Nahsonhoya Is Appointed To NPC Governing Board

With the likelihood of funding cuts to be handed down from the state, Northland Pioneer College Vice President of Administrative Services Blaine Hatch presented the board with some proposed increases to tuition and other services.

“What staff is proposing is a $4 increase per credit hour, raising the cost from $56 to $60,” stated Hatch, who added that the college has implemented a $4 increase in each of the last several years, and, despite the expected reduction in state aid, he doesn’t think a larger increase would be beneficial to enrollment or to the income of the college.

In addition, it was proposed that out-of state tuition increase from $95 per credit for one to six credit hours to $100 per credit for one to six credit hours, and from $270 per credit for seven hours and beyond to $295 per credit for seven credit hours and beyond.

According to Hatch, the increase in tuition would generate an additional $200,000 that would help offset funding reductions by the state.

Board member Dusty Parsons expressed his concern for any tuition increase in a time when enrollment is already declining.

“I won’t support a tuition increase, I can tell you that right now. We’ve gone up 25 percent over the last three years. We have a declining enrollment, yet want to increase our tuition without knowing what the state is doing,” remarked Parsons.

When questioned regarding enrollment, Vice President of Student Services Mark Vest informed the board that enrollment was down by 10.5 percent for last fall, but that he did not yet have the figures for spring en-rollment.

“It should also be noted that we offered 10 percent fewer sections this year over the last. Whereas we used to offer 105 labs, we now offer 94,” stated Vest, indicating that the reduction in enrollment could correlate to the reduction in classes.

Hatch explained that it isn’t that the college is attempting to rush decisions prior to the certainty of budget cuts, but that the financial aid office needs the figures in order to set its rates. “They’re anxious that we already wait until March to set our fees,” stated Hatch.

“Parents can’t afford to send their kids to college. A lot of taxpayers are paying for kids that don’t go. I think we should find the $200,000 somewhere else and not take it from the students,” maintained Parsons.

Board President Bill Jeffers added that there are many reasons why people do not attend college, noting that the board needs more information in order to make decisions regarding increases.

Hatch indicated that they expect to know by the March meeting just what the state will be cutting from the budget and that the board will have until that time to make the decision about any increases in costs.

“Well, that’s the problem. You bring back this information in March for adoption, but that’s too soon. You’ll come back with the governor’s budget, then this in the same meeting. I can’t make a decision like that in one day,” stated Parsons.

NPC President Dr. Jeanne Swarthout stated that other colleges throughout the state are reacting strongly to the governor’s proposed budget already by eliminating a lot of administration and courses. “The perception is that this is a done deal,” she said.

Hatch also informed the board that the overall valuation on property taxes is down. “The governor’s budget proposed a property tax estimate of $12.5 million, but the calculations we’ve received is that $12.7 million is our maximum levy amount. The approximate $200,000 gap means that in order to levy the maximum rate, we need to increase rates from $1.13 to $1.24. If we don’t levy at the maximum amount, the need for equalization aide will come into question,” Hatch explained.

Jeffers noted that the amount seemed fairly high, to which Hatch responded that the amount was due to the reduction in valuation.

Jeffers sought clarification that a 10 percent levy would not mean a 10 percent increase to the taxpayer.

“No, this would make a two percent increase for the taxpayer,” Hatch said.

Regarding other proposed fee increases, Hatch informed the board that of the 1,300 courses listed in the current catalog, approximately one-third require a course fee. The instructional staff at the college conducted a comprehensive review of all course fees, and determined the areas where costs of consumable supplies and other course specific expenses are not being met.

As a result, Hatch proposed increases to approximately 20 percent of the courses with fees to cover some of those costs. Those proposed increases range from $10 to $275, depending on the course. It was also noted that approximately five percent of the courses would see a reduction in fees ranging from $5 to $10.

Hatch indicated that proposed course fee changes are not expected to generate additional revenue beyond the increased cost of course supplies, equipment maintenance and course-specific operation expenses.

Also being proposed is the addition of a replacement cost fee for individuals who need to replace their Higher One debit card used for student financial aid. Last year the college incurred a cost of $2,500 for card replacement at an average of four to five cards per month. The proposed fee would be $20 for a lost activated card and $10 for a card that had not been activated.

Regarding course reductions for the fall, the board approved a request by Vest to delete several courses that had little or no enrollment for the past semester. They include Industrial Technology, Electronics and Library Media Technician. The board also approved minor revisions to the Associate of Science transfer degree, and Industrial Maintenance and Operations programs.

In other business, Hatch informed the board that the college has received notification of a clean audit.

“The independent auditors did not identify any weaknesses, and found no instances of noncompliance or other matters that required reporting in the audit of the financial statements. Additionally, the independent auditors did not identify any deficiencies in internal control over compliance with requirements of federal pro-grams,” stated Hatch. He also noted that the audit was completed well ahead of the March 31 deadline.

The board also approved the appointment of an external investigative team in order to promote fairness for employees involved in employment disputes with the college.

In addition, the board approved a measure that would allow the college to become part of the Apache/Navajo Counties Regional Sustainability Consortium. The board further recommended that the Apache County coordinator become a member of the executive board of Economic Development for Apache County.

The regional plan will include community priorities, such as land use planning, public transportation, air quality, water infrastructure, water quality, housing, economic development, open space, and recreation. Apache County will hold all fiscal and administrative responsibility for regular interaction with HUD. The appointment of the Apache County coordinator to EDAC will facilitate communication between Apache County, grant management and NPC.

The board approved a five-year contract with GeoDriven, LLC in the amount of $125,000 for external evaluation services of the EAGLE project under the Title III grant that NPC was awarded in the fall of 2010.

Also approved was the 2011-12 academic calendar, with a fall semester start date of Aug. 22 and a spring commencement date of May 19.