January 6, 2010 Board Planning Committee Meeting Minutes

IPEDS REPORT

The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) Report is the 5^th annual report from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).  The report is available for all higher education institutions and contains comparisons of a particular institution to a comparison group of 10 or more institutions on 21 nationally selected measures.  The report is one of several efforts by NCES to make comparative information more available and transparent to the public.  Cathy Bangert reported IVCC did not have a choice in the selection of the measures, but IVCC did have a choice in selecting its comparison group which has been the same for the past four years.  The comparison group includes IVCC’s peer group plus Highland, Kishwaukee, Richland, and Sauk Valley Community Colleges.  Ms. Bangert summarized the highlights from the IPEDS report.  IVCC’s results are compared to the median of its comparison group.  IVCC had lower tuition and fees, a higher graduation rate, a greater number of degrees and certificates, and higher average salaries for full-time instructional staff than the median of its comparison group.  The percentage of students applying for and receiving financial aid is an area that might suggest further investigation or marketing.  The IPEDS report is available to anyone and is designed for parents and students to review. 

NATIONAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE BENCHMARKING PROJECT

The National Community College Benchmarking Project provides community colleges with opportunities to report outcome and effectiveness data in critical performance areas, receive reports of benchmarks, and compare results with those of other colleges.  Ms. Bangert reviewed the 2007-2009 results.  Areas of concern were the retention and success rates in math, writing and reading.  Dr. Pearce has begun taking measures to improve these rates by meeting with adjunct faculty and conducting norm exercises.  Institutional results from this project are confidential and institutions make peer comparisons without revealing their own data.   

BOARD POLICY MANUAL – SECTION 1

Board members were given copies of the current Board policies and the recommended policies in a new format. The administration reviewed this section and any changes or additions made were italicized.  Dr. Driscoll and Dr. Huffman had minor punctuation changes in some of the policies and submitted those for consideration.  The policy on Board Vacancies was discussed.  Dr. Driscoll stated the interview process was missing from the policy.  The actual process could be determined by the Board Chair.  He also thought if there were a recent vacancy and the Board had a qualified pool of candidates, the selection could be made without advertising.  It was decided to have the Board Chair review this policy for his thoughts and suggestions.  Under policy 1.8 – Board Meetings and Operations - it was suggested to eliminate the list of subjects that may be discussed in closed session since they are covered by the statutory language.  It was then decided to leave the list in the policy as a reference for new board members.  Also under this same policy, the committee discussed the order of business for regular meetings.  It was decided to move “public comment” after “approval of agenda” and move “trustee comment” after “information items.”  During public comment, board members should listen and thank the public for their comments, but not comment.  It is not the board members’ position to debate the validity of public comment. Under policy 1.15 – Board Travel, Conference and Meeting Expenses - discussion centered around the significant cost of sending board members to national and out-of-state conferences.  The faculty has generally been limited to one, out-of-state travel per year.  It was suggested that Board members should have the same checks and balances.  If a Board member is serving for a short period of time and attends a national conference, it may not be the best investment as to what that person brings back to the College.  The Board supports travel to a reasonable amount of State meetings, but travel to national conferences could be reviewed on an individual basis.  The committee would like the Board Chair’s input on this subject.  A good time to look at this would be when the Board budget is prepared. 

Leslie Englehaupt entered the meeting at 6:35 p.m.

Under policy 1.18 – Appearance Before the Board - it was suggested to add the statement “and have not been satisfactorily addressed through the College’s administrative chain of command” after the statement “Speakers may offer objective criticism of school operations and programs that concern them.”

OTHER

IVCC’s Demographics Report prepared by Dr. Rick Pearce was distributed to the Planning Committee members.  Committee members were asked to submit their feedback within the next few weeks.  All Board members will receive a copy in January.  If requested, a campus update could be presented at a later date.