College waits for more info on projects

The Activity Center that Mid-Plains Community College wants to build in McCook's Kelley Park and two other projects were temporarily put on hold Wednesday night.

At the board of governors meeting in McCook, the Campus Development Committee declined to recommend to the Board an architect that MPCC President Michael Chipps and the Area Physical Resources Council had suggested.

Instead, the committee asked for more information about these projects.

These projects include the Activity Center, the remodeling of True Hall on the McCook campus, and a new math and science building at the North Platte campus.

Kent Miller, a member of the Campus Development Committee, stressed that the committee was not rejecting the projects, but merely postponing a decision on an architect until more information was gathered.

Statistics that he requested included an historic outline of why the projects were needed, classroom usage and proposed usage for the space.

This assessment study would benefit new board members who might not understand the background of the projects, he said.

Miller acknowledged that some of the projects had been on the college's agenda for some time, such as the math and science building in North Platte, and said the college had been using the "band-aid" approach by remodeling buildings instead of replacing them. He asked for concrete numbers, such as space needs, for the May meeting.

Chipps was authorized at the January 2006 board meeting to begin an architect search to define possible construction projects at the McCook and North Platte campuses. The architect would be limited to defining spaces, estimating costs, and establishing preliminary timelines. Out of a number of responses, Chipps and his committee had narrowed down the applicants to one architect, who attended Wednesday's meeting.

Before the regular meeting, board members met with Chipps in a lengthy open subcommittee meeting in Tipton Hall.

Board members on the Campus Development Committee are Miller, Royce Norman, Elizabeth Benjamin, Ted Klugh Jr., and Ernie Mehl.

A pay rate increase of 3.37 percent for non-negotiated employees was approved 9 to 1, with Benjamin voting against the increase.

She said an expected 2-3 percent enrollment increase may not occur, and that a preliminary budget forecast had showed that the college may need to make cuts.

Chipps said he understood Benjamin's concerns, but said that no programs were going to be cut. Projections of enrollments were on target with actual enrollment numbers, he said, with summer and fall numbers combined, up by 6.35 percent.

Funding for the college comes in increments, he said, with the formula for state aid determined in late June and tied into projected student numbers and property taxes, which makes it difficult to calculate exact numbers in the preliminary budget.

Dr. Richard Tubbs, MCC vice president, gave a monitoring report on MCC which included successful transfer of students to a four- year college, training for available jobs, business development and updating job skills. Data has shown that students transferring from MCC to a four-year college do just as well as students who attend all four years at those schools, but one board member said that he has heard of problems with some credits not transferring.

Chipps said basic educational courses are transferable, but lack of communication between registrars has sometimes caused complications in upper-level business courses.

Tubbs also praised the new graphic design program at MCC, which was funded by a $35,000 donation by Elinor Karrer through the McCook College Foundation.

The program has attracted 24 students, he said, when he had originally anticipated only about 8-10 students. It has drawn students from places like Kansas, Colorado and as far as California.

Priorities and Initiatives for MPCC were approved by the board, with 10 priorities and 20 objectives presented by Jan Schartz, Director of Institutional Research Planning and Grants.

Teams including members of the Board, MPCC administration and faculty will decide what programs to develop from the stated priorities, Schartz said.

These priorities include: teaching and learning, student and student support, collaboration and unity, governance, accreditation, fin-ance, technology, outreach and partnerships, facilities, diversity and globalization, and governance.

Input for these study was obtained through surveys, team meetings and comments from students, staff, the community and board members.

In other business, the board approved March 2006 bills at $672,378.48, and recognized Ted Fellers as Nebraska Community College Associations Administrator of the Year. Recognition was also given to the Phi Lambda Chapter and sponsor Janet Weber for success at a recent statewide competition.