By L. Parsons Commencement exercises nationwide have been impacted by COVID-19 shutdowns and recommendations from the Center for Disease Control to not gather in groups of more than 10 people and to maintain physical distancing. Northland Pioneer College (NPC) has also announced changes to their regularly scheduled completion and graduation plans. In a Navajo County Community College District Governing Board meeting last week, Cassie Dows from the Vice President of Student Services office explained, “Our commencement will be a week long and will take place through Facebook and Instagram from May 23-29. We have 85 graduates that have submitted their photos and information to be displayed as well as many well wishes from staff and faculty.” Dows added that there will be contests, giveaways and other activities for graduates and guests to participate in through the NPC Facebook page. The governing board was also presented with an update on their strategic planning process by Director of Institutional Effectiveness Dr. Judy Yip-Reyes. In her presentation, Yip-Reyes said, “We have been meeting to improve the college’s strategic planning process. In late April, our council approved a framework for other departments to participate in in the coming months.” Yip-Reyes also gave a summary of a statewide economic study conducted in all community colleges in the state. “My office worked with our internal departments to compile data and send it to Emsi, the group doing the study. In February, we received our final report on how NPC uses investments from students, taxpayers and greater society and the regional economic impact that NPC has.” In a slide, it was shown that the total economic impact on the region, consisting of Navajo and Apache counties is $169.5 million and the college supports 2,694 jobs. Yip-Reyes continued, “NPC is an attractive investment to students with rates of return exceeding alternative investment opportunities.” In the financial report given by Vice President of Administrative Services Maderia Ellison, the board was informed that 75 percent of the budget year had passed. “This report encompasses the time between July 1, 2019, and March 1. This month’s activity is in line with what we usually see during this time of the year. We have not yet seen activity from our state appropriations, that will be reflected next month.” Ellison concluded, “Our year to date revenues equal $22.6 million and our year to date expenditures are $18.2 million.” In other business, the governing board: * Approved a contract with SPS+ in the amount of $593,290 to design the skill center at the White Mountain Campus. Funding for the project comes from the capital budget that has already been approved. * Approved the purchase of 100 laptops with docking stations and 10 desktop computers from CDWG in the amount of $159,658. * Approved the purchase of 98 Cisco Meraki CCTV Mini Dome cameras from CDWG in the amount of $111,613 to replace cameras that are at the end of life or low quality. * Approved the purchase of Cisco networking equipment from CDWG in the amount of $99,037 to replace switches that are at end of life. The purchase price reflects equipment as well as support and maintenance. * Approved the restructuring of terms of employment. The changes: transfers a part time office assistant for Vice President for Learning and Student Services to a full time administrative assistant to Dean of Instructional Innovation and elimination of the previous position; transfers a part time recruiter to full time community recruiter; eliminates the position of dual enrollment specialist and replaces it with an early college advisor. This is a reduction in force and the affected employees have been notified of their rights to provide comments to the governing board. * Heard a report from NPC Friends & Family Director BetsyAnn Wilson who informed the board of $16,000 in scholarships awarded in April and another $15,000 that will be awarded for the fall 2020 semester. * Received a written report from the Student Government Association explaining that it has developed scholarships in the amount of $1,000 that will cover eight credit hours and media fees. Applications for the scholarships must be received by May 29. * Received a signed contract from Linda Andersen Casey who will begin employment with NPC July 1 as Chief Human Resources Officer. * Heard an update from NPC President Mark Vest regarding the president’s evaluation process. “We will have an executive session during our meeting next month that will allow the board to evaluate my performance.” * Approved a change in policy that clarifies eligibility for tuition waivers. The change extends waivers to adjunct faculty and part time employees. * Heard a presentation from non-profit organization Achieve60 AZ by Director Rachel Yanof. The group provides resources and education to help reach a goal of 60 percent of adults aged 25-64 hold a degree, license or credential by 2030. The next meeting of the Navajo County Community College District Governing Board will be held through video conference at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, June 16. Information on how to access the meeting can be found at www.npc.edu.
