Board of Trustees
May 11, 2023
The North Arkansas College Board ofTrustees met in regular session on Thursday, 13, May 2023 in JPH conferencecenter. Chair McNew called the meeting to order at 3:00 p.m. Trustees PamHenry, Linda Pledger, Debbie Johnson, Kevin Cheri, Luke Feighert, Sarah Newman,Don Tomlinson, Scott Miller were present.
North Arkansas College personnelattending included Richard Stipe, Dr. Rodney Arnold, Jo Adams, Dr. Rick Massengale, Ryan Hoffman, Brandon Cone, MelissaBray, Nell Bonds, Dr. Matt Cardin, Dr. Laura Berry, Kelsea Lowery, KrisGreening, Bobby Howard, Micki Somers, Tavonda Brown, Dr. David Mason, guest, Jason Patience.
Approvalof Agenda
Chair McNew asked if there were anychanges to the agenda as presented. There being none, the agenda was approved.
RegularReports
Finance Report—Richard Stipe sharedE&G and Auxiliary budget activities through April 2023.
In the E&G fund, Richard Stipe stated total revenue for the month was $1,141,252, and the year-to-datewas $15,064,887. The expenditures for the month were $1,267,708, and theyear-to-date was $13,291,588. Mr. Stipe said it is typical that the college hasabout 2% of its budgeted revenue to come in the last couple of months. He said we are slightly ahead in revenue due to receiving the state funding sooner thanin the past. He said he believes we will be in good standing at the year-end.
Auxiliary: Revenue for the current month ended at $234,281 with a year-to-date total of $1,767,900. Expenditures current month total ended at $118,562 and a year-to-date total of $1,738,996. Mr. Stipe said the activity in the auxiliary is winding down with the college grill closing for the summer, but we will have some movement through the summer.
President's Report—Dr. Massengale spoke about the revised policy, Academic Probation, and noted that we would present any new orrevised guidelines at future board meetings. He mentioned the NTC luncheon/partnership and national signing day. Dr. Massengale said it's all about celebrating the students. He thanked NARMC for donating the ambulance to our EMS program and thanked Kastle Graphics for the custom wrap. He congratulated Construction Technology student Gavin Ray, who recently was recognized as the Malco Tools Head of the Class student of the year.
He said it was a privilege to celebrate the accomplishments of our graduated students. Northark HVAC students assisted Northark's maintenance department with replacing several air conditioning units on the south campus. Dr. Massengale said these students are learning and being part of projects. He invited everyone to register for the 2023 Charity Golf Tournament on Monday, May 22, 2023.
Consent Agenda
The Consent Agenda included:
April regular meeting minutes
Replacement positions: Educational Talent Search AcademicAdvisor (grant funded, PN Program Faculty Revised policy: Academic Probation
New position title- Career Pathways Initiative (grantprogram)
Provisional position continuations 2023-2024
Chair McNew asked for a motion to approve the Consent Agenda. A motion was made by Trustee Henry, seconded by Trustee Johnson, andunanimously approved.
Monitoring Report- Expand workforce education/training
Dr. David Mason presented the monitoring report, Expand workforce education/training. He highlighted divisional objectives, 3.3.1establishing new workforce training programs, and 3.3.2 ensuring sufficient budget resources for existing workforce programs. He mentioned Wabash as an engaged partner of Northark. We have provided AC/DC fluid power training to thirteen of their employees, and they received a certificate at the end of the training. Maintenance training was provided to five employees of Wabash, and we expect three to four attendees to go through the program.
Dr. Mason said they have completed three rounds of training in ARC FLASH with electrical safety. He said there is a high demand,and we will offer another training in late summer or the fall. Dr. Mason mentioned we have partnered with Pace Industries and provided tooling training levels one and two. He congratulated the participants who completed the training. Be Pro Be Proud was brought to Marshall, Harrison, and South campus at Northark. He said it exceeded his expectations with over 300 students.
Dr. Mason mentioned a partnership with the transfer. We received five virtual headsets that feature simulations in several occupations, such as Diesel, Aviation maintenance, automotive, electrical construction, and healthcare. He said we are trying to plant the seeds to students to show wha tis offered at Northark and as a career. Dr. Mason said over five hundred experienced the simulations from October 2022-March 2023. He stated robotics specialist and robotic safety was the top choice of students. Trustee Miller asked if the virtual headsets correspond with the breakdown of interest areas. Dr. Mason said that students choose which simulator they want to experience, and robotics specialist and safety was the top choice.
Looking ahead, PLC, a Programmable controller system, has been requested by our industrial businesses and will be offered in late summer 2023. He said we are looking into Manufacturing Solutions to develop and provide leadership classes. John Levy will offer FANUC training at the North campus in May and June 2023. He mentioned a possible partnership with US Steelto give the FANUC and CNC training.
Dr. Mason spoke Manufacturing Skill Standards Council, MSSC, and worked with Arkansas Community Corrections to pilot a program to offer manufacturing training. He said the program takes 4-6 months to complete and gives individuals in the correctional system a second chance. He discussed the process and rules of the program and noted it is entirely funded by WOIA.Trustee Miller asked if we are working with locals. He said yes, we are working with local. Trustee Johnson asked about Calico Rock. He said it is not limited to state facilities; they have been the only ones to show interest. He said he wants to reach out to as many facilities as possible.
Dr. Mason asked Jason Patience to speak about his experience with our partnership and workforce. Mr. Patience told some about his job history. He wanted to be fruitful in his work but was not college-bound then. He said Wabash wanted to provide students and employees with experience in the manufacturing field. He said they gained with technology over fifteen years and had some bright individuals to get employees to the point of understanding the equipment. However, they did not have anyone to come in the operations job to continue to train on the equipment and the ongoing changing of technology. Mr. Patience said he began to work with Dr. Mason a couple of years ago. He offered everything that Wabash wanted for their employees. He said through the college and workforce, they have the program and training that were needed. Mr. Patience said the individuals who go through the program are excited about the knowledge they learn, which will help them with their careers. Trustee Miller said everything that Dr. Mason said is much appreciated and favorable.
Executive Session
The board adjourned into an executive session at 4:42 p.m. to discuss the president's contract. A motion was made by Trustee Feighertand seconded by Trustee Miller to adjourn. No action was taken. After returning, Trustee Johnson motioned to reconvene, which Trustee Pledger seconded. Trustee Henry said the board would like to extend Dr. Massengale’ scontract for one year. The board of trustees proposed to revisit the salary inFall 2023. Trustee Henry motioned to accept the extension of Dr. Massengale’ scontract and postpone the decision on salary until Fall 2023. Trustee Johnson seconded.
New Business
FY 2023-2024 Tuition and Fee Rates- Richard Stipe said there is no additional information, and everything in the packet was discussed during the Board budget session. Trustee Newman commented that if enrollment increases, it is considered to give a raise to all employees. ChairMcNew asked for a motion to approve the Tuition, Fee rates. A motion was made by Trustee Feighert, seconded by Trustee Cheri, and unanimously approved.
FY 2023-2024 Proposed Operational and CapitalBudget- Richard Stipe said there is no additional information, and everything in the packet was discussed during the Board budget session and in the handout given to each trustee. Chair McNew asked for a motion to approve the Operational and Capital budget. A motion was made by Trustee Miller, seconded by Trustee Pledger, and unanimously approved.
HVAC Projects—CARES Funding Reallocation- Richard Stipe said two projects are taking place. He said the heating and air projectis finished, but we have not made the last payment to Johnson Controls. The other project: automotive air conditioning, should be completed within the next few months. He said since we are near the end of the CARES grant, we have some funds left to spend. To finish out the CARES funds, we need to identify eligible capital spending to spend it on, or we would need to go back to Little Rock before the June legislature review process to ask to reallocate it to spend the funds in a different category. He said by making this change, we can wrap upthe CARES funding and the projects and have more capital funds on hand. He noted there is a net zero change with the projects.
Chair McNew asked for a motion to approve HVAC projects- CARES funding reallocation. A motion was made by Trustee Henry, seconded by Trustee Miller, and unanimously approved.
With no further business, Chair Chris McNew adjourned the meeting at 4:48 p.m.
