than $1 million and the assessment of more than $200,000 in taxes and penalties.

Ira Michael Shepard is a partner with the law firm of Saul Ewing, LLP, in Washington, D.C., and ACCT’s general counsel.

EEOC updates guidance on treatment of employees with four major disabilities under the ADA. On May 15, 2013, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued revised guidance on how it believes employers should treat applicants and employees with cancer, diabetes, epilepsy, and intellectual disabilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The EEOC revised its question-and-answer guidance document to address these four categories of disabilities in light of changes made to the ADA in the 2008 amendments to the law. While the amendments did not change the ADA’s actual definition of a disability, it did expand how certain terms within the definition of disability should be interpreted, making it easier to qualify as a person with a disability under the law. The EEOC addressed topics such as (1) when an employer may obtain medical information from applicants and employees; (2) what types of reasonable accommodations individuals with these four types of disabilities might need; (3) how an employer should handle safety concerns; and (4) what an employer should do to correct or prevent disability based harassment. The EEOC pointed out in its introduction that nearly 34 million Americans have been diagnosed with cancer, diabetes, or epilepsy and an additional 2 million Americans have an intellectual disability. The EEOC concluded that as a result of the 2008 ADA amendments, an individual with any of these four conditions “should easily be found to have a disability” because the condition substantially limits a major life activity. Adjunct faculty at Washington, D.C., area universities and community college form unions. Adjunct faculty at Georgetown University voted to be represented by the Service Employees International Union, Local 500 in a mail ballot counted by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on May 3, 2013. Of the 650 eligible voters, 221 voted for the Union and 87 voted against. While less than half of the adjunct faculty voted, those that did vote voted 71 percent in favor of union representation — above the majority required under NLRB. Georgetown University took no sides in the union election, citing its “just”employment policy. SEIU Local 500 represents adjunct faculty at both George Washington University and American University in the District of Columbia, as well as adjunct faculty at nearby Montgomery College, a community college in neighboring suburban Maryland. Facebook criticism not protected under labor law and can be grounds for discharge. The NLRB Division of Advice recently issued a memo analyzing a case of an employer’s dismissal of an employee as a result of highly critical comments distributed in a group Facebook posting to 10 current and former non-supervisory employees. The NLRB concluded that the “profanity-laced” Facebook comments about one supervisor and the company in general “merely reflected the employee’s personal contempt” rather than “shared employee concerns over terms and conditions of employment,” which would have been a protected activity. The fact that one employee responded with a supportive posting did not show that the employees were engaged in “concerted activity” and therefore were not protected form discharge under the Act (NLRB Div of Advice, No. 4-CA-94222, 5/8/13). The NLRB concluded that while the NLRA statute protects employees involved in concerted activity to better their wages, hours, and working conditions, including supervisory conduct and “group complaints” concerning the same, the NLRA does not protect individual griping, which it found the posts amounted to.

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FALL 2013

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.

Cowley College, Kan. N. Clark Williams President Former Vice President for Operations Blue Mountain Community College, Ore.

“His vast knowledge of the business world coupled with his experience working in a community college setting uniquely qualifies him to lead this college to the next level.” — Ron Godsey, Board Chair

Florence-Darlington Technical College, S.C. Dr. Ben Dillard III President Former Business Development Manager Recruiting Solutions, S.C.

“Dr. Dillard brings a wealth of knowledge, experiences, and familiarity with the technical system in South Carolina. We are certain that his experiences and background will be paramount in moving our institution forward. We look forward to working with him to continue to provide quality educational experiences for our students that will assist them in supplying the workforce with competent individuals in our community.” — Dr. Alvin Heatley, Board Chair

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Medgar Evers College (CUNY), N.Y. Dr. Rudolph F. Crew President Former Chief Education Officer State of Oregon

“Dr. Crew’s exemplary record of academic, administrative, and governmental accomplishment, combined with classroom experience and a strong commitment to students, will help the college achieve new levels of excellence and strengthen its role with the community.” — Benno Schmidt, CUNY Board Chairman, and Matthew Goldstein, CUNY Chancellor

“After a nationwide search, The City University of New York is elated to welcome Dr. Rudy Crew as the new president of Medgar Evers College. Dr. Crew is joining the university system during a transformational period of growth. The fouryear colleges are thriving, academic standards are higher than they’ve been in decades, and the institution’s reputation as a leading institution of higher education has been nationally recognized. A native New Yorker, Dr. Crew brings a depth of knowledge of educational systems in general and specifically the strengths and weaknesses of the New York City educational system and its graduates. Dr. Crew’s outstanding record of academic and administrative accomplishments, along with his insight and appreciation of the significant role students, faculty, and the community plays in the life of Medgar Evers College, will ensure that he will be an exemplary president.” — Valarie Lancaster Beal, CUNY Trustee and Search Committee Chair

Monroe County Community College, Mich.

Roanoke-Chowan Community College, N.C.

Dr. Kojo Quartey President

Dr. Michael Elam President

Former Provost and Chief Academic Officer

Former Vice President of Strategic Initiatives

City Colleges of Chicago, Ill.

Louisiana Community and Technical College System (LCTCS)

“We are excited to welcome Dr. Quartey to MCCC. He has an extraordinary life story and is a committed academician. He is highly dedicated to serving at-risk communities, community engagement, and positively impacting students’ lives. He considers himself first and foremost an educator. Dr. Quartey has experience in every single area we were looking for in the next president of Monroe County Community College.” — William Bacarella Jr., Board Chair

Pima Community College District, Ariz. Lee Lambert, J.D. Chancellor Former President Shoreline Community College, Wash.

“First and foremost, Lee Lambert is a decent man who treats everyone with respect. He is open-minded and honest, and he possesses a leadership style that is inclusive and empowers employees to be their best. Lee transformed Shoreline Community College into a welcoming, diverse, academically vibrant institution while forging productive relationships with area businesses and industry. I am confident that Lee has the vision and the talent to lead Pima Community College to new levels of achievement.” — Dr. Brenda Even, Board Chair

“The Board of Trustees is excited and pleased to welcome Dr. Elam as our next president. He is committed to both the community college mission and the students we serve.” — Wendy Ruffin-Barnes, Board Chair

NEW ACCT EXECUTIVE SEARCHES WEBSITE Selecting a president or chancellor is one of the most momentous decisions made by a board of trustees. The decision has far-reaching implications for the board, the college, and the community. ACCT is committed to providing membership services that meet the highest professional standards, and are reliable and of the highest quality available. Our commitment goes well beyond providing CEO search assistance. We are your membership organization, and as such, accountable to every member board. Our mission, values, and goals focus entirely on service to our membership. ACCT’s fundamental purpose is to enhance the capacity of boards through education, advocacy, and by helping boards identify and select the best CEOs to lead their colleges on behalf of their communities. If your college is considering using ACCT's Search Services, we would be happy to submit a formal proposal customized to the needs of your institution. Visit ACCT Executive Searches online at www.acctsearches.org

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Vice Presidential Searches ACCT’s Board Leadership Services is now providing assistance to chancellors and presidents looking to identify a new member of the executive leadership team for the college or district. We are pleased to announce the completion of the following searches for provosts and vice presidents.

Bronx Community College (CUNY), N.Y.

Lone Star College — CyFair, Texas

Dr. Claudia V. Schrader Vice President of Academic Affairs and Provost

Dr. Ivan Harrell Vice President for Student Success

Former Associate Provost for Academic Development and Associate Professor, Department of Special Education and Counseling William Paterson University, N.J.

“I am elated that Dr. Schrader was interested in joining BCC and am eager to collaborate with her on making BCC a premier community college. Her experiences in teaching and learning, her focus on outcomes assessment and accountability, as well as her support for faculty development and international studies make her an ideal candidate for supporting my vision for BCC. Together, with the other members of my leadership team, I look forward to a great future of strong academic leadership at BCC.” — Dr. Carole Berotte Joseph, President

Former Vice President for Student Services Anne Arundel Community College, Md.

“Dr. Harrell is a wonderful candidate — well qualified, with great people skills, and he will be a great addition to our college.” — Dr. Audre Levy, President

Treasure Valley Community College, Ore. Dr. Rachel Anderson Vice President of Academic Affairs Former Dean of Academic Affairs College of the Redwoods, Calif.

Kansas City Kansas Community College Dr. Michael Vitale Vice President of Academic Affairs Former Senior Vice President, Academic Affairs Daytona State College, Fla.

“Dr. Michael Vitale, new Vice President for Academic Affairs at Kansas City Kansas Community College, is a collaborative leader who brings a wealth of leadership experiences and ideas to the college. His willingness to engage students, faculty, and staff in meaningful dialogue, coupled with his background in successful program development, demonstrates a commitment to student success and has already endeared him to us.” — Dr. Doris Givens, President

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“We are thrilled to have Dr. Rachel Anderson lead our instructional efforts at Treasure Valley Community College as our new Vice President of Academic Affairs. She brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in administration and teaching, as well as a demonstrated commitment to creative, collaborative work with faculty and staff. Her leadership will be instrumental in helping the college refine current programs and create new initiatives to meet student needs.” — Dr. Dana Young, President

NET WORK NEWS FALL 2013

INTERFACE

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

Professional Board Staff Member 2012-2013 Executive Committee OFFICERS Wendy Dodson, President Assistant to the President Sandhills Community College, N.C. dodsonw@sandhills.edu Debbie Novak, Vice President Assistant to the College President Colorado Mountain College, Colo. dnovak@coloradomtn.edu Mechell Downey, Secretary Administrative Assistant to the President Seminole State College, Okla. m.downey@sscok.edu Sherri Weddle Bowen, Director, Office of the President Forsyth Technical Community College, N.C. sbowen@forsythtech.edu

MEMBERS-AT-LARGE CENTRAL REGION Heather Lanham Executive Assistant to the President Edison Community College, Ohio hlanham@edisonohio.edu NORTHEAST REGION Sean Fischer Executive Assistant to the President and Director of Board of Trustees Services Atlantic Cape Community College, N.J. sfischer@atlantic.edu PACIFIC REGION Tria Bullard Director of Board and Executive Services Columbia Gorge Community College, Ore. tbullard@cgcc.cc.or.us SOUTHERN REGION Tina Heskett Executive Assistant to the President Hillsborough Community College, Fla. cheskett@hccfl.edu WESTERN REGION Carla Patee Executive Assistant to the President and Clerk for the Board Dodge City Community College, Kan. cpatee@dc3.edu

Setting off for Seattle The past year as president of PBSN has provided me with many opportunities. From writing articles for Interface to coordinating the details of the ACCT Leadership Congress in Seattle, I have had the opportunity to pursue so many new experiences. I would encourage all of you to consider being involved in the leadership of PBSN. I have to thank my executive committee: Debbie Novak, this year’s Vice President; Immediate Past President Sherri Bowen, who was instrumental in helping me learn the ropes this year; our Central Region Member-at-Large, Heather Lanham; our Northeast Member-at-Large, Sean Fischer; Tria Bullard, our Pacific Member-at-Large; Tina Heskett, our Southern Region Member-at-Large; and Carla Patee, our Western Region Member-at-Large. Their input and ideas have made this job so enjoyable. The PBSN Meet and Greet will be on Wednesday, October 2nd at Purple Café, 1225 4th Ave., Seattle at 8:00 p.m. after the general opening session. The restaurant is about 6 blocks from the Grand Hyatt Hotel. Please R.S.V.P. to me at dodsonw@sandhills.edu so that I may provide an accurate count for the restaurant. Our three-hour workshop session will be held from 2-5 p.m. on Thursday, October 3rd. It will include a session on navigating our new Wiggio website and ways to use it to facilitate communication between our members. In addition, there will be a panel discussion on the changing roles and responsibilities of the board staff member. Our business meeting will be held on Friday, October 4th from 9:15-10:45 a.m. We will recognize the Professional Board Staff Award recipients and the accession of officers for 2014. Active members will also hold elections for secretary and members-at-large for each region. An active member is defined as one who has attended or participated in a business meeting within the last two years, and we encourage you to be involved in the leadership of PBSN. We also want to encourage you to join us on our Facebook page and our Wiggio website. Just search for ACCT Professional Board Staff Network on Facebook. To be added to Wiggio, please send me an email with your request at dodsonw@sandhills.edu. Finally, I would like to thank my President, Dr. John Dempsey, and our Board of Trustees Chairman, George Little, for their ongoing encouragement and support during my time on the executive committee. They have provided me with mentorship and inspiration that has allowed me to progress in not only my career at Sandhills Community College, but also with my involvement in PBSN. Thank you for a wonderful year!

Wendy Dodson Sandhills Community College, N.C.

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NETWORK NEWS FALL 2013

INTERFACE

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

Meet Your PBSN Executive Committee in Seattle By Debbie Novak, Colorado Mountain College I am so looking forward to seeing everyone in Seattle! As I live in high country desert, the prospect of being near the waterfront is also exciting. Each year at the annual ACCT Leadership Congress, there is a passing of the gavel during the Professional Board Staff Network business meeting. I’m hoping that we have a great turnout this year so we may thank our outgoing president Wendy Dodson and immediate past president Sherri Weddle Bowen for their dedication and service to PBSN. Sherri will fulfill her duties on the executive committee at the end of this conference. Thank you, Sherri, for all you have done for PBSN. Wendy will serve in the capacity as past president on the committee, and I will have the honor of serving as president of this wonderful network. Before the gavel passing, though, I want to give you all some information about your present executive committee. Sherri Weddle Bowen will be greatly missed next year (but don’t think for a minute I won’t be calling her!) She has been a source of support to anyone that needs her help. Sherri began her career at Forsyth Technical Community College in 1989 as a part-time secretary to the allied health division. She has been the director of the office of the president and the liaison with the college’s board of trustees for 11 years. Sherri believes in education and that one is never too old to learn something new. She is an alumna of Forsyth Technical Community College, completing her associate degree in administrative office technology in 1991 and a diploma in automotive systems technology in 1999, then becoming a certified Emergency Medical Technician in 2003. As evidence of her strong beliefs about education, she obtained her bachelor’s degree in business administration from Winston-Salem State University in 2004 and her Master’s of Public Administration with a concentration in emergency management from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke in December 2012. She is currently the team captain of the Forsyth Technical Community College March of Dimes’ March for Babies fundraising committee and served on the revenue committee of the March of Dimes in Winston-Salem, all while raising two sons, Cody, 9, and Dakota, 7, with her husband, Marty Bowen. Wendy Dodson, this year’s president, began her work on the PBSN executive committee as secretary in the fall of 2010. Wendy began her career at Sandhills Community College in 2007 as the executive assistant to the president and assistant secretary to the board of trustees. In 2011, she added the position of human 42

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resources director to her duties. Wendy is currently working on her master’s degree in public administration with a concentration in human resources at East Carolina University. She resides with her husband in Southern Pines, N.C. Mechell Downy is this year’s secretary and will move into the role of vice president in October. She has worked at Seminole State College for 13 years in her current position, has an associate degree from Seminole State and is working on a bachelor’s degree in applied technology at Rogers State University in Claremore, Oklahoma. Mechell loves her job and firmly believes in the mission of Seminole State College and that community colleges are vital in higher education. She is active in her community with the Seminole Chamber of Commerce, Prague Round-Up Club, Therapy Dogs International, and is a 12-year member of the City of Seminole Planning Commission, past member of the Finance Committee for the Seminole First Baptist Church, past president of the Classified Staff Association at Seminole State College, and is currently the President of the Northeast Oklahoma United States Air Force Academy Parent’s Club. Mechell lives in Bowlegs, Oklahoma, with her husband of 27 years, Mike. They have two children, Stephen and Jessica. The Northeast Region Member-at-Large is Sean Fischer, who presently serves as the chief of staff to the president and secretary to the board of trustees at Atlantic Cape Community College in southern New Jersey. In that role, he serves as a member of the institution’s executive senior staff, is responsible for managing the day to day operations of the office of the president and board of trustees, serves as the college’s chief policy officer, and helps lead its external affairs operation. In addition to his position, Fischer serves Atlantic Cape as an adjunct faculty member in the arts and humanities Department. He has a bachelor’s degree in history from Rowan University, a master’s degree in political science from Villanova University, and is presently pursuing his doctorate in education at Creighton University. Sean currently resides in Mays Landing with his wife Irena and their new baby girl, Avery. The Southern Region Member-at-Large is Tina Heskett. If you see her at the conference, she will more than likely be accompanied by her camera, as she loves photography. Tina began her relationship with Hillsborough Community College in Florida at the age of ten in a summer gymnastics program. Tina graduated from Alconbury High School in England, returning to Florida in 1986 to attend the University of Southern Florida.

NET WORK NEWS FALL 2013

INTERFACE

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

Due to timing issues, she wasn’t able to enroll and continued her relationship with HCC, studying business administration and playing tennis for the college. She graduated with an associate degree in liberal arts in 1996. She then worked up the corporate ladder from receptionist to an executive assistant for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, also serving as the team photographer. When the Buccaneers won the Super Bowl in 2003, Tina was among those receiving a Super Bowl ring! In 2008, the late Dr. Gwendolyn Stephenson, HCC’s president at the time, hired Tina as her executive assistant and board liaison, where she remains to this day. Tria Bullard, the Member-at-Large for the Pacific Region, is the director of board and executive services for Columbia Gorge Community College, a rural college in Oregon serving approximately 5,000 students. Tria has worked for CGCC since 2008, starting as the administrative assistant to the president and the board of education. As a director, Tria oversees marketing and institutional research, in addition to serving on the executive leadership team and quality council, and supporting the Board of Education. Tria became an active member of PBSN after the ACCT Congress in 2011, at which she was named the recipient of the Pacific Region Professional Board Staff Member Award. With a bachelor’s degree in business and marketing, Tria’s background includes experience in commercial real estate, banking, and environmental engineering. She is a graduate of the 2011 Ford Institute Leadership Program sponsored by the Ford Family Foundation and a director at Lyle School District, a rural K-12 district in Washington serving approximately 250 students. Tria and her husband have three active children (ages 12, 7, and 4) who keep them busy between gymnastics meets, baseball, and soccer. In addition, Tria and her husband coach a First Lego League robotics team for 9-14 year olds each fall. The Western Region is well represented by Carla Patee. A Dodge City Community College alumna, Carla has completed 18 years working at DCCC in various positions. Carla’s years at DCCC have been rewarding, fun, and exciting, and she strives to “make a difference” to the students and visitors that come to the campus. She has held positions that have allowed her to gain experience in many areas, including technical education building secretary, ETS/TRIO program administrative assistant, director of business services’ administrative assistant, and her current positions as executive assistant to the president, deputy secretary/clerk to the board of trustees, and the college’s Freedom of Information officer. In addition to her responsibilities to the president and the board, Carla is the recording secretary for the faculty negotiations committee and an active member of many campus committees.

In 2007, Carla received the Presidential Award for “Distinguished Program/Technical Employee for Outstanding Contributions to DCCC,” and in July 2012, she received the DCCC Employee of the Month award. Carla was honored to receive the 2012 ACCT Western Region Professional Board Staff Member Award at the Congress in Boston. Carla and her husband, Greg, are the proud parents of two children and five wonderful grandchildren. Heather Lanham is the Member-at-Large from the Central Region and is originally from Troy, Ohio. After graduating from Troy High School, she received her associate degree from Edison Community College, which she attended on a full academic scholarship. Ms. Lanham went on to receive her bachelor’s degree in anthropology from the University of Cincinnati. She taught as an adjunct instructor in the marketing program at Edison for ten years before working full time in the faculty support office. After five months in faculty support, Ms. Lanham was offered her current position of executive assistant to the president and secretary to the board of trustees. Ms. Lanham lives in West Milton, Ohio, with her husband of four years, James. Lastly, a bit about me. I have worked for Colorado Mountain College since August 2005. I began my tenure there as the assistant to the chief student development officer and the dean of students. When my predecessor Toni Black announced her retirement, I applied for the position of assistant to the college president and board staff secretary and was promoted. (Toni was one of the founding members of PBSN.) I became the Western Region Member-at-Large six weeks after my promotion. Prior to my employment at Colorado Mountain College, I was the co-owner of a photo lab/print service store. I did the bookkeeping, large format printing, graphic design, sign making, customer service, schedule management, etc. As any of you who may have owned your own business know, the owner does almost everything. For the ten years prior to that, we co-owned a pay telephone company. Again, I did the bookkeeping, office management, programming of telephones, and all duties as needed. (You know....“other duties as assigned.”) I have found working at Colorado Mountain College has been much more fun than working for myself. Getting paid is also a wonderful benefit! I live in New Castle, Colorado, and have two children, a son, Kyle, who is 33 and a Master Sergeant in the Air Force, and a daughter, Stacey, who is 26 and has a degree in professional photography from CMC and became part of the CMC’s inaugural bachelor’s graduating class with a degree in business administration. My son has also kindly provided me with two granddaughters. T R U S T E E Q U A RT E R LY F A L L 2 0 1 3

advisor ELECTION OF BOARD AND DIVERSITY COMMITTEE MEMBERS Elections for ACCT Regional Directors and Diversity Committee members will be held at the Regional Caucuses and Meetings on Thursday, October 3, from 1:45 p.m. – 3:15 p.m. during the 2013 ACCT Leadership Congress in Seattle, Washington. Elections for Directors-at-Large will be held on Friday, October 4, during the ACCT Senate Meeting.

2013 CANDIDATES FOR THE ACCT BOARD OF DIRECTORS REGIONAL DIRECTOR (1) Three-Year Term in Each Region. (1) Two-Year Partial Term in the Central Region. The following is the slate of nominees received as of July 1, 2013: Central Region Three Year Term — Robin M. Smith* Lansing Community College, MI Central Region Two-Year Partial Term — Diane Gallagher Highland Community College, IL Northeast Region — LeRoy W. Mitchell* Westchester Community College, NY Pacific Region — Jane C. Strain* Cochise College, AZ Southern Region — David H. Talley* Palm Beach State College, FL Western Region — Kent O. Miller* Mid-Plains Community College Area, NE

DIRECTOR-AT-LARGE (3) Three-Year Terms. (1) One-Year Partial Term. The following is the slate of nominees received as of July 1, 2013. Kirsten Diederich North Dakota University System, ND William Greenhill Tarrant County College District, TX Connie Hornbeck Iowa Western Community College, IA Greg Knott Parkland College, IL Lana Puckorious South Florida State College, FL Dana Saar Maricopa County Community College District, AZ *Received support of their respective Nominating Committee. Note: Nominations will be accepted from the floor on all elections.

2013 Candidates for the ACCT Diversity Committee (1) Two-Year Term in Each Region. The following is the slate of nominees: Central Region Victor Gonzalez Blackhawk Technical College, WI

Northeast Region Hector R. Ortiz* Harrisburg Area Community College, PA

Doris Graham St. Louis Community College, MO

Pacific Region Edwin Hiel Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District, CA

Eleanor MacKinney Elgin Community College, IL

Diane Noriega Mt. Hood Community College, OR

*The 2013 Central Region Nominating Committee backed candidate Frances Huntley-Cooper. Unfortunately she is no longer a trustee at her college and therefore became ineligible to serve on the Diversity Committee. Therefore, the Central Region Nominating Committee has endorsed no candidate for this position.

Southeast Region Charles Robinson York Technical College, SC

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ELECTIONS OF REGIONAL NOMINATING COMMITTEE MEMBERS Regional Nominating Committee elections will take place during the 2013 ACCT Leadership Congress Regional Caucuses and Meetings on Thursday, October 3. 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 2014-2015 term: CENTRAL REGION Two (2) seats will be available to members from the following states/province: Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Jan Lund (IA), Joan DiLeonardi (IL), and Melissa Hattman (MO) will continue to serve in 2014. NORTHEAST REGION Three (3) seats will be available to members from the following states: Delaware, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Caroline Osinga (NY) and Lynn Skerpon (MD) will continue to serve through 2014. PACIFIC REGION Four (4) seats will be available to members from the following states/territories: Alaska, Arizona, California, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Washington, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Republic of Palau. Ron Pittman (OR) will continue to serve through 2014. SOUTHERN REGION Four (4) seats will be available to members from the following states/territories: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia, Bermuda, and Virgin Islands. Bruce Neilson (VA) will continue to serve through 2014.

Candidates with an asterisk received the support of their respective Regional Nominating Committees.

WESTERN REGION Three (3) seats (will be available to members from the following states: Colorado, Kansas, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, and Wyoming.

Note: Nominations will be accepted from the floor on all elections.

Helen Griffin (NE) and William Greenhill (TX) will continue to serve in 2014.

Western Region Jimmy Sandoval* Mesalands Community College, NM

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