Vol. XXXVIII, No. 10, March 16, 2009

This Week at Valencia

Monday, March 16

Instructional Affairs Committee, 8:30 a.m., West Campus, 6-202

Tuesday, March 17

Foundations of Excellence Steering Committee, 2 p.m. Go-to-Meeting locations: East Campus, 3-113; Osceola Campus 3-319H; West Campus, HSB-211

Wednesday, March 18

College Curriculum Committee, 2 p.m., West Campus, 6-202

Thursday, March 19

Faculty Council, 2:30 p.m., West Campus, 6-202

District Board of Trustees Meeting Summary

Reports

East Campus - Ruth Prather, East and Winter Park Campus provost, welcomed the trustees to the East Campus and noted that the campus had recently added approximately 600 parking spots to help accommodate the 17,000 students taking classes there this term. She then introduced Carin Gordon, Paralegal Studies program director and professor, to do a presentation on the Paralegal Studies program. Valencia’s program is noteworthy in that it is approved by the American Bar Association; currently there are nine ABA-approved programs in the state of Florida, Ms. Gordon said. Nationwide there are 260 with ABA approval out of an estimated 1,000 paralegal studies programs overall. This spring, 388 students are enrolled in courses within the Paralegal Studies program. Ms. Gordon attributed the success of the program to experienced faculty, motivated students and support from the college, as well as an active advisory board made up of members from the 9th Judicial Circuit Court and respected firms including Lockheed Martin, Dean, Mead, Egerton, Bloodworth, Capouano and Bozarth, P.A., and Lowndes, Drosdick, Doster, Kantor and Reed, P.A. She said the members of the advisory committee provide critical feedback, internships, jobs for current students and graduates, class speakers, donations to the program’s book fund and scholarships, among other things. Ms. Gordon introduced one of the program’s graduates who now works as a paralegal at Jill Schwartz and Associates, to share her experiences in applying what she had learned in the program to her work at the law firm.

East Campus Student Government Association Report - Dr. Prather introduced Allistair Smith, East Campus SGA president, whom she said had provided extraordinary leadership to the students. Mr. Smith said that SGA had been focusing on Lynx bus routes between the campuses. He said that 1,700 students responded to a survey indicating that they would pay a fee to take a shuttle from East to West Campus. Members of the SGA had researched Mears, Lynx and American Coach as possible providers of this service. Bus ridership, he said, would be limited to students only to safeguard riders. Mr. Smith said the group still has a lot more work to do before making any recommendations. Valencia President Sanford Shugart commented that there’s a bill making its way through the Legislature that would allow trustees to approve using student activity fees to cover transportation. Dr. Shugart said that Valencia was one of the heaviest users among local employers of the Lynx bus system.

Spring Registration Update - Kaye Walter, chief learning officer, and Joyce Romano, vice president for Student Affairs, reported on spring registration. For the first time in the history of the college, the number of students enrolled in a spring term surpassed 35,000. Dr. Walter said that the college had incredible faculty, deans, provosts and staff to thank who’d been committed to making this a quality experience for students in spite of the added strain. Dr. Romano led a discussion on the data, reporting an increase of 28% in financial aid awards, for an additional 5,000 awards over last spring. The number of loans has increased as well, she said, as another indicator of economic pressures on students. She told the board that the previous weekend the college participated in a huge effort called College Goals Sunday, an annual public outreach to help students and families fill out the FAFSA form.

Dr. Romano gave a summary of the demographics of our students this spring. Of those, 86% are returning students and 14% are new to Valencia. Eighteen percent of the total number of students were previous year high school grads, she said, adding that the percentage of students at Valencia who are younger (18-24) is on the rise, now representing about 72% of the total credit-seeking student body. Responding to a question from a trustee, she said that about 75% of incoming students overall still need remedial work, however only 60% of recent high school grads needed it, indicating improvements in the college readiness of high school graduates. She attributed this change to better curricular alignment between Valencia and the high schools and the fact that remediation of students is now being conducted at the high school level. Shifting to diversity, she said that 16.1 % of our students this spring are African American and 26.6% are Hispanic, an increase in both populations over the previous year. In fact, the number of Hispanic students at Valencia now qualifies the college to apply for designation as a Hispanic-serving institution and to receive Title Five funds. The percentage of Caucasian students, at 41.2%, continues to decline as a proportion of the overall student body. Finally, Dr. Romano said that a little over 85% of students this spring are degree- or certificate-seeking, with two-thirds pursuing an Associate in Arts degree and the rest enrolled in Associate in Science, Associate in Applied Science and certificate programs.

Financial Summary Report - Keith Houck, vice president, Administrative Services, gave trustees a report on the mid-year financial outlook of the college. He said that the college had set aside $1.8 million in operating reserves to return to the state in the event that further budget cuts were made before the end of the fiscal year. He said that personnel expenses had been held down to 47% of the total budget for salaries at the halfway point of the year. Mr. Houck said that the college will finish out the year in good standing without using its reserves, assuming that the state doesn’t make further cuts. If the state does make further cuts, however, we will have to dip into our fund reserve to cover expenses. On the positive side, he said that utility costs are 30% down on the West Campus due to improvements there that have generated substantial savings for the college.

Construction Report - Mr. Houck said that the college is planning a ribbon cutting ceremony for the new Special Events Center on West Campus on March 31. He also said that the joint-use building should be ready for occupancy in the fall.

Faculty Council Report - Michael Shugg, president, Collegewide Faculty Council, said that the faculty council is considering a new withdrawal policy that would replace a policy that dates back to the 90's and allowed students to withdraw up to the day of the final exam. The revised policy will be sent to the president for review in April. Right now surveys are being developed and distributed to faculty to gauge reaction to the new policy before putting forward recommendations. He said that in three years the council would test whether the withdrawal policy is doing what the group expected (i.e. helping students become more responsible).

Valencia Foundation Report - Jerry Buchanan, trustee, discussed the results of the 2008 NACUBO (National Association of College and University Business Officers) Endowment Survey that placed Valencia Community College and Valencia Foundation as the highest ranked community college among those who took part in the survey. Valencia has the country's largest community college endowment at $66.9 million. Ms. Buchanan announced that October 17 had been chosen by Foundation trustees as the date for the next Taste for Learning event. She also discussed the results of the capital campaign, the Campaign to Advance Valencia, which raised a total of $25.8 million for the college.

President’s Report - Dr. Shugart began his report by sharing with the trustees that Valencia had been named the first recipient of the Leah Meyer Austin Award given by the Lumina Foundation to recognize efforts aimed at improving the performance of students in the community college. He described the work of Achieving the Dream as the foundation for this success. Dr. Shugart had the honor of receiving the award on behalf of the college at the Achieving the Dream annual meeting in San Francisco last week.

Shifting to budget matters, Dr. Shugart stated that Governor Crist's budget was released at the end of last week. He said the budget proposal would provide $70 million for the community college system through a combination of tuition increases and federal stimulus money. Under the governor's plan, the system's budget would grow by 5.8% and tuition would see a 5% increase. In addition, universities would be able to increase their tuition up to 15% annually until they reach the national average. Expectations, though, are for the Legislature to cut budgets regardless of the Governor's proposal, given the non-recurring nature of the stimulus package. Dr. Shugart told trustees that in the last few years the community college system in Florida has absorbed 100,000 new students without growth funding and while cutting base budgets. At Valencia, one of the fastest growing colleges, the state appropriation for FTE has declined by 30% in less than two years. He said that the next three weeks will be critical for defining the upcoming budget, making it important for the college to be engaged in Tallahassee. Speaking about what President Obama's stimulus package would mean for Valencia, Dr. Shugart said that additional dollars may become available to us and that we'd develop design principles for use of those dollars that reflect financial realities to accomplish two to three objectives. Options the college will explore are identifying ways to spend non-recurring dollars in a way that increases revenue and/or in a way that reduces the demand on the operating budget.

Dr. Shugart informed the board of the March 31 ribbon cutting ceremony for the Special Events Center (Building 8 on West.) Prior to the ribbon cutting, on March 23, the inaugural event in the new Center will mark the conclusion of the Foundation's major gift campaign. He described the event as a celebration with Foundation Board of Trustees, District Board of Trustees and community partners as a culmination of the fundraising campaign.

Other items discussed were a summit held at UCF the previous week on the future of Direct Connect with the program's partnering institutions, and efforts underway at the college to explore other insurance providers. The president said that the college was looking at ways to manage ongoing growth in costs and to give employees more choices.

In concluding his report, Dr. Shugart noted the impending retirement of Dr. Ann Puyana, crediting her with being instrumental in the Achieving the Dream Initiative, building a platform for a new international studies program and serving over the years as a faculty member as well as a special staff and senior staff member. The president also mentioned the February 22 memorial service for Bill Castellano who spent his entire 34-year professional life at Valencia, after having graduated from Valencia. Dr. Shugart said that Mr. Castellano died unexpectedly of mouth cancer at the age of 58. Almost 500 attended the memorial event held in the East Campus PAC, he said.

In closing, Ed Moore, a trustee and CEO of the Osceola Center for the Arts, mentioned the success of the Osceola Arts Festival, held this year for the first time on the Osceola Campus, enabling the growth of this very successful event. He thanked Silvia Zapico, Osceola Campus provost, and other staff for doing a fabulous job on the event.

New Business

Consent Agenda - Approved under the consent agenda were: Storm Water Management Systems Improvements-West Campus (RFP 08/09-07); Budget Amendment Request, Amendment Number 1 for FY2008-2009; Budget Amendment Request, Amendment Number 2 for FY 2008-2009; Dr. Philip Benjamin Matching Grant Program-Approval of Funds to be Matched; Additions, Deletions or Modifications of Courses and Programs; Valencia Enterprise Courses and Fees; Human Resources Agenda; Submission of Grant Proposals; and Property Deletion

“Big Meeting” Date Change and Plans

Please note that the “Big Meeting” originally planned for March 20 has been postponed by the College Planning Council until a summer date to be determined. The Council decided to hold the meeting when more information becomes available regarding the state budget situation. If you were holding the date on your calendar, you may release it. We appreciate your flexibility and understanding.

When the 2009 Big Meeting is convened this summer, we will bring together a group of approximately 150 people who will consider significant changes in the environment that may influence the execution of our Strategic Plan for 2008-13, and make recommendations to the President about the data that we propose to gather as we evaluate progress toward the goals and objectives in our strategic plan.

If you have questions, please contact College Planning Council co-chairs Susan Kelley or Jane Wiese.

Bank Change for Valencia

Valencia has changed its banking partner from Bank of America to Fifth Third Bank. As of March 2, 2009, all checks issued from Accounts Payable (blue checks) will be issued from Fifth Third Bank. This is good news for you. Fifth Third will cash College issued checks at all their branches with NO FEE TO YOU.

We hope to have all Payroll checks (green checks) issued from Fifth Third beginning in April 2009. Please look for another update when the change becomes effective.

Leadership Valencia

Outlook Informational Session – the Outlook 2007 move is coming. Make sure you attend this quick informational session to learn about the project; when this project will impact you; and where to get training. This is a free Webinar – you can attend from your desktop – all you need is an internet connect and speakers. March 27, 1:30-2 p.m. To register go to https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/297059540.

Maximizing Your PowerPoint for WebCT - Maximize the potential of your PowerPoint presentations for more multimedia-rich online content. This hands-on workshop will cover topics including enhanced Office 2007 tools such as animations, SmartArt, and design options. Participants will add audio to their PowerPoint and convert it to a Flash file using iSpring, free downloadable software. The workshop will then discuss the Flash player and how to upload a Flash file onto a WebCT course. March 18, 1:30-3:30 p.m., West Campus, Room 6-326A, Registration Code: TMPW-2 OR March 25, 1:30-3:30 p.m., East Campus, Room 4-133, Registration Code: TMPW-3

Institutional Review Board (IRB) Training – Part I - Planning to conduct a study involving Valencia students or employees? Not sure if your study needs to comply with Valencia's new mandatory Institutional Review Board (IRB) process for research projects? The Valencia IRB process is designed to encourage faculty, staff, and student research while protecting the participants, the college, and even the researcher. Part I will provide an overview of human research protection and how our IRB works with an aim to be as unintrusive as possible while complying with Federal regulations. Note: completion of this workshop satisfies the IRB training requirement for investigators of Valencia projects that have been approved through expedited or full review. March 26, 1-3 p.m., East Campus, Room 4-212B, Registration Code: PIRB1-1

Institutional Review Board (IRB) Training – Part II - Planning to conduct a research project that will require completing the application for Valencia's new Institutional Review Board (IRB) process? Part II will walk through the Valencia IRB application process through interactive discussions, including questions and discussion of examples. Recommended pre-requisite: IRB Training - Part I. March 26, 3-4 p.m., East Campus, Room 4-212B, Registration Code: PIRB2-1

Train-the-Trainer Creativity Camp - Once upon a time, trainers like us could hold our audiences at rapt attention with nothing more than a smooth delivery and a flip chart. To really impress them, we brought out the big guns - the colored markers. Today we know there are multiple ways to engage learners. If you have a desire to perhaps present a Leadership Valencia workshop, enhance your classroom presentation skills, or share your ideas and tips about training, then this workshop is for you. All those attending will receive a trainer's toolbox and an invaluable handbook full of great ideas and resources. March 26, 2-3 p.m., East Campus, Room 3-113, Registration Code: PTTCC-1

Banner Finance for Beginners - Learn how to look up your budget, create budget transfers, create requisitions and research your budget and spending. March 27, 8 a.m.-4 p.m., Winter Park Campus, Room 134, Registration Code: TBFB-3

To register for classes, unless directed otherwise in the course description, go to http://valenciacc.edu/leadership/. Please be sure you have the approval of your direct supervisor prior to registering for a workshop. If a workshop is canceled, only those registered can be sent a cancellation e-mail. To view the status of a particular workshop and to see a full listing of the Spring workshops check the Leadership Valencia calendar located online.

Thank You

Dear Valencia, the family of Bill Castellano cannot extend enough gratitude and appreciation for what you have done for us. A responsibility much too heavy to deal with was lifted from our shoulders by those involved, and what a wonderful tribute to a wonderful man.

We appreciate the use of the facility. Bill would be so happy. That was his request. And now we understand why he made the request. No institution could possibly have been more important and had such an influence in molding this exceptional man, obviously loved by all. No wonder he was always so proud to be a part of Valencia and everything it stands for in the academic culture. As Valencia was always in his heart, it will forever be in ours. You have become our family.

Sincerely, Robin Castellano, Kelly Kaufman and Adria Gallagher

Please e-mail your achievements, awards, recognitions and relevant information for the college community to Mary Jane Jones in the Marketing and Media Relations office. Deadline for submission is 5 p.m. on Tuesday to be included in the following Monday’s publication.