Rockford Sun

Rock Valley College Board of Trustees met Aug. 27.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

Call to Order

The Regular meeting of the Board of Trustees of Community College District No. 511, Wiru'iebago, Boone, DeKalb, McHeruy, Ogle, and Stephenson Counties, Illinois, convened in Room 0214 (Performing Arts Room) in the Educational Resource Center (ERC) on Tuesday, August 27, 2024. The meeting was called to order by Board Chair Robert Trojan at 5:15 p.m.

Roll Call

The following members of the Board of Trustees were present at roll call:

Mr. John Nelson

Mr. Paul Gorski

Mr. Robert Trojan

Mr. Richard Kennedy

Ms. Kristen Simpson joined at 5:29pm

Student Trustee Nico Mikos

The following Trustee was absent at roll call: Ms. Crystal Soltow, Ms. Gloria Cudia

Also in attendance: Dr. Howard Spearman, President; Mr. Keith Barnes, Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion; Dr. Patrick Peyer, Vice President of Student Affairs; Ms. Terrica Huntley; Interim Vice President of Human Resources; Heather Snider, Vice President of Institutional Effectiveness and Communications; Dr. Hansen Stewart, Vice President of Career Technical Education and Workforce Development; Rick Jenks, Vice President of Operations/Chief Operations Officer; Dr. Amanda Smith, Vice President of Academic Affairs/Chief Academic Officer; Ms. Ellen 01son, Vice President of Finance/Chief Financial Officer; Ann Kerwitz, ASSiStant to the President; Araceli 01vera; Interim Executive Assistant: Tracy Luethje, Executive Assistant to Vice President of Operations; Attorney Joseph Perkoski, Robbins Schwartz.

Board Member Attendance by Means Other than Physical Presence

There were no Board members attending by means other than physical presence.

Communications and Petitions (Public Comment)

There were no communications or petitions.

Recognition of Visitors

There were no visitors to be recognized during the meeting.

General Presentations

There were no general presentations.

Approval of Minutes

A motion was made by Trustee Gorski, seconded by Trustee Nelson, to approve the minutes of the July 9, 2024 Committee of the Whole meeting, and the July 23, 2024 Regular meeting. There was no discussion. The motion was approved by unanimous roll call vote.

Action Items

1. BR 8186 - Claims Sheet - July 2024

The Board Report reads in part: It is recommended that the Board of Trustees approves the claims sheets from the Ellucian check register for the period from July 1, 2024 to July 31, 2024. The total is $4,902,527.23.

A motion was made by Trustee Gorski, seconded by Trustee Kennedy, to approve Board Report 8186.

There was no discussion. Trustees Gorski, Kennedy, and Trojan voted yes. Trustee Nelson voted no. Student

Trustee Mikos voted yes (advisory). The motion was approved by majority roll call vote.

2a. BR 8187-A - Purchase Report-A - FY2025 Amendments

The Board Report reads in part: It is recommended that the Board of Trustees approves the marked items for purchase on Board Report 8187-A, Purchase Report-A. $ 10,300.00 - Not to Exceed A. CDW Government Inc, Chicago, IL

A motion was made by Trustee Gorski, seconded by Student Trustee Mikos, to approve Board Report 8156-A. There was no discussion. The motion was approved by unanimous roll call vote.

2b. BR 8187-B - Purchase Report-B - FY2025 Purchases

The Board Report reads in part: It is recori'unended that the Board of Trustees approves the marked items for purchase on Board Report 8187-B, Purchase Report-B.

52,800.00 - Not to Exceed A, Helm Service, Freeport, IL

55,560.00 B. Morrow Brothers Ford Inc, Greenfield, IL

914,929.00 - Not to Exceed C. Northern Illinois Service Company, Rockford, IL

51,000.00 D. Tesla, Schaumburg, IL

502,252.00 - Not to Exceed E, Helm Electric Facility Solution, Freeport, IL

A motion was made by Trustee Nelson, seconded by Trustee Kennedy, to approve Board Report 8187-B.

Trustees' questions and comments included:

* Trustee Nelson questioned whether Northern Illinois Service Company will be demolishing the buildings for Downtown West Campus; President Spearman affirmed.

* Trustee Gorski asked about the changes made to Purchase Report B. President Spearman explained that Item B Proctoring Software (Honorlock Inc.) was removed from Purchase Report B and added to a new board report, Purchase Report C.

* Trustee Nelson questioned why Honorlock Inc. was removed from Purchase Report B. President Spearman explained that at the August Committee of the Whole meeting, Trustee Gorski didn't agree with how the bid exemption was used. The report was sent to Robbins Schwartz; they reviewed and determined the appropriate bid exemption was used for Honorlock Inc and since an opinion was not provided at the August Committee of the Whole, the best solution was to create Purchase Report C to vote on the item separately. Trustee Gorski stated that he will be voting against Purchase Report C because he doesn't believe the item has been appropriately processed.

The motion was approved by unanimous roll call vote.

2c. BR 8187-C - Purchase Report-C - FY2025 Purchases

The Board Report reads in part: It is recommended that the Board of Trustees approves the marked items for purchase on Board Report 8187-C, Purchase Report-C. $ 72,000.00 A. Honorlock, Inc, Boca Raton, FL

Trustees' questions and comments included:

* Trustee Gorski stated that it's good policy to kind of shop around for competitive pricing and enlisted. He doesn't have an issue with the vendor or their services, however he wants to ensure the same rules apply here. President Spearman clarified that Academic Affairs created a committee, including Administration and Faculty, to choose a vendor for this service; Honorlock Inc was the best product to move forward. Robbin Schwartz confirmed the bid exemption used was appropriate, nevertheless Trustee Gorski stated that would have not used the exemption or moved the process in this way.

* Trustee Kennedy questioned if anyone would have legal liability. Attorney Perkoski affirmed it was the proper application.

A motion was made by Trustee Gorski, seconded by Trustee Nelson, to approve Board Report 81 87-C. Trustees Kennedy, Simpson, Trojan, and Student Trustee Mikos (Student Advisory) voted yes. Nelson and Gorski voted no. The motion was approved by majority roll call vote.

3. BR 8188 - Resolution Calling for Bond Issue Notification Act (BINA) Public Hearing Working Cash Bonds Not to Exceed $14,700,000

The Board Report reads in part: It is recommended that the Board of Trustees approves the resolution calling for the Bond Issue Notification Act (BINA) Public Hearing to receive public comments on the proposal to sell bonds of the Rock Valley College District in an amount not to exceed $14,700,000 for the purpose of increasing the working cash fund of the District. Attorney Reviewed.

A motion was made by Trustee Gorski, seconded by Trustee Nelson, to approve Board Report 8188 the Resolution entitled: "Notice of public hearing concerning the intent of the Board of Trustees of Community College District No. 511, Counties of Winnebago, Ogle, Boone, Stephenson, DeKalb and McHenry and State of Illinois to sell not to exceed $14,700,000 working cash fund bonds." There was no discussion. The motion was approved by unanimous roll call vote.

4. BR 8189 - 2024-2025 Dual and Articulated Credit Memorandum of Understanding - Meridian C.U.S.D. #223

5, BR 8190 - 2024-2025 Dual and Articulated Credit Memorandum of Understanding - North Boone C.U.S.D. #200

6, BR 8191 - 2024-2025 Dual and Articulated Credit Memorandum of Understanding - Winnebago C.U.S.D. #323

The Board Reports read in part: It is recornrnended that the Rock Valley College Board of Trustees approves the Dual and Articulated Credit Memorandum of Understanding between Rock Valley College and [school districtl effective [date] and ending [date]. Attorney Reviewed.

A motion was made by Trustee Gorski, seconded by Ti'ustee Nelson to approve Board Reports 8189, 8190 and 8191. There was no discussion. The motion was approved by unanimous roll call vote.

7. BR 8192 - Running Start Intergovernmental Agreement - North Boone C.U.S,D. #200

8. BR 8193 - Running Start Intergovernmental Agreement - Winnebago C.U.S.D. # 323

The Board Reports read in part: It is recommended that the Rock Valley College Board of Trustees approves the Intergovernmental Agreement between Rock Valley College and [school districtl effective [date] and ending [datel. Attorney Reviewed.

A motion was made by Student Ttustee Mikos, seconded by Trustee Gorski to approve Board Reports 8192 and 8193. There was no discussion. The motion was approved by unanimous roll call vote.

9. BR 8194 - Senior 8emester Running Start Intergovernmental Agreement - North Boone C.U.S.D. #200

The Board Report reads in part: It is recommended that the Rock Valley College Board of Trustees approves the Intergovernmental Agreement between Rock Valley College and North Boone C.U.S.D. #200 effective upon signature for classes begiru'iing January 2025. Said agreement shall expire on June 30, 2025. Attorney Reviewed.

A motion was made by Trustee Nelson, seconded by Student Trustee Mikos to approve Board Report 8194. There was no discussion. The motion was approved by unanimous roll call vote.

10. BR 8195 - Personnel Report

The Board Report reads in part: It is recommended that the Board of Trustees approves the personnel items listed on Board Report 8195.

A motion was made by Student Trustee Mikos, seconded by Trustee Nelson to approve Board Report 8195. There was no discussion. The motion was approved by unanimous roll call vote.

18. BR 8196 - College Bookstore Contract

The Board Report reads in part: It is recommended that the Board of Trustees approves BibliU Campus as the bookstore provider for the College and authorizes the administration, in conjunction with legal counsel, to prepare and execute a contractual agreement for a hybrid model bookstore for a tmee-year contract with two optional one-year renewals.

Trustees' questions and comments included:

* Trustee Nelson stated decision-making processes should be set by the Board. For instance, he would've recommended to maintain the current bookstore vendor. As well, he asked about the future of the current bookstore employees.

* Trustee Gorski asked for details about the preferred vendor, BibliU, including the bookstore footprint, the hiring process, and if current employees are part of a bargaining unit. Dr. Peyer explained the footage will not change. If the college moves forward with the preferred vendor, they would spend $125,000 to refurbish the facility and the current footprint of that space; it will operate as a full bookstore similar to the current operation with enhanced online options. Moreover, he stated hat employees are hired through vendors. Ellen 01son, vice president of finance, and President Spearman clarified that the employees are not bargaining employees. He stated that the college has a contract with the vendor, not the employees of the vendor.

* TrusteeTrojanaskedTrusteeNelsontoelaborateonwhyBR8196wasapolicyviolation.

Trustee Nelson stated that the President should have provided a recommendation and notified the Board about changing the bookstore vendor, beforehand. Trustee Gorski noted that the vendor is a hybrid and not fully online; we are keeping the same format but changing the vendor. Trustee Trojan concluded that the vendor is hybrid, same footpit, and vendors hire employees.

A motion was made by Student Trustee Mikos, seconded by Gorski to approve Board Report 8196. Trustees Kennedy, Simpson, Trojan, Gorski and Student Trustee Mikos (Student Advisory) voted yes. Trustee Nelson voted no. The motion was approved by majority roll call vote.

Other Business

1. New Business

There was no new business.

2. Unfinished Business

There was no unfinished business.

Updates/Reports

1. President's Update

* Due to the vital role community colleges play in providing accessible and affordable higher education opportunities to a diverse range of students, ICCB wants to ensure that adequate and equitable funding for community colleges is realistic in Illinois. Therefore, ICCB will convene a working group of key community college stakeholders to examine community college funding. The Working Group will develop a set of recornrnendations to the Board aimed at improving the adequacy and equity of funding for community colleges in Illinois. Two subcornrnittees will also be convened as part of this working group. They will meet virtually and provide additional stakeholder input to the larger group. The Adequacy Subcommittee will examine the current funding mechanisms for cori'ununity colleges in Illinois, taking into account factors such as enrollment, demographics, program offerings, as well as emerging, new, and other iru'iovative instructional delivery methods, and geographical distribution. The Equity Subcornrnittee will assess the potential impact of existing funding mechanisms on educational equity, considering the needs of underrepresented populations, low-income students, rural communities, first- generation students, and other marginalized groups. ICCB selected Dr. Spearman, Trustee Cudia, and Interim Dean of Students Dr. Luevinus Muharnmad to serve on this cornrnittee. As the team learns more, they will share it with the Board. Dr. Spearman is excited and energized for Fall Professional Development Day on Tuesday, September 3. A schedule was distributed to the Board of Trustees who were encouraged to attend any or all of the day's activities.

Leadership Team Updates

* Keith Barnes, vice president of diversity, equity, & inclusion, shared that a reception was hosted for Dr. Amy Diaz, the 2024 recipient of the Teresa Paulette Gilbert Distinguished Service Award. She is recognized for her work at RVC in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, founding member of the PAIC committee, and continues her efforts as President at Gateway Community College in Phoenix, Arizona. He gave special thanks to Lamis Diab, one of the co-chairs of Promoting an Inclusive Community (PAIC), DEI Executive Secretary Icidora Medrano, DEI Specialist Tek Curi'y, President Spearman, and everyone who contributed in the event. He announced that Faculty and staff from the RVC Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and PAJC will meet virtually with the Gateway Community College Diversity Team on September 2024 to explore opportunities for fiiture collaborations. Also, RVC welcomed Eric Brown, who started his position as the ADA Compliance Coordinator on Monday, July 29, 2024. Mr. Barnes encouraged everyone to visit the Accessibility webpage and gave kudos to the Marketing and Communications team for their prompt edits to the webpage. He gave an update on the Viewfinder Campus Culture Survey for Students and gave a special shoutout to DEI Specialist Lien Vu and everyone on campus who supports their endeavors.

* Dr. Patrick Peyer, vice president of student affairs, welcomed the students back for the start of the fall semester! His team continues enrollment and registration activities as students make last-minute schedule adjustments, but their primary focus is now on Late-Starting courses Dr. Peyer highlighted a few of the ongoing efforts and activities to support student veterans, including Milana Herman, veteran's coordinator, who provides services to veteran students, RVC awarded Edgar Zarco our first ROTC Transfer Waiver, and the Student Veteran's Club has partnered with the Winnebago County Assistance Commission, so that all services are offered on campus once a month. Over the summer, Upward Bound programs served 33 students over six weeks. Throughout the program, students took part in several notable excursions and activities. Dr. Peyer gave kudos to the program leaders: Dr. Elaine Dussard, Melayna Rottman, Charo Young, Melissa Lawson, Sarah Logemann, Muloko Tambwe, Nasratullah Ezatyar, Penason Williams, and Christian Hoeger. Finally, Dr. Peyer provided an update on our F-1 International students attending RVC this fall and is excited to have them enrich the campus experience and share their diverse perspectives with our community. He gave special thanks to Tasha Niesewander, intercultural student coordinator, for helping welcome all of these students to campus.

* Terrica Huntley, interim vice president of human resources, wanted to acla'iowledge and thank Justin Severson, RVC's staff professional development specialist, for coordinating our first Golden Eagles Leadership Academy Cohorts with the support of the Human Resources staff and other campus partners. Our Blue cohort included emerging leaders and managers who could apply to the eight-month program and participate once a month. The next Blue Cohort begins in November of this year. Our Gold cohort included emerging deans and directors nominated by their vice president. The group requested to extend their experience for six months and participate in a capstone project to apply their knowledge and skills learned to advance the RVC campus. The next Gold cohort begins on October 18. We have also worked collaboratively with Ann Kerwitz from the President's Office and Robbins Schwartz to review the Board Policy Manual. We look forward to presenting the results of the review of Article I next month.

* Heather Snider, vice president of Institutional effectiveness & communications, provided an enrollment update. As of August 27, we have exceeded the Fall 2024 budget goal by 2%, and we are 99% to the stretch goal. There will still be fluctuations in the official term enrollment count as we approach the fall census date (14th day) on Thursday, September 5. Even after that date, we will continue to add enrollments for late-start classes.

* Dr. Amanda Smith, vice president of academic affairs, shared that on Thursday, August 15, seven new faculty in the areas of Aviation, Business, Chemistry, and Nursing started the onboarding process, and professional development will be offered throughout their tenure process. On Wednesday, August 21, faculty were invited to participate in the inaugural Fall Faculty Forum where faculty and academic staff discussed teaching and learning at RVC. Lastly, Dr. Smith thanked everyone-faculty, staff, and administration-for the hard work that allowed the first week of classes to run smoothly and without chaos. She explained, "This is no easy feat, and a lot of preparation, planning, and sleepless nights are required to make this happen."

* Ellen 01son, vice president of finance, shared that the Financial Services Department has completed both the College Audit and the Single Audit for FY2024. She expressed gratitude to Accounting Services, Accounts Payable, Purchasing, Payroll, and Leana Davis, the executive director of financial aid for their dedication. VP 01son announced that at the end of June, the Trustees should have received the standard SAS 99 (Statement of Auditing Standards) and Sikich is waiting for responses from five Board members. VP 01son provided Tiustees with a questionnaire with instructions to complete and send it as soon as possible. 01son offered Ann Kerwitz as a resource to ensure delivery to Sikich. Trustee responses are confidential and will determine if further audit procedures are needed. The RVC Foundation team will present at the annual guidance counselors fair on September 26 to promote RVC Foundation scholarships. 01son also shared with the Board that on the website for the Illinois Attorney General, Illinois Charitable Trust page, you can look up the assets of the Rock Valley College Foundation. There, they have a chart that illustrates that the assets of the Foundation have grown from $9.2 million as of 6/30/2013 to nearly $18 million as of 6/30/2023. It demonstrates the Foundation team's ability to coru'iect the community, the college, and the students.

2. ICCTA Report

o Trustee Nelson announced that there will be a standard meeting on September 13; he hopes that

Trustee Simpson will be able to attend.

3. Trustee Comments

* Tiustee Gorski wanted to let everyone know to greet him outside of RVC business.

* Trustee Nelson requested the amount of assets in dollar amount for the RVC Foundation assets.

* Trustee Trojan praised the operation staff for the parking lots on main campus. He participated as a student greeter at WTC during the first week of fall classes and worries about enrollment for the engineering program.

4. Student Trustee Report

* We are currently at the start of the Fall semester which started August 17

* There'll be numerous on-campus events revolving around student life:

o Student orientation: August 14

o New Student Welcome event: August 15

o Welcome Back Breakfast: August 22

o Fall Welcome Week Kickoff: August 26-28

* The RVC volleyball team will start their first game of the season in the PEC gym.

o August 22 at 6 PM

o August 30 at 4 PM

o August 31 atl PM & 5 PM

* Our RVC baseball season begins next week; Their first game is on September 6 at 2 PM

* Here are my goals and ideas as student trustee.

o Adding ASL and Braille classes and/or programs to RVC

o Beautification of our campus that revolves around native species that are from IL and midwestern region

o To help further pursue civic engagement at our campus and promote voter turnout for the student body.

5. RVC Foundation Liaison Report

* Tnistee Trojan stated that RVC Foundation has a total $700,000 available for scholarships for this fiscal year, $429,000 has been awarded and $271,000 is still available to award. The concern is that out of the $271,000 remaining, $141,000 is restricted to engineering but there doesn't seem to be a high enrollment rate for tis program.

* On October 17'h, the foundation is hosting a Retiree and Alumni Breakfast at the Stenstrom Student Center Atrium. The purpose is to keep the retirees and alumni up-to-date and open to continually be donors and/or become new donors.

* On November 8'l', the Foundation's annual Scholarship Luncheon will be held at the Radisson; all the Board of Trustees will be invited. The event brings together the donors and recipients; it is a very heartwarming event.

Trustees' comments and questions included:

* Student Trustee Mikos asked for the scholarship deadline. Trustee Trojan confirmed the deadline is Wednesday, September 4, 2024.

* Trustee Nelson asked about the requirements for the scholarship process and promoting the engineer program. Trustee Trojan stated that the previous student trustee encouraged students to apply for scholarships. The scholarships are awarded only to current and prospective RVC students. President Spearman added that students enroll at RVC and complete the application for the scholarship. Brittany Frieberg, chief development officer of the RVC Foundation, connects with departments to identify students available for scholarships. Many of our RVC students enroll late, so the process is delayed.

* Trustee Gorski asked if RVC is targeting existing students, how many people in existing programs are eligible for those dollars, and suggested handing out paper applications or a QR code. Dr. Peyer, vice president of student affairs, estimated a couple hundred students are in the program and explained that the FAFSA application is online. The college does a lot of outreaches and could do more for students to apply for scholarships, but Brittany Frieberg's team, Marketing team, and the previous Student Trustee have done a great job to promote scholarships. President Spearman noted FAFSA night events help promote students to be aware and apply for scholarships. Dr. Stewart, vice president of worldorce development and CTE, shared that his team is working with the dean of CTE to work with faculty to revamp how they do outreach and try to target going to high schools to graduating seniors to see if we could capitalize on that market.

6. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Report

The FOIA report was accepted as presented.

Next Meeting

The next Committee of the Whole Meeting will be on September 10, 2024 at 5:15 p.m. The meeting will be held in the Performing Arts Room (PAR, Room 0214) located in the Educational Resource Center (ERC) on the main campus.

The next Regular meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 24, 2024 at 5:15 p.m. The meeting will be held in the Performing Arts Room (PAR, Room 0214) located in the Educational Resource Center (ERC) on the main campus.

Adiournment

At 6:14 p.m., a motion was made by Trustee Nelson, seconded by Trustee Gorski, to adjourn the meeting. The motion was approved by roll call vote.

https://www.rockvalleycollege.edu/_resources/files/board/2024-2025/2024-08-27-Regular-Minutes.pdf