Illinois Central College Board of Trustees met Feb. 27.
Here is the minutes provided by the board:
At 5:00 p.m., Chair Everett called the regular meeting to order and asked Trustee Thetford to lead the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance. Chair Everett asked the Secretary to call the roll and Carl Cannon, Kelly Daniels, Paula Davis, Michael Everett, Diane Lamb, Dave Mingus, and Gale Thetford were present. Absent: None
Recognition: Dr. Sheila Quirk-Bailey, ICC President, invited Heather Doty, Interim Athletic Director, to the stand. Ms. Doty introduced Tracy Heffren, women’s volleyball coach, to share about the team. This is Ms. Heffren’s first year coaching for ICC and she was named the Central B Division District Coach of the Year.
Coach Heffren stated the team’s overall GPA was a 3.263. Academically, three team members were named to the President’s list, four team members were named to the Dean’s list, and one team member was named to the Athletics Directors list. Athletically, four team members made the Region 24 team, one team member, Alivia West, was named to the 2nd team All-American Team; and one team member, Courtney Heffren, was named to the National All-Tournament Team.
The women’s volleyball team finished 8th in the nation.
The team was invited to introduce themselves. In attendance were: Olivia Book, Julia Costa Severo, Brooke Hammer, Courtney Heffren, Devin Lambert, Madison McCunn, Addison Pals, Paige Sauder, Lillian Schneider, Halle Sheley, and Kalli Terrell.
Ms. Doty introduced Oz Bakirdan, head coach of the men’s soccer team, to share about the team. Coach Oz is in his 21th season here at ICC and was named the Central Division Coach of the Year for our District. Coach Oz introduced his assistant team coaches who were both previous ICC students: Coach Javier Valle and Coach Matej Radonic.
Coach Oz stated that the team won first place in the region for the third year in a row. The 11th- seeded team took third place in the national tournament. The team has a collective GPA of 3.08.
The team was invited to introduce themselves. In attendance were: Lorenzo Battagliarin, Gianluca Casale, Jackson Dent, Tajani Fairclough, AlejandroFernandez Alcaide, Sam Head, Koki Kamizono, Rashawn Kellman, Edoardo Lavagna, Rafael Marinho Fabra, Gorka Martinez Romero, Nathan Monne, Onwell Moyo, Juan Rosique Alvarez, Felix Schuster, Ouceny Soumah, Tibor Stankovic, Anfernee Stokes, Furkan Yildirim, and Adria Garcia Torrente.
Dr. Jill Wright, Assistant Vice President, Assessment, Accreditation and Academic Services and Phi Theta Kappa Advisor, was invited to recognize the members of Phi Theta Kappa. She stated that the team is at the very beginning of their award season. This chapter has been given notice that it has reached the level of a five-star chapter, which is the highest level a chapter can achieve. Dr. Wright invited the team members to introduce themselves:
President: Kartal Bakirdan
Vice President of Public Relations: Liam Andrade
Vice President of Leadership: Elizabeth Hector
Vice President of Fellowship: Brady Hammer
Dr. Wright stated that, to be a part of the chapter, students must maintain a 3.5 GPA. The chapter president shared some of the activities that Phi Theta Kappa sponsors for the students throughout the year, including game nights to bring fellowship and alleviate stress for all community members. The chapter also participates annually in a project and this year the “Honors in Action” project was “Stop the Bleed” which is a program that educates people on how to prevent bleeding in the event of an emergency situation.
Dr. Wright stated that the group will be attending the international convention in Dallas, TX, and then attend the State convention in June.
Hearing of Citizens: None
Conflict of Interest
Chair Everett asked if any Trustee wished to pull any item from the Consent Agenda and Paula Davis stated that she has a conflict of interest with the Personnel report so will abstain from voting on the consent agenda. Trustee Cannon moved to approve the Consent Agenda, as presented, including Minutes of the Open Session of the Regular Monthly Meeting on January 16, 2020, Minutes of the Closed Session of the Regular Monthly Meeting on January 16, 2020, Personnel Recommendations, and Monthly Bills for January 1 - 31, 2020. Trustee Thetford seconded the motion.
Consent Agenda
Minutes
Minutes of the Open Session of the Regular Monthly Meeting on January 16, 2020.
Personnel Report
New Hires
Thomas Payne-Brewer: Full-Time Counselor – Advisement and Counseling Services
Julie Steckler: Full-Time Technician – Welding and Industrial Shops – Agricultural and Industrial Technologies
Devin Stowe: Full-Time Skilled Maintenance (Electrician) – Building Maintenance Change of Status
Darcie Phillips: Part-Time Coordinator – Fitness Center – Full-Time Manager – Fitness Center
Aimee Seth: Full-Time Accounting Clerk – Finance & Administrative Assistant – Athletics to Full-Time Accounts Payable Associate – Finance
Separations
Laura Friesenborg: Associate Vice President – Institutional Effectiveness Eddie James: General Housekeeper – Maintenance
Retirement:
Pamela Davis: Database and Finance Specialist – Finance
Timothy Parr: Skilled Maintenance (Electrician) – Building Maintenance
Purchase Report
Bid Items:
AIT North Roof Replacement – Kreiling Roofing $291,257.40
Professional Services:
Real Estate Services – Perley Building $TBD
Direct Purchases:
AIT North Roof Replacement – Garland $209,243.00
Officer-Worn Body Camera Upgrade – Axon Enterprise Inc. $139,679.00
Bills Including Conference and Meeting Expenses
Education Fund—$ 3,016,013.20
Operations and Maintenance Fund—$ 703,877.06
Operations and Maintenance Fund Restricted—$ 293,667.95
Auxiliary Fund—$ 483,937.46
Restricted Fund—$ 584,557.87
Audit Fund—$ 2,624.77
Liability, Protection, and Settlement Fund—$ 386,880.34
Chair Everett requested a roll call vote. The following Trustees responded “Aye”: Kelly Daniels, Michael Everett, Diane Lamb, Dave Mingus, Gale Thetford, and Carl Cannon. “Nay”: None. Absent: None. Trustee Davis abstained from the vote. The motion passed.
Board of Trustees Chair Reports Announcements:
Chair Everett reminded the Trustees that there will be a Safe College Campus discussion held at Heartland Community College on Friday, March 13.
The ICCTA will hold their next meeting in Chicago on June 5 and 6 at the Chicago Marriott. If any Trustee is interested in attending, please get in touch with the Board Secretary.
ICCTA Report: Chair Everett invited Trustee Thetford to provide a report on the ICCTA National Convention, held recently in Washington, DC. Trustee Thetford provided a report on her experience at the convention.
Chair Everett invited Trustee Cannon to also provide a report of the ICCTA National Convention. Trustee Cannon provided a report on his experience at the convention. Chair Everett stated that Trustee Cannon also took the Trustee training held at the beginning of the conference. This training is to help Trustees learn about lobbying.
Legislative Report: Chair Everett stated that the Governor proposed a 5 percent increase for community colleges and adult education, which would equate to $15 million. There will also be an increase in the Monetary Awards Program (MAP) with 15 percent in MAP set aside for community college students (which equates to $75 million). This is all dependent on the Governor’s graduated income tax being approved.
Student Trustee Report: Dr. Emily Points, Dean of Students, stated that, for the month of February, student clubs and organizations hosted a variety of events:
February 5: A student activities fair was held at the Peoria campus, where students had the opportunity to learn about and join clubs offered at ICC.
February 12: The S.I.G.N. Club (American Sign Language Club) held a Valentine’s Day bake sale.
February 12: C.A.B. (Campus Activities Board) hosted a Valentine’s Day event where they gave away donuts and hosted activities such as making stuffed animals, wire art, and much more.
February 17: C.A.B. held a Think Fast event, which is trivia game facilitated by a moderator. Most questions were related to black history month. Contestants playing had a chance to win $100.
February 17-18: SGA (Student Government Association) hosted a voter registration event to help their fellow students get registered to vote, so they would be eligible to vote in the upcoming primaries.
February 19-20: Phi Theta Kappa hosted information sessions about their honors society on both the Peoria and East Peoria campuses.
February 23: CRU (Campus Crusade Club) brought in the Free Bible Now organization to hand out bibles to students.
February 28: Phi Theta Kappa held an induction ceremony for their new members.
February 27 - March 1: SGA is attending Model Illinois Government, one of the preeminent intercollegiate government simulations in the United States, held in Springfield, Illinois. ICC’s delegation will compete in legislative simulations as well as Moot Court competitions against delegations from other colleges and universities across the entire state.
President’s Report: Dr. Quirk-Bailey stated that this month’s student success story features one of our own, who came full circle and found herself back at her alma mater teaching what she loves. Dr. Quirk-Bailey invited Professor Paula Munns to the podium. Paula Munns is a surgical technology professor at ICC whose story is a powerful example of how life sometimes works out exactly the way it was meant to.
Paula stated that she was born and raised in the Peoria area. Her mother was a housekeeper in surgery at the hospital and always told Paula she would make a wonderful surgical technologist. Paula, however, took a different route and became a cosmetologist. She adored that profession for ten years, until one day she arrived to find the salon owner had passed away, and suddenly Paula was without work. “I really couldn’t picture myself anywhere else,” said Paula. “But I did what I needed to do; I went back to school and did what my mom had encouraged me to do.”
Paula chose to enroll in the Surgical Technologist Program at ICC. Unfortunately, her mother passed away before Paula’s graduation. “I did it for her, and that pushed me twice as hard,” she said.
A few years after graduation, her dream job was fulfilled when she became the first surgical technologist in the Peoria area to scrub and work in the OR (operating room) for open-heart surgery. That dream ended when Paula was involved in a car wreck resulting in two herniated discs in her neck and permanent C6 nerve damage. After a year of physical therapy, she learned she would not be returning to the OR. Paula was devastated. What could possibly compare to literally holding a heart in her hands during open-heart surgery?
Fast forward to some years later, when Paula and her husband became avid supporters of ICC. At the Educational Foundation’s Simply Divine fundraiser, Paula could not believe her eyes when she took a tour of the new Health Careers facilities. “If I could have learned in this atmosphere, I would have been so much more prepared to walk into the OR,” said Paula. “I just couldn’t get over it. It’s so fantastic what ICC has done for this program.”
While at Simply Divine, Paula spoke with a professor who inspired her as a student – Wendee Guth, the Dean of Health Careers at ICC. Wendee asked if Paula would be interested in teaching here. Paula immediately answered, “Absolutely.”
Paula has been a professor at ICC since August 2019. She is now also a member of the Educational Foundation Board of Directors and serves on the planning committee for Simply Divine. Her hope is to inspire students and help them succeed, as her professors inspired her. “Every day I look at these eyes in my classroom. They are so determined, so full of passion and they want to learn,” says Paula. I get that same feeling from my students. I wouldn’t change what I am doing, and I wouldn’t go back to the OR. I am proud to be a part of this organization. What a wonderful college.”
Announcements: Dr. Quirk-Bailey shared several announcements:
Dr. Quirk-Bailey stated that the Higher Learning Commission visit is now completed. Dr. Quirk- Bailey recognized the AQIP Steering Committee and Dr. Jill Wright, who led the HLC re- accreditation process. The HLC team met with 12 different stakeholder groups and were impressed with our student participation (125 students) and Board member interviews. They were very happy with ICC’s approach. They felt the entire campus was engaged, organized, and welcoming. They repeatedly commented on the employee enthusiasm and their commitment to student success. They were inspired by the faculty and staff engaged in the strategic plan. They were very impressed at how ICC lists its mission focusing on student success, which came up in every meeting. ICC was recognized on assessment and student learning and noted we are making wonderful progress. They recognized and called out our faculty credentialing process. They repeatedly complimented the marketing outreach approach, specifically calling out the “Smart Choice” logo and branding. They were very complimentary on our fiscal responsibility, particularly as an Illinois institution. They were impressed with the growth in our grants and noted that we are strategically pursuing grants that support our strategic plan. The final report will be finished in six months.
Dr Quirk-Bailey recognized Chef Charles Robertson and announced that the Culinary Arts program recently went through their re-accreditation process. The program received a full seven- year accreditation, which is the longest term given. They also received an exemplary-level status. There is only one other culinary program in the state that has an exemplary rating, which is in Chicago where Chef Charles went to school. Dr. Quirk-Bailey invited Chef Charles to speak.
On behalf of Chef Joy, Chef Keith, and other adjunct faculty of the program, Chef Charles thanked the administration for all the support and work that went on behind the scenes for the accreditation visit. This accreditation status not only shows that we have met the requirement for the American Culinary Federation Educational Foundation but also allows the students to have, upon graduation from the Culinary Arts Program, an additional accreditation. They have an opportunity to graduate with a “Certified Culinarian” (CC) that they can add to their resume, if they want to work towards becoming an accredited chef through that ACF process. The local Chef’s association provides support for their continued journey in this arena, as well.
Dr. Quirk-Bailey stated that we so depend on Chef Charles and his program in supporting many initiatives here at the College.
Dr. Quirk-Bailey stated that both the paralegal and nursing faculty had their accreditation visits as well. In both instances, the accreditors were impressed at the quality of our programming and faculty.
Treasurer’s Report
Bruce Budde, Executive Vice President and Treasurer, presented the Treasurer’s Report for January 2020. Mr. Budde stated that results through January are tracking as expected.
Revenues are tracking on budget. Expenditures are seeing a positive variance. The difference seen in State funding is a matter of timing. Real Estate taxes are positive. Tuition is slightly down. Tuition will be discussed at the retreat. A detailed analysis will be provided at the March Board meeting.
There is a positive variance on the expenditure side, but health-claim activity is trending higher than projected currently, which is a negative variance on the expenditure side.
Trustee Davis moved to approve the Treasurer’s Report as presented. Trustee Daniels seconded the motion. Chair Everett requested a roll call vote. The following Trustees responded “Aye”: Paula Davis, Michael Everett, Diane Lamb, Dave Mingus, Gale Thetford, Carl Cannon, and Kelly Daniels. “Nay”: None. Absent: None. The motion passed.
Informational Items
6.1Spring 2020 Enrollment Update (David Cook / Kim Armstrong)
David Cook, Executive Director of Institutional Research and Planning, provided an overview of the Spring enrollment update, stating that headcount and credit hours have both increased over the past year.
He reviewed the census day reports compared to last year’s census day figures. Total census day enrollment for Spring 2020 was 8,346 credit students, an increase of 83 students (1.0%) from Spring 2019. The total number of credit hours at census day was 67,588.5, an increase of 174 hours (0.3%) from the Spring 2019 census day total. The average number of credit hours attempted per student decreased slightly from 8.16 in Spring 2019 to 8.10 hours in Spring 2020. Mr. Cook noted this is the first increase in credit hours in the Spring semester since 2011.
Mr. Cook reviewed data in enrollment for some of the sub-populations of students.
New students have increased 8 percent.
Returning students have decreased slightly by 2 percent.
Early College students have increased 7 percent.
Up until this year, there had been a 35 percent decline in enrollment. (Spring 2010 – 2019) and a 41 percent decline in credit hours.
Comparing ICC to our peer colleges (eight total), ICC is in a better position than many of our peers across the state, ICC has seen an increase in headcount and credit hours where the peer colleges are still experiencing a decline.
Mr. Cook reviewed spring enrollment by academic load, stating that there has been a decline of 17 percent since 2016. He noted that Fall-to-Spring retention has increased slightly to 71.3 percent, the strongest seen over the past five years.
Kim Armstrong, Vice President of Marketing and Institutional Advancement, reviewed marketing efforts to support admissions. She stated that Coffee Meetups continue and they are seeing good success with this platform. All of the marketing efforts are cumulative in supporting admissions. Branding and messaging is strong and continues to help communicate our message to the community.
The Fall Visit Days were focused on career clusters, including an open house for Health Careers. These career days are all being supported through direct mail, geofencing, geotargeting, social media, and digital media. A communication campaign was done to promote the $50 down payment plan options for existing students.
Ms. Armstrong reviewed the digital campaigns performance this Spring to last. The budget was doubled (just under $6,000) but resulted in three times the ad delivery, delivering ads four times a day. The click-through rate increased from prospects as well as stop-outs.
These campaigns are able to track response rates of those we advertise to that visit the ICC website within 30 days after the campaign or come to visit the campus. She stated the statistics show that one visit to the website correlates to three visits to campus. Digital marketing works. It enables us to have a much more targeted campaign.
She stated marketing is doing more intentional outreach to the adult learner. For every high school student graduate (which is projected to decrease by eight percent over the next five years), there are ten adults 25 years of age and older that need credentialing. They recently did a campaign with messaging regarding the extended hours in admissions, so adults can visit campus, in the evening. Marketing is targeting adult learners with adult messaging and stories.
Trustee Thetford asked if it would be beneficial to have adult-targeted events. Ms. Armstrong stated that Admissions is open late every Monday at the Peoria Campus and Tuesday at the East Peoria Campus. We are marketing to these students.
6.2 Drug-Free Schools and Communities Policy (Michelle Bugos)
Michelle Bugos, Associate Vice President of Human Resources, reviewed the suggested amendments to the Board policies regarding a drug-free and smoke-free/tobacco-free campus.
Both amendments relate directly to Illinois passing the Cannabis Regulation Tax Act in January 2020. Minor updates to the policy are being recommended in response to this new law.
Trustee Thetford questioned the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Policy and why we are striking the allowance of substances when they are medically ordered. Ms. Bugos stated that Council recommended the language be removed as it is inconsistent with the drug-free campus policy.
Rick Joseph, Legal Counsel, provided an explanation to Trustee Thetford’s question. The college is looking to preclude the use of cannabis in its entirety on campus and, under the Federal Law, we can do this. It is also recognized under the Cannabis Regulation Tax Act referring to section 10-35d. The Federal Government does not recognize medical cannabis. It is a State issue. Further discussion ensued on this subject.
6.3 Smoke-Free/Tobacco-Free Campus Policy (Michelle Bugos) (see notes above in 6.1)
Action Items
7.1 Re-Appointment of Auditor (Gale Thetford)
Trustee Thetford moved to approve the re-appointment of Clifton Larson Allen LLP to perform audit services for the College for fiscal year 2020. This would represent the third year of the five-year proposal received fiscal year 2018. Trustee Daniels seconded the motion. Chair Everett requested a roll call vote. The following Trustees responded “Aye”: Michael Everett, Diane Lamb, Dave Mingus, Gale Thetford, Carl Cannon, Kelly Daniels, and Paula Davis. “Nay”: None. Absent: None. The motion passed.
7.2 2019-2020 Faculty Tenure Recommendations (Carl Cannon)
Chair Everett moved to approve tenure for the following seven (7) candidates: Zachary Flinn, Agriculture and Industrial Technologies; Colin Campbell, Agriculture and Industrial Technologies; Ron Albertsen, Agriculture and Industrial Technologies; Jeff Joos, Agriculture and Industrial Technologies; Sharon Semelroth, Health Careers; Vincent Strow, Health Careers; and Bradley Rose, Math, Science & Engineering. Trustee Mingus seconded the motion. Chair Everett requested a roll call vote. The following Trustees responded “Aye”: Diane Lamb, Dave Mingus, Gale Thetford, Carl Cannon, Kelly Daniels, Paula Davis, and Michael Everett. “Nay”: None. Absent: None. The motion passed.
Unfinished Business: None New Business:
Trustee Davis shared a story of a family member who recently enrolled late at ICC (transferring from a four-year institution). She stated that she visited the website, clicked on “How to Enroll,” called the number listed, and was given assistance in enrolling late. The Admissions representative and professors all went out of their way to help this student who enrolled at 5 p.m. one evening and was in classes already the next day. She was impressed with the process and support from the website, to admissions, to the professors.
Closed Session
At 6:18 p.m., Chair Everett entertained a motion for closed session. Trustee Cannon moved that the Board of Trustees conduct a closed session to discuss the following matters:
Litigation when an action against, affecting, on behalf of the particular public body has been filed and is pending before a court or administrative tribunal or when the public body finds that an action is probable or imminent (Section 2(c)(11) of the Open Meetings Act); and
Collective negotiating matters between the public body and its employees or their representatives, or deliberations concerning salary schedules for one or more classes of employees (Section 2(c)(2) of the Open Meetings Act); and
The appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance or dismissal of specific employees of the public body (Section 2(c)(1) of the Open Meetings Act).
Trustee Davis seconded the motion. Chair Everett requested a roll call vote. The following Trustees responded “Aye”: Dave Mingus, Gale Thetford, Carl Cannon, Kelly Daniels, Paula Davis, Michael Everett, and Diane Lamb. “Nay”: None. Absent: None. The motion passed unanimously. Chair Everett asked Dr. Quirk-Bailey to request that Bruce Budde and Michelle Bugos remain for the closed session. All other guests and staff members were excused. A break was taken from 6:19 p.m. to 6:32 p.m.
(Closed Session)
At 6:56 p.m., Chair Everett entertained a motion to adjourn the closed session and resume open session. Trustee Davis moved to adjourn the closed session and resume open session. Trustee Mingus seconded the motion. Chair Everett requested a roll call vote. The following Trustees responded “Aye”: Kelly Daniels, Paula Davis, Michael Everett, Diane Lamb, Dave Mingus, Gale Thetford, and Carl Cannon. “Nay”: None. Absent: None. The motion passed.
Adjournment
At 6:57 p.m., Chair Everett entertained a motion to adjourn open session. Trustee Davis moved to adjourn open session. Trustee Cannon seconded the motion. Chair Everett requested a roll call vote. The following Trustees responded “Aye”: Paula Davis, Michael Everett, Diane Lamb, Dave Mingus, Gale Thetford, Carl Cannon, and Kelly Daniels. “Nay”: None. Absent: None. The motion passed unanimously. The meeting was adjourned.
https://icc.edu/about-icc/files/Open-Session-Minutes-February-27-2020.pdf
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