Northern Essex Community College Board of Trustees
Minutes of Meeting (OFFICIAL) – October 5, 2022
A meeting of the Northern Essex Community College Board of Trustees was held in room TC103A&B in the Hartleb Technology Center at the Haverhill Campus on October 5, 2022 at 5:00 PM.
PRESENT:
Ms. Borislow
Ms. O’Rorke (Via Zoom)
Mr. Cox
Ms. Pachano
Mr. Gomez
Ms. Quiles (arrived at 5:22PM Via Zoom)
Mr. Linehan
Ms. Sanchez (Via Zoom)
UNABLE TO ATTEND: Ms. Fernandez, Ms. Paley Nadel, Ms. Worden
ALSO PRESENT: President Glenn
CALL TO ORDER: Chairwoman Borislow called the meeting to order at 5:03 PM with a roll call of attendance and a quorum present.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Chairwoman Borislow asked for a motion to approve the September 7, 2022 meeting minutes.
On a Motion presented by Trustee O’Rorke and seconded by Trustee Cox, by roll call vote, the Board unanimously approved the September 7, 2022 minutes as presented.
CORRESPONDENCE: President Glenn noted that the Board packet included a copy of the letter to the Board regarding the College’s independent audit by O’Connor & Drew. The report included a review of compliance related to internal controls and review of financial statements. President Glenn noted that he was pleased to report and that there were no findings. He thanked CFO Michael McCarthy and his team for their continued excellent work.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS:
a) Introduction of Newly Hired Employees (Verbal)
President Glenn noted that there were no new employees to introduce this month.
EDUCATION REPORT:
a) SOAR (Seize Opportunities, Aspire to Rise) Success Program (ADM-3755-100522)
Dr. Paul Beaudin, Provost, introduced Mr. Jonathan Miller, Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs and Sarah Cooper, Director of the SOAR Program, who would be providing the education report. Mr. Miller has been at NECC for more than two years and has worked in a variety of roles within the student affairs arena at his prior institutions. Ms. Cooper has been with NECC for just over one year, and has worked very hard in building and directing the SOAR program for students. Prior to NECC, Ms. Cooper had experience in academic advising and residential life.
Trustee Quiles arrived at 5:22PM.
Provost Beaudin noted that as part of the college’s commitment to the student experience which integrates academics and student support, these Education Reports cover a host of topics like admission/recruitment (in the September report) and now tonight’s report on the SOAR program. He noted that the SOAR program has already provided a tremendous impact on students and encouraged the audience to pay particular attention to the data presented on the Outcomes of the SOAR program. In closing, he thanked Mr. Miller and Ms. Cooper for their presentation.
Mr. Miller noted that the SOAR initiative provides wraparound holistic services to NECC students and has been funded across all 15 community colleges at the state level by the SUCCESS Fund. Each institution has taken the funding to develop and implement high impact practices. Our SOAR program provides services to our most vulnerable students who are generally low income, first generation and adult learners.
Ms. Cooper noted areas of growth within the program over the last year and thanked her staff for their work. She noted that a highlight of the program is that SOAR academic fellows work with students to create a student success plan. In the SOAR center, students meet with their counselor to map out their dream, desires, and their future. In addition, a number of initiatives and workshops offered in-person or via YouTube help students with study skills and other wraparound services.
Ms. Cooper went on to review the outcomes of the program and noted that over 2,200 students have participated in SOAR in some way and the engagement rate in Academic Year 2021-22 was 71%. Individual course success (C or better) and GPA was higher for SOAR students than non-SOAR students, and SOAR students persisted and were retained at a higher rate as well over the 2021-22 year. Overall, 57 SOAR students have graduated or transferred to another institution.
In closing, Ms. Cooper talked about the SOAR future plans to increase recruitment efforts, deepen career exploration, better preparation for transferring and cultivating supportive relationships for future student cohorts.
President Glenn expressed his appreciation to Jonathan and Sarah for their work and reminded the Board that the fifteen community colleges received the Success funding to put these programs in place. Campuses are expected to serve a certain number of students and fund each student at approximately $1,500. Every campus has to set criteria for the program, and the goal is to grow this program to four times the size it is now in an effort to serve more students across the Commonwealth. President Glenn and the board thanked Jonathan and Sarah for their report.
BOARD CHAIR UPDATE: Chairwoman Borislow noted that she did not have a report this month but wanted to personally thank Trustees Linehan and Cox for their willingness to continue to serve as Trustees well beyond their 10-year commitment to the school.
REPORT OF BOARD COMMITTEES:
a) Audit and Finance Sub-Committee:
1) FY23 Operating Budget (AFC-23-01): Trustee Cox reported that the Audit and Finance Committee met immediately before the meeting, and the first order of business was to review the FY23 operating budget. Last May, the board approved an operating budget, and the committee has been asked to approve a supplemental budget of $70,513,379 which considers recalibration of some of the numbers originally put out last May. Tonight’s motion, he noted, tends to be more actual numbers and takes into account changes such as student enrollment and number of credits. This budget, he noted, is approximately $850,000 more than originally proposed, and the good news is that we are projected to have year-end gain. With that said, Committee Chair Cox, noted that the Audit & Finance Committee approves this budget and recommends adoption.
On a Motion presented by Trustee Cox and seconded by Trustee O’Rorke, by roll call vote, the Board unanimously approved Agenda Item 7a1, the FY2023 Operating Budget in the amount of $70,513,379 as presented.
a) Alumni Advancement Sub-Committee:
In Sub-Committee Chair Fernandez’s absence, Chairwoman Borislow noted that the committee will meet next month and have a report at that time.
b) Equity Imperative Sub-Committee:
In Sub-Committee Chair Paley-Nadel’s absence, Chairwoman Borislow noted that this committee will also meet next month and have a report at that time.
c) Nominating Sub-Committee:
Sub-Committee Chair Quiles noted that two new trustees are in the process of submitting their background check paperwork to the Governor’s office. She was hopeful that the process will go quickly and the two new board members would be onboard for the November meeting.
REPORT OF ADMINISTRATION:
a) NECC’s Competency-Based Early Childhood Education Program (Verbal)
President Glenn shared a video on NECC’s Competency-Based Early Childhood Education Program. He noted that NECC is very proud of this program, and thanked Dean Jody Carson and the entire ECE program. This particular program, he noted, is the first of what the college hopes to expand upon in the future (i.e., the Medical Assisting Program is next and others close behind). While other institutions like SNHU do a lot of this programming, the NECC model is different in that it provides semester or half semester formats and includes many more supports built in to assist students.
b) Community College Student Cost of Living Project (Verbal)
President Glenn noted that the college has been working with policymakers and funders on this project which recognizes the need for more financial aid for living expenses for community college students. While Pell Grants cover tuition and fees, it does not cover living expenses. These factors can cause students to drop out for a semester or completely. This project raised a few million dollars, and today students chosen for this project were notified of their additional funding. President Glenn then introduced Marissa Elliott, Project Manager and Chair of the NECC Public Health Response Team, to provide additional information on the project.
Ms. Elliott noted that the project has been a collaborative a process involving multiple institutions and the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education. The project structure is very large, she noted with a large project team which was then broken down into several sub-teams to work on pieces of the project. The University of Pennsylvania is the key primary research team and Northern Essex Community College and Bunker Hill Community College are the two institutions providing student participants. The UPenn team ensures the integrity of the research and data, ensures diversity of sample size, and ensures the process remains on target. In addition, a Communication sub-team worked on initial communications to students, responses to student inquiry or questions, and overall goals of implementing this project.
The project received Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval in late July, and the research project plan was completed shortly thereafter. The team then went to work on establishing a process on how to obtain consenting participants and providing an opt-out process. As of today, all cohort students were notified of their option to participate, and moving forward, in November, students will be receiving their funding as the project moves forward.
Chairwoman Borislow thanked Ms. Elliot and the team for their work on this project. She also asked if there were any restrictions on how students can use this funding. Ms. Elliott noted that there were no real restrictions and students could use the funding on a variety of living expenses including rent, transportation, food, daycare, etc. She thanked Chairwoman Borislow and all of the trustees for their continued support.
c) Police Academy (Verbal)
President Glenn noted that the next Police Academy graduation will be held Friday, October 7th and will be the 13th class to graduate. The academy started at NECC in 2015, and has had nearly 700 graduates since then. He noted that NECC is currently the largest provider of police training in the state right now, and he encouraged trustees to attend the graduation if their schedule allows.
d) Enrollment Update (Verbal)
President Glenn explained that enrollments were starting to rebound a bit after a slow Fall start. The uptick is due to a number of 8-week classes up which have started up (later in this semester). He reminded trustees that the college has at least seven different start times for students, so classes are starting up on a constant basis. Also, it is important to note, he said, that while credit enrollment is declining, NECC’s non-credit enrollment is going up due to classes such as ESL, police academy training, corrections programs, MassHire, etc.
e) FY23 Budget Update (Verbal)
President Glenn noted that the budget report was already provided under the Audit & Finance Committee report.
f) Mass Reconnect (Verbal)
President Glenn explained that Mass Reconnect is a concept that the Mass. community colleges are hoping to get started next year based on a Michigan model. Under that model, Michigan provided funding for anyone 25 years and older to assist them in finishing their degree. He noted that the college presidents are hopeful that this program will get some traction with legislators and will be supported in the FY24 budget. This program, if passed, would heavily support community college enrollment.
g) Haverhill Campus (Verbal)
President Glenn said that he and CFO Mike McCarthy held recent calls with DCAMM about two projects: 1) an RFP for a health and wellness facility with a number of potential projects with the Haverhill YMCA (and others) to build something on the Haverhill Campus that will be open to the public; 2) the renovation of the B and E buildings at the Haverhill campus. The college hopes to have designers for the project on board soon.
h) Lawrence Campus (Verbal)
President Glenn noted that the St. Ann’s Church project has surfaced again and he recently spoke with Lawrence officials about the project. The Lawrence City Council recently approved/ appropriated a one million dollars to initially stabilize the structure of the property while they search for a developer and partners to do the renovation. President Glenn reinforced that this is not a guarantee, and that the project is tentative at the moment. While NECC may be a partner in this project, NECC will not manage it.
i) Delegation of Authority (Verbal)
President Glenn notified Trustees that he will be out of the office for several weeks beginning October 17th on medical leave. Current CFO, Michael McCarthy will be acting President and will work closely with Chair Borislow during President Glenn’s absence.
NEW BUSINESS:
a) Grants:
President Glenn noted that there were four (4) grants slated for approval totaling $89,934. They are:
1) Northeast Regional STEM Network Collaborative Project – ADM-3756-100522
2) Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care/North Shore Community College: Career Pathways Supplemental Fund – ADM-3757-100522
3) U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources & Services Administration/Greater Lawrence Family Health Center: Community Health Worker Training Program – ADM-3758-100522
4) United States Department of Health and Human Services/University of Massachusetts Lowell: Public Health Informatics & Technology Workforce Development Program –
ADM-3759-100522
On a Motion presented by Trustee O’Rorke, and seconded by Trustee Linehan, by roll call vote, the board unanimously approved the four grants (ADM-3756-100522 thru ADM-3759-100522) in the total amount of $89,934.
OTHER BUSINESS: In closing, President Glenn pointed out that trustees had the monthly Communique flyer at their table. This monthly newsletter for volunteers will be distributed to trustees each month.
ADJOURNMENT: With no other business, Chairwoman Borislow adjourned the meeting at 6:11 PM.
