Edmonds Community College President
Quarterly Update: May 21, 2008
Another frenetic spring term is upon us, but the ACCREDITATION visit is in our rear view mirror! Again, I want to thank each of you who contributed to the highly successful self-study document and campus visit. To a person, the visiting team members were lavish in their praise of what we are doing. While the official report of findings is not yet complete, the exit interview promised commendations in many areas, including workforce training, diversity services, grants, instructional technology, media services and the learning commons, facilities, plant and operations, and the curriculum committee.
My exit interview produced two other revelations: we could have received several more commendations – the reasons for restraint are beyond me – and our self-study as an internal document was unsurpassed. The document will prove very valuable in our application for a new Title III grant. Dr. Thomas and his team members felt we may have been too critical of ourselves and reemphasized what a fine job we do meeting student needs. We obviously have room to improve, particularly in planning, assessment and evaluation, but we should be bursting with pride over the health of the college. I certainly am. Here are some other happenings that should bring a surge of pride:
ENROLLMENT: Following a yearlong trend, we continue to grow. Our tenth-day count increased by 552 students, 6.4% more than last spring, and produced almost 400 more FTEs. We are projecting excess enrollment for the year, which is a significant accomplishment when you consider enrollment trends over the last couple of years. This is happening while most Washington community colleges struggle to meet enrollment goals. Our most significant growth comes from three groups: international students, students of color, and male students. Online also offerings also continue to grow. Congratulations to all of you for all of your excellent work.
Success is always a team effort. Marty Cavalluzzi and his instructional deans and faculty have been extraordinary, and George Smith and the student services team have been outstanding. They, along with other champions throughout the institution, have embraced our Student Enrollment Management initiative and made it happen. Congratulations to all of you.
HEAD START and EARLY HEAD START ACCREDITATION: And you thought the NWCCU visit was the only game in town? Our Head Start/Early Head Start program was thoroughly scrutinized by a team of eight federal auditors who were specialists in health, early learning and development, parent partnerships and education, fiscal, nutrition, program design/management and governance. The accreditation Federal Review Protocol checklist included more than 1,800 items that were validated through observation, document review and interviews the week of April 16. We had an excellent review with only one finding, which was so insignificant it may not be included in the final report. Like our accreditation process, we are waiting for the formal report. The formal report comes out of the Office of Head Start in Washington DC. Informally we’ve been told the final report is very favorable. Our program continues to flourish despite the need for more funding. My thanks go out to Dana Connolly and her staff and Rachel Solemsaas and her staff.
VICE PRESIDENT FOR HUMAN RESOURCES and VICE PRESIDENT FOR COLLEGE RELATIONS & ADVANCEMENT: As you know, two of our college vice presidents recently retired. These positions are currently being filled by John Michaelson, interim Vice President for College Relations & Advancement and Gina Lorenz, interim Vice President for Human Resources.
In order to continue orderly operations, I have decided to open the position of Vice President for Human Resources at this time. The position will be opened immediately and will remain open until filled, with initial screening beginning on June 20. I will be appointing a committee made up of a cross-section of our campus community soon.
For the Vice President for College Relations & Advancement, I have asked John to stay on for a second year, beginning in August, and he has accepted. I want to thank both John and Gina for their hard work and flexibility in filling these voids. They have each done and continue to do a fine job for Edmonds Community College.
LEGISLATIVE OUTLOOK: It is not the best of times or the worst of times. I was moderately pleased with the legislative response to the SBCTC budget proposal, although critical needs such as funding for Running Start and Equipment were ignored. The governor’s last-minute vetoes were disappointing because they cost community colleges more than $1.3 million in areas such as childcare, adult literacy, and digital library funding. The inclusion of our new science and math building in the capital budget was a plus.
We really have our work cut out for us in the next legislative session. The budget picture will be bleaker and the needs will be greater. If recessionary times are truly upon us, we will be educating more students, but state funding will not increase. More than 30 states are facing budget reductions in the absence of a “rainy day” fund. There are rumblings around Olympia of a possible revenue shortfall of more than $1 billion. A tuition increase is underway and there is much talk of budget tightening.
Regardless of the forecast, we must stay the course. Our funding needs for Running Start, adult education, equipment, and childcare are more critical than ever. Student retention programs such as the Opportunity Grant http://www.edcc.edu/opportunity must continue. Infrastructure needs—updated classrooms and libraries and new buildings—will not go away. And the need for flexible funding is ever-present. Rest assured that our college, as well as the SBCTC, will continue to put great effort into securing the funding necessary to continue serving students. For a more comprehensive update on legislative happenings, go to: www.edcc.edu/legislative.
BUDGET: We have started the budget process for next year. Again I’m thankful that our enrollment management efforts have generated excess enrollment revenue. Information of the 2008-2009 budget will be distributed in the usual way as soon as it’s available.
GOVERNOR GREGOIRE AT COMMENCEMENT: The governor has confirmed that she will attend commencement exercises on June 20. We are delighted to have her for this most important event. I may even take the opportunity to bend her ear about some of the funding challenges facing us next year. Just a reminder: Commencement will be held off campus at Edmonds Stadium (located at Edmonds-Woodway High School) this year.
DASSAULT PARTNERSHIP: Our partnership with Dassault Systèmes, a Paris-based company and leading developer of 3D software, is another great development for our materials sciences program. We will help provide the desired educational services to clients of Dassault Systèmes. The company serves more than 100,000 clients in 80 countries with its array of software products. This partnership is BIG news that we plan to release over the newswires, not just to our usual local media outlets.
SUSTAINABILITY: We are now officially a part of the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitmen. The agreement was signed, fittingly, on Earth Day (April 22). Check the Web site above to see what this means. Also, check our Web site to learn more about our commitment to sustainability.
RECOMMENDED THEATER: Your next opportunity to see a play in our new black box theater is May 29. Ah, Wilderness, a comedyby Eugene O’Neill will run May 29-31 and June 5-7 at 7:30 p.m. and on June 1 at 2 p.m. If you can’t wait that long for an Edmonds CC play, attend Charlotte’s Web at the Edmonds Center for the Arts on these dates: May 16 at 7 p.m. or May 17 at 1 p.m. You’ll be sorry if you miss these high quality productions.
RECOMMENDED READING: I will begin and end this message with words about accreditation. Please take the opportunity to review the wonderful document that tells our story at http://www.edcc.edu/accreditation. Here’s a guarantee: nobody, including me, can read this document without learning something about the college. It’s an excellent resource for anyone wanting to learn more about our great college.
Sincerely,
Jack Oharah
President
