The Navajo County Community College District Governing Board met on Tuesday, April 17, to discuss possible wage increases, a partnership with Northern Arizona University (NAU) and the accreditation process update were all hot topics on the agenda.
The accreditation process for Northland Pioneer College (NPC) continues to be an important agenda item. For the past few months at every monthly board meeting, a different criterion is presented to the board. Meeting these criterions is required for accreditation with the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), with a visit scheduled for November of 2019. This month the third criterion touched on the quality, available resources and support in the areas of teaching and learning.
This involves proving that the course outcomes and program outcomes are current and levels of performance meet the requirements for each course or program. It was determined that NPC is prepared in this area and will be able to provide the necessary evidence. “We were very pleased that each campus or center provides and/or connects students with support in advising, financial aid, and disability support services, career services and veteran services,” said presenter Faculty in Business Jennifer Bishop.
The one area of concern that the HLC may have an issue with are faculty or staff position vacancies that exist at NPC. Both a regional high demand for faculty in a specific discipline and lower salaries than private sector jobs have created a challenging environment for NPC to be fully staffed.
Last month the board was presented with a possible wage increase for faculty and staff. This month the board was asked to vote on that increase. It was recommended that there be a 3.5 percent salary and wage increase for the 2018-2019 fiscal year. This increase would be for all eligible contract employees and adjunct faculty.
Board member James Matteson asked, “Is this going to make us competitive with our peers?” Chief Business Officer Maderia Ellison responded, “It depends on who you consider our peers.”
Discussion continued that it is difficult to gauge how NPC measures up in faculty and staff compensation. Within the state, NPC compares differently than with similar institutions throughout the country. Outside the state, NPC may rank somewhere in the middle as far as wages but within Arizona it may rank near or at the bottom. The board approved the wage increase but Chairman Frank Lucero expressed the need to perform studies to get a clearer picture of how NPC ranks in competitive wages.
The board also approved a partnership with NAU for the Gear Up program. NAU, through a sub-grant for $50,000, will support a project for Holbrook and Winslow public high schools that encourages college enrollment. NPC will be able to provide 100 Gear Up students with services such as tutoring, academic advising and summer boot camp. Previously, Gear Up has focused on middle school students but now wants to focus on getting high school students to enroll in college.
Associate Dean of Education and College and Career Preparation Gail Campbell said, “They are going a step further through Gear Up and offering an initial transition into postsecondary education.”
The next regularly scheduled monthly Navajo County Community College District Governing Board meeting will be held at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, May 15, at the Painted Desert Campus, Tiponi Community Center located at 2251 East Navajo Boulevard in Holbrook.
