September 11, 2020 - BOD Minutes

ECTC Board of Directors (BOD) Meeting

Time/Location

• Elizabethtown Community and Technical College
• Microsoft Teams Meeting
• Friday, September 11, 2020, 9:30 a.m. EST

Attendees

CALL TO ORDER

For the record, the Board of Directors meeting held September 11, 2020 was held via Microsoft Teams due to COVID-19 restrictions and safety recommendations from national, state, and local authorities.

Chair Stan Routt called the regular board meeting to order at 9:30 a.m. EST.

DISCUSSION

Welcome, Introductions, and Announcements

• Chair Routt welcomed everyone via Microsoft Teams.

Approval of Minutes

• MOTION: Dr. Steven Sargeant made the motion to approve the May 8, 2020 minutes as presented and Mr. Paul Witten seconded the motion.
• VOTE: The minutes were approved by unanimous consent.

New Business

COVID-19 Update:

• ECTC employees began returning to campus in June, these employees included essential personnel. Currently, approximately 50% of employees are teleworking.
• Since March 2020, ECTC has had three employees and four students test positive for the COVID-19 virus.
• Question: Have there been any hospitalizations due to the virus among ECTC employees or students?
• Answer: No
• Question: What is the future for the college's COVID-19 protocol?
• Answer: At this point, ECTC will continue with our current path through December. Our spring 2021 semester is likely to follow our current guidelines in an effort to minimize the number of people on campus until a vaccine has been made available to the public.
• Question: Have instructional costs changed since ECTC has moved to a predominately-online method of course instruction?
• Answer: There are online fees associated with technical costs; however, these fees are a fraction of the cost of online classes and fees offered by universities. The Work Ready Kentucky Scholarship covers these online fees.
• Question: Has there been a drop in the number of students attending?
• Answer: Yes, our enrollment numbers are down. Dr. Buckles will cover this topic in more detail during his report.
• Question: Does ECTC have a policy to close if a certain number of employees/students test positive for COVID-19?
• Answer: No, ECTC looks at trends more than a specific number of positive cases. For example, if a single department has several employees test positive then that department will close for two weeks and all employees within that department will telework.

E-town Example:

• The E-town Example is a college-led initiative in our community regarding the unrest and inequities within our society. As a regional leader, we have taken a public stance on this issue. There have been several community leaders step-up and follow our example by making this type of commitment as well.

REPORTS

Provost/CAO Report:

Interim Provost/CAO, Mr. Darrin Powell, shared his report with the board:

• During fall 2019, ECTC had 35% of all students taking online courses and 65% were taking face-to-face courses. During fall 2020, 67% of students are taking online courses and 33% are face-to-face.
• We have equipped 40-50 classrooms with new technology in order to deliver online classes.
• Some courses are live, some are pre-recorded (asynchronous), some are hybrid, and some are exclusively face-to-face.
• Question: Are some classes unable to move to an online format and are you finding some classes are better suited to an online format?
• Answer: Yes, we have some classes that must meet face-to-face such as nursing classes. In these cases, we have modified our labs so that a limited number of students are in the room at one time. Some faculty have reported more student engagement in their online classes as compared to the same class in a face-to-face format. Yes, we are finding some courses are better suited in an online format.
• Question: Are employees meeting to share their experiences?
• Answer: Yes, we have also implemented new training both within ECTC and within KCTCS. Employees are sharing what works and what does not work with their colleagues.

Chief Finance and Facilities Officer Report:

Mr. Joe Mattingly, Dean of Business, shared his report with the board:

• ECTC has been monitoring all expenses closely since March. Currently, we are only 3-4% off from our fall revenue budget projection.
• At this time, we are holding off on filling vacant positions that are not critical.
• Discretionary budget line cuts up to 26% were made earlier this semester; therefore, our spending is down compared to last year.
• State appropriations are unknown at this time. Based on the work we have done so far with our budget and limiting expenses, we should be able to absorb any state appropriation cuts without drastic measures.

Chief of Student Affairs Officer Report:

Dr. Dale Buckles shared his report with the board:

• ECTC awarded 202 degrees during summer of 2020.
• ECTC received 1.2 million dollars in CARES Act money to assist eligible students, mainly with housing and food needs. The maximum amount any one student could receive was $5,000.
• We have 251 students receiving VA assistance.
• Over 6 million dollars in financial assistance has been awarded to ECTC students.
• 3,036 applications were processed and 47% of students who applied to ECTC enrolled in classes.
• Student orientations were held virtually this fall.
• Summer and fall students have indicated they would like some type of graduation ceremony in December.
• Two of our advisors have or will soon retire. Ms. Sharon Spratt was employed with ECTC for 48 years and was the heart and soul of our college. Ms. Suzanne Darland, our director of Advising, has been with ECTC for 19 years and has been our go-to advisor with a strong passion for our students. These two women will be dearly missed.
• Question: Which counties were strongest and weakest in the number of students who applied?
• Answer: Hardin County has the highest number of applicants by number.

Institutional Advancement Report:

Ms. Megan Stith shared her report with the board:

• Due to COVID-19 our recruitment strategies have changed so that we can meet students where they are. Ways in which we are reaching out include live broadcasts via social media, new digital advertising strategies, virtual events for high school students, virtual tours, and personal call from recruiters.
• We have created new ways to assist our students during this pandemic. For example, a Student Emergency Assistance Fund and an Equity Through Education Scholarship have been created to assist students financially.
• We have shared needs and impact stories through our e-newsletter and our social media campaign.
• Question: Have you seen a drop-off in the number of donors?
• Answer: Overall, donations are down in amount. However, we have seen an increase in the number of new donors with smaller gift amounts. Our individual outright gifts were up $18,000 compared to the previous year despite the pandemic.

Human Resources Report:

Ms. Whitney Taylor shared her report with the board:

• Ms. Taylor shared the 2019-2020 Workforce Summary with the board:
  • 12 new positions were budgeted for 2019-2020 and 11 of those positions were filled.
  • New hire demographics:
    • 36 female
    • 11 male
    • 41 Caucasian
    • 5 African American
    • 1 American Indian
  • There were 11 internal promotions.
  • We had one death.
  • There were 9 retirements.
  • ECTC filled 47 positions for FY19-20 vs. filled 41 positions for FY18-19.
• Ms. Taylor shared the 2020-2021 Workforce Summary:
  • We have filled four positions for FY20-21.
  • New hire demographics:
    • 2 male
    • 2 female
    • 3 Caucasian
    • 1 African American
  • Currently, we have four full-time positions being advertised:
    • Student Support Services Director
    • Director of Advising
    • Academic Advising
    • Knox Coding Academy Software Development Instructor
  • We have 17 vacant positions.
  • We have had 3 retirements.
• ECTC celebrated this past Wednesday with the Best Places to Work Awards event. Due to the celebratory dinner being cancelled, ECTC received a monetary gift and used this money to purchase masks for all employees. ECTC ranked 30 out of 31 in the medium business category.
• ECTC has begun our annual mandatory training in Safe Colleges; all employees have 30 days to complete their training.

President/CEO Report:

Dr. Juston Pate shared his report with the board:

• Dr. Juston Pate praised all employees for their hard work and perseverance throughout this pandemic.
• Dr. Pate encouraged all board members to advocate for ECTC when speaking with legislators regarding minimal cuts to our state appropriations.

MEETING ADJOURNMENT

A motion was made by Mr. Paul Witten and seconded by Mr. Howard Williams to adjourn the meeting, motion carried.

The meeting adjourned at 10:46 a.m. EST.

NEXT BOARD MEETING

The November 13, 2020 board meeting will be held via Microsoft Teams due to the status of COVID-19 restrictions and safety measures.

Minutes respectfully submitted by,