Tacoma Community College Board of Trustees Retreat Meadow Park Golf Course 7108 Lakewood Drive W. Lakewood, WA MINUTES. Wednesday, August 10, 2011

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1 Tacoma Community College Board of Trustees Retreat Meadow Park Golf Course 7108 Lakewood Drive W. Lakewood, WA MINUTES Wednesday, Present: Board Members Administrators Don Dennis Pamela Transue Silvia Barajas Chad Wright Tim Stokes Cathie Bitz Fred Whang Mary Chikwinya Dave Pelkey Liz Dunbar Dan Small Pat Brown Bob Ryan 1. Call to Order Board Chair Dennis called the meeting to order at 8:30 a.m. 2. Potential Partnership for Student Housing at James Center Mary Chikwinya, Vice President of Student Services, and Dave Pelkey, Dean of Student Life and International Student Services, provided a report on the possibility of student housing at James Center Dave has been in active conversations with colleagues in Seattle about how they successfully provide housing. Dave stated that they have been researching this possibility and wanted to bring the Board into the conversation at the earliest stages. He provided an overview of a student housing possibility for TCC. What is known is that, especially in the early phases of student entrance into college, providing housing increases student engagement and supports student success, especially students in two-year institutions. Convenient housing is important to local and international students. Dave explained that, when he s talking to parents/students in schools overseas about attending TCC, the first question asked is if we have safe housing near the college. Green River, Edmonds, Bellevue, Skagit and Seattle Central Community Colleges have campus owned or affiliated housing. TCC, however, relies solely on home-share opportunities that we manage. This is risky, and due to our location, there aren t many adequate homes available. We also try to put students in homes where they only need to take one bus to get to and from school, and we must run background checks on the providers and everyone in their home. He stated that 57% or 113 international students lived in apartments or with families each quarter from summer 2010 through spring 2011; the remaining 43% of our students participated in our homestay program. Based on the past four years of summer enrollment data, we could utilize beds in summer quarter. Dave stated that a way we can financially do this is to form a public-private partnership. He explained that Seattle does this through a partnership with the property owner, a real estate developer, and the college. The Seattle college s role is limited and they did not put up any funds since they do not own any part of the building. It is a mixed-use facility with retail businesses, parking, and security. It s leased in five-year increments with leases set up so there are some additional monies coming to the college to help support the facility and staffing. He recommended beds maximum with a residence assistant to help resolve student concerns and plan special activities that keep the students connected to the campus. Is this something about which the Board would like to continue having conversations? Discussion was held on the viability of this venture and the advantages of offering this to international and domestic

2 Page 2 students. In response to a question by Board Chair Dennis, Dave replied that there is a demand for housing, and other colleges have seen increased enrollment because of it. Dave encouraged the Board to consider this not as international housing, but as general student housing. Because international families place importance on their children interacting with American students, which is why home-stay has been so important, having mixed enrollment is a key factor. The Board agreed that we should look at other alternatives and models (such as the University of Washington-Tacoma). Dave will research this and provide the information to President Transue who will in turn bring it back to the Board for further discussion and consideration. 3. GISS Report, GISS Board Self-Evaluation, GISS Action Plan President Transue provided a background on the Governance Institute for Student Success (GISS) and the institute held in Cle Elum on June A conference topic was the importance of engaging trustees in monitoring progress in student completions. The completion agenda is widely shared. It has become the mantra for the Lumina Foundation, the Gates Foundation, the Obama administration, and many federal and state policy-makers. GISS supports the completion priority and is working on a state-by-state basis to help trustees move the agenda forward. Washington is the second state to participate. Sessions included at the conference were the importance of engaging trustees in monitoring progress in student completions, developing a list of what presidents and board members expect from each other, and evaluating the effectiveness of Achieving the Dream. The Board discussed the GISS self-assessment that they filled out for TCC that will help guide priorities for Board meetings and retreats. (Board members at TCC rated their experience very high and were closely aligned with each other s responses.) Discussion was held on how we need to change how our completion and measurement rates are reported, have a more accurate way of reporting, and that we need to have hard data on which to make judgments. It was agreed that there are some areas noted in the self-assessment for which follow-up is warranted. We will be looking at that at each of our Board meetings in the upcoming year. At the GISS conference, an action plan was developed by President Transue and Trustees Whang and Ryan: Committed Leadership: 1. At the summer board retreat, we will devote time for discussion of the student completion agenda. (Board/CEO) 2. We will have regular reports at our board meetings on completion initiatives. (CEO) 3. We will examine the effectiveness of the various completion strategies we have implemented. Will start sharing this information at the board meetings in Dashboard format. (Board/Chair) 4. We will focus on improving completion rates for Hispanic and African American students. President Transue, Mary Chikwinya and Silvia Barajas will be pulling together focus groups for this. Use of Data: 1. Check percentages of students of color in relation to local demographics (core indicators). (CEO) 2. Regularly examine data related to student completion preferably at each board meeting. (CEO/Board) 3. Provide a synopsis of the results of various strategies on an annual basis. (CEO)

3 Page 3 Board engagement: 1. Share disaggregated completion data with the Multicultural Advisory Council. 2. Board members will commit to finding community forums for sharing information. Trustee Whang suggested getting senior citizens involved, and Trustee Dunbar suggested developing a strategic ad campaign and being strategic in selecting our audience. Tim suggested that Trustees join together with Foundation Board members to go out and talk to organizations and ethnic groups to develop ideas on how to raise money to help students succeed (help with tuition, books, etc.) and how we can engage students during the first quarter and then help them navigate through the process. It was suggested that a joint proposal be made with the Foundation Board. 3. The college will share data with K-12 in order to enhance college readiness. Board Chair Dennis mentioned that he is working with the Peninsula School District and would like Mary and the Peninsula School District Superintendent to continue to work together. Systemic Improvement: 1. Report to the board on how college and external resources have been directed toward completion initiatives. 2. Explore best practices related to completion in Washington State. 3. Model and Plan for Reporting on Completion Agenda Tim Stokes, Executive Vice President and Academic and Student Services, and Mary Chikwinya provided a report and handouts on the model and plan for reporting to the Board on the completion agenda. Tim stated that this is an enormous change in our thinking. We have always focused on access, and we are changing that to a focus on completion. Tim explained our planned pathway on how to articulate this to the college, the community, the Board, and the Gates Foundation. We have a lot of work to do. Mary broke down the strategies on how to maneuver through the pathway. There will be nine presentations to the Board in the academic year that will include reports on (more detail provided in handouts): Connection: from student interest to application Entry: enrolling, orienting and the first quarter Pre College: college credits? (not quite yet) Gateway Courses: retention and early success Capstone Courses: persistence to Certificate/Degree Completion: Crossing the finish line TCC s completion framework is: Focused: on how students experience TCC Informed: adapted from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Completion by Design Concept Paper Committed: to preventing points of loss and creating points of momentum Integrated: focused on success within each step and on successful transitions between steps a pathway to completion There will be three reports to the Board on our completion agenda performance assessment: Core theme 1: Create Learning College Readiness Student Retention

4 Page 4 Persistence to Degree Course Level Student Success Student Satisfaction Core theme 2: Achieve Equity Course Level Student Success by Race/Ethnicity Degree and Certificate Completion by Race/Ethnicity Achievement Gap Completion Gap Diversity of TCC Students Diversity of TCC Employees Student Scholarships Core theme 3: Engage Community Development of Tacoma s Workforce Partnerships to Increase Access, Learning, Completion Economic Contributions to the Tacoma Community Cultural Contributions to the Tacoma Community 4. Update on our Experience thus far with the new Accreditation Process Tim stated that we are aligning our strategic plan with the accreditation standards. He briefly mentioned three commendations received last year: 1) visionary mission statement; 2) establishing a suitable framework, and 3) creating a core theme of equity. We were also commended for including community as a core theme. There were also three recommendations: 1) the reviewers didn t like our conversation about the achievement gap and closing it. They want us to talk more specifically about students of color and the low socio-economic gap (we have since rewritten that); 2) reorient our core themes and objectives from continuous improvement. They want us to pick a fulfillment number and hit that target; and 3) we have too many core themes. We have since scaled down the number. Tim stated that this is a learning process. We have just completed our policy review and it s much easier to reference. All Executive Staff have written their initial responses to the accreditation standards. Scott Marsh will have a draft of the second year report by Nov. 1 and it will be presented to the Board. We will receive feedback from the review in March. 5. Regional and Statewide Efficiencies (single student transcripts, Corporate Education, Nursing Collaboration, Enterprise Resource Planning System) Division representatives from Pierce County College (administrators, faculty and staff from instruction, student services, administrative, etc.) have been meeting to develop ways to streamline, and where possible, collaborate on ways to create efficiencies. A lot depends on the implementation of our new statewide computing system which will be a five-year process. Executive Staff each shared some ways their respective areas have worked to accomplish that directive. Tim announced that the four Pierce County colleges have consolidated corporate training by creating Invista Performance Solutions. The launch of this program will be in November. Mary provided a summary of some student services activities at the statewide level. 1. Standardized admissions application and fee. The goal is to have this system up and working by spring of Single statewide ID number: Some few challenges but we continue to make some headway. 3. Financial aid. 4. Registration and records (to have a single repository for transcripts and transcript equivalency).

5 Page 5 Tim reported: 1. The Instruction Commission has done work at the state level, but we are working on a common method of assessment, reducing the number of credit hours so students get through college level work much faster. 2. We are doing an analysis and a six month trial with Clover Park on the Nursing Program. Pat Brown will be leading the discussion on bringing all the nursing programs together (whether or not it s feasible or even a good idea). It won t include any efficiencies or cost-savings since the nursing program is so regulated. 3. Are working to determine the niches that each college has (for example, TCC s niches are allied health and business). Silvia reported on the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). It is a suite of applications to manage all of the information and functions of a college and system from shared databases. It is a commercial software package that promotes seamless integration of all the college s management systems for Student Administration, Financial Aid, Financial Services, and Human Resources/Payroll. It also has the ability to interface with external systems and to send and receive data from other sources. Silvia went over the benefits and funding. Phase I includes the identification of strengths and weaknesses that need to be addressed. Phase II is an 11-month process that will begin this month to identify Business Process Re-engineering, function and integration requirements, technical infrastructure, budget estimates, and other issues. Silvia also described the vendor selection plan. Each college will develop a team comprised of the following: College President, College Executive Sponsor (TCC: Silvia Barajas), College Communications Coordinator (TCC: Gary Sigmen in conjunction with Dan Small), Technical Coordinator (Gary Sigmen), Functional Coordinator (not yet identified; first will be an internal person and then possibly an external person), and Functional SME (someone who works in Accounting, Human Resources, etc.). Silvia stated that this won t reduce the number of workers but will make work easier and more efficient. A final timeline will be created once the software vendor is selected (by June 2012). The project is expected to take about five years once implementation begins. Year one will be designing and testing the modules. They will have one or two colleges to pilot the program. There will be four eight-college deployment waves every six months. If we are not selected as a pilot college (Silvia has volunteered TCC for this), we hope to be in the first wave. Dan reported that he and President Transue are working on meetings with legislators to discuss the efficiencies that are stemming from the efforts of the four colleges. 6. Organizational Impact of Budget Reductions Information was distributed on the budget reduction impacts. This information was also shared with Representative Larry Seaquist. Some details: TCC s state allocation was reduced $3,771,758 (18%) from the prior year. The Governor s request for budget reduction plans of 5% and 10% will further reduce the TCC state allocation by $790,000 to $1,580,990. Through the end of the biennium, TCC will have experienced a 30.32% reduction in state allocation from This figure is expected to grow depending on the September revenue forecast. We have eliminated over 77 regular positions since the state allocation reductions began. For fiscal year, the state allocation per student has dropped by $815. For the fiscal year, the allocation is expected to drop by an additional $559. TCC has been required to use local funds to support state obligations. We will have to wait until the biennium to learn if we will receive funds in the capital appropriation for the Harned Center for Health Careers.

6 Page 6 Silvia mentioned that she just received an from the state Labor Relations office and they announced that they have a tentative agreement with our unions and it includes a temporary 3% salary reduction for next year. Mary shared the impact on student services. There has been a reduction in staff which has negatively impacted student orientation and financial aid (the number of FAFSA applications has risen but there is less staff to process them). We are working to streamline the processes for students but are facing many challenges because the students are facing more challenges. Dan reported that Institutional Advancement has been impacted due to layoffs and resignations in Development and Marketing. They are reviewing all publications and advertising and trying to determine how we can consolidate much of that with the other colleges. With the reduction in staff and budget, Dan is working with the Foundation Board and President Transue to focus on possible restructuring and different types of fundraising events. The next step being taken is to hire a temporary Development Director to help with planning for the future, developing an annual campaign, and building relationships with donors. Dan and a hiring committee have interviewed three candidates for this position and hope to hire someone soon. Tim stated that whole programs have been cut such as the Professional Skills Center, Philosophy, and the Criminal Justice Program. We also eliminated the Professional Development Coordinator position (Tim and President Transue have assumed responsibility for Professional Development Days). It has been very difficult eliminating people and absorbing their responsibilities. 7. Comprehensive Fee Proposal Mary Chikwinya reported that we have been looking at ways to compress and streamline various fees that students pay. For TCC to institute one comprehensive fee that would cover currently charged fees, we would need to make sure financial impact on the college and students is neutral. To determine the impact, they need to look at two variables: 1) how much the fee will be for students, and 2) which fees will be rolled into the comprehensive fee. There are two plans being considered: Plan A: would roll into one fee four current fees (facility fee, technology fee, safety/parking fee and commencement fee) and it would be paid for over the course of time. Plan B: This is the same but would include transcripts. Tim explained that this will help students who are struggling financially. 8. Open Educational Resources Project (OER) The goal of this project is to create a community of practice to investigate, identify and integrate open educational resources into curriculum design and delivery. The scope of work will include: engaging faculty and students in a collaborative effort to create OER standards and policies for curriculum development; conduct a pilot project that integrates OER into high-enrollment courses that can serve as models and be adapted elsewhere in the curriculum; develop methodology and conduct an on-going assessment of effectiveness and impact; and support the integration and sustainability of OER across the curriculum. The project will be led by a temporary OER project director. Initial study and development of standards, policies and assessment tools will be conducted by a team of two faculty members from each instructional division and two representatives from Student Government. Course design will be performed by faculty. Students will be involved in testing and providing feedback on selected OER using a variety of devices and deployment methods. The project is to begin fall 2011 with first course adoption in fall 2012 and estimated project completion in mid-late 2013.

7 Page 7 Mary mentioned that this will be brought back to the Board in the next year, and we might ask them for approval to expend funds on this project. Discussion was held on whether or not this would be a good efficiency subject to consider at the state level. President Transue remarked that this is an area that Trustees can advocate for open educational resources, show they support moving in that direction, and encourage other colleges to follow suit. 9. Executive Session At 12:34 p.m., Board Chair Dennis announced that the meeting would adjourn to executive session to discuss the performance of an employee. The executive session was expected to last approximately twenty minutes and no action was expected to be taken as a result of the session. At 12:51 p.m. the Board reconvened to open public meeting. 10. Board Self-Evaluation and Assessment of Board Goals for ; Develop goals for Board Chair Dennis lead a discussion on the Board s self-evaluation based on the evaluation form filled out by the trustees. Each Trustee shared their individual thoughts on all the categories and after discussion, the board ranked themselves as follows (with the range being 1=needs improvement; 2=meets standards; 3) excellent). Overall, the consensus was: TCC Mission Excellent Strategic Plan Excellent Educational Advocacy slightly higher than meets standards External Relations Excellent Foundation Excellent Diversity Slightly higher than meets standards Ethics excellent Budgets excellent Relationship with CEO Excellent Board governing Meets standards Board participation Slightly higher than meets standards Board chair Excellent Board education Slightly higher than meets standards Discussion on self-evaluation items: Trustee Wright stated that the Trustees will need to be more involved with the Foundation this year, and supporting them needs to be an area of emphasis. We need to help recruit Foundation Board members. Trustee Wright suggested that it would be very helpful if Trustees would make larger monetary commitments to the Foundation and suggested the Board consider contributing their per diem checks to the Foundation. President Transue stated that the Trustees have a lot of contacts in the community and would be able to identify potential Foundation Board members and corporate donors. The Foundation currently has ten very committed people on the Board, but they are required to have 15. The budget will be an ongoing critical piece on which the Board needs to be focused.

8 Page 8 Trustee Dunbar suggested that more information and data should be shared with the Multicultural Advisory Council. President Transue stated that she is very happy with the performance of the Trustees and how well they work together. The Board requested that a section be added to the self-evaluation form that addresses student success. Also to be added under Board Governing will be: o The Board shall focus attention on recruitment, retention, and quality of services and programs. o The Board will be actively involved in accreditation. o The Board is knowledgeable regarding all aspects of the college. Board policies are due to be reviewed every three years, and the last review was in After discussion, the Board agreed that each year the Board will review one-third of the Policy manual at their winter retreat Goals After reviewing the goals, the Board affirmed these goals for with the following additions to the section on the TCC Foundation: Recommend to Foundation Board that there be a minimum of two Trustee representatives on the Foundation Board. Each trustee will make an annual gift to the Foundation Board Meeting Calendar The meetings suggested were approved as follows: Month Day Time Comments September 14, 2011 Wednesday 4:00 Regular meeting (also Professional Development Day) October 19, rd Wednesday 4:00 Regular meeting November 9, 2011 Wednesday 4:00 Regular meeting at Gig Harbor Campus December 7, st Wednesday 4:00 Regular meeting January 11, 2012 Wednesday 4:00 Regular meeting Feb 3, 2012 Friday 8:00-5:00 Possible Winter Board Retreat February 22, th Wednesday 4:00 Regular Meeting March 14, 2012 Wednesday 3:00 April 11, 2012 Wednesday 4:00 Regular meeting Regular meeting with early start for three tenure interviews May 2, 2012 Friday 3:30-5:00 Special meeting for Ellen Pinto interviews May 9, 2012 Wednesday 4:00 Regular meeting June 13, 2012 Wednesday 4:00 Regular meeting June 28, 2012 Thursday 1 day Summer Board retreat July August No meeting No Meeting --Trustee Whang will not be able to attend the October meeting. --Trustee Wright will not be able to attend the November meeting. --Trustee Ryan might not be able to attend the December and March meetings.

9 Page Board Committee Assignments and board member attendance at meetings and conferences The following are the tentative appointments to the Committees. The Board will confirm appointments for the positions at the September 2011 meeting. 1. TACTC Legislative Action Committee: Don Dennis primary, Bob Ryan secondary 2. TCC Legislative Task Force: Don Dennis 3. TCC Foundation Board: Chad Wright 4. Pierce County Coordinating Council: Bob Ryan, Liz Dunbar PCCC/UWT Liaison: Fred Whang 5. ACCT Voting Delegate: Fred Whang 6. TCC Art Committee: Chad Wright 14. Travel meetings After discussion, it was agreed that attendance at conferences is tentatively scheduled as shown below. Meeting Date Day Location TACTC Legislative Action Committee Retreat TACTC New Trustee Orientation ACCT Annual Congress TACTC Fall Conference TACTC New Trustee Orientation TACTC Winter Conference ACCT National Legislative Conference TACTC Spring Conference TBD September 22, 2011 Thursday TBD State Board Office, Olympia Board Member(s) Don Dennis Bob Ryan (tent.) No new trustees Oct , 2011 Monday-Saturday Dallas Fred Whang October 18, 2011 Tuesday SeaTac area Don Dennis Fred Whang January 22, 2012 Sunday Red Lion, Olympia No new trustees January 22-23, 2012 Sunday-Monday Red Lion, Olympia Feb (date TBD) May 2012 (date TBD) Sunday-Wednesday Washington, DC TBD Don Dennis Chad Wright Fred Whang Liz Dunbar Bob Ryan Don Dennis Fred Whang TBD based on date and location 15. Executive Session At 1:37 p.m., Board Chair Dennis announced that the meeting would adjourn to executive session to review the performance of the President and the President s contract. The executive session was expected to last approximately one half hour and action was expected to be taken as a result of the session. At 2:12 p.m. the Board reconvened to open public meeting. A discussion was held on the President s self-evaluation and goals. The Board suggested the following additions and deletion to the President s goals:

10 Page 10 Add: Assist TCC Foundation Board in the transition to new leadership and the implementation of the Foundation s strategic objectives. Add: Work toward implementation of suggested goals as provided by GISS. Remove #3: Complete the implementation of the signage and wayfinding plan. Install electronic directories at the five major pedestrian entrances to the campus. Action Item: Chair Dennis remarked that President Transue continues to do an extraordinary job and the Board continues to be extremely pleased with the President s performance. Chair Dennis stated that the College received notification of an increase in the premium of $1, for President Transue s long-term care policy. This is the last annual premium on this ten-year policy. Due to her exemplary service to the college, the Board also discussed giving the President an extra six days of vacation per year and the freedom to accept fees associated with speaking engagements and consulting. MOTION: After discussion and upon a motion by Board member Dunbar, the Board unanimously approved making the final and increased payment of the long-term care premium and changing the President s contract by giving her six extra days of vacation per year and allowing her to accept fees associated with speaking and consulting. MOTION: Upon a motion by board member Ryan, the Board of Trustees unanimously approved Dr. Transue s self-evaluation and goals as amended, and extended the President s contract to June 30, ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 2:39 pm. Don Dennis, Chair