Board of Trustees meeting recap – April 21, 2014

Apr 26, 2014 | Intercom

Here is an informal account of the Northwestern Michigan College Board of Trustees meeting, Monday, April 21, 2014.

Details on the actions items and reports are contained in the Board Packet available online at https://www.nmc.edu/about/board-of-trustees/agendas/2014/042114-board-regular.pdf.


The NMC Board of Trustees:

DECIDED

  • To recommend that Richard and Diana Milock be appointed Fellows of Northwestern Michigan College with all honors and privileges pertaining thereto
  • To recommend authorization for administration to enter into a contract with Integrity Business Solutions for office supplies for three years to include fiscal years 2015, 2016 and 2017 with an option of a two-year renewal
  • To recommend that a potential policy on Board of Trustees e-mail procedures be referred to the Board Policy Committee.

REPORTS/DISCUSSION

  • Travis Rogers, an NMC Engineering Technology student was one of only 12 in the state to be selected to participate in the Governor’s Economic Summit.  He said he was honored to go and thanked NMC’s Ed Bailey, Betsy Williams and Heather Somero for all of their assistance in providing him with such a great opportunity.
  • Darby Hiller, Executive Director of Research Planning and Effectiveness discussed the Systems Appraisal Report.  She said after reviewing NMC’s Systems Portfolio, the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) AQIP Reviewers  found no accreditation issues.  The review team complimented NMC for its quality Portfolio and stated that  NMC is an institution well along the path to continuous quality improvement process maturity.
  • Cathryn Claerhout, Director of Admissions, provided the monthly enrollment report.  She said that summer enrollment is projected to decline from last year, and that a factor in the decline is the decrease in Federal Student Aid for summer, along with growing employment opportunities for students in the summer.  While returning student enrollment is projected to decline for fall, new student applications are up 20 percent over last year.
  • Vicki Cook, Vice President of Finance and Administration’s financial report showed that revenue was up six percent in March over March 2013, and expenses increased four percent over that same time period.
  • Board Chair Doug Bishop gave the Foundation report and said that the Annual Fund campaign is still making progress towards its $200,000 goal, and that this year’s Scholarship Open will be held August 7 at the Grand Traverse Resort and Spa.
  • Board Vice Chair Bill Myers reported that the Fellows Committee nominated Richard and Diana Milock as this year’s Fellows.  Doug Bishop said he had the honor of contacting the Milock’s to tell them of their nomination and that they were thrilled and honored.
  • Andy Dolan, Executive Director of Public Relations and Marketing gave an NMC Barbecue report.  This year’s BBQ will be held May 18 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.  Tickets are available at nmc.edu/bbq, at all area financial institutions, Oleson’s Food Stores, on each NMC campus–including the Dennos Museum Center and Osterlin Library on the main campus) and from any BBQ Board member.
  • In his legislative issues report, NMC President Timothy J. Nelson said that the state House and Senate budgets have made it out of each chamber, and the process of working through the differences in those budgets and the one proposed by the Governor has begun.
  • In his president’s update, President Nelson congratulated Travis Rogers on his honor, thanked the Engineering Technology students for their project displays they were manning at Parsons-Stulen in advance of that night’s meeting, and congratulated NMC’s Nursing Program for achieving national accreditation.  He said the accreditation itself is an impressive feat and very valuable to the program, but it is even more impressive that it was attained on the very first try, as most colleges and universities need several attempts before they get the accreditation.
  • In his board chair’s report, Chairman Bishop thanked the trustees who attended the annual Retirement and Recognition Reception.  He commended those in the administration for their hard work in preparing this year’s budget, and reminded everyone that this year’s commencement will be held May 3 at Traverse City Central High School.  He also noted that this was the first board meeting since the final approval of the policy that calls for all regular board meetings to be videotaped and posted on the college website.  He said he wanted to address some recent articles in the Traverse City Record-Eagle that had stated that NMC Board members had violated the Open Meetings Act in passing the policy to record the meetings.  Bishop said board members complied fully with numerous Freedom of Information requests from the newspaper, providing electronic communications concerning the issue of recording meetings between members.  A review of those documents by the college’s counsel shows no violation of the act occurred.  Bishop said the board takes input from the public very seriously, and it was input from community members that informed the board’s decision to have meetings recorded and posted online.  Bishop said he will recommend that the board schedule annual Open Meetings Act training, and offer that training to other elected boards throughout the area.
  • College attorney Chuck Judson gave a report that detailed allegations of Open Meetings Act violations, and said that after a thorough review of the communications provided by board members that no violation had occurred.  He said according to the act, an individual board member who informally canvasses other members is not in violation the Open Meetings Act.  He recommended NMC conduct training on the Open Meetings Act and the Freedom of Information Act, and expand their communications policies to include e-mail communications, and review those policies regularly.
  • NMC’s Planning and Budget Council’s recommended changes to the Resource Guidelines were discussed.  They included creating a reserve fund for future campus construction projects.
  • Vice President Vicki Cook gave a presentation on the budget process.  The college is working to balance the budget to be presented at the June Board of Trustees meeting, and is currently exploring options that would create a multi-year strategy to ensure balanced budgets over the coming years.
  • Tom Case provided public input and said that he feels the college came to the correct decision to record board meetings.  He said he’s been a long time supporter of the college, was not pleased with the special election last year for the millage, but that the college is doing a great job and there are ways it can continue to improve.
  • Clifton Murie also gave public input and said he feels that the college has denied him due process for more than 20 years, and continues to deny him access to some areas of the campus.

The next regularly scheduled meeting of the NMC Board of Trustees is Monday, May 19, in University Center Room 215, 2200 Dendrinos Drive, Traverse City.