During the Navajo County Community College Governing Board on Tuesday, Feb. 20, the board approved a motion to make summer tuition free for the next three consecutive years, starting with the 2024 summer semester.
The decision will result in an approximately $128,000 revenue reduction each year but will be offset with state appropriations for Maintenance & Operations (M&O) that uses Full Time Student Equivalent (FTSE) for its funding formula. FTSE used in the funding formulas are two years in arrears. After two years, the anticipated increase in enrollment is expected to increase state appropriations helping to offset the tuition reduction. “The hope is that increased enrollment will have a positive impact two years from now,” stated Vice President of Administrative Services Maderia Ellison. When Ellison presented the item to make a three-to-five-year limitation, Lucero immediately opposed it, calling a decision of that nature “suicide” for the college. Lucero made a motion to reduce tuition for summer courses to $0 or free of charge effective Summer 2024 for one year as a trial period with limit of three course per student but the motion died with no second.
Board member Kristine Laughter then made a motion to approve the original request presented on the agenda, which was to reduce summer semester tuition to zero, or free of charge for years 2024, 2025 and 2026. Board members Derrick Leslie, Rosie Sekayumptewa and Chair Everett Robinson voted in favor, with Lucero voting against.
Recently retired Director of Construction David Huish was recognized for his work by being awarded the Administrator Emeritus Award in honor of his 27 years of working for NPC. Huish presented a slideshow of what the college’s numerous locations had looked like when he began in 1996, exemplifying his work within the college. “I always had a great desire to use all of my so-called ‘talents’ in a way that might make a difference in society and people’s lives,” stated Huish, “The time here at NPC has given me the opportunity to fulfill that desire by allowing me to oversee the physical assets of NPC, work with good people, associate with great minds and perhaps create a place where lives have changed.”
The board also received recommendations based on the compensation study done by Gallagher Benefit Services Inc. (GBS). The study was done to assess the market position of NPC’s faculty and staff compensation by collecting data from published surveys by the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR), CompData and Economics Research Institute (ERI).
NPC’s Compensation Committee put forward a recommendation to utilize the option provided from the Gallagher study, which includes an hourly anchor compensation rate for new hires of $17.73, which is the college’s current minimum hourly rate. The committee also recommended a 2% Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA).
NPC Faculty Association gave recommendations as well, stating that they were undecided between two options, although they agreed on a recommendation of a 1.5% COLA. Classified & Administrative Staff Organization (CASO) made no concrete recommendation until directly requested by Lucero, at which President of the Faculty Association Ryan Jones recommended a 3% COLA, “Having that said, we don’t want to jeopardize the health of the college.”
President Chato Hazelbaker also provided his compensation recommendation, which opted for another option provided by the Gallagher study with a $20 per hour base and a 1% COLA. Hazelbaker clarified that although the board received slightly different recommendations from the campus wide stakeholders, “it is my recommendation that you’ll be asked to vote on next month.” He explained that he received advice from all the groups and had them share them with the board as well, but ultimately it was his recommendation that would be voted upon by the board. “Compensation is just so complicated and it’s very difficult to get everybody on the same page.”
His justification for recommending the $20 per hour was that it would set the base salary at a living wage, which helps elevate those employees who were identified in the Gallagher Study as not being competitively paid. No action was taken by the board at this time.
In response to Laughter’s request at an earlier meeting for information on students’ access to financial aid assistance by race and location, Director of Financial Aid Marletha Baloo reported that the majority of the team members in the Financial Aid Office are Native American. In addition to the main financial aid office at Painted Desert Campus in Holbrook, the college currently has two financial aid team members working at the Snowflake and Winslow campuses. It was added that there are plans to place one more financial aid specialist at Show Low once a location is available.
Baloo also presented demographics for students who received financial aid, which show that of the 472 students who received Pell grants, 50 were Native American, 211 were Caucasian and the remaining 209 were unknown. Financial aid recipients who also completed their degrees for that same year were 4,544 total, with 1,150 being Native American 1,928 being Caucasian and 689 of unknown race.
The number of regular students, excluding high school students, students in 2022-23 receiving Pell grants was 3,047. Of those, 818 of those regular students were Native American. “So, there were a higher proportion of Native American regular students that received Pell grants than non-Native American students,” explained Baloo. 24% of regular students received Pell grants compared to the 12% of Non-Native American students.
For full audio of the meeting, visit NPC’s website at www.npc.edu under Board Meeting Agendas & Minutes.
In other business, the board:
* Approved program modifications to the Associate of Arts in Early Childhood (AAEC) and the Early Childhood Studies Certificate of Proficiency to update course numbers and names to ensure appropriate requisite sequencing.
* Approved a five-year lease to replace a copy machine from Konica Minolta. Lease includes 60 monthly payments of $1,385 for a total of $83,125. Funds for the monthly payment for the remainder of FY2024 will be moved from other budgeted areas within the Printing and Duplicating (PAD) department. Payments for subsequent fiscal years will be included in the PAD operating budget.
* Accepted the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2023. This report focuses on the financial audit and financial condition of the college. The audit opinion for this report is “unmodified”.
After the regular meeting, the board held a work session where the board discusses effect board conversation about diversity, equity and inclusion. No action was taken.
