President's Council Meeting Summary

October 8, 2003

Present: Dene Thomas, Kathy Martin, Rob Lohrmeyer, Richard Moore, Tony Fernàndez, Whitney Pugh, Jerry Hindberg, Bert Sahlberg, Deacon Meier, Dave Taylor, Dawn Byers, Kathie Wilcox, Chet Herbst, Janis VanHook

Guest: Paul Krause and Gary Mayton

Calendar Review

Calendars for October and November were distributed noting President’s travel and major campus events.

Information Commons

The Lewis-Clark State College Information Commons was officially opened in a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday, October 2, 2003. Idaho State Board of Education President, Mr. Blake Hall, Idaho State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Dr. Marilyn Howard and President Thomas presided over the dedication ceremony. The Information Commons is intended to promote new levels of technology integration among all members of the college community, including students, faculty, and staff.

Paul Krause and Gary Mayton spoke to the Council regarding the intended use of the facility. It is not a general meeting facility but a facility to serve as a formal instructional space for students and as a professional development location for faculty and staff. Development session are being planned to teach faculty and staff how to operate the technology within the Learning Center.

President’s Report

Approximately 35 people attended the Idaho Education Forum on Friday, September 26. Senate Education Chairman Gary Schroeder has organized the forums to provide the public the opportunity to comment on education issues. President Thomas, Kathie Wilcox, Bernice Harris, Richard Moore and Justin Coleman spoke during the forum regarding issues related to LCSC.

President Thomas represented the Frontier Conference at the recent NAIA Council of Presidents’ meeting on September 28 and 29 in Olathe, Kansas. LC is participating in the Champion of Characters program. Our most noticeable contribution is the public schools reading program associated with the World Series.

The State Board of Education met at LCSC on October 2 and 3. President Thomas and Justin Coleman jointly presented the LCSC progress report.

Approximately 35 people attended the Idaho Supreme Court open forum on Thursday, October 2. LC students were well prepared and asked well-throughout questions during the forum. Chief Justice Trout asked to utilize LC’s video tape for broadcast on the Treasure Valley PEG station.

The Idaho Indian Education Summit was held in Lewiston on October 1-3. The summit explored ways that Indian educators, State of Idaho educational program leaders, and tribal educational representatives can meet to establish and facilitate a working relationship in order to enhance success of Indian students in Idaho. Bob Sobotta is a member of the State Indian Education Committee. President Thomas was a guest speaker on October 3.

The state Council of Presidents met on October 7. The Governor is strongly recommending a flat-line budget for FY2005.

President Thomas presented LCSC’s FY2005 capital budget request to the Permanent Building Fund Advisory Council on Tuesday. All of the presidents provided an update on the building projects, and recommended maintenance and repair budgets.

Provost and Vice Presidents’ Reports

Provost:

Comments on two of the issues discussed at the State Board of Education meeting are noted below.

· The State Board of Education is of the opinion that charter schools which are over ruled by the local board must have another oversight entity, and statewide charter schools will have to have oversight entity. An idea has emerged that a consortium of four-year institutions will have oversight and chartering authority. The provosts will discuss the statewide authority definition and how it would be funded at the next CAAP meeting.

· The American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence (American Board) offers an alternate means of teacher certification. Passport to Teaching^SM Certification is designed specifically for individuals first entering the teaching field or current teachers seeking a high quality credential, and Master Teacher Certification is developed especially for experienced teachers of high merit based on classroom effectiveness. This alternate method of certification has not been approved by the State Board of Education, but it is certain the Board will discuss this option.

A search committee has been formed the position of Dean of Academic Programs. The Chronicle of Higher Education advertisement will run immediately. The deadline for application is November 30, and the start date is July 1, 2004.

Administrative Services:

The State Human Resource Department has submitted the Change in Employee Compensation Report 2004 to Governor Kempthorne. The document is available at http://www.dhr.state.id.us. Discussion points of the document are noted below:

· If the state cannot provide wage increases to bring salaries closer to market, how does it expect to retain and recruit employees?

· The state is competing for people with specialized skills in nursing, information technology and other job groups where pay is a primary reason for employees leaving their state jobs.

· The state needs to take a close look at what providing no pay increases in the last two years has done to employee morale, retention and recruitment.

• Idaho state employee wages currently lag average labor market rates by approximately 14.6 percent
• It would require a 17.1 percent increase--$85.5 million-plus—to make state employees average wage catch up with market average rates in FY2005.
• Only 16.6 percent of state classified employees are paid at or above the policy point. It currently takes a classified employee an average of 19+ years to achieve the pay grade policy point.
• Challenges facing the state: - state employees are making no more money yet still have to pay for
  increased prices for gas, healthcare, groceries and utilities.
  - no COLA – cost of living allowance
  - nationwide nursing shortage drives up wages
  - turnover rate is higher; federal government and private sector can offer
  more money
  - wage compression can hurt morale of long-time employees
  - slow pay grade progression
  - federal government gives step increases and an across-the-board pay
  adjustment to its employees
  - state is using a “one size fits all” compensation for 1,200 different jobs
  and 12,000 classified employees
  -same pay grade classification for different jobs; market rates for
  different jobs may be vastly different from pay grade policy rate
• Recommendations:
  - create multiple pay schedules that would reflect the market average pay
  and pay ranges for different occupational groups rather than lumping
  all groups into one compensation system (would require a code change)
  - fund a 2% one-time merit increase to provide recognition and reward for
  employees. Use as an incentive for retention.
  - finance pay increases over 5 years, starting with a 6.8% increase in FY05

(cost $34 million)

Construction is scheduled to begin on the Fine Arts Building today. Demolition will begin immediately. Anticipated completion is 150 days (March).

Information Technology:

The ISP changeover is being reviewed and will likely take place in November. The changeover will be scheduled for a Friday at 5:00 p.m. When our new IP addresses are received, IT will notify as many contacts as possible to minimize down time for outside contacts to our system.

A web cam has been placed over the construction sight, and real time photographs of the Activity Center can be viewed on the internet at http://www.lcsc.edu/activitycenter/.

Student Affairs: No report.

Direct Reporting Units

Institutional Planning, Research and Assessment:

· Supervisor performance evaluation (ERA) system is near the final draft.

· IPEDS completion report has been submitted and is posted on the Intranet.

· LCSC fact sheet has been updated and is posted on the Intranet.

Other Reports

PSO Staff: No report.

Faculty Senate: Faculty have questions regarding donating sick leave to other employees. President Thomas recommended Lori Gaskill speak to the Faculty Senate on the regulations regarding donation of leave to employees.

Classified Staff: The CSO flea market went well.

Around The Table

Kathy Martin reported that ISBA received over 90 applications for the administrative assistant position.

Jill Thompson Jorgenson received the STAR award for most outstanding Small Business Development Center.

CSPAN bus visited campus on Tuesday. The bus is one of two mobile television studios touring the country explaining what the Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network is. The C-SPAN bus tour is a way to thank local cable providers for the funding, show the public what the network covers, and educate Americans about their system of government.

The Social Sciences Division sponsored a Symposium on Native American History and Culture. The symposium examined the distinctive histories and cultures of Native Americans with a particular focus on the relationship between American Indian nations and the United States. Attention was given to issues of both historical and contemporary interest, including tribal sovereignty, the status of Native Americans under the law, and cultural change and persistence.

A Forensic Science Seminar is scheduled on Friday. The free seminar, sponsored by the LCSC Office of Recruitment and Retention as well as the Divisions of Natural Science and Social Science, is limited to 100 students. The day also includes a question and answer session with a panel who all work in forensics.

Jerry Hindberg is soliciting comments from faculty and staff to complete a paper outlining support costs for both MACs and PCs. President Thomas requested a report from Jerry Hindberg regarding future support of MACS and whether the institution can afford to support MAC users.

Idaho Statesman Blue Ribbon Task Force Education Recommendations

• Develop a state program to help school districts share some services and make more resources available for classroom instruction.

• Study the feasibility of a public-private partnership to resolve school building problems.

• Provide incentives to attract and retain skilled teachers, including raising starting pay from $25,000 to $35,000 by 2008 and alternative ways to enter teaching for second-career professionals.

• Identify and provide resources necessary for every Idaho student to meet minimum state achievement standards.

• Create a unified college and university system under a special higher education board that preserves institutional identity while extending the special rights granted the University of Idaho to all other schools.

• Allow the new higher education board to establish the administrative structure for the new unified system.

• Develop a computer technology strategy that would have all classrooms computer- equipped by 2008 and laptop computers available to every sixth- through 12th-grade student.

• Create a broad-based plan for adequately educating students for whom English is not their native language that includes adequate resources for districts with high numbers of Hispanic students.

Meeting Adjourned

The next President's Council will be on Wednesday, October 15, at 9:00 a.m., in the Alumni Board Room.