Weekly Wrap-Up

Starting fall term, students who successfully pass Destination Graduation will qualify for priority registration for their second term, which will help students plan their schedules by removing a major obstacle, where first-term students are in the back of the line for their next set of classes and those classes often filling up before the students can register. In addition, Richard Gibbs will serve as faculty lead for DG for 2013-2014, and is working with faculty this summer to develop an online model. The Curriculum Committee also is reviewing the DG "textbook" to streamline, make suggested changes, and improve course materials, and to examine options on physical textbooks versus online Moodle material. The Steering Committee is planning to pilot an eight-week DG option for winter term 2014, alongside the five-week class, and will assess which model works best for students and the DG Advising and Achieving the Dream initiative. The committees welcome your input and constructive feedback.

The LBCC Board of Education met last week and among action taken, the board:

• Approved the college’s 2013-14 budget. The general fund budget, which is the primary operating budget for the college, was 3.8 percent less than the current year’s budget (2013-14 budget year begins July 1).
• Approved the contract with English Language and Cultural Institute to teach English Speakers of Other Languages Classes. The board sought and received assurances from college staff that quality and progression standards would be monitored. ELCI has developed plans to maintain – and hopefully expand – access to the class in Linn and Benton Counties.
• Approved awarding a $1.5 million bid for the construction phase of the Advanced Transportation Technology Center, which is projected to open by the end of the year. The Automotive Technology Program will move to the new facility in Lebanon upon completion of the first construction phase.
• Said goodbye to board members Dan Bedore and Penny York, who did not run for re-election in May. Jim Merryman and Lyn Riverstone will join the board in July.

The 2013-2014 college catalog is out and includes a new arrangement of program information. Rather than the traditional alphabetical listing, programs are grouped by degree type: Associate of Science, Associate of Applied Science Degrees and Certificates, and Associate of Arts Oregon Transfer Degrees. The appendices have been removed, with the general requirements for each degree type included at the beginning of each section. Printed copies are available in Admissions, with online PDF and "flip-book" versions available at www.linnbenton.edu/catalog.

This week on the president’s blog, Notes From the Edge, read about why Greg feels the book “Leadership in the Crucible of Work” is so distinctively different from other leadership books: http://linnbentonpresidentsblog.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-heart-of-matter.html

Weekly Wrap-Up

The college web site redesign is scheduled to be ready for preview in August, with a goal of going live by start of fall term. Watch your email for notification to browse a preview of the site and an opportunity to provide feedback before we go live!

Work groups are meeting around three Achieving the Dream initiatives that were selected to help increase student success at LBCC. Three initiatives, and their group leaders, are: Advising (Jenny Strooband); Strategic Scheduling (Jonathan Paver); and Development Education (Pam Gordon).

The Virtual College project is applying for a $2.7 million dollar grant from the Department of Labor, with hopes of hearing by October if the grant is approved. At this time, college administration has not decided if they are going to fund any curriculum development or learning management system, so the Virtual College project is on hold. In order for work to be done this summer, the project needs a piece of strategic initiative money. At this point, no decision has been made.

College Council is considering a new administrative rule that would provide partial support for the purchase of tablet computers. Similar to the administrative rule for cell phones, employees wishing to purchase a tablet for use at work would need to explain how it would benefit them in their work. A maximum of $200, or 50 percent of the purchase price (whichever is less), would be available. Read the entire rule – and see what other issues were discussed – in the June 6 College Council agenda available on paperless office at http://po.linnbenton.edu/collegecouncil/6_6_13CCMeetingFiles/. Contact any council member with your feedback.

Mark your calendar - September 25 is Welcome Day, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. This year’s theme is “Connections.” Join us to help students connect, and reconnect, with the LBCC. Stay tuned for details.

NOTE: This new Insider feature is intended to help staff and faculty keep up-to-date on the discussions and decisions that shape LBCC, and is designed to be a quick read rather than comprehensive report.

Send your story suggestions, information or questions to Insider editor Lori Fluge-Brunker, flugel@linnbenton.edu.
 

Weekly Wrap-Up

The Insider launches a new feature this week intended to help staff and faculty keep up to date on the discussions and decisions that shape LBCC. Designed to be a quick read rather than comprehensive report, it will include snippets on things like Board of Education decisions, College Council discussions, reminders of important events and deadlines – and whatever suggestions you have.

If you find there is information you’re not getting, let us know and we will try to work it in. If you are on a group or council and have information you’d like to share, you can share it here. Send to Insider editor Lori Fluge-Brunker at flugel@linnbenton.edu.

And now - our first try at this:

The college budget committee met last week and approved the proposed budget with no changes to the budgeted amount. Highlights included:

• Overall, the budget decreased by 21 percent from $122,098,774 this year to $96,392,221 due mostly to change in budgeting for Federal Direct Loans in the Financial Aid fund.
• The general fund budget decreased 4.85 percent from $46,004,671 this year to $43,771,330 next year. The bulk of that decrease on the resource side was due to the beginning fund balance declining from $4 million to $1.5 million.
• The budget committee also clarified the Board of Education directive to rebuild the fund balance to $4 million over the next 4 years. The change directs the college to make $600K of progress in restoring the ending fund balance in the next budget year resulting in a target for ending fund balance of $2.1 million at June 30, 2014.

The budget will now be published in area newspapers in summary form as a public notice. The Board of Education will hold a hearing and then vote whether to adopt it at the June Board meeting. The full 176 page budget document is available here: Review & Discussion of Proposed Budget Document.

 Mechatronics faculty member Denis Green explains new
equipment to Greg Hamann; Kip Much, NW Natural Gas
regional director; Secretary of State Kate Brown; Dan Lara,
dean, Business, Applied Technology and Industry; Dale Stowell,
executive director, College Advancement; and Dale
Bookwalter, Oregon Freeze Dry vice president, Finance.

Secretary of State Kate Brown took a brief tour of the Albany campus on Wednesday, learning more about Achieving the Dream, the advance diploma option that allows high school students to earn college credits, degree partnerships with OSU and OIT, and career and technical programs at LBCC including Automotive/Diesel technology, Welding and Mechatronics. Secretary Brown visited with staff, faculty, administration, representatives from local business and students.

The LBCC Foundation Board of Trustees approved $150,000, which, in addition to a $50,000 grant received from the Oregon Drive Foundation, gives the college funds to purchase an advanced dynamometer for the new Advanced Transportation Technology Center. This equipment will be use to both train technicians in the program and generate revenues for operating the ATTC through rental to industry. The dynamometer will be the only one of its kind between Vancouver, B.C., and San Francisco.

The Meyer Memorial Trust announced this week it was supporting the ATTC with a $350,000 grant. The grant is contingent on the college raising an additional $1.5 million from other sources. The college currently has a $1.5 million Economic Development Administration grant in a strong position for funding, pending the EDA resolving budget questions surrounding sequestration.

LBCC President Greg Hamann has joined the Board of the Corvallis Boys and Girls Club. In addition to his support of the organization, he hopes that his involvement can lead to strong pathways to education and training for area youth.

LBCC board members and college administrators participated in a statewide effort that led to passage of bill ending “adverse impact” provisions in Oregon law. In the past, these provisions have created barriers for community colleges to add new programs, giving proprietary colleges the right to claim that the program would create an adverse impact because they either had a similar program or were considering adding it.

Get your nominations in early! Nominations are now open for the Pastega classified staff and faculty member awards, and the college Distinguished Staff award, which are due by June 10. For nomination materials or questions, contact Dale Stowell at stoweld@linnbenton.edu.