January 2018 Board Report

The Illinois Valley Community College board approved the purchase of a web-based academic planning tool for students Thursday night – an acquisition made possible, in part, by a gift from IVCC alumnae William and Dian Taylor of Winnetka.

A $12,500 donation from the Taylors will help purchase a web-based Colleague Student Planning module that will eventually replace Webadvisor. The $41,057 Ellucian program helps students and advisors define the courses and requirements they need to stay on track toward graduation.

“Ellucian has not announced an end-of-life date for Webadvisor yet, but they have indicated their plan to replace it with Student Planning in the future. Implementing this now will give us a head start on the process,” said IVCC President Jerry Corcoran.

Of the Taylors, Corcoran said, “Bill and Dian are amongst our most generous benefactors and without their donation, this purchase may have stayed on the wish list for another year or two.”

The Taylors, who attended LPO Junior College in the 1960s, fund numerous scholarships for students at IVCC and Northern Illinois University and have contributed $150,000 to IVCC fundraising campaigns.

In other business, the board approved revised and new board policies involving employee classification, the hiring process for administrators and staff, alternative credit, Illinois Articulation Initiative and the use of drones.

The board also learned:

• IVCC athletes earned an overall GPA of 3.07 in fall. “Our student athletes are students first; the coaches and programs staff should be commended for a job well done,” said Corcoran.
• IVCC Agriculture Night is Tuesday, Jan. 23 at the basketball games vs. Kishwaukee. The women play at 5:30 and the men at 7:30. All district ag students and educators will be admitted free of charge. Concessions will benefit IVCC’s new student Ag Club.
• Sauk Valley Community College will host the Illinois Community College Trustees Association regional meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 22. ICCTA’s Northwest Region includes Highland, Kishwaukee, Rock Valley, Sauk and IVCC.
• Amy Woods has been hired as a financial aid advisor.
• In a letter to the board, Disability Services Coordinator Tina Hardy announced the launching of YOU@IVCC, a new online portal designed to help students manage stress, set goals, find happiness and connect to campus resources. The site, found at you.ivcc.edu, is available to anyone with an IVCC email. “I believe it will prove to be an extraordinary asset for students, faculty and staff,” said Hardy.