Northern Essex Community College Board of Trustees
Minutes of Meeting (Official) – November 4, 2020
A meeting of the Northern Essex Community College Board of Trustees was held via a Zoom Teleconference at 5:00 PM.
Present
Ms. Borislow
Mr. Cox
Mr. Dodier
Ms. Fernandez
Mr. Forman
Mr. Guilmette
Mr. Linehan (joined at 5:12pm)
Ms. O’Rorke
Ms. Paley Nadel
Ms. Quiles
Ms. Worden
Also Present
President Glenn
Call to Order
Chairwoman Borislow called the meeting to order at 5:02 p.m. and asked for a roll call of attendance. With a quorum present, Chairwoman Borislow proceeded with the agenda.
Approval of Minutes
On a Motion by Trustee Forman, seconded by Trustee O’Rorke, it was voted unanimously by roll call vote to approve the October 7, 2020 minutes as presented.
Correspondence
There was none.
Unfinished Business
President Glenn introduced Mr. Alexander Rodriguez, (soon to be Dr. Rodriguez), as the new Director of the Center for Corporate and Community Education. With several years of experience as a business professor, economic development strategist, and marketer for software companies, Alex will be responsible for leading education and training programs for corporate and community audiences.
The board welcomed Mr. Rodriguez.
Education Report
a) Center for Health Professions (ADM-3652-11042)
Vice President William Heineman introduced Professor Kathy Hudson who provided a report on the Center for Health Professions, one of five academic centers that provide a crucial part of the Integrated Student Experience (ISE) initiative, giving students a sense of belonging, academic structure, and support. This Center, which deals with the largest number of students, opened on July 1, 2019 in the El Hefni building. In the converted classroom (LC133), students can meet with faculty, seek help from advisors, attend career events, as well as do homework, charge phones, and enjoy snacks.
With 22 different degree programs, occurring both day and evening, this Center is well- attended and supervised with one full-time professional advisor, Cristina Nuncio, and assisted by Linda Comeau, a retired advisor who continues to work part-time and advises students in the Center for about 10 hours a week. In addition, Linda is very active in the community volunteering her time to perform outreach duties to area high schools and hospitals. Also, Professor Dawn Wheaton is co-leading the Center with Professor Hudson.
The number of drop-in students from July 2019 to March 2020 totaled 2,955 – doing homework, getting academic assistance, and working with their academic peers. In addition, 465 students registered in the Center during the first year. Since the pandemic hit, from April 2020 to September 2020, over 500 students registered virtually with an advisor, by Zoom or by phone.
Soon, the Center will be moving to the former Career Planning and Advising Center (CPAC) area on the first floor of the El Hefni building which will provide a lot more space for students and computers as well as space for 1-on-1 conversation spaces for students and advisors. The CPAC operation will move to the Dimitry building.
Trustee Fernandez asked how the college is managing project-based work in the virtual world. Professor Hudson noted that all academic work is done online, but the lab work is still performed on campus. The students and staff are provided with masks and gowns, work in smaller groups, and conduct multiple labs between the hours of 8:00AM and 4:00PM so that all students can take the lab. The face-to-face connection with faculty is a huge benefit.
President Glenn noted that these five academic centers are a key component of our Integrated Student Experience and a key item in NECC’s LIFT Fundraising Campaign. Thanks to generous donations to the LIFT Campaign, one of the five academic centers, the Business Center, was already named for the college’s former Vice President of Institutional Advancement Jean Poth.
With no other questions, President Glenn thanked Professor Hudson for her report.
b) All College Assembly (ACA) Annual Report with Sheila Muller (ADM-3653-110420)
Professor Sheila Muller, the ACA and Executive Committee Chair, noted that this past year much effort has been placed on establishing parameters and framework to capture data, procedures, and policies that will assist our constituencies as a reference guide. The committee chairs have been working collaboratively to collect this information and communicate the ACA mission.
By using the road-mapping tool, Roadmunk, NECC colleagues can easily access ongoing information on the standing committee projects, their timeline, assigned leaders, and completion date. In addition, during this past year, changes in our organizational charts have affected our membership, realigning them to face a number of projects, such as public transportation, equity issues, remote learning, and the bookstore challenges. Professor Muller then provided the following brief updates from the ACA Committees:
- The Academic Affairs Committee has continued to work on revision of courses and programs, while establishing new certificate programs.
- The Finance Committee has enlarged their scope to include broader discussions about on-campus activities such as the building HVAC systems, the Haverhill YMCA on campus, the transition of Little Sprouts, the Merrimack Valley Regional Transit Authority (MVRTA), and Return to Campus safety issues. In order to minimize bookstore issues that we are currently experiencing due to the pandemic, we are collaborating with other committees to bring publishers, such as Follett Access, on board, in order to ensure that students have their books on the first day of class.
- The IT Committee worked through the summer to give the faculty the resources they needed for successful remote teaching, access to VPN, making Blackboard accessible to students, and updating our website access to Banner.
- The Student Affairs Committee worked closely with the Executive and Finance Committees on our virtual Commencement, software availability, laptop requirements, public safety, and Return to Campus concerns.
In closing, Professor Muller noted that on October 26, the ACA held a successful Fall Governance Forum which was well attended by 85 colleagues.
President Glenn expressed his thanks to Professor Muller, the committees, and all of the members of the All-College-Assembly. He noted that in his 15-year career at the college, no Chair has brought more organizational ability and energy to this group than Professor Muller. Chairwoman Borislow also thanked Professor Muller for being an exemplary role model and was most grateful to have her on our team.
Board Chair Update
Chairwoman Borislow thanked the Trustees for attending the two-hour Department of Higher Education Statewide Trustee Convening. She noted that NECC stood out above the rest in terms of our low decline in enrollment compared to some of the other institutions. She also noted that there was information distributed on the upcoming Trustee Training, and more information on that will be forthcoming in President Glenn’s report.
Next, Trustee Borislow noted that Cheryl Goodwin will be sending out the Board Self- Assessment Survey by email in preparation for the Board’s retreat scheduled in January. The assessment will enable the board to provide input and focus on strategic points moving forward. She thanked the Trustees in advance for their participation.
After much discussion with all Trustees, it was noted that two new subcommittees will be proposed, one is the Advancement and Alumni Committee and the other is the Equity Imperative Committee. Chairwoman Borislow noted that the proposed Chairs for all of the subcommittees are as follows: Audit & Finance Committee – William Cox; Nominating Committee – Shalimar Quiles; Advancement and Alumni Committee – Patricia Fernandez; Presidential Evaluation Committee – William Cox; and the Equity Imperative Committee – Marianne Paley Nadel. We are grateful to all trustees who have agreed to chair, and for trustee participation on these committees.
The two new Committee members will look forward to working with Vice Presidents Allison Dolan-Wilson (Advancement) and Noemi Custodia Lora (Equity Imperative) to determine how to best support the college. Trustee Borislow concluded by noting that more information will follow in January at the Board Retreat (which will be held in person at the Tech Center if at all possible and depending on the pandemic climate at that time).
Report of Board Committees
There was none.
Report of Administration
President Glenn also thanked the Trustees for their contributions to these board committees and to the Lift Campaign which directly impacts the Academic Centers.
a) FY21 Budget Status Report (Verbal)
President Glenn noted that Governor Baker’s recent budget news was positive reflecting a level-funding stance for higher education. This is better news than expected, and the college leadership is hopeful that the FY22 budget will also be funded at this level. In the meantime, the college is carefully reviewing all areas of the budget, revenue and expenses.
b) NECC2020: Strategic Plan (Verbal)
President Glenn noted that the Institutional Advancement office has undergone a reorganization under the direction of Vice President Allison Dolan-Wilson and includes a new position of Director of the Center for Corporate and Education, held by Alexander Rodriguez. In addition, the IA area now also includes Career Services under the direction of Ashley Moore, Director of Career Services. President Glenn noted that Ashley has been instrumental in collaborating with other colleges at the state level and with the Boston Foundation to secure funding to implement Handshake, a combination internship and job seeker tool for students, employees, and alumni, as well as an event platform. Ms. Moore recently provided a demonstration of Handshake at a recent Leadership Cabinet meeting and will also provide a future presentation for the Board when fully implemented.
c) Haverhill and Lawrence Campus (Verbal)
President Glenn noted that Vice President Mike McCarthy continues to work on a number of projects on campus. In Haverhill, the concrete pilings and footings have been installed in front of the Behrakis Center for the stairwell and ramp. In addition, conversations are ongoing with DCAMM concerning funding of approximately $2M for the parking lots in front of the Spurk building. In addition, the college is putting together an RFP to solicit potential partners for the athletic facilities. There is also ongoing discussion with the Haverhill YMCA regarding their move to campus. The ribbon cutting for the Heights at Haverhill building will take place on November 5th and will be attended by Governor Baker and representatives of the Lupoli Companies. Due to space limitations caused by Covid, there will be another grand opening sometime later next year.
d) Trends in Degree/Certificate Enrollment (Verbal)
Dr. Kelly Saretsky provided a brief presentation on student enrollment data by degree and certificate and also provided information on the major changes over the last few years within those programs. Dr. Saretsky noted that there has been a minor shift in majors in recent years. For example, the Associate in Science degree has seen a 5% increase over the last three years with 50% of our current population enrolling in that type of degree, up from 45.1% back in 2017. Meanwhile, the Associate in Arts degree declined at about the same rate with 42% of our students enrolled in that degree type, down from 46.7% in 2017.
In terms of specific programming, with the overall enrollment decline, some academic programs have been eliminated or phased out, while others have been redesigned or added. The top ten majors for degree-seeking students which account for 62% of our total enrollment are as follows: Health Specialization, Business Transfers, Liberal Arts, Criminal Justice, Business Management, Psychology, Engineering Science, Biology, IT, and Early Childhood. Most of these programs have shifted slightly in order from 2017, with Early Childhood moving into the top 10 majors in 2020.
Dr. Saretsky then provided a list of programs that are gaining interest (Health Specialization, Business Transfer and Biology), followed by a list of programs with declining interest (Liberal Arts, Engineering Science, and CIS: Information Technology). Concern was expressed regarding the decline in Liberal Arts. Vice President Heineman noted that this was a nation-wide trend, and noted that the Liberal Arts faculty continue to work hard to present Liberal Arts as a viable path for students as they move to complete an associate degree.
Trustee Worden asked how students are directed toward a major, particularly if they are undecided? Dr. Heineman noted that with the Integrated Student Experience and the Student Success Hub, new students are given the opportunity to explore a roadmap with the advisors considering their talents and interests. For those completely unsure of their path, a short-term exploratory program is followed which allows them to sample a variety of majors. Trustee Quiles suggested that a program-level student feedback survey on the student experience by program would be a valuable tool to provide information that could help shape a better experience for new students who are unsure of their pathway and looking for information on the different programs. This information could also possibly lead to an increase in enrollment.
President Glenn thanked Dr. Saretsky for her report.
e) “Creating More Pockets of Good: Fostering Innovation in Post-Pandemic Healthcare Education: An Innovation Playbook” (Verbal)
President Glenn noted that even with the challenges of the pandemic, positive aspects have emerged such as discovering ways to improve health care education with the improved use of technology in clinical settings. Under the leadership of Dr. Kim Burns and the DHE, this playbook on how to innovate in the workforce was developed before the pandemic hit. Our students, many of whom are low income and first-generation students, are finding career pathways into more advanced fields. For instance, an entry-level position in the health field may lead to a path as a respiratory therapist over time. The college is trying to secure partnerships and additional funding towards these goals. President Glenn thanked Dr. Kim Burns and Dean Wendy Shaffer for their efforts surrounding these grant funding efforts.
f) Draft Agenda & Self-Assessment Survey for January 20, 2020 Trustee Retreat, 2-6PM, Location: TBD (Verbal)
Chief of Staff Cheryl Goodwin provided a brief overview of the draft agenda (subject to change) and also the self-assessment tool. She noted that Trustees should provide input on both documents as soon as possible. The self-assessment will be sent out early next week via email and we are asking Trustees to complete the survey by November 30th. Data from the assessment will be distributed to Trustees for review and discussed at the January 20th retreat.
g) Overview from the October 27 DHE Statewide Trustee Convening: Public Higher Education Trustee Training: Next Steps (Verbal)
Cheryl Goodwin also provided a brief overview of DHE’s newly implemented Trustee Training Program which is mandatory for all new and sitting Trustees. Ms. Goodwin reviewed the legislation requirements, the timeline for completion, the course listing/dates, and the learning platform that will be used (Blackboard). Attendance for the training is mandatory, and will be tracked by DHE. All sitting Trustees have approximately one year to complete the 8 modules. Ms. Goodwin noted that she will walk the trustees through the process, and is happy to assist whenever necessary. She encouraged trustees to reach out to her if there were any questions. President Glenn thanked Ms. Goodwin for her report.
Other Business
There was none.
Adjournment
6:22PM
