ACCT Trustee Quarterly Spring 2014

STEM Solutions | Trustee Talk | Federal Direct Loans

Spring 2014

‘Camelot Moment’

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A commitment to student success creates a historic opportunity for community colleges at the 2014 National Legislative Summit.

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Board of Directors

2013-2014 Chair LeRoy W. Mitchell Westchester Community College, NY

Chair-elect Robin M. Smith Lansing Community College, MI

Vice Chair Roberto Zárate Alamo Colleges, TX

Secretary-Treasurer Bakari Lee Hudson County Community College, NJ

Immediate Past Chair Jean Torgeson North Iowa Area Community College, IA

Central Regional Chair Diane Gallagher Highland Community College, IL

Northeast Regional Chair William E. Coleman, Jr. Mercer 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 Robert “Bob” Feit Southeast Community College, NE Kirsten Diederich North Dakota University System, ND Stanley Edwards Halifax Community College, NC Mary Figueroa Riverside Community College District, CA Connie Hornbeck Iowa Western Community College Vernon Jung Moraine Park Technical College, WI Gregory Knott Parkland College, IL Jeffrey May Joliet Junior College, IL Kent Miller Mid-Plains Community College Area, NE Clare Ollayos Elgin Community College, IL Hector Ortiz Harrisburg Area Community College, PA George Regan Robeson Community College, NC Dana Saar Maricopa County Community College District, AZ Jane Strain Cochise College, AZ

From the Chair Keeping Our Commitments Trusteeship should not be taken lightly: it requires sacrificing time that could be spent with family, at work, or pursuing personal interests. Many of us use personal and vacation leave to keep our commitments as trustees. And it’s not just time; in order to serve our colleges, we must educate ourselves continuously. First we have to learn the fundamentals of governance, and then we must learn everything we can about our colleges — what they do, how they do it, and more important, who our students are and how we should advocate on their behalf.

Serving as chair of the national Association of Community College Trustees since October has taught me that the further we advance in leadership positions — and all trustees are leaders — the greater our commitments become. For example, when I was elected to the ACCT Board of Directors, I understood that I was no longer responsible only to my family, my job, my students, and Westchester Community College. I was now also responsible to ACCT, an organization from which I previously sought resources and education, and all of the 6,500 members the association serves. Once elected to the ACCT Executive Committee, my responsibilities increased steadily, including traveling abroad as an ambassador for American community colleges.

In the end, however, there is no difference between one commitment and another.

Every trustee, whether elected or appointed, has taken an oath to serve his or her board, college, and students with the same level of dedication that one would give to his or her own family. A commitment is a promise, and if we don’t keep our promises, we disappoint those who depend upon them.

The trustees and presidents I met during the 2014 Community College National Legislative Summit traveled to Washington, D.C., to keep their commitments, and to hold their legislators accountable for fulfilling their obligations to educate their communities back home. As trustees, advocacy is a primary responsibility, and showing up is the first step to advocating effectively at the federal level. Without hearing our voices, how could our elected officials listen to us? Without seeing our faces, how would they know how serious we are when we tell them why community colleges are so vitally important? The truth is that they wouldn’t.

This is why it is so important for us to walk the walk and actually do the work that we say needs to be done. There is still much work to be done in the area of student success, and we shall do that work this October at the 45th Annual ACCT Leadership Congress in Chicago. We have nearly 100 concurrent sessions that, together with our keynote speakers, will allow us to explore and contribute valuably to our mission. We are anticipating the greatest attendance since before the 2009 recession — evidence that trustees and presidents are keeping their commitments to learn and to lead. I look forward to seeing you in Chicago.

David H. Talley Palm Beach State College, FL Rafael C. Turner Mott Community College, MI

LeRoy W. Mitchell Westchester Community College, New York

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

SPRING 2014

Editorial Team EDITOR-IN-CHIEF J. Noah Brown

Building Memorable Moments

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

Bryce McKibben Policy Analyst

Narcisa Polonio Executive Vice President for Education, Research, and Board Leadership Services

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.

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S P R I N G 2 0 1 4 T R U S T E E Q U A RT E R LY

Sometimes it seems like just last month I was hanging out on the stately grounds at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, where I studied philosophy — and where I really learned to think.

And if that was last month, then it was just last week that I was toiling away for endless hours in the University of Maryland library, where I earned my master’s degree in public policy. That is where I began to apply theory to practice. And then came my careers as a lobbyist, an association executive, an author, and now a member of the Community College Leadership Program faculty at Ferris State University, back where I started in my home state of Michigan.

Life is a journey that begins with and always returns to learning. First we learn to think, and then we learn to work. It’s the process of education, and it’s the process of living and building memories.

The 2014 Community College National Legislative Summit (p. 12) and Senate Forum (p. 10) provided ample opportunities for trustees and presidents to learn about the political climate and today’s most pressing legislative priorities, to think and reflect on the important work that they do day in and day out on behalf of students, and to carry the cause to Capitol Hill, engaging with lawmakers. On page 22, we also highlight another important recent meeting, the U.S. News STEM Solutions conference, “where employers and educators meet.” ACCT is proud to serve as a sponsoring organization of the conference, which recognizes the importance of community colleges to filling the void in STEM-related jobs.

And as always, this issue of Trustee Quarterly includes important information from the ACCT team, including Jee Hang Lee’s in-depth look at the federal student loan program (p. 8) and highlights of recent labor law developments that impact community colleges from ACCT General Counsel Ira Michael Shepard (p. 28). We are also excited to introduce a new department, “Trustee Talk,” in which Narcisa A. Polonio answers questions from ACCT members about board governance (p. 19).

Speaking of the ACCT team, I would be remiss if I did not mention the truly tragic loss of Lila Farmer, a remarkable human being who dedicated countless hours to ACCT for more than 30 years as the association’s event planner. Lila was not only a devoted and truly invaluable member of the ACCT staff, but to me and many others at ACCT, she was family. On behalf of her husband Frank, I want to thank everyone who has reached out to us to express their sympathy and memories of Lila. It has been remarkable to see how many lives Lila touched.

The summer issue of TQ will preview October’s 45th Annual ACCT Leadership Congress in Chicago, where 2,000 trustees, presidents, and other thought and policy leaders will gather to confront the winds of change and stay the course toward student success. The event is shaping up to be a memorable one. I look forward to seeing you there.

J. Noah Brown ACCT President and CEO

Contents

TRUSTEE QUARTERLY | SPRING 2014

Departments 8

Advocacy The Growing Impact of Federal Direct Loans Jee Hang Lee

19 Trustee Talk With ACCT

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Guidance for Challenging Issues in Community College Governance Narcisa A. Polonio

28 Legal Labor Law Developments Impacting Community Colleges Ira Michael Shepard

22 Features 10 A Full House in the Senate — By Mark Toner The 2014 Community College Senate Forum brought together a bipartisan array of some of the nation’s most prominent Senators.

12 A ‘Camelot Moment’ — By Mark Toner A commitment to student success creates a historic opportunity for community colleges at the 2014 National Legislative Summit.

18 A Crash Course in Advocacy — By Bryce McKibben The Higher Education Policy Academy introduced community college leaders to the world of Washington.

in every issue 1

From the Chair

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From the President & CEO

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News

26 Around the Regions 32 ACCT Lifetime Members 34 Searches 37 Interface 40 Advisor

22 STEM Solutions — By David Conner

COVER PHOTOS BY Keith Weller

U.S. News meeting brings employers and educators to Washington.

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ED Department Proposes Gainful Employment Regulations

In March, the U.S. Department of Education released its proposed rule for gainful employment aimed at evaluating vocational programs at community colleges and for-profit institutions based on debt-to-earnings standards and default rates. Programs would fail under the proposed metrics if students spend more than 12 percent of their annual incomes or 30 percent of their discretionary incomes on student debt, or if the program’s cohort default rate is 30 percent or higher. Programs are evaluated over a three-year period.

Forty-six community college programs ‘fail’ under a preliminary one-year snapshot, according to data provided by the Department of Education.

These programs are all captured under the programmatic cohort default rate threshold. No community college program fails the debt-to-earnings test.

This proposal is a result of a negotiated rulemaking session on gainful employment held last fall. At the time, negotiators were not able to come to consensus, which resulted in the Department of Education drafting the final proposal. The Department of Education will accept public comments on this proposal through May 27, 2014.

ACCT has provided additional analysis of the proposal, which may be viewed at http://bit.ly/1oUOVKn.

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News

The 2014 Community College Bellwether Award ceremony featured a “Back to the Futures” theme. ACCT President & CEO J. Noah Brown played the role of Marty McFly during an anniversary celebration performance.

“Back to the Futures” 20th Annual Community College Futures Assembly Winners On January 29, the winners of the 2014 Community College Bellwether Award and the first-ever Legacy Award winners were announced at the Hilton Walt Disney World Hotel in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. The Legacy Award winner was selected from 30 applications and 10 community college finalists that were previous winners of the prestigious Bellwether Award. The 2014 Community College Futures Assembly Legacy Award went to Cleveland State Community College and Chattanooga State Community College’s joint program, Do the Math: Solving the Nation’s Math Problems.

“ACCT is proud to have had the opportunity to sponsor this important award program,” said ACCT Chair LeRoy W. Mitchell, who, along with ACCT President and CEO J. Noah Brown, served as a judge for the Legacy and Bellwether awards in the governance, planning, and finance category.

The coveted Bellwether Award recognizes outstanding, innovative programs or practices in community colleges. The 2014 awardees, also recognized during the Community College Futures Assembly, include: • Instructional Programs and Services: Community College of Baltimore County, Md. — Who Says Pigs Can’t Fly? A Grassroots Approach to Financial Literacy Education • Planning, Governance, and Finance: Wake Technical Community College, N.C. — Applied Benchmarking — Exploring and Implementing Best Practices • Workforce Development: Gateway Community and Technical College, Ky. — The CITI/Gateway Community and Technical College Partnership: How Employees Become College Graduates “All winners and nominees of both awards demonstrate the kind of visionary leadership and innovative thinking that are the hallmark of today’s best institutions of higher education,” said Brown.

For more information about the Legacy and Bellwether Awards programs, visit http://education.ufl.edu/futures/.

From left: Reps. Diane Black (R-Tenn.) and Danny K. Davis (D-Ill.) were honored with the 2014 National Education Service Award. Debbie Cochrane was presented with the 2014 Government Relations Award.

Reps. Black & Davis Honored With 2014 National Education Service Award; Cochrane Receives Govt. Relations Award On Wednesday, February 12, U.S. Representatives Diane Black (R-Tenn.) and Danny K. Davis (D-Ill.) were presented with the 2014 National Education Service Award for their important work on the Student and Family Tax Simplification Act and their support of higher education. The Student and Family Tax Simplification Act is a bipartisan bill that was developed by Reps. Black and Davis in response to stakeholder recommendations. It simplifies education benefits by consolidating the Hope Tax Credit, the tuition and fees deduction, and the Lifetime Learning Credit into the existing American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC), creating a single credit for current educational expenses. The bill also extends the AOTC permanently and preserves the value of the credit over time by adjusting for inflation starting in 2018.

The bill increases the maximum refundable credit from $1,000 to $1,500. It also improves coordination between the AOTC and Pell without double-counting the same expenses, as well as excluding Pell Grants from taxation.

Debbie Cochrane, Research Director for the Institute for College Access and Success in California (TICAS), was also recognized and presented with the 2014 Government Relations Award. Through her research, Cochrane has provided community colleges with important insight on borrowing practices, college access, and success. As part of her role at TICAS, Cochrane has worked closely with AACC and ACCT in a number of areas, including enhancing student aid access and regulations on program integrity. She has helped drive the conversation in California and nationally regarding the role of community colleges in increasing college attainment. Additionally, her research and work on behalf of student aid reform has provided community colleges with important insight on thoughtful borrowing practices.

ACCT President Joins Community College Leadership Program Faculty This summer, ACCT President & CEO J. Noah Brown will join the faculty of Ferris State University in Michigan as a member of the Doctorate in Community College Leadership program, for which he will be teaching governance and policy.

The Ferris doctoral program was created for leaders of mission-driven, 21st-century community colleges.

Courses are taught by experienced college leaders, including current and recent college presidents, vice presidents, and deans. The program is designed to prepare leaders for the changing environments in education.

Its inquiry-based, problem-solving, action-oriented approach is designed to develop the essential skills that will lead to success, regardless of the level from which completers will lead.

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Let the LAW work for you Timing is everything when it comes to advocacy, but not everyone has time to pay attention to pending legislation day in and day out.

ACCT’s Latest Action in Washington (LAW) Alerts do the work for you.

Since 2008, nearly 1,600 new people have signed up to receive ACCT’s LAW Alert emails — brief summaries of legislative actions emailed to subscribers as legislation happens, giving community college trustees, presidents, and other leaders and advocates time to contact their representatives and exert influence before it’s too late.

Please encourage your fellow trustees, presidents, and colleagues to stay up to date about legislation that affects their community colleges by joining the LAW E-Alert network. To join, simply email publicpolicy@acct.org with “LAW Alert” in the subject of the email.

For more information about ACCT’s advocacy services, visit www.acct.org/advocacy.

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News In Memoriam: Lila Farmer ACCT, its members, and community college leaders across the country have been profoundly saddened by the sudden loss of Lila L. Farmer, 55, who passed away on February 15, 2014. Lila worked for ACCT for over 30 years, primarily as the event planner for the annual ACCT Leadership Congress and Community College National Legislative Summit. She was highly regarded by her colleagues, ACCT members, and hospitality professionals everywhere as one of the very best in her field.

Lila’s interests included playing with her Labrador retrievers, gardening, walking, swimming, fishing, jet skiing, shopping, and spending time with her family and friends. Lila was a devoted, caring, and loving wife, daughter, sister, sister-in-law, aunt, great aunt, and friend. She is survived by her husband of 32 years, Frank Farmer of Clarksville, Va. She leaves behind many family, friends, and professional colleagues, as well as her loving Labrador companions Hunter, Ketch, and Flash.

Her beloved Labrador Che Che predeceased her.

A memorial service, “Celebration of Life for Lila,” will be held June 14 at the V.F.W. Post Hall in Clarksville, Va. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to Clarksville Veterinary Clinic, P.O. Box 1736, Clarksville, VA 23927, made payable to: “The Lila Farmer Labrador Foundation.” This foundation is created in memory of Lila and will be dedicated to provide medical services for canines in need. Online condolences may be left at www.watkinscooperlyon.com.

WINDS of CHANGE LEADERSHIP CONGRESS 14

CHICAGO

OCT.22-25,2014

2014 ACCT Leadership Congress This October 22-25, more than 1,400 trustees, college presidents, philanthropic leaders, and federal officials will gather in Chicago to shift the winds in favor of student success at the 45th Annual ACCT Leadership Congress. In addition to nearly 100 concurrent sessions presented by trustees, presidents, and other leaders will be featured keynote addresses

by Joyce Foundation President Ellen Alberding, who also serves as a community college trustee, and Cheryl Crazy Bull, president and CEO of the American Indian College Fund.

Be sure to register before the August 15 early registration deadline to ensure that you lock in the best rate available. Hotel reservations must be made by September 16.

For more information and to register, go to www.acct.org.

Governance Institute for Student Success Expands to California, Returns to Ohio With ongoing support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Governance Institute for Student Success (GISS) continues to engage community college presidents, CEOs, and trustees from throughout the country in results-oriented training to strengthen governance practices and build an institutional culture of evidence to improve student outcomes. Through an expansion grant, California has joined as a new GISS partner state.

Two regional institutes have been conducted for chancellors and trustees from nine community college districts throughout the state. On October 31-November 2, 2013, the GISS convened chancellors and trustees from six community college districts on the campus of Long Beach City College in Southern California. Participants included trustees and presidents from Coast Community College District, Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District, Long Beach Community College District, Mira Costa Community College District, North Orange Community College District, and Southwestern Community College District. Representatives from the Community College League of California also participated. A second regional GISS meeting for Northern California was held at Chabot College on March 14-16, with board members from three Northern California community college districts: Chabot-Las Positas Community College District, Hartnell Community College District, and San Jose Evergreen Community College District.

Each institute began with in-depth discussions about how effective governance practices and policies facilitate student success and completion. The groups then reviewed and reflected on board self-assessment reports that were completed in advance of the institute, after which the conversation moved to an in-depth examination of key institutional data points and their implications for student success. As a result of the institute discussions and workshops, participants collaboratively developed commitments to action, goals, and next steps for improving student outcomes and institutional effectiveness.

“One of the things that we have recognized through this session is that for us to be able to achieve student success, it will require transformational change throughout our entire organization,” observed Grossmont-Cuyamaca Trustee Bill Garrett.

In evaluating their GISS experiences, participants stated that they found the institute to be productive and highly effective in clarifying their role and influence on improving student success, as well as underscoring the need for urgency and intention in developing a student success agenda. Trustees said that they valued the opportunity to learn how data can and should be used to effect change and create an institutional culture of inquiry and evidence to set and achieve their goals for student success and institutional effectiveness.

Along with developing new state partnerships, the GISS reconvened presidents and trustees from Ohio’s community colleges for a third statewide institute on April 25.

This advanced institute focused on the context, process, and implications of Ohio’s new performance-based funding model and assisted institutional teams in developing their Progress and Completion Plan, a report required by the Ohio Board of Regents.

An advanced institute is also planned for presidents and trustees of Nebraska’s community colleges in November. It will build on the momentum of the initial institute and the exciting student success work underway in the state.

Interested in bringing the GISS to your state? Please contact Miya T. Simpson, Ph.D., GISS Project Coordinator (msimpson@acct.org; 202-775-6493) or Pat Ma, GISS Program Specialist (pma@acct.org; 202-470-4191).

Lumina Report Tracks Growing Attainment Rates The Lumina Foundation recently released its annual report tracking the national attainment rate of working-age adults (25-64). A Stronger Nation Through Higher Education tracks progress toward the goal of increasing the rate of Americans who obtain a college degree, certificate, or other high-quality postsecondary credential to 60 percent by 2025.

A Stronger Nation documents the trend in the national attainment rate of the country’s working age adults (25-64) with at least an associate degree. In 2012, the nation reached an attainment rate of 39.4 percent (165,591,021), up 0.7 percent from last year. The report concludes that, although it is too early to tell if America is on track to reaching this goal, as long as degree attainment continues to increase steadily, it is very much possible.

The foundation argues that increasing the completion rate for underrepresented students is crucial to increasing the nation’s higher education attainment rate.

The new report provides these key suggestions for increasing the national attainment rate to 60 percent by 2025: n Increase the percentage of Americans who believe increasing higher education attainment is necessary to the nation to 55 percent n Increase the percentage of students who pursue postsecondary education directly from high school to 67.8 percent n Increase total higher education enrollment among Hispanic students to 3.3 million (a 7 percent annual increase) n Increase total higher education enrollment among African American students to 3.25 million (a 5 percent annual increase) n Increase total higher education enrollment by 4 million students to 22 million (a 5 percent annual increase) For more information, or to read the entire report, go to www.luminafoundation. org/stronger_nation.

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advocacy

The Growing Impact of Federal Direct Loans The federal loan program can be a lifeline for students, but it requires institutions to carefully monitor default rates.

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The Federal Direct Loan (DL) program continues to grow as a significant source of financial aid for all college students, including those attending community colleges. During the 2012-13 academic year, more than $57.1 billion in federal student loans were disbursed by the U.S. Department of Education — an amount almost twice as large as Pell Grant expenditures. Students from two-year public institutions received more than $8 billion in federal student loans, compared to $11.2 billion in Pell Grants.

With the lowest tuition and fees of any sector of higher education by far, it is no surprise that our students also have the lowest rate of borrowing, with just 17 percent of students taking out a federal loan. In recent years, however, the borrowing rate at community colleges has steadily inched up, coinciding with the alarming state and local disinvestment in higher education that has increased tuition and fees across the country.

Federal student loans offer many benefits for students and their families. They may allow students to attend college full time or reduce their need for multiple jobs, and direct loans offer vastly better interest rates and repayment options than private educational loans. Studies have shown that access to financial aid, including student loans, also boosts the likelihood of student completion. Most importantly, many students have found themselves unable to cover the full cost of attendance at a community college through existing income, savings, and grants. The average net price for a full-time student at a community college, after subtracting all grants and scholarships, is $11,700 nationwide. These costs include books, supplies, housing, food, transportation, childcare, and other expenses that can add up quickly for low 8

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By Jee Hang Lee

and middle-income students. Many students have unmet financial needs that only can be met by loans or working.

Monitoring Default Rates Federal loans are available to students who meet basic eligibility criteria at institutions participating in Title IV. At the same time, the federal government requires accountability from colleges whose students borrow by the calculation of a Cohort Default Rate (CDR). An institution’s CDR is calculated as the percentage of borrowers

in a “cohort” who enter repayment together and who default within a tracking period of three fiscal years. On February 18, 2014, the U.S. Department of Education distributed the FY 2011 Draft Three-Year Cohort Default Rate notification packages to all eligible domestic and foreign institutions, guaranty agencies, and lenders.

An institution is subject to the loss of eligibility to participate in the Direct Loan and Federal Pell Grant programs if it has a three-year CDR of 30 percent or greater for three consecutive years, or loss of

Direct Loan program eligibility for a CDR of 40 percent or greater for one year.

Sanctions can have dramatic consequences for students and institutions.

They require financial aid administrators, boards, and presidents to pay close attention to their CDRs and students’ borrowing behavior. Monitoring and responding to CDRs can also help to minimize defaults and allow institutions to take advantage of one of the nine different types of CDR challenges, adjustments, and appeals processes based on incorrect data, improper servicing, or mitigating circumstances such as low rates of borrowing.

Appeals Processes The majority of students at most community colleges do not use federal student loans for college expenses. However, since CDR calculations do not factor in students who have no federal loan debt, community and technical colleges sometimes are penalized for high default rates among the minority of students who do take out federal loans.

Some community colleges can avoid federal sanctions via an appeal process called the Participation Rate Index (PRI) appeal, which accounts for unrepresentative CDRs and low rates of borrowing. The PRI challenge can be conducted at either the draft or official CDR stage when an institution faces a loss of Title IV eligibility or sanction.

PRI challenges involve the calculation of a “borrowing rate” as determined by the total number of regular students who borrow and who are enrolled at least half time during a 12-month period. This borrowing rate is then multiplied by the draft or official CDR, and resulting “scores” under certain thresholds can avoid sanction.

When draft CDRs are released, institutions also have the opportunity to review the draft data as provided by the Education Department and the servicers, and to correct any errors. There are several methods of challenge, adjustment, or appeal of CDRs based on data errors, and institutions should consult the official Cohort Default Rate guide for more information (http://tiny.cc/CohortGuide).

Recommendations for Change With the upcoming reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, ACCT is very

Federal student loans offer many benefits for students and their families. They may allow students to attend college full time or reduce their need for multiple jobs, and direct loans offer vastly better interest rates and repayment options than private educational loans. concerned about the unrepresentative nature of CDRs as a metric of educational outcomes for community colleges. ACCT supports an effort to overhaul CDRs and instead utilize a metric that automatically factors in institutional borrowing rates.

ACCT recommends the following actions that pertain to the Direct Loan program: Establish a new Student Default Risk Index (SDRI). Similar to the Participation Rate Index score, the SDRI score would be the CDR multiplied by the percentage of students at an institution who take out federal loans. Institutions under certain thresholds would automatically avoid sanctions instead of being forced through lengthy appeals processes at the last minute.

Tie loan amounts to enrollment intensity. Link direct loan limits to a student’s enrollment status or intensity.

A student who attends one-half or threequarters time should be eligible for proportionally less loan volume each year than a student who attends full time, with allowances for cost of living. This will help to reduce over-borrowing among part-time students and encourage full time attendance.

Lower aggregate loan caps for students in associate degree and certificate programs. The aggregate direct loan limit for undergraduate dependent students is currently $31,000, or $57,500 for independent students. Those limits are too high for students enrolled in associate

degree or certificate programs. We propose an aggregate limit for associate degree and certificate-seeking students of $15,500 for dependent students and $28,750 for independent students — or half of the current total baccalaureate cap.

Participation Rate Index (PRI) appeals. The Education Department should be required to conduct annual participation rate index appeals, instead of waiting until the third consecutive index, when the loss of eligibility is imminent.

Allow institutions to lower loan maximums in defined circumstances.

Colleges should be given the authority to develop policies to reduce loan maximums for groups of students based on factors such as course load, program of study, or level of academic preparation, while maintaining the authority for financial aid administrators to revise these limits upward to the legal limit in specific circumstances.

Next Steps We are excited to announce that ACCT and the Institute for College Access and Success (TICAS) are working on a forthcoming report which analyzes community college cohort default rates, the typical defaulter, and potential financial literacy strategies. To be released during the summer, the report will feature institutional borrower profiles and offer best practices for default management and prevention.

As Congress and the Administration work on the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, we look for your support and advocacy to ensure that colleges are able to continue to participate in the Direct Loan program. We encourage you to utilize ACCT’s online policy center to communicate with your members of Congress, and to follow federal legislative updates through the Latest Action in Washington (LAW) email alerts and the Capitol Connection e-newsletter.

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.

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A Full House in the

BY MARK TONER

Senate

The 2014 Community College Senate Forum brought together a bipartisan array of some of the nation’s most prominent Senators.

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) was one of five U.S. Senators who spoke at ACCT’s 2014 Community College Senate Forum on Capitol Hill.

Long considered the most august and collegial of the nation’s institutions, the Senate has hardly been immune from Washington’s polarizing political climate in recent years. Yet when community college leaders came to Capitol Hill in February, senators from both sides of the aisle — and the opposite sides of the political spectrum — came together to stress the institutions’ importance to the nation’s economy.

“I consider community colleges America’s secret weapon,” said Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) “Every conversation I hear in Washington is about jobs, and every governor I know is busy trying to find a way to have more skilled workers in their state.”

Held during ACCT’s 2014 Community College National Legislative Summit, the Forum drew a standing-room-only crowd of community college trustees, presidents, students, and institutional leaders to Capitol Hill to hear five senators discuss a wide range of topics, including the needs of a changing workforce, 10

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the challenges posed by increasing costs and student loans, the reauthorization of key legislation, recent changes to Pell Grants, and innovative approaches undertaken in their home states.

Other events may have brought Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) to the same room, but ACCT’s Congressional Forum found them in a rare area of agreement: that rising costs are rapidly placing college out of reach for many Americans.

Rubio, who says he was sworn in as a U.S. Senator with more than $100,000 in student loans, called on higher education leaders to continue innovating to provide opportunities for a broader range of students at lower costs. “That’s where community colleges play such an important role,” he said. “It’s a national priority of the highest order and one we have to confront.”

The urgency, Rubio argued, is that the “opportunity gap” between people with college degrees and those without has

Clockwise from left: Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), discussed a wide range of topics, including the needs of a changing workforce, the challenges posed by increasing costs and student loans, and recent changes to Pell Grants.

widened to the greatest point in a half-century. “There are new jobs that pay more than 20th century jobs, but they require a higher level of skill acquisition,” Rubio said. “The problem we’re running into is that the people who would most benefit from it are the least likely to access that education.”

Warren also focused on the skyrocketing cost of attending college — including community colleges, where tuition has risen in the face of declining state support. In her home state of Massachusetts, she said, the debt burden for community college students has increased by 27 percent in the past three years. “That is not sustainable,” Warren said. “Higher education is broken, and if we don’t repair it, our country doesn’t have a future.”

Citing the interstate highway system as a model, Warren called for funding higher education through a combination of federal support tied to matching state funds. She also suggested refinancing existing student loans and closing tax loopholes to offset the costs. “I grew up in an America that invested in its kids instead of its billionaires,” she said.

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) stressed the importance of the Pell Grant program in maintaining access to higher education.

Crediting community college leaders for helping avert past cuts, he argued for the restoration of more recent adjustments to eligibility. “When Congress suggested cutting Pell Grants, there was an uproar — you helped make it, and we succeeded,” Schumer said. “As we move ahead, instead of cutting the program, we should grow it.”

Schumer stressed the importance of reinstating year-round Pell. “For community college students, there’s no summer vacation, and for Pell that should be true as well,” he said. He also urged community college leaders to make sure that their students were aware of the American Opportunity Tax Credit,

a bill the New York senator authored that provides an education tax credit of up to $2,500 a year.

Alexander touted a proposal unveiled earlier this year by Tenn.

Gov. Bill Haslam that would make community colleges tuitionfree for that state’s residents, calling it a “good example for the rest of the country” and a way to shift expectations among both traditional and nontraditional students.

As the Higher Education Act and Workforce Investment Act await reauthorization, several senators spoke in favor of sweeping changes. Unfurling a lengthy financial aid application, Alexander stressed the importance of deregulating higher education.

Formerly the U.S. Secretary of Education during George H.W. Bush’s administration, Alexander has formed a task force with three other senators to identify ways to simplify the federal role in higher education, in hopes of establishing “a continuous process for deregulation to overcome the continuous momentum for overregulation,” he said.

Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) pointed to efforts in his state to bring together technical colleges, universities, K-12 systems, and high-tech employers such as BMW and GE to provide tailored programs. “The workforce of the future has to be created by putting all the pieces together,” he said, arguing in favor of changes to workforce training that “collapse overhead and send more of the money to the end user.”

Despite disagreements, the diverse group of senators at the Forum reinforced the bipartisan support community colleges continue to enjoy in Washington. “One thing you have in common, whether you’re on the right or the left...is that we all agree that the greatest potential we have [is] in the classrooms,” Scott said. “You are standing at the door of opportunity and saying the door is open. I’m saying our role at the federal level is to make sure...we have the resources to impact those who have the doors open.”

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2014

‘Camelot Moment’

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A commitment to student success creates a historic opportunity for community colleges at the 2014 National Legislative Summit.

A

s community college leaders came to Washington, D.C., in February for their annual meetings with lawmakers, they had something exciting to share — evidence that

the unprecedented shift towards a national completion agenda in recent years is beginning to bear fruit.

Community colleges graduated 1 million more students in 2013 than the year before — a “Camelot moment” and an opportunity to demonstrate to budget-constrained lawmakers the value of their investments in the sector, speakers at the 2014 Community College National Legislative Summit told attendees.

Lawmakers “really do need to hear and understand the difference you’re making every day — and the incredible panoply of programs in the country that are making a difference,” said ACCT President and CEO J. Noah Brown.

Top: ACCT Chair LeRoy Mitchell welcomed NLS attendees. Bottom: More than 1,050 community college leaders made the 2014 NLS the largest since 2007.

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ACCT President and CEO J. Noah Brown gives opening remarks

Opening keynote speaker Norm J. Ornstein, commentator and resident scholar, American Enterprise Institute

U.S. Department of Education Deputy Assistant Secretary for Community Colleges Mark Mitsui addresses the ACCT Board of Directors

In the largest NLS since 2007, more than 1,050 community college trustees, presidents, students, and institutional leaders came to Washington to advocate for their institutions in a climate that remains as divided as at any time in recent history.

Opening speaker Norman J. Ornstein, commentator and resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, told NLS attendees that community colleges enjoy federal-level bipartisan support, even in the face of continued dysfunction and gridlock in government.

“You have some great competitive advantages because I think we’re going to see more focus in the policy world and in the idea world on community colleges...as a recognition of the value you provide in helping the country get the kind of workforce and education necessary for people to survive and thrive in society,” said Ornstein. “But you’re probably going to have to do it without a whole lot of help from government.”

ACCT Chair LeRoy Mitchell put the challenge facing community college leaders succinctly. “We have a lot of work to accomplish,” said Mitchell, a trustee at Westchester Community College in New York. “We know our colleges can help in creating a stronger economy...and we must continue to advocate for institutions and ensure that community colleges continue to receive the support we need and deserve.”

else — he became a trustee of the Community College of Philadelphia.

“As mayors, we know there’s no greater barrier to reducing crime and economic development than an education system that’s not functioning,” Nutter told attendees during his keynote address. “Everything we do comes back to a focus on education...and I chose to serve on a board of trustees at a community college because I truly believe that it has a role to play in providing economic opportunity for all.”

Like the community college sector as a whole, Nutter set an ambitious goal for Philadelphia — increasing the citywide high school graduation rate to 80 percent by 2015 and doubling the number of college graduates. As with the nation writ large, Philadelphia’s job market has shifted, with 60 percent of the city’s jobs now requiring some form of post-secondary education, Nutter told attendees. Speaking from his perspective as a trustee, he said that completion “must be our number-one goal.”

“Our great challenge as community college leaders is to [help students get] through to completion,” Nutter added. “It’s not enough that many have completed a year, or a year and a half.

We have to make a commitment to see them through and earn a degree...as board members, we must push our institutions to address this particular challenge.”

Votes of Confidence

On the Federal Front, Good News — For Now

Despite abundant signs of continued gridlock in Washington, it was clear that community colleges continue to enjoy bipartisan support. This is evidenced by ACCT’s Senate Forum, which brought together five prominent senators who addressed a standing-room-only group of trustees and college presidents (see p. 10). That support also extends from Washington to statehouses and mayor’s offices nationwide, where cities are redoubling their focus on education as a key to regaining economic prosperity.

Shortly after being elected mayor of Philadelphia in 2007, Michael A. Nutter told NLS attendees that he did something

As trustees prepared for their visits with lawmakers, they were given good news about several key sources of federal funding.

Originally projected to face a modest shortfall in 2015, the Pell Grant program is now projected to finish that year with a $3.4 billion surplus, ACCT Senior Public Policy Associate Jennifer Stiddard said during a briefing on legislative priorities by government relations staff from ACCT and its sister organization, the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC). Exempt from sequestration this year, Pell’s maximum benefit will increase T R U S T E E Q U A RT E R LY

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Philadelphia Mayor Michael A. Nutter

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) meets with Texas delegates on Capitol Hill

to $5,730 in 2014-15. “Right now, the program is doing well,” Stiddard said, and revised projections released in April showed even lower estimated program costs.

However, the long-term picture for Pell remains uncertain. The program will see a relatively modest shortfall in 2016, but from 2017 on, the program still faces annual shortfalls ranging from $2.3 to $7 billion. Pell’s projected shortfalls may put on the table further eligibility changes, including eliminating grant eligibility for less-than-half-time students, tightening means testing, and basing eligibility on academic performance.

Even ahead of such changes, community college leaders are still fighting to reinstate eligibility changes that have disproportionately impacted their students, including the elimination of year-round Pell in 2011 and the more recent elimination of ability-to-benefit students. A reduction in the number of full-time semesters students are allowed to receive Pell does not impact most community college students, Stiddard said, “but when they go to four-year institutions, they are running out of money, and that makes it difficult for them to complete.”

While Pell remains the largest source of federal funding for post-secondary students, last fall’s government shutdown led to a two-year budget agreement in December that included funds to restore earlier cuts to a range of other community college programs. “A number of our priority programs were almost made whole,” said Laurie Quarles, AACC’s legislative resource associate.

This reversal of fortune speaks to the value of advocacy by community college leaders, Quarles said. “It shows how much your work and our work has paid off,” she said. “You can’t make whole job-training programs without cutting something else out.

Without a lot of time spent making the case, it would have been very hard [for lawmakers] to make them a priority.”

ACCT and AACC government relations officials stressed the importance of continued advocacy for programs such as federal work study, institutional aid, adult education, and workforce development. Community college leaders must urge lawmakers 14

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Rep. Diane Black (R-Tenn.) is presented with the 2014 National Education Service Award

to continue to simplify financial aid and expand it to more of the kinds of non-traditional students whose eligibility is currently being challenged by changes to the Pell grant program, said David Baime, AACC’s senior vice president for government relations and policy analysis. As lawmakers consider the long-delayed reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, community colleges should also advocate for changes in the way college graduation rates are calculated and the ability to limit the amount of money their students borrow to forestall high default rates, Baime said.

Another long-delayed reauthorization, the Workforce Investment Act, is now seeing movement in the House.

Community college leaders must advocate to ensure that they remain on state and local workforce investment boards. They also must make the case for continued workforce training funding along the lines of the $2 billion Trade Adjustment Assistance Act Community College and Career Training grant program, which, now in its fourth year, is accepting its final solicitations for grants this spring, speakers said.

“Those of you who have gotten grants have a lot to talk about with what you’re doing with the grant money,” said Jim Hermes, AACC associate vice president for government relations. “That lays the groundwork for Congress to put something in place...to continue direct support for training capacity at institutions.”

Jee Hang Lee, ACCT’s vice president for public policy and external relations, urged community college leaders to advocate for the most critical needs facing their institutions and students.

“We all know that members of Congress love our community colleges,” he said. “But when push comes to shove, are they willing to make it a top priority when they have to allocate the limited resources that they have?”

Breaking Through But with little to no overlap remaining between the most moderate Republicans and the most conservative Democrats, NLS speakers cautioned that the overall climate in Washington

Student trustees at the Community College Caucus reception on Capitol Hill

(From left) Melody Barnes, David Leonhardt, and Ari Fleischer talk about working in Washington

is unlikely to change soon. Recent years have seen the end of decades-old coalitions built around common causes that transcended party lines and rural-urban splits, Ornstein said. “If it were only polarization, it wouldn’t lead to deep dysfunction,” he added. “You can have strong ideological views and still figure out how to solve problems.” But the shifting of the election cycle to a “permanent campaign” and what Ornstein calls the transition from partisanship to “tribalism” have made bipartisan approaches to solving problems more challenging, first at the federal level but increasingly within statehouses as well, he said.

“We’re now at a point where we have a poll that shows that more Americans would be unhappy if their child married someone from another party than someone from another religion,” said Ornstein. “If you start to see other Americans as the enemy [instead of] people with other viewpoints, you have a problem going ahead.”

But the picture isn’t completely bleak. “We don’t feel we’re subject to this divisiveness,” said AACC’s Baime. “Community colleges have come a long way and gotten increasingly more recognition, and we feel there’s a general interest to solving these problems.”

Ornstein agreed, saying “we ought to be able to find some common ground where it’s existed in the past. So many of the problems with education are not partisan in nature...and it’s obvious the country has a problem with a sluggish economy...and we know we’ve got a problem with long-term unemployment, especially for young people.” Ornstein urged trustees to “push for policy changes that make it easier to have the vibrant workforce that we need to prosper in this century.”

That sentiment was shared by former White House staffers Melody Barnes, who served as director of the White House Domestic Policy Council for President Barack Obama, and Ari Fleischer, who was White House press secretary under President George W. Bush. Both pointed out how their respective

presidents made education a priority and considered it a primary economic strategy.

“I don’t understand how partisanship lends itself to education,” Fleischer said.

Pointing to the changing workforce, Barnes said that “the majority of the workforce will be minorities in the 2020s, and if the majority of the people in that workforce are undereducated or uneducated, we will not be able to support [ourselves].”

Back to Camelot Despite the continuing challenges, community college leaders returned to the idea of 2014 as a “Camelot moment” for their institutions.

The news that community colleges are graduating a million more graduates a year presents a “wonderful opportunity” for advocacy, AACC President and CEO Walter G. Bumphus told attendees.

“We’ve never needed more than now to go to the Hill and speak with one voice,” Bumphus said. “We’re fortunate to be in this Camelot moment for community colleges, but we’ve got to take advantage of this opportunity.”

ACCT’s Mitchell agreed. “We need to redouble our efforts to keep our elected officials focused on the issues confronting our colleges and our students,” he said.

As a trustee and a mayor, Nutter made the case for the urgency of the moment. “If we want a strong country, we’re going to compete on knowledge,” he said. “Education is no longer a great moral requirement — it’s an economic imperative and the civil rights issue of the 21st century. It is incumbent on us to make sure every single American child and every single child in America has an opportunity to succeed — and to succeed in education.”

While Washington’s partisan rancor and gridlock persist, the simple act of speaking up for community colleges remains a critical responsibility for those who lead them. “Those of you who are here, you are the true advocates,” ACCT’s Brown said. “I assure you that your presence makes a difference.”

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Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) meets with Oregon community college leaders in the U.S. Capitol following a key vote on the Senate floor.

Harmony on the Hill

Community college visits to Congress break through partisan rancor.

As members of the Oregon delegation of trustees walked to an office just outside the Senate chambers in the Capitol building, Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) hurriedly passed them on the stairs. An important vote on the debt ceiling had been in the works all day, and the critical 60th vote had just been found, sparking a mad rush to vote ahead of an impending snowstorm that would soon bring official Washington to a halt.

“It was an unusual moment,” Merkley said upon returning to the delegation after voting. “Now let’s talk education.”

Wearing buttons bearing the slogan “Community Colleges = Skills for Students,” provided by the Community College of Philadelphia, NLS attendees fanned out across Capitol Hill to visit with lawmakers from both chambers and both sides of the aisle. The warm reception was a testament to the ongoing bipartisan interest in community colleges and their role in buttressing the nation’s economy.

Consider Illinois, where the state’s two senators, Democrat Richard Durbin and Republican Mark Kirk, greeted community 16

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college trustees in a joint meeting in the Capitol. “Mark and I have gone out of our way to find things to work on together,” Durbin said, urging trustees to forge similar relationships with K-12 systems. “If you’re not on a first-name basis with every high school counselor in your district, you’re missing the boat,” he said. Kirk stressed the importance of supporting returning military veterans with “the credentials that will get them jobs.”

Rep. Diane Black (R-Tenn.) warmly greeted another delegation as she was presented with ACCT’s National Education Service Award. “We make an unlikely couple,” she jokingly said of the award’s co-recipient, Rep. Danny Davis (D-Ill.), with whom she co-sponsored bipartisan legislation to reform higher education tax credits and provide greater benefits to low-income community college students. Both lawmakers share a commitment to community colleges — which Black cultivated while teaching medical technology at one for six years.

For their part, trustees touted both community colleges’ national success story — one million more graduates last year — and the

More at ACCT.org

Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) with Iowa community college students

“Students going to your institutions are hungry and hoping for the American Dream.

You guys are living it.”

— Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas)

Videos

www.acct.org/2014-nls-video • Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.)

• Philadelphia Mayor Michael A. Nutter • Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) • Senator Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) • Senator Tim Scott (R-S.C.) • Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.)

impact of their own programs closer to home. Visiting with Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), community college leaders talked about how their institutions were working to meet the goal of 200,000 new jobs set by Gov. Terry Branstad. “We’re the mechanism to help reach that goal,” one trustee told Grassley.

Trustees from Alamo Colleges shared with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) their experiences creating “Alamo Academies” in partnership with San Antonio’s K-12 schools and local employers. The two-year program for high school juniors and seniors provides college credit, internships with aeronautic and manufacturing companies, and the potential for employment after graduation.

Calling himself a “passionate advocate of education” as a tool to help people climb the economic ladder, Cruz urged trustees to share stories of “education opening up opportunities.”

“Students going to your institutions are hungry and hoping for the American Dream,” said Cruz, whose own mother was the first in his family to attend college. “You guys are living it.”

•P olicy Focus Session: The Obama Administration’s Higher Education Rating System Proposal

Photos

www.acct.org/2014-nls-photos Download print-quality photos and find yourself in the crowd.

Documents • 2014 Legislative Backgrounder • 2014 Community College Priorities • Additional Resources

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The Higher Education Policy Academy introduced community college leaders to the world of Washington.

A in

Crash Course Advocacy B y B ryce M c K i bben

Washington, D.C., is a unique place — and the world of Congress and the myriad agencies of the U.S. federal government can be mystifying even to the most seasoned of campus leaders. For those who are more familiar with the bipartisanship and order often seen in state and local government bodies, the federal government can seem a world apart.

For the third year running, National Legislative Summit (NLS) attendees gathered for a pre-summit academy on February 10th to learn more about the salient public policy concerns of community colleges and higher education writ large. The Higher Education Public Policy Academy featured dynamic presentations from representatives of think tanks, research institutes, Capitol Hill, and ACCT’s own public policy staff, who covered the expanse of postsecondary policy concerns dominating Congress, the Administration, and occasionally even the judiciary. As the reach of the federal government’s influence, regulation, and funding of higher education has expanded over the years, it has become even more imperative to be well informed about public policy issues at the federal level. One attendee observed that the benefit of attending was to “learn more about pressing policy issues that could positively or negatively affect community colleges.”

Following ACCT’s recent release of the policy brief entitled Financial Aid 101: A Guide to Understanding Federal Financial Aid Programs for Community College Trustees and Leaders, ACCT’s policy staff reviewed the basic structure of Title IV grants and loans, federal tax credits, and accountability requirements for institutions. Attendees were particularly interested in the potential for reversing recent restrictions on federal aid eligibility that have denied access to “nontraditional” students, as well as the impact of Cohort Default Rates (CDRs) and ways to prevent or mitigate student defaults (see p. 8).

The liveliest session of the day came during a lunchtime talk — perhaps best described as a debate — by noted education researchers Sara Goldrick-Rab, associate professor of educational policy studies and sociology at the University of WisconsinMadison, and Andrew P. Kelly, director of the Center on Higher Education Reform at the American Enterprise Institute. While Goldrick-Rab and Kelly disagree on many issues related to higher education financing and the best routes of influencing instruction and delivery models, they shared many insights into the potential future of postsecondary education in the 21st century, such as simplifying federal student aid, streamlining the accreditation process, the evolving role of massive open online courses (MOOCs), and President Obama’s proposed college ratings system.

Another topic that has received quite a bit of buzz in the policy 18

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Attendees engaged in a question-and-answer session with higher education policy experts.

world of late was front-and-center at the academy: competencybased education. Dr. Mary Alice McCarthy, senior policy analyst at the New America Foundation, and Dr. Virginia Carter, provost at Delaware County Community College, discussed how competencybased programs are expanding at community colleges. They also discussed how ‘CBE’ is being fostered through federal policy and funding, the process of gathering faculty and institutional buy-in, and current challenges with federal regulations and aid disbursement.

Finally, academy attendees closed the informative day by hearing from a panel of current and former Congressional staff members.

Panelists discussed prospects for reauthorizing the Higher Education Act in the next few years, as well as tips for maximizing meeting time and developing relationships with Members of Congress and their staffs.

The Higher Education Policy Academy received high marks from participant evaluations, particularly for the diversity of information and expertise. Expressing a sentiment echoed by many of the attendees, one commenter wrote simply, “great topics — do more of these!” ACCT plans to offer this pre-NLS academy at the 2015 National Legislative Summit, when higher education will likely continue to be at the forefront of federal policymaking in Washington, D.C.

ACCT Policy Analyst Bryce McKibben can be reached by email at bmckibben@acct.org or by phone at 202-775-4464.

Answering your questions about issues affecting boards today

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Guidance for challenging issues in community college governance.

By Narcisa A . Polonio

At ACCT, we spend a lot of time answering questions from individual trustees. And in many cases, these questions are ones that all trustees should either ask or know the answers to. With this in mind, ACCT has launched Trustee Talk, our new electronic question-and-answer newsletter about community college governance. Each monthly issue answers a question of vital importance to all community college boards, and each issue of Trustee Quarterly will summarize recent issues. To receive Trustee Talk by email, or to submit a question for consideration, contact ACCT Executive Vice President Narcisa A. Polonio at narcisa_polonio@acct.org.

Welcoming New Trustees Q: As a current trustee or chair, how do I ensure that new trustees on the board are welcomed and encouraged to actively participate?

The first step to managing this transition successfully is to understand that every time a trustee leaves or a new member joins the board, for all practical purposes, a new board has been established, and that this may impact the dynamics of the board. To foster and maintain board cohesiveness, a strong recognition and orientation process must be created to handle this change.

Below are several key strategies: (1) Orientation. Offer a comprehensive and ongoing orientation program focused on trustee and board roles. The program should ideally consist of both an orientation to the college provided by the president, and a second orientation to the workings of the board provided by the chair and/ or current trustees. The board orientation should include an overview of the roles and responsibilities of trustees and the board, board strategies and goals, communications

protocols, and trustee resources including a board manual, mini-sessions on the college budget, a review of the last audited financial statement, and the campus master facility plan.

(2) Ceremony. Hold a formal swearing-in ceremony that reflects the importance of the trustee role. Issue a press release to the internal and external communities announcing the appointment/election of the new trustee and acknowledging the contributions of the outgoing trustee.

(3) Resources. Introduce the new trustee(s) to www.trustee-education.org, the New and Experienced Trustees Governance Leadership Institute, and other ACCT resources to familiarize them with their roles and responsibilities.

(4) Set the tone. Have the board chair set the right tone by welcoming the new trustee(s) and encouraging engagement in board business so individuals don’t feel as if they have to “sit on the sidelines” during board meetings. Sharing the new trustee(s)’ biographical information with the board and

community at the first meeting can be part of this welcoming process. Also, appointing the new trustee(s) to committee(s) or task group(s) goes a long way in making the individuals feel included, as well as getting them involved as productive members of the board from the beginning.

(5) Welcome packets. The board chair, in collaboration with the college president, should prepare a welcome packet (which could be provided electronically) that includes the following materials: annual status report, recent press releases, minutes from recent board meetings, key financial documents, a meeting schedule, locations, parking arrangements, logistical information, ongoing trustee training opportunities, and policies regarding reimbursable expenses, along with any required forms.

(6) Transition. As you welcome the new trustee(s), be sure there is also a formal, structured plan to thank outgoing trustees for their years of service to the college. This acknowledgment could include a formal resolution by the board, T R U S T E E Q U A RT E R LY

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the presentation of a plaque recognizing a trustee’s service, or a special press release.

With an organized transition process, the new trustee(s) can be welcomed to the college and prepared to fully participate in board activities. Outgoing trustees often will join the foundation board and commit to raising funds and continue their service to the institution.

Knowing—and Avoiding— Micromanagement Q: My fellow trustees frequently claim that we are engaging in “micromanagement.” What constitutes micromanagement?

We often hear that either a governing board or an individual trustee is “micromanaging” by being intrusive and getting involved in the operation of the institution. Sometimes this is true, but often it is caused by misunderstanding roles and responsibilities, not knowing how to ask the right questions, undue influence from constituents, or conflicting personal priorities.

The board of trustees is responsible for developing policies and carrying out its fiduciary responsibilities by ensuring that the college is in compliance with federal and state laws and regulations, providing leadership by defining “what” the policies and priorities are for the college, and ensuring the best educational opportunities for all students.

The president or chancellor of the college has authority over “how” the institution carries out board policy through operational decisions.

However, there are a lot of grey areas when distinguishing between issues of governance, policy, or oversight versus management or administrative issues. This grey area can be even more complicated for elected trustees who have to be responsive to the voters and the communities they represent.

Governing board micromanagement: Board oversight is carried out by asking questions such as “Does the budget we’re considering support the strategic priorities of the college?” which fall clearly within the board’s role. Asking “How many new computers has the college purchased?” or “Which computer model did you choose?” can be interpreted as micromanagement.

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Individual trustee micromanagement: This can occur when trustees become involved in the day-to-day operations of the college and/or give directives to the administration without full board approval.

Individual trustees are micromanaging when they move beyond the board’s role and start seeing themselves as responsible for the management of the institution and viewing the administration and staff as their subordinates. It is important to remember that the governing board has only one employee: the president or chancellor.

Your board can take a number of proactive steps to avoid micromanagement: (1) Communicate effectively and regularly. Why is communication important? Because boards often micromanage when they feel uninformed about how the college is being run.

Regular dialogue allows the president or chancellor to share how he or she is implementing the board’s policies. This supports the board’s responsibility to effectively monitor the college’s progress.

There is a strong correlation between a lack of communication/information and board micromanagement.

(2) Orient new trustees. Why are new trustees often accused of micromanagement?

New trustees can be eager to learn because they want to actively participate on the board. This desire to understand frequently leads to asking a lot of questions about concerns that fall beyond the purview of the board, which can be interpreted as micromanagement. New trustees should be informed of the board’s role and attend an orientation to provide additional information and help guide their questioning.

(3) Manage requests for reports and data. What is the right balance between requesting information needed for board oversight and avoiding micromanagement?

The board should collectively determine which information requests are essential to performing its policy-making and oversight role. Every time the board requests information from the president or chancellor, time and resources must be dedicated to gathering and reporting this data. While institutional monitoring is a crucial part of the board’s role, excessive or duplicate requests to the administration by the board or individual trustees can unnecessarily distract the administration.

Discussing and agreeing as a board on what information to request is part of the board’s responsibilities. A good rule of thumb to consider is if it will take the administration more than 15 minutes to reply, prepare information, or give a report responding to a request, then the request should be approved by the whole board.

(4) Address “Lone Ranger Syndrome.”

To prevent cases of “Lone Ranger Syndrome,” the board chair should clarify that all requests for information or reports should come from the board as a whole.

Distributing assignments can also address the issue. The committee structure can be very helpful in this regard: having a trustee chair a board committee or a special assignment can reinforce the individual’s contribution and redirect their energy towards working with and for the board.

A cautionary note. All trustees need to be aware that an accusation of micromanagement can be used as a tool to stop dialogue and discourage a board from asking the right questions and carrying out its due diligence. It is vitally important for boards to know the difference between micromanagement and effectively carrying out their oversight responsibilities.

Moving Beyond a Vote of No Confidence Q: Our president has received a “vote of no confidence” from the faculty.

What should my board do?

In determining how the board should react to a vote of no confidence, it is important for the board to understand what a vote of no confidence means. Votes of no confidence can stem from a variety of factors, including labor disputes, fiscal constraints, disregard for the principles of shared governance, or ineffective communication, among many other issues.

It is important for the board to understand that a vote of no confidence is not always calling for the removal or resignation of the president or chancellor.

Rather, it can be a vote of disenchantment in some cases, or an exercise of the traditional tool used in academia by faculty to collectively express their dissatisfaction with the current leadership, or an urgent call for change. It should serve as a serious wake-up call to the college.

NO

Reasons for a Ineffective Leadership Mismanagement • Incompetence Catastrophe • Unethical Behavior Immoral Behavior • Criminal Behavior

The board should not underestimate the impact of the vote on the college. Votes of no confidence can negatively impact enrollment, bring undesirable publicity, and result in more critical public focus and scrutiny. The board must determine if the vote stemmed from an honest desire to protect the institution and ensure the educational integrity of the college, or whether the vote was motivated by selfinterest or ego, rather than the best interests of the college and students. The board has the responsibility to gather the facts and make a determination of how to proceed in the best interests of the institution.

On a personal level, votes of no confidence can be devastating for presidents and/or boards. A vote can destroy the career of a president or chancellor and tarnish the public perception of the board.

Because of these negative consequences, the president or chancellor and board need to be proactive in preventing votes of no confidence from occurring in the first place by vigilantly watching for early signs of discontent.

The board should respect and formally acknowledge the concerns expressed by the faculty, and most importantly, determine the validity of the vote and be prepared to appropriately address ineffective leadership.

It is important that the board and president or chancellor not overreact and stay above the fray. The board should emphasize to all internal and external constituencies that the vote is symbolic and has no official impact, with the authority to make a decision regarding the future of the president or chancellor being solely in the hands of the board.

What to do? When a vote of no confidence does occur, the board must act

Confidence VOTE:

Management Disputes

Institutional Relationships

Labor Dispute • Collective Bargaining Budget Deficit • Reduction of Staff Board Mandates

Communication Issues • Leadership Style Social Upheaval • Disagreement Over Past Practices

quickly to establish the tone for the college.

Above all, the board’s responsibilities during this period are to work with the president or chancellor to protect the institution’s assets, to maintain the trust and support of the community, and to help all constituencies focus on service to students and the community. Below are several key strategies for handling a vote of no confidence: (1) Assess the impact on the college.

The board needs to conduct due diligence to determine the facts and assess the long-term impact on the institution before making any decisions. During this process, the board should seek advice not only from ACCT, but also from their public relations officer and legal advisers. To help the institution rebuild trust, the board needs to understand both the motivation behind the decision and the potential effects of the vote of no confidence.

(2) Establish a communications strategy. After a vote of no confidence, the board should be prepared with a basic message to be delivered by the chair of the board. This message should set a conciliatory tone that makes it possible for all parties to work for the best interests of the college.

(3) Minimize the adverse impact on the institution. Both the board and the president or chancellor must play a role in damage control, as a vote of no confidence can paralyze the administration, damage the reputation of the college within the community, and deteriorate the confidence of key stakeholders.

The board must be courageous in protecting the long-term interests of the institution. It must be prepared to serve as the arbitrator, unifier, or court of appeal.

Legal issues need to be balanced with operational needs as well as the interests of students, and the board should think beyond the issue by helping frame a path that gets everyone past the immediate situation at hand.

Can no-confidence votes be avoided? Periods of leadership transition or disenchantment in the president or chancellor are two of the most difficult situations for a board to encounter. With a vote of no confidence, prevention is the best policy. The board should be willing to take steps to stop any occurrence that could derail the administration or hamper the institution’s core mission of serving students. Proactive measures include setting clear goals and priorities with the president or chancellor, conducting regular presidential evaluations, and asking difficult questions. But if a vote of no confidence does occur, the board should be prepared to work collegially and constructively with the president or chancellor to minimize the impact and keep all parties focused on the institution’s mission of serving students and the community.

A vote of no confidence is a complex issue. If you would like more guidance, email narcisa_polonio@acct.org to receive a three-part series of articles on votes of no confidence from past issues of Trustee Quarterly. For confidential guidance, please call Narcisa Polonio at 202-276-1983.

Narcisa A. Polonio, Ed.D. is executive vice president for education, research, and board leadership services at the Association of Community College Trustees.

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STEM

By

Da v i d

C o nner

Solutions

U.S. News meeting brings employers and educators to Washington.

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U.S. News and the Raytheon Company have partnered to create a U.S. STEM Index that measures science, technology, engineering, and mathematics activity in the United States relative to the year 2000.

“Think of this as Super Bowl Week for STEM,” said Brian Kelly, editor and chief content officer at U.S. News and World Report. From April 23-25, employers and educators from around the country gathered at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C., for the third annual U.S. News STEM Solutions conference, which featured a track dedicated to community colleges’ work in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields.

U.S. News and the Raytheon Company have partnered to create a U.S. STEM Index that measures science, technology, engineering, and mathematics activity in the United States relative to the year 2000. The Index, the first comprehensive resource that measures the key factors relating to STEM jobs and education, shows that after a long period of flat to down indicators, there has been some upward movement, particularly in the actual number of STEM degrees granted at the undergraduate and graduate levels. But even with those numbers on the rise, as a proportion of total degrees granted STEM degrees still hover close to the same levels that existed in 2000. This indicates that the education pipeline to fill the current and future jobs that will require STEM skills still isn’t producing enough talent. Community colleges are an important piece of the puzzle, from remediation to more advanced education, job-specific training, and industry partnerships, conference speakers said.

“From our first STEM event in 2011, you’ve told us that this is one of the most important things we can do: Bring the people who need to fill the jobs together with the people who educate the talent,” Kelly said. “We’re dedicated to making that dialogue happen at the leadership level and to focus on ways to replicate such cooperation in every local community.” He said that U.S. News has placed an emphasis on minority participation, community colleges, the gender gap, workforce trends, and, importantly, scaling up programs that work.

Showcasing What Works Following Kelly’s remarks, the opening session featured an inspiring dialogue moderated by Judy Woodruff, co-anchor and managing editor of PBS Newshour. Panelist Freeman Hrabowski III, president of the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, has a natural interest in STEM education: he holds a master’s degree in mathematics, and at age 24, he was awarded his Ph.D. in higher education administration/statistics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In 1998, he co-founded the Meyerhoff Scholars program with philanthropist Robert Meyerhoff. The scholarship is open to all high-achieving students committed to pursuing

advanced degrees and research careers in science and engineering, as well as advancing underrepresented populations in these fields.

“The majority of Americans who start a major in science or engineering don’t complete,” Hrabowski said. “It takes researchers to produce researchers.” He pointed out major discrepancies in equity, observing that “most people don’t know that there’s been a 50 percent decline in the past 30 years in women in computer science.” Hrabowski’s co-panelists consisted of three UMBC scholars, including Lauren Mazzoli, a computer science and mathematics honors student who is double majoring in math and cyber security. “I was always really good at math and didn’t know what I could do besides math,” Mazzoli said. Still, she credited her academic success in large part to the supportive community at UMBC. Hrabowski said that the success of UMBC’s STEM programs, which have placed over 980 graduates in jobs with the National Security Agency, is due to “connecting departments to industry partners” — something that community and technical colleges do well. During a later session called “The Community College Reinvented,” both Bruce Leslie, chancellor of Alamo Colleges in San Antonio, Texas, and Karen A. Stout, president of Montgomery County Community College in Blue Bell, Pa., credited industry partnerships as integral to the success of their students. At Alamo, for example, “Lockheed Martin only hires Alamo Academies students” for jobs based in San Antonio, Leslie said.

Asked by moderator Scott Jaschik, editor of Inside Higher Ed, how community colleges can assess student success in the face of being “frequently judged and criticized for low graduation rates,” Stout was blunt: Even measures made for community colleges, such as the Voluntary Framework of Accountability (VFA), don’t tell the whole story. “I can look at [data on] STEM majors or VFA criteria, but the only way to get a holistic look is with the employer community,” Stout said.

Leslie agreed. “The employer community is more important to us than a federal assessment,” he said. “We are really being measured by employers.”

Hard Focus on Soft Skills At the same time, there was strong consensus throughout the STEM Solutions conference that so-called “soft skills” are imperative both to the success of students and the needs of employers. “Employers want an internship pipeline,” said Stout, but they also “want behavioral competencies — communication, social media, writing.”

Leslie recalled when Toyota set up operations in San Antonio.

“They had 2,000 slots — they interviewed 200,000 people,” he said.

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The difference that singled out the 2,000 who were hired, Leslie said, “was soft skills.”

Hrabowski argued that liberal arts colleges and universities often produce better scientists than those whose programs focus exclusively on STEM coursework. “Enlightened universities knock down barriers,” Hrabowski said, speaking to both a need for greater diversity within STEM fields and disciplinary barriers within academia. “All STEM students [at UMBC] are broadly educated so that they can think critically and ethically.” He credited the success of UMBC’s programs in large part to “making a research campus feel like a liberal arts college.”

Cultivating Student Success Hrabowski stressed the importance of encouragement. “The innovation in math and science is making it feel like math and science aren’t just for a few people,” he said. When Woodruff asked soon-to-graduate Mazzoli what her career goal was, Mazzoli joked that “right now, my only goal is to graduate.” She got a hearty laugh from the audience, but Hrabowski told the audience to applaud Mazzoli’s accomplishments as well as her potential and help him to nudge her toward pursuing a doctorate in math or science.

Encouragement is crucial when it comes to facing major milestones and overcoming obstacles — especially when it comes to remediation. This was a strong point of discussion during a session called “First Comes Math: The Need for Remediation,” which was a part of the conference’s community college track.

According to the event program, “many studies have shown that only about 12 percent of community college students who plan to go on for a four-year STEM degree start off capable of college-level math, the foundation of everything in STEM. It’s clear that math remediation is key to feeding the STEM pipeline.”

But sometimes the remediation itself needs rehabilitation, speakers said.

“We thought we were experts in remediation,” said Glenn DuBois, chancellor of the Virginia Community College System (VCCS). “But we learned that we need to learn to use data.”

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Columbia University to assess the efficacy of its developmental programs. The results of the study were devastating, showing that 75 percent of remedial students don’t place out. “We had to throw out the business model,” DuBois said, “not tinker with it.”

DuBois was clear on where the fault lay. “We blamed our assessment procedures, not our faculty. We redesigned the whole model,” and in doing so, DuBois said, VCCS made faculty a major part of that redesign. “You can’t decide to do these things to scale unless faculty are on board,” he said. VCCS contracted a company in Florida to design a new assessment model, and so far the results are promising: “Full-time enrollment in developmental courses has gone down — which is good news,” DuBois said. But the data also clearly reveal a major challenge: of the nine essential skills required by VCCS, if a student has five of the nine, he or she has “a great chance” of succeeding beyond developmental coursework. But if the student only has one or two of the nine essential skills, he or she has “very little chance.” This speaks to a need for greater collaboration between K-12 schools and community colleges to make sure that even developmental students leave high school with basic competencies to serve as the foundation for later success.

Cinnamon Hillyard, senior associate for network relations at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, talked about Carnegie’s Quantway program, whose aim is “to promote success in community college mathematics and to develop quantitatively literate citizens.” According to the foundation, “community college students will have greater motivation to succeed and persist if their mathematics study is engaging, meaningful, relevant, and useful” — an echo of both the focus on relevant “soft skills” and DuBois’ discovery that it is sometimes necessary to revisit traditional models.

“Sixty percent of students who participated in [the Quantway] pathway succeeded,” said Hillyard — a significantly improved outcome compared with traditional remediation models. She also echoed Hrabowski’s intention to improve the student mindset on math and science, saying that anxiety is a primary barrier to succeeding in these disciplines. She said the best model is “a new way for teachers to teach — collaboratively, in conversation.

©U.S. News STEM Solutions 2014

Emerging technologies on display included robotics, electric automobiles, and 3-D printing.

U.S. News Editor and Chief Content Officer Brian Kelly

(From left) Bruce H. Leslie, Karen A. Stout and Scott Jaschik discuss “The Community College Reinvented”

Teachers talk to one another” across disciplines, and “the whole school works together for the success of students,” she said.

Paul Fain, a senior reporter for Inside Higher Ed, facilitated the discussion. He asked if the completion movement has “pushed remediation in the right direction.”

“Yes,” said DuBois. “Once you see the numbers, you can’t not address this problem. You need change from the top down at the institution.” But, he cautioned, “it scares me when legislative bodies jump to conclusions about how to change something.”

Is there anything that legislators in Washington can do that would be helpful? Fain asked.

“I don’t know the CEO of a hospital who can run the institution with part-time doctors and nurses,” DuBois said. “Why are community colleges the lowest level of [academic] funding? The community colleges are the only tool that’s going to save the middle class of this country. The stakes are really high.”

students [come to us] from workforce connections,” and they are faculty driven.

In the end, colleges and universities alike exist to meet the needs of their students — and their STEM students are doing pioneering work in emerging fields. Joining cyber scholar Mazzoli on the stage at the opening session were two other students, Myerhoff Scholar and chemical engineering major Dalton Hughes, and mechanical engineering major Mitchel Zavala. Though he represents an underrepresented population as an African American student, Hughes, who is currently experimenting in the laboratory with an engineered organic “scaffolding” to facilitate the incorporation of stem cells into the spinal cord to regenerate growth, said that he never doubted pursuing STEM-related studies.

“I wasn’t a social pariah,” he said. “I was part of a group doing interesting work.” Thanks to his dedication and the encouragement he has received, he plans to pursue a dual MD/Ph.D. Zavala, on the other hand, started out with some doubts.

His parents came to the United States from Peru in 1994 and discovered that his father’s engineering degree was not valid in the U.S. Nevertheless, Zavala’s father was an entrepreneur who built two businesses and encouraged his son to pursue engineering.

“I thought to myself,” Zavala said about the Mercedes his father so coveted, “am I going to make a car like that? Can I do something incredible?” Hrabowski told him yes, and Zavala’s goal is to engineer a newer, better Mercedes one day and put his father behind the wheel.

College boards should be aware of their communities’ STEMrelated needs and help build partnerships with local industries to help fill jobs today and in the future, and to help students like Hughes, Mazzoli, and Zavala realize their considerable potential.

Scaling Up — and Tailoring When an audience member asked about the potential for replicating successful remediation programs, Leslie said that the Alamo Colleges board “requires bringing great results to scale.” He said that incorporating Achieving the Dream into the institution’s operations led to an institutional culture of evidence — and the result is that the colleges can determine what really works and scale up best practices that benefit students.

At the same time, Stout cautioned that “alignment is local.

Replicating [another college’s program] exactly usually does not work.” She pointed to collaboration with industry, which often is tailored to the specific needs of local businesses and the community.

And those local industry collaborations can be useful in surprising ways, Stout said — for example, local biotechnology companies “are using MCCC facilities for their research.”

Speaking to a concern from an classroom instructor in the audience that focusing too much on students may lead to losing sight of faculty, Stout said that, to the contrary, “connections are driven by faculty. We’ve done a good job where there is demand.” Leslie added that “most research opportunities for

David Conner is managing editor of Trustee Quarterly and communications & publications manager for the Association of Community College Trustees.

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Around Regions the

facility in the community, in part to serve large numbers of first-generation families that have difficulty accessing community college services because of transportation issues.

central Region The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Illinois has compiled an oral history of the state’s 39 community college districts, featuring interviews with trustees, administrators, teachers, and others. Available at http:// tinyurl.com/CollegeOralHistory, the oral history begins with the 1901 founding of Joliet Junior College, the nation’s first community college, and continues through the 50th anniversary of the current statewide system, which will be celebrated in 2015.

Illinois community colleges and public universities are facing $32 million in unfunded program costs after the state legislature declined to fund the Illinois Veteran Grant for the second consecutive year.

The grant, which guarantees college tuition for Illinois veterans, requires institutions to cover any costs not funded by the legislature.

The village of Hanover Park in Illinois partnered with Elgin Community College and Harper College to build and operate an adult education

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Kirkwood Community College in Iowa has become the first community college in the state to receive accreditation for certifying welders from the American Welding Society. Kirkwood, which has offered welder qualifications since 1979, is now working with seven other Iowa community colleges seeking certification as accredited test facilities.

Crowder College in Missouri opened a new $6 million facility for its McDonald County Nursing Program, as part of the community college’s partnership with the MoHealthWINS grant consortium and the Missouri Foundation for Health.

Funding from the Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) Grant Program also helped fund equipment, tuition waivers, and other educational services.

Former President George W. Bush will speak at Cuyahoga Community College’s annual Presidential Scholarship Luncheon in September, the latest in a series of high-profile speakers who have keynoted the Ohio community college’s annual event, which has raised more

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than $1 million a year for student identify healthcare careers and identify appropriate educational scholarships since its inception paths to meet their goals. in 1992.

Lorain County Community College in Ohio will launch its dual-enrollment MyUniversity program in three local K-12 school districts this fall, allowing high school students to take free courses at their schools for college credit.

Pacific Region Scottsdale Community College in Arizona has become the first institution in the nation to offer an accredited certificate in DJing and “turntablism.”

The program, which has been approved by the U.S. Department of Education, features Phoenixarea DJs as instructors. “You Camden County College in have an incredible competitive New Jersey has introduced the advantage over any DJ on the state’s first mobile manufacturing street trying to pick it up by training classroom. The sixcoming to Scottsdale Community ton mobile unit contains 384 College,” DJ Ascension, the square feet of classroom program’s first graduate, told the space devoted to production Arizona Republic. technology, CNC metal fabrication, and mechatronics.

Arizona utility Salt River Project It is one of two trailers the New made a $250,000 contribution Jersey Community College to the Maricopa Community Consortium plans to use as part Colleges Foundation to fund of its statewide manufacturing renewable scholarships to training initiative. students pursuing a variety of STEM-related fields. Salt River Westmoreland County Project also donated additional Community College in funds to Chandler-Gilbert and Pennsylvania received a Estrella Mountain Community $50,000 gift from Highmark Blue Colleges to establish a fund for Cross Blue Shield to help allied students pursuing energy-related health and nursing students fields at both institutions. find employment by funding a career coach, who will also help California Community Colleges prospective and current students released its first update to its

NORTHEAST Region

student success scorecard. The updated scorecard indicated that the six-year completion rate for students seeking to earn a degree or transfer to a four-year institution fell nearly three percent to 48.1 percent last year, a decline officials attributed to reduced class offerings in the face of budget cuts and increased enrollments during the recession. “These results document the damage done by years of rationing education in California,” California Community Colleges Chancellor Brice W. Harris said in a statement.

business and civic leaders, a way to focus on its new baccalaureate programs and to “raise the ceiling” for all students.

Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie proclaimed April 23 the University of Hawaii Community Colleges Day in recognition of the system’s 50th anniversary. Founded in 1964, the state’s seven community college campuses now offer more than 70 fields of study and serve 33,000 students each year.

Michael B. McCall, president of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System, was honored with a lifetime achievement award from the Phi Theta Kappa honor society.

Southern Region

Peninsula College in Washington rededicated a totem pole that had been removed to prevent damage while a new performance hall was being built. A gift from a local tribe in 1971, the rededication ceremony included representatives from six local tribes.

The Louisiana Community and Technical College System is transitioning its system-wide Banner student information system to be accessible on mobile platforms. More than 100,000 students across the 13-institution system will ultimately be able to use mobile apps to conduct functions including admissions, registration, grades, and student transcripts.

The Seattle College District in Washington voted in March to remove the word “community” from the name of the district and its three community colleges. District officials called the rebranding, which was the result of a year-long exploration and survey of local

Randolph Community College in North Carolina is creating a workforce development and continuing education division, to be led by a new vice president whose role will focus on communicating with local employers and industry about workforce needs.

Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring announced that some illegal immigrants brought to the United States as children qualify for in-state college tuition under existing law. Speaking at Northern Virginia Community College’s Alexandria campus, Herring’s announcement came after “Dream Act” bills failed in both chambers of the state legislature. An estimated 8,000 young illegal immigrants live in Virginia.

AT&T contributed $45,000 to support a Virginia Foundation for Community College Education initiative dedicated to supporting underserved rural students. The Rural Virginia Horseshoe Initiative works with 14 of the state’s community colleges to provide full-time career coaching assistance to rural and underserved students, with the goal of doubling from 26 to 52 percent the population of rural Virginians holding an associate degree or certificate.

Pierpont Community & Technical College in West Virginia launched in March the state’s only online paramedic certification course. Conducted as a blended model in cooperation with New River Community College, Blue Ridge Community and Technical College, and Mt. West College, the online program was a response to changes to the National Registry of EMTs’ certification process that had left EMTs in rural parts of the state without licenses.

western Region In the face of an enrollment decline of 3,000 students across Kansas’ 19 community colleges, Butler Community College announced it would not raise tuition, fees, or housing rates for the upcoming academic year. College leaders said they were responding to concerns that annual tuition hikes were deterring potential students from enrolling.

Central Community College in Nebraska announced that its students receive an average 19 percent annual return on their investment in education, according to a report released by Economic Modeling Specialists Inc. (an ACCT Corporate Council member). During 2012-13, CCC and its students added $321 million in income to the economy of its 25-county service area — approximately 2.6 percent of the region’s Gross Regional Product.

Texas Tech University at Waco has expanded to include 17 concentration areas in the bachelor of general studies degree, offered on McLennan Community College’s campus.

MCC also recently launched a new AAS degree and certificate in hospitality management to help students get work in the hotel service industry.

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.

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legal

Labor Law Developments Impacting Community Colleges

A

victims to file legal actions in certain As large local employers of circumstances with the local state court. highly diverse workforces, community Madison is one of a small but growing colleges and their leaders must remain group of municipalities and states to abreast of changing employment and take legislative action in this area. New labor law issues. What follows are York City adopted a comprehensive five important developments with ban on discrimination based on the potential to impact virtually all unemployment status earlier this year. community colleges.

Its statute provides victims with a “Unemployed status” spreading private right of action for damages and as a new “protected class” other relief in state court. Last year, the under municipal and state equal District of Columbia enacted a similar employment opportunity laws. In law, but did not provide victims of December 2013, the city of Madison, unemployment discrimination with Wisconsin, added unemployment as direct access to the courts. a new protected class to its equal Chicago, New Jersey, and Oregon employment opportunity ordinance, have all also enacted laws seeking to joining a handful of cities and states around the country that now bar private and public employers from discriminating against job applicants based on their unemployment status. The new law specifically prohibits employers from discriminating against individuals based on their unemployment status with respect to compensation or the terms, conditions, or privileges of employment. The ordinance also bars employers from publishing any notice or advertisement that discriminates against the unemployed.

The Madison ordinance includes a variety of enforcement provisions.

First, the new law allows aggrieved individuals to file discrimination complaints with the Madison Equal Employment Opportunities Commission and assert claims for monetary damages and other relief. The law also allows aggrieved “But Michael, the labor market is awaiting you!”

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ban discrimination against the unemployed.

However, these measures are limited to barring employers from placing advertising that seeks to disallow unemployed persons from applying for jobs. Employers in these jurisdictions may want to consider adding a statement on their job applications stating that “unemployment is not a bar to employment.” It may be most appropriate to make this statement on the part of the job application that requires a listing of job history.

Community college administrators should be vigilant regarding this development, especially if they are in one of the jurisdictions mentioned above. If not, be aware that similar legislation is developing all over the country and be prepared to act appropriately.

Severe morning sickness of college alumni association manger not a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act or state law, but retaliation claim allowed. A federal district court recently rejected the disability discrimination claim of a former University of Maryland alumni association manager, holding that pregnancy is not a covered disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act or the Rehab Act of the Maryland Employment Discrimination Law (Wonasue v. University of Maryland Alumni Association, D Md. 8:11-cv-03657-DKC, 11/22/13).

The court noted that pregnancybased complications may rise to the level of protection under these laws, but that in this case the plaintiff’s alleged severe morning sickness did not limit the performance of a major life activity and as such was not a covered disability. However, the court did not

©THE NEW YORKER COLLECTION. Joseph Farris FROM CARTOONBANK.COM. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

By Ira Michael Shepard ACCT General Counsel

dismiss the plaintiff’s retaliation claims.

The plaintiff claimed that she requested an accommodation of working from home and/or a leave of absence as a result of her severe morning sickness. The plaintiff claimed that when her supervisor rejected her request for an accommodation, the supervisor warned her that her job duties required her to be in the office “full time” and that she should consider this if she was not able to fully commit to her job in the future. The court found that the supervisor’s warning would allow a jury to reasonably conclude that the plaintiff might not be comfortable in requesting other accommodations after listening to the supervisor’s warning. Further, the court held that the warning might have dissuaded a reasonable worker from making or supporting a discrimination charge, and as such the plaintiff should be allowed to go forward with her claims of retaliation against her employer for raising a discrimination claim and asking for an accommodation.

County employee with “crying spells” after daughter was raped entitled to jury trial over Family and Medical Leave Act retaliation and disability discrimination allegations. A former Ohio County agency employee who was fired shortly after returning from FMLA leave to care for her teenage daughter who was the victim of sexual assault has a triable FMLA retaliation claim and a triable state law ADA claim of disability discrimination. The federal district court judge hearing the case ruled that the plaintiff’s claims raised a factual dispute over whether the stated reason for firing her — declining job performance — was pretextual, entitling her to a jury trail on both retaliation and discrimination issues (Nelson v. Clermont County Veterans Service Commission, S.D. Ohio, No. 11-00335, 11/1/13).

The court noted that the plaintiff began her job as an administrative assistant in 2002 and generally received positive performance reviews and pay raises. In April 2009, she had a meeting with her supervisor about her “declining work performance.” That August, she notified her employer that her teenage daughter had been sexually assaulted, and the employer approved her request for FMLA leave to care for her daughter between September and November. The plaintiff provided medical certification forms for her daughter’s condition and for her own related

condition, which included “crying spells,” lack of energy, and inability to concentrate.

During the plaintiff’s leave, her supervisor discovered that she had turned in inaccurate time sheets, purportedly to conceal unauthorized overtime. Upon the plaintiff’s return to work, she claimed that her supervisor assigned her more work than usual. She brought her daughter to work with her, but was told that was inappropriate and that she should choose between caring for her daughter and keeping her job.

She inquired about filing a grievance, but before doing so, she was brought into a pre-disciplinary hearing. She did not testify, but submitted a written rebuttal one day later. The hearing officer refused to consider the rebuttal and upheld the charges against her and her discharge.

In denying the employer’s motion for summary judgment, the court ruled that the proximity between the plaintiff’s return from FMLA leave and her discharge raised a triable issue of retaliation, as did the plaintiff’s allegation that she had been assigned more work. The court also ruled that the hearing officer’s refusal to consider her written rebuttal was a violation of the employer’s own rules and contributed to the inference that the stated reasons for termination were pretextual.

Attorney fee award to a plaintiff’s counsel 25 times the amount of actual sex discrimination damages affirmed by court of appeals. The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that a federal trial court did not abuse its discretion in awarding a plaintiff’s counsel $698,000 in attorney fees in a sex discrimination case which resulted in the plaintiff being awarded a $27,000 verdict.

The employer objected to the court’s award, which stated that the employer must pay the attorney fees in addition to the damages, arguing that the fees were exorbitant given the mixed results of the trial. The employer did not contest the jury verdict in the plaintiff’s favor, just the size of the judge’s award of attorney fees. The Ninth Circuit rejected the employer’s arguments, affirming the award of $698,000 in attorney fees, with the exception of ordering that the $55,000 in paralegal fees be recalculated (Muniz v.

UPS Inc., 9th Cir., No.11-17282, 12/5/13).

The employer argued that the plaintiff’s counsel’s initial request for $1.9 million in attorney fees demonstrated the inappropriate

and inflated nature of the entire request.

The appeals court rejected the argument, noting that the district judge has broad discretion to determine the appropriate attorney fee to be awarded under the statue and paid by the employer in a case where the plaintiff prevails at least in part on his or her discrimination claims. The fact that the plaintiff was awarded a verdict at the low end of her request was taken into account by the trial judge in reducing the plaintiff’s counsel’s request for $19 million in attorney fees to $698,000, the court ruled.

Graduate research and teaching assistants at New York University vote in favor of UAW union representation.

Over 1,200 graduate assistants at NYU and the Polytechnic Institute of NYU in Brooklyn voted in December 2013 for union representation by the United Auto Workers (UAW). The representation election was supervised by the American Arbitration Association, by mutual agreement of NYU and the UAW. NYU agreed to remain neutral in the election, with a majority vote determining the outcome. The vote was 620 in favor of union representation and 10 against.

The vote marked the resolution of an eight-year dispute between the university and the UAW. Its graduate assistants were initially represented by the union, and both parties signed a collective bargaining agreement in 2002. When the contract expired, the university declined to renegotiate a new agreement following a National Labor Relations Board ruling that the NYU graduate assistants were not employees and therefore not subject to unionization under the National Labor Relations Act. In 2012, the NLRB decided to review the prior decision on the employee status of the NYU graduate assistants. The case was dismissed in November, presumably in deference to the parties’ agreement to voluntarily conduct an election under the auspices of the American Arbitration Association.

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

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2014 New Trustees Academy Held in Washington, D.C.

Participants from throughout the country attended the academy to learn about the basics of trusteeship and good governance.

February 10, 2014

New

Trustees and Their Presidents

Gather in Washington, D.C., for the 2014 New Trustees Academy More than 40 community college trustees and their presidents converged in Washington, D.C., on February 10, the day before the 2014 Community College National Legislative Summit, for a one-day primer on the basics of board governance. Community college leaders in attendance came from 19 states, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming, as well as Guam. ACCT will host an expanded two-and-a-half day Governance Leadership Institute for New and Experienced Trustees this August 4-6, at the National Center for Higher Education in Washington, D.C. Visit www.acct.org for more information.

“Varied and valuable content and speakers!”

Topics • What Every Trustee Wishes They Knew From the Beginning!

• Advocacy at the Federal Level: What Can Congress Do For You? • Robert’s Rules of Order and Operational Procedures • Working With and Respecting the Media • Trustee Roles and Responsibilities • Outcomes, Quality, and Student Success • The Budget, Financial Management, and Capital Projects

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ACCT’s Narcisa Polonio guides a discussion on board governance.

2014 Governance Leadership Institute Held in Salt Lake City, Utah

Community college leaders come together in Salt Lake City, Utah, for a unique experience to accelerate the learning process and orient new trustees with the basics of boardsmanship.

March 20-22, 2014

2014 Governance Leadership Institute On March 20 -22, 50 community college trustees, presidents, and administrators gathered in Salt Lake City for the 2014 Governance Leadership Institute. ACCT would like to thank Salt Lake Community College for hosting this important event at its stunning Taylorsville Campus. The association also thanks Mr. M. Dale Ensign for joining us at the institute. Mr. Ensign is one of the founding members of ACCT, and he served for many years as a trustee at Salt Lake Community College.

Institute attendees garnered new information and shared insights on many important topics, including running effective meetings, student success, program development, performance-based funding, campus emergency plans, board self-assessments, presidential evaluations, and working with the media. Participants came together from across the country and abroad, including Arizona, California, Idaho, Illinois, Michigan, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming, as well as Palau, American Samoa, and Micronesia.

Topics • • • • • •

What Trustees Need to Know about Accreditation Student Success, Accountability, and Outcomes How to Become an Effective Trustee Budget, Finances, and Capital Projects Roles and Responsibilities of the Board and the President Advocacy

“The format allows for in-depth discussion of pertinent issues confronting trustees.”

“Excellent trustee education opportunity!”

In a Governance Leadership Institute tradition, participants exchange T-shirts from their 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 Geoffrey L. Baum Elmer Beckendorf Manuel Benavidez, Jr.* Thomas M. Bennett 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 Paul J. Cunningham, M.D. 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* 32

SPRING 2014

Norma Jean Germond 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 Molly Beth Malcolm Thomas W. Malone Doreen Margolin* Marie Y. Martin Montez C. Martin, Jr.

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Fred Mathews 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 Betti Singh W.L. “Levi” Smallwood William J. Smith James Smith Joshua L. 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 outstanding and retiring board members a Lifetime Membership to ACCT is a way to thank them for their service, 1 Giving recognize them among their peers, and ensure their ongoing interest in your college.

2

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.

3

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.

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.

New Mexico State University Doña Ana Community College, N.M. Dr. Renay Scott President Former Provost Owens Community College, Ohio “I am delighted to announce that Dr. Renay M. Scott has accepted the position of president of DACC. Dr. Scott is a respected scholar, teacher, and administrator, with broad experience in a community college setting. During the course of the extensive interview process, she impressed virtually everyone she met with her openness, vision, and willingness to tackle difficult problems.

She is a consensus builder and brings the ‘can do’ attitude and willingness to consider innovative solutions that I was seeking in the next president of DACC. I am sure that she will embrace this community and will be embraced in return.”

— Dr. Daniel J. Howard, Provost and Executive Vice President, New Mexico State University

Louisiana Community and Technical College System (LCTCS) Dr. Monty Sullivan President

Los Angeles Community College District, Calif.

Dr. Francisco C. Rodriguez Chancellor Former Superintendent/ President MiraCosta Community College District, Calif.

“After a thorough and exhaustive national search, we are confident that we have picked the person best qualified to lead our district.

Dr. Francisco Rodriguez’s dedication to education, devotion to students, and strong leadership qualities will serve us well.”

— Miguel Santiago, Board President

Board Self-Assessments and Presidential Evaluations ACCT would like to thank the following colleges, which have taken advantage of our Board and/or President Evaluation Services.

Great Basin College, Nev. San Joaquin Delta College, Calif.

Washington State Community College, Ohio

Former Chancellor Delgado Community College, LCTCS “Dr. Sullivan is the right person at precisely the right time to lead Louisiana’s 13 community and technical colleges as president. He possesses the unique perspective of having worked at all levels of higher education.

His knowledge of and commitment to the scope and mission of community and technical colleges will prove invaluable as we work to continue meeting the needs of students, communities, and employers.”

— Michael J. Murphy, Chair, LCTCS Board of Supervisors

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Board Retreats ACCT would like to thank the following colleges, which have taken advantage of our Board Retreat Services.

Arizona Western College, Ariz.

Houston Community College System, Texas Mendocino College, Calif.

Parkland College, Ill.

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.

Connors State College, Okla.

Current Searches

Michael Lewis, MBA Vice President for Fiscal Services Former Chief of Finance Haskell University, KS “We’re excited about Mike Lewis joining the Connors State family.

His specific experience and professional training are exactly what we were looking for to help us build upon our positive momentum and write the next chapter of excellence for our college.”

— Dr. Tim Faltyn, President

President Delaware Technical Community College

President Baltimore City Community College, Md.

Chancellor Delgado Community College, LCTCS, La.

President Shoreline Community College, Wash.

President Central Wyoming College, Wyo.

Chancellor Houston Community College, Texas

System President Kentucky Community & Technical College System, Ky.

For updates on these and other new active searches, go to acctsearches.org/searches.

Looking for a

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. ACCT Board Leadership Services will guide you through every step of the process.

OUR STRENGTHS • We understand the needs of community colleges.

• We find and cultivate high-caliber 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.

ACCT Board Leadership Services will hold your hand during every step of the selection process.

For more information on ACCT’s expanded services to assist with the placement of vice presidents, provosts, and vice chancellors, please contact Narcisa Polonio at npolonio@acct.org or 202-276-1983.

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acct’s Public Policy Resources for Community College Trustees

www.acct.org/advocacy

community college

national Legislative Summit

ACCT’s website provides information and resources related to advocacy events, legislative factsheets and summaries, toolkits, the community college caucuses, as well as a way to find and contact your legislators. Also, follow the latest public policy updates at www.twitter/CCTrustees

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 cutting-edge policy issues and advocate to key Members of Congress and the Administration on behalf of community and technical colleges. www.acct.org/events/legislativesummit

ACCT’s highly successful Latest Action in Washington (LAW) e-mail alerts offer immediate, concise updates on legislative activity important to community colleges.

Capitol Connection is an advocacy e-newsletter designed to provide monthly updates on legislative and regulatory issues impacting community colleges. Capitol Connection complements ACCT’s LAW E-Alerts by providing in-depth coverage of the most pertinent policy matter facing higher education. To sign up to receive LAW E-Alerts and Capitol Connection, e-mail publicpolicy@acct.org using the subject line “LAW E-Alerts.”

ACCT’s newest public policy report, Financial Aid 101: A Guide to Understanding Federal Financial Aid Programs for Community College Trustees and Leaders, is designed to help community college trustees and leaders understand the broad structure and design of the largest federal financial aid programs, including grants, loans, and tax credits.

www.twitter.com/cctrustees

www.facebook.com/cctrustees

NET WORK NEWS SPRING 2014

INTERFACE

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

PROFESSIONAL BOARD STAFF MEMBER 2013-2014 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

You Spoke….We’re Listening

OFFICERS

The Professional Board Staff Network Executive

Debbie Novak, President Assistant to the College President Colorado Mountain College, Colo. dnovak@coloradomtn.edu

Committee met while attending the National Legislative

Mechell Downey, Vice President Administrative Assistant to the President Seminole State College, Okla. m.downey@sscok.edu

to attend due to weather and travel issues.

Tria Bullard, Secretary Director of Board and Executive Services Columbia Gorge Community College, Ore. tbullard@cgcc.cc.or.us Wendy Dodson, Immediate Past President Assistant to the President Sandhills Community College, N.C. dodsonw@sandhills.edu

MEMBERS-AT-LARGE CENTRAL REGION Heather Lanham Executive Assistant to the President Edison Community College, Ohio hlanham@edisonohio.edu NORTHEAST REGION Alonia Sharps Chief of Staff Prince George’s Community College, Md. sharpsac@pgcc.edu PACIFIC REGION Laurel Adair Executive Assistant to the President and District Governing Board Arizona Western College, Ariz. laurel.adair@azwestern.edu 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

Summit in Washington, D.C., this February. Some of the committee connected via telephone, as they were unable As is customary, the purpose of the meeting was to begin discussing our three-hour workshop, business meeting, and Meet & Greet that will take place during the October ACCT Leadership Congress.

After reading the evaluations from last year’s workshop, I will be proposing that the workshop includes a session about electronic board packets. We will demonstrate two different ways to do them: one with software programmed specifically for this purpose and one using Adobe Acrobat. The second portion of the workshop will feature round table discussions. Some of the topics we will cover include conflicts of interest, sunshine laws, board orientation, board assessment, “Sharing Sticky Situations — The Board Professional in the Hot Seat,” presidential searches and transition, and “Congratulations — You’ve Just Been Named the Board Professional…Now What?”

Once the discussions are concluded, time will be set aside for each group to give a recap of their discussion. If you have a topic you would like to see on the agenda, please be sure to contact me.

The Meet & Greet will once again take place off-site; plans are still in the works as I write this article. The annual business meeting will also be held during the Congress, where elections for next year’s Secretary and Members-at-Large will be held. The upcoming Congress promises to be packed with great information, and Chicago is famous for its wonderful food, so join us in October in “Sweet Home Chicago.”

On another note, I would be remiss not to mention the huge help ACCT Meetings Consultant Lila Farmer always was to the Professional Board Staff Network. One call to Lila, and we always knew help was on the way. Lila passed away suddenly due to complications from the flu shortly after the National Legislative Summit in February.

She will be missed.

Debbie Novak Colorado Mountain College

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NETWORK NEWS SPRING 2014

INTERFACE

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

Meet Your Professional Board Staff Network Executive Committee

By Mechell Downey, Seminole State College, Okla.

In this issue of Trustee Quarterly, I would like to introduce to you the Professional Board Staff Network Executive Committee. This group of professional women is ready and willing to assist you if any questions arise about the ACCT Leadership Congress, board staff practices, or PBSN in general. Also, they are a great networking tool anytime you need them. Please plan to join us at the ACCT Leadership Congress this October and be prepared to be enlightened with useful and valuable new knowledge about the “Winds of Change” that are upon us.

President Debbie Novak Colorado Mountain College Debbie Novak has worked for Colorado Mountain College since August 2005. She began her tenure there as the assistant to the chief student development officer and the dean of students. When her predecessor Toni Black announced her retirement, Debbie applied for and was promoted to the position of assistant to the college president and board staff secretary. (Toni was one of the founding members of PBSN.) Debbie became the Western Region Member-at-Large six weeks after her promotion. Prior to her employment at Colorado Mountain College, she was the co-owner of a photo lab/print service store. She has found working at Colorado Mountain College much more fun than working for herself! She lives in New Castle, Colorado, and has two children: a son, Kyle, who is 33, a master sergeant in the U.S. Air Force, and has given her two beautiful granddaughters; and a daughter, Stacey, 27, who has a degree in professional photography and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from CMC.

Vice President Mechell Downey Seminole State College, Okla.

I have worked at Seminole State College for 13 years in my current position of administrative assistant to the president and secretary to the board of regents at Seminole State College. Seminole State College is a rural two-year community 38

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college in Oklahoma with an average of 2,300 students. I live in Bowlegs, Oklahoma, I have an associate degree from Seminole State College, and I hold a bachelor’s degree in applied technology from Rogers State University in Claremore, Okla.

I love my job and my college. I firmly believe in the mission of Seminole State College and that community colleges are vital in higher education. I have been married to Mike Downey for 27 years, and together we have two children, Stephen and Jessica.

I am active in my community with the Seminole Chamber of Commerce, Prague Round-Up Club, Therapy Dogs International, City of Seminole Planning Commission (13 Years), and I am a past member of the finance committee for the Seminole Baptist Church, past president and current vice president of the Classified Staff Association at Seminole State College, and the current past president of the Northeast Oklahoma United States Air Force Academy Parent’s Club.

Secretary Tria Bullard Columbia Gorge Community College, Ore. Tria Bullard is the director of board and executive services at Columbia Gorge Community College (CGCC), where she oversees the president’s office, marketing, institutional research, and board of education relations. CGCC is a small, rural college on the Oregon/Washington border that serves approximately 4,500 students and is perhaps best known for hosting the west coast’s first wind technology training program. (Tria even got to climb one of the 325-foot high wind towers!) Tria has a bachelor’s degree in business and marketing, is a 2011 graduate of the Ford Family Leadership Program, and hopes to start her MBA this summer. In addition, she is a director for Lyle School District #406 (the same school district she attended for all of elementary/secondary school), which serves about 220 students in rural Washington. Most recently, Tria has been serving on a board for The Dalles Professional Women’s Alliance, a local group that supports and empowers women in business. In her free time, you can find her in the gym (her husband is a personal trainer) or chauffeuring her three kids (ages 13, 8, and 5) to dance, baseball, soccer, and robotics practices.

NET WORK NEWS SPRING 2014

INTERFACE

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

Central Region Member-at-Large Heather Lanham Edison Community College, Ohio Heather Lanham is originally from Troy, Ohio. After graduating from Troy High School, she received her associate of arts degree from Edison Community College.

She attended Edison on a full academic scholarship, the Thomas Alva Edison Scholarship. Heather 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, Heather was offered her current position of executive assistant to the president and secretary to the board of trustees. She lives in West Milton, Ohio, with her husband of five years, James.

Northeast Region Member-at-Large Alonia Sharps Prince George’s Community College, Md. Alonia Sharps is the chief of staff at Prince George’s Community College (PGCC), where she supervises the president’s office, board services, community and government affairs, institutional advancement, institutional initiatives, and the Center for Minority Business Development. Alonia has a bachelor’s degree in English and math education and a master’s degree with a concentration in guidance and counseling from Bowie State University, along with postgraduate coursework at Virginia Tech and the University of Maryland. Alonia serves as secretary on the board of directors of the National Council on Black American Affairs, an affiliated council of the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC). In addition, she serves the education community as a member of the board of directors of the Educational Systems Federal Credit Union. Alonia and her husband have an adult daughter who, along with her family, resides in Garner, N.C. During her spare time, Alonia enjoys time with her three grandchildren, fishing, golfing, dancing, and gaming.

Pacific Region Member-at-Large Laurel Adair Arizona Western College Laurel Adair is the executive assistant to the president and the district governing board of Arizona Western College located in Yuma, Ariz. The campus boasts a five-megawatt solar array combining different solar technologies, which is fitting since Yuma is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the sunniest city in the world. Arizona Western

College is located near the Mexican border, nestled in the southwest corner of Arizona with an enrollment of 13,000 students and over 5,636 full-time equivalent students.

Laurel relocated from her home state of Iowa in 2006 after working 12 years at Graceland University in southern Iowa. Her undergraduate degree is in public agency management. She is married with two daughters. Laurel has always appreciated those in military service, so she enjoys residing in a military town with the Marine Corps Air Station and Yuma Proving Ground. When her Iowa friends chide her about the desert heat, she quips that the “dry heat of Arizona is easier to tolerate than the bone-chilling winter winds of her beloved home state of Iowa.” She does still cheer for the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Southern Region Member-at-Large Tina Heskett Hillsborough Community College, Fla. Tina Heskett is the board secretary and executive assistant to the president of Hillsborough Community College (HCC).

The college, which boasts an impressive five campuses, a police/fire-training academy, and automotive/collision repair facility, is home to over 45,000 students. A ‘military brat,’ Tina attended schools in the U.S., New Zealand, and England. She graduated from HCC in 1997 and transferred to the University of South Florida in 1998 to study fine arts. An avid photographer and animal lover, Tina spends her downtime traveling, taking photos, and assisting with animal rescue.

Western Region Member-at-Large Carla Patee Dodge City Community College, Kan. An alumnus of Dodge Community College (DC3), Carla Patee is the executive assistant to the president, deputy secretary/clerk for the board and freedom of information officer, and has worked at the college for almost 20 years. Carla co-chairs and is an active member of several campus committees. In addition to her ‘campus family,’ Carla and her husband, Greg, have two children and five grandchildren. Dodge City is famous in American culture for its history as a wild frontier town of the Old West. Dodge City Community College was founded in 1935 and is the 11th oldest institution among the 19 community colleges in Kansas. DC3 sits on 143 acres and serves Ford County plus an eight-county service region. DC3 offers four associate degrees, 18 technical programs, 15 certificate programs, and serves about 2,800 students annually. Carla says that exciting things are happening at DC3 that are providing high quality learning and personal development.

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advisor 2014-2015 CANDIDATES FOR THE ACCT BOARD OF DIRECTORS REGIONAL DIRECTOR

DIRECTOR-AT-LARGE

(1) Three-Year Term in Each Region The following is the slate of nominees:

(3) Three-Year Terms The following is the slate of nominees:

Central Region Vernon Jung* Moraine Park Technical College, WI

Mary Figueroa* Riverside Community College District, CA

Northeast Region Bakari Lee* Hudson County Community College, NJ Pacific Region Jim Harper* Portland Community College, OR Southern Region Dennis Troy* Bladen Community College, NC Western Region Roberto Zárate* Alamo Colleges, TX

Clare Ollayos Elgin Community College, IL Hector Ortiz* Harrisburg Area Community College, PA Dana Saar* Maricopa County Community College District, AZ *Candidates with an asterisk received the support of their respective Regional Nominating Committees.

Nominations must be received by July 1, 2014 in order to appear in the fall 2014 issue of Advisor.

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

2014-2015 CANDIDATES FOR THE ACCT DIVERSITY COMMITTEE (1) Two-Year Term in Each Region The following is the slate of nominees: Central Region Robert Proctor* Lansing Community College, MI Northeast Region Fran Smith* MassBay Community College, MA

Pacific Region Edwin Hiel* Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District, CA Southern Region Helen Rosemond-Saunders* Tri-County Technical College, SC Western Region Rose Benavidez* South Texas College, TX

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

Nominations must be received by July 1, 2014 in order to appear in the fall 2014 issue of Advisor.

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

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Nominations for Director-at-Large Deadline for Receipt is July 1, 2014 You are encouraged to submit your nomination via email to nominations@acct.org.

Director-at-Large Nomination Process Nominations for Director-at-Large positions will be accepted at the ACCT office until July 1, 2014.

Each member of the Board of Directors at the time of election must be a member of a Voting Member. Voting Members are defined as governing and advisory boards of accredited not-for-profit community-based postsecondary educational institutions that primarily offer programs other than baccalaureate, graduate, and professional degrees, including boards of state systems that include such institutions. According to the ACCT Bylaws, no more than one (1) member from any member board may serve as an elected member on the ACCT Board of Directors at the same time.

If you wish to run for a Director-at- Large seat in Chicago during the 2014 Annual ACCT Leadership Congress and appear in the Advisor, you are required to notify the ACCT President at the Washington, D.C., office in writing of your intent to run. Your notification must be received with a postmark date of July 1, 2014, or by electronic mail (preferred method) by close of business on July 1, 2014.

The President will send candidate information received within the prescribed postmarked deadline to the ACCT membership in September.

Official notification from candidates shall consist of: • A letter of declaration to run for office; • A letter of support from the individual’s board; • A one-page résumé that should focus on community college-related service and other civic activities and may include brief information on education and occupation; • A narrative statement, not to exceed 150 words, on qualifications (electronically preferred), for inclusion in voting materials to be printed; • A 5” x 7” head-and-shoulders photo, preferably color (photos will not be returned), or a color electronic version (preferred) — 300 dpi or higher; and • An optional single letter of support from an ACCT member board. This letter of support must be limited to one page.

You are encouraged to submit your nomination online.

Please email your nomination to nominations@ acct.org.

ACCT will respond to your submission via email within three working days. Please contact ACCT Vice President for Public Policy and External Relations Jee Hang Lee at jhlee@acct.org if you do NOT receive a response within three working days. Nominations will also be accepted via standard mail (return receipt requested). Mail nominations to: ACCT President, 1233 20th Street, NW, Suite 301, Washington, DC 20036.

ACCT Publications To order any ACCT publication, please fill out the form below and fax, e-mail, or mail your order to ACCT Publications (contact information below). Please include both a billing and shipping address and a purchase order, if necessary.

As a membership benefit, book orders from ACCT members are fulfilled immediately in good faith of payment. An invoice will be sent within 2-3 weeks of your order. ACCT requires pre-payment from non-member colleges.

Title

Price

Quantity

History of the Association of Community College Trustees: 1972 – 2012

$40 $45

member* non-member*

2012 Public Community College Governing Boards: Structure and Composition

$10 $12

member* non-member*

First in the World: Community Colleges and America’s Future (2012)

$35 $45

member* non-member*

Making Good on the Promise of the Open Door: Effective Governance and Leadership to Improve Student Equity, Success, and Completion (2011)

$30 $42

member* non-member*

Essentials of Good Board/CEO Relations (2009)

$16 $20

member* non-member*

The Trustee’s Role in Effective Advocacy: Engaging in Citizen Action to Advance Educational Opportunities in Your Community — What Trustees Need to Know About Exercising Their Voices and Influence on Behalf of Community Colleges (2009)

$24 $28

member* non-member*

The Trustee’s Role in Fundraising: From Arm’s Length to Knee Deep — What Trustees Need to Know About Institutional Advancement (2008)

$16 $20

member* non-member*

The Board Chair: A Guide for Leading Community College Boards

$15 $20

member* non-member*

Trusteeship in Community Colleges: A Guide to Effective Governance

$30 $40

member* non-member*

Community College Trustees: Leading on Behalf of Their Communities

$30 $40

member* non-member*

Total

*Please check whether you are a member or non-member

Please include $3 postage and handling fee for each publication (maximum $15)

POSTAGE $ TOTAL $ Total enclosed $ Name: College: ACCT MEMBERS Use any of these methods to order: E-mail: acctinfo@acct.org Call: 202.775.4454 Fax: 202.223.1297 Or mail order form to the address below.

(Note: ACCT members are not required to send payment at the time of order.)

ACCT NON-MEMBERS Send order form and check or money order to: Attn: Publications, Association of Community College Trustees, Dept. 6061, Washington, DC 20042-6061

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or bill:

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OCT. 22-25, 2014

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