By Toni Gibbons Director of Enrollment Services, Jeremy Raisor, updated the Navajo County Community College District Governing Board at the Oct. 16 meeting of the ongoing efforts to make the financial aid application process more efficient for both Northland Pioneer College (NPC) staff and the students through the implementation of two software programs, CampusLogic and OnBase. Raisor described the bottleneck within the current process that can sometimes cause up to an eight-week delay in the student receiving financial aid. “Right now we have to have an initial review of the file to make sure everything is there. We then contact the student and wait for them to get back with us. Sometimes this verification can be a problem if they sent us the wrong information. We have to have the exact documentation.” The training for CampusLogic and OnBase was started in October and plans are in place to begin using the new financial aid software and document imaging for 2019-2020 award year by March 2019. Raisor noted that this new software will improve efficiency in the office by providing students the ability to upload required documentation via mobile devices and provides mobile communication and status updates. “The students will be notified through an automated process, which will eliminate the lengthy initial review. The students can upload the images of information needed via their phone. It can take a couple of days as opposed to weeks.” Raisor also mentioned Power Phase, another software tool that further automates the process. “A solution such as Power Phase will take us from the six to eight week window down to one week, which frees the specialists to be able to work one-on-one with students, improving the whole experience.” “We don’t know how much our inefficiency is costing us, so it will be interesting to watch our retention rates and our enrollment rates in general as we improve our financial aid efficiency,” Raisor concluded. The board unanimously approved the Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) for the Regional Connector Transit Service (White Mountain Connection) effective Oct. 1. Ellison noted that NPC has been partners in this endeavor since the very beginning. “The IGA allows us to have representation on the board that governs the transit.” Board Chairman Frank Lucero asked how much NPC would pay this year for this partnership. NPC President Mark Vest said the annual payment is usually under $10,000 as the match is figured by a percentage versus dollar amount. Vest also noted, “Discussions are ongoing in Winslow to create a connection with the service into Holbrook and Flagstaff.” Board member James Matteson said, “It is an absolute bargain for students and even instructors. I am a strong proponent for the transit from a personal point of view.” In her report to the board, Chief Business Officer Maderia Ellison noted that from July 1 to Aug. 31, there was a cash flow of $3.8 million with expenditures of $4.8 million, creating a negative difference of $1 million. “We see at this time of the year negative revenue streams that are offset by the cash balances,” said Ellison. “Property taxes account for about 40 percent of our funds and we have two primary months, October and March, when people send in their tax payments.” Curriculum support specialist Ken Wilk shared that he has been tasked with aiding the faculty in the development of curriculum. “I am working with the Arizona Transfer, which is a group that helps facilitate the transfer of the NPC courses to the three state universities and all the community college districts as well.” NPC President Mark Vest noted, “Our vacant positions have shrunk markedly, we only have a faculty position that is still open.” Since the last meeting on Sept. 18, the following positions have been filled: John Billie, masonry construction technology; Dora Jaquez, early childhood administrative assistant; Michael Saline, academic advisor; Tonya Greasewood, human resources specialist; Chris Cribbs, information services support technician; Deena Gillespie, assistant registrar; and Marletha Baloo, manager of financial aid operations. In other business, the board: * Approved the purchase of the Greens Peak site building and property for $60,000. * Approved establishing a cash reserve of $20 million for proposed construction of facilities at White Mountain Campus in Show Low. The next meeting for the board will be at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 20, at the NPC Painted Desert Campus, Tiponi Community Center at 2251 E. Navajo Blvd. in Holbrook.
