Instructors from North Central Missouri College’s Math, Science, History, and Social Behavioral Sciences Division spoke at the NCMC Board of Trustees meeting April 25th.
Doctor Lindsay Oram reported the division currently has 10 full-time faculty members. It will have 11 next year because a new full-time employee will be joining at the Savannah Campus.
There are 2,410 students served by the division through 157-course selections. The average student load per full-time division faculty member is 120.5 students.
Oram said the Associate in Science Degree has “really taken off” in the last few years. About 45 to 60 students have declared that as their major. However, some students will change their degree before graduation. Sixteen students are anticipated to graduate with the degree for this school year.
Faculty Member Janna Ingram reported on the Behavioral Health Support Program. She said requirements for students in the program include completing a site visit, having two hours of service learning volunteering, and having 300 hours of practicum experience. Ingram noted she has 70 students on her advisory roster, and 62 are in the Behavioral Health Support Program.
Vice President of Student Affairs Doctor Kristen Alley reported three students did CPR and saved the life of a man at Princeton who had passed out. The students are Alyvia Binkley, Raven Moreno, and Alison Allen. Alley noted one of the students is a nursing student.
A graduation ceremony for the baseball team will be at the Ketcham Community Center May 4th at 11:30. The softball team may also participate in that ceremony.
Other commencement ceremonies will be at the Ketcham Community Center May 6th. One will be at 9 o’clock, and the nursing commencement and pinning will be at 1 o’clock.
Vice President of Academic Affairs Doctor Tristan Londre was not at the meeting. Dean of Instruction Doctor Mitch Holder presented a report on Londre’s behalf.
The report said this spring’s headcount was the same as spring 2020, which was right before the COVID-19 pandemic began. Spring credit hours were the highest since 2019. Holder said that was good news.
NCMC will relaunch Diagnostic Medical Sonography this fall with eight first-year students. The college also has two new Information Technology certificates coming for next year, pending state approval. Those are IT Technician and IT Specialist.
The Radiologic Tech Program hosted site visitors from the Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology at the Hillyard Technical Center of Saint Joseph last week. Holder noted that is where the Rad Tech Program currently is. The Joint Review Committee will return in the fall to complete the initial process once NCMC is offering classes at the Savannah Campus.
Chief Information Officer Jennifer Triplett gave an update on IT Services. She reported IT Services and Microsoft consultant resources upgraded and migrated the college’s email system this month. She noted it was time-critical and mandatory because Microsoft recently announced the version NCMC used before upgrading was no longer supported.
IT Services also upgraded the college’s financial aid system earlier this month. Triplett said that upgrade was also time-critical, and it required coordination with members of multiple NCMC departments, including Financial Aid and the Business Office.
She reported IT Services has focused “pretty heavily” on the Savannah Campus last week and this week. Much of Phase 2’s IT equipment has been ordered. IT Services has been processing incoming items and started provisioning some devices.
Work on Phase 2 wiring closets included racks being installed. Fiber backbone installation is in progress. Data cable installation is almost complete, and IT Services has started switch installation preparation.
Triplett reported Phase 2 classroom technology installation plans have been adapted to accommodate prerequisites for classroom furniture and network availability.
Director of Development Alicia Endicott provided a written update on the NCMC Foundation and Alumni Association. It said 357 NCMC Foundation Scholarship applications were received for Round 1 selections. Selections are being made, and notifications will be made at the start of May.
May 10th will be the Transforming Lives, Empowering People campaign kickoff in front of Geyer Hall. May 18th will be another celebration in Savannah.
President Doctor Lenny Klaver reported he and other faculty members would go to Maryville April 26th to sign a new memorandum of understanding with Northwest Missouri State University. The memorandum would help build educational pathways. Those involve transfer advisement, academic and administrative coordination, reverse transfer capabilities, international student programming, joint admission, access to the Northwest library and career services, and financial aid considerations.
Holder commented it is important that students only have two years of school left to obtain their degree after NCMC. Klaver said that makes transfer advisement important.
He noted the memorandum with Northwest would be similar to what NCMC has been doing with Missouri Western State University.
Klaver reported he and Londre met with Missouri Western leadership and planners for the Convergent Technology Alliance Center earlier this month. It included a full program review and progress on the design and function of the proposed facility. He said one quadrant would include machines, robots, and a production line to meet needs in customized training, the Industrial Maintenance certificate, and the Applied Industrial Technology program. The Convergent Technology Alliance Center has support of Buchanan County manufacturers and other related production industries.
Klaver reported NCMC hosted a National Center for Higher Education Management Systems team and administrators from Moberly Area Community College, Northwest, and Truman State University last week. NCHEMS is a consulting firm from Colorado that is conducting a review of higher education funding, including performance funding with Missouri’s public four-year and community colleges.
Klaver said NCHEMS officials reviewed the process and data collection submitted about a month ago. The team will draft a comprehensive model by mid-July for the two sectors: two-year and four-year institutions. Recommendations will be made to the legislature and the Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development in September.
Klaver noted the assessments include general and performance factors. He said a matrix basically compared NCMC to itself, and he thinks NCMC will do well.
He mentioned there is some question as to if the assessments will result in any additional funding.
Klaver gave a legislative update. He reported the Missouri House of Representatives and Senate have agreed to the majority of the appropriations originally set forth by Governor Mike Parson. Those include a core funding increase of seven percent. Capital budget requests have been met, and A+ funding remains intact. Klaver said there might be a slight reduction in the Fast Track fund.
Klaver attended the National Junior College Athletic Association National Convention earlier this month. He reported on approved legislation there. One piece involved NJCAA member colleges being charged a $50 fee per sport they participate in to cover a national liability insurance policy and legal expenses. That will start next school year.
The NJCAA Board of Regents approved 12 proposals submitted by the NJCAA Eligibility Committee regarding NJCAA eligibility requirements for student athletes. Klaver reported a significant change is to require that a student athlete pass a minimum of six credits in the first semester of attendance but still requiring 24 credits to be eligible for participation in the third semester of attendance. The approved proposals will take effect August 1st.
Green Hills Head Start Director Sue Ewigman went over some of Head Start’s self assessment, including goals and successes. One of those successes was that Green Hills Head Start earned a silver award for positive behavior support. Others were that Green Hills Head Start was able to give retention bonuses, and it had two federal reviews in two months.
Ewigman noted Head Start would not ask for approval of the self assessment until June.
Head Start Director Janet Gott reported 12 Grundy County Head Start Site Council members attended the first Head Start Site Council meeting for Bright Futures earlier this month. They discussed ways to meet the needs of county Head Start children. The site council will meet the second Tuesday of the month at 9 o’clock.
Gott said Green Hills Head Start received the Program Performance Summary Report from its Focus Area 2 monitoring review. It showed that the program had met the requirements of all applicable Head Start Program performance standards, laws, regulations, and policy requirements.
The North Central Missouri College Board of Trustees approved health insurance renewal April 25th.
The college will offer three options through United Health Care. Two of the options will continue to be paid 100% by the college. They are a $1,500 deductible PPO plan for $684.24 per month per employee and a $5,000 deductible HSA plan for $518.18 per month per employee. The college will continue to contribute $150 per month to an employee’s health savings account.
The third option has an employee buy-up cost of $57.33 per month. It is a $1,500 deductible PPO plan with a total cost $741.57 per month per employee. The college will pay $684.24 of the premium per month.
NCMC will also provide paid vision insurance for each employee at a cost of $9.82 per month.
Vice President of Business and Finance Tyson Otto reported the college is currently with United Health Care, and it will bundle the supplemental dental and vision plans with the company to minimize the cost to the college and employees. The renewal rates represent a one and a half percent increase over existing plan options. By bundling the dental and vision, the college is also able to provide lower rates on those supplemental plans than what is currently in place.
Otto noted there were no changes in United Health Care plan benefits or structure. The plan options will be the same as those that are currently in place.
The board approved renewal of NCMC’s Microsoft licensing and solutions for $27,880.68 for the next year. Chief Information Officer Jennifer Triplett reported the cost was just under $25,000 the last time. She noted the purchase includes email, databases, and Microsoft Office.
The board accepted a bid from Perkins Dozing for $142,250 for the demolition of multiple properties recently purchased by the college. The bid from Perkins was the lowest of four received. Otto noted Perkins has done a lot of work for the City of Trenton.
The board approved two new course fees, effective spring 2024. One is a $550 fee for the Professional Skills Capstone to cover the cost of the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy licensure exam. The change is requested by the program director and the Missouri Health Professions Consortium. The exam is required for licensure in the profession. A new $45 fee will be for Industrial Electronics to cover the cost of student multimeters.
The board approved multiple personnel items. One was the resignation of Residential Coordinator and Assistant Softball Coach Salem Croy, effective June 30th.
Hirings included Robert Karr of Gentry as an Industrial Technology Instructor at the Savannah Campus, starting August 16th. Zachary Dudley of Saint Joseph was hired as a Talent Search Advisor, starting July 10th. Jeffrey Grider was hired as a Custodian/Maintenance Technician at the Savannah Campus, beginning May 1st. Melinda Matter of Stewartsville was hired as an adjunct instructor for English, and Kristin Newbegin was hired as an adjunct instructor for Music, both starting this summer.
The board approved contract changes for Student Support Services staff members Academic Advisor Angela Heins and Assistant Director Tocarra Williams. The contract for Williams will be reduced from 12 to 11 months, starting July 1st. This is to accommodate extra teaching duties that come with an adjunct teaching load the college recently asked her to assume. Some of Williams’s duties, such as preparing the Annual Performance Report and yearly program evaluation, will be transferred to Heins. The contract for Heins will be increased from 11 to 12 month, beginning July 1st, to accommodate her additional duties.
The board approved the resignation of Carolyn McIntyre as a kitchen assistant at the Chillicothe Green Hills Head Start Center, effective March 24th.
Approval was also given to Head Start’s Public Complaint Policy and Internal Dispute Resolution Policy. They were unchanged from the current policies.
The NCMC Board of Trustees set a special board meting to consider the Student Center building naming and discussion of Phase 1 of the Savannah Campus. The meeting will be in front of Geyer Hall in Trenton May 10th at 4 o’clock.
The board moved into an executive session for possible discussion of employees, legal action, and real estate.
