October 2023 | WKCTC

President's Cabinet

October 2023

West Kentucky Community & Technical College
Board of Directors
October 10, 2023  2:00-4:00 p.m. - Anderson Technical Building 101F

I. Call to Order

The meeting was called to order by Chair Jay Simmons, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. Board members present were Gorman Bradley, Heather Coltharp, Jackie Ginter, Lindsey Gipson, Kenneth Hurt, Barry McDonald, Erika Mehta, Chuck Murphy, and Jay Simmons, Chair. Other attendees were Dr. Anton Reece, Janett Blythe, Bridget Canter, Octavia Lawrence, and Dr. Kate Senn. Also in attendance were presenters Mellisa Duncan and Sanci Teague and Melissa Allcock, assistant secretary.

II. Old Business - Approval of the Minutes

A motion was made by Director Chuck Murphy and seconded by Director Gorman Bradley to approve the minutes of the May 9, 2023, meeting. Motion passed.

III. New Business – Board of Directors Officers Elections

Chair Simmons brought attention to the ballots listing the nominations for officers. Hearing no further nominations from the floor, Chair Simmons entertained a motion to elect the current officers by vote of acclamation. Director Erika Mehta moved to accept the nominees by acclamation, and Director Chuck Murphy seconded the motion. No discussion, and the motion passed unanimously. The Board officers for 2023-2024 are Jay Simmons, Chair; Barry McDonald, Vice-Chair; and Gorman Bradley, Secretary.

IV. President's Report

Dr. Anton Reece reported recent KCTCS President's Leadership Team (PLT) updates focused on Senate Joint Resolution 98 (SJR98) and the Huron Compensation Study. He then called on the Vice President of Business Affairs and Human Resources to present the Board on the Huron study.

Huron Compensation Study Report

Bridget Canter reported that the Huron Compensation Study has been an ongoing process for at least nine months, looking at KCTCS as a system and the individual colleges. The high emphasis of the study is to take care of employees regarding raises and compression of wages.

The Huron employee impact analysis has four scenarios and scenario descriptions based on the system as a whole. The Board of Regents will review the scenarios and vote on a motion at their December meeting. The scenarios for consideration are as follows: Note: the pay ranges (bands) below are based on a new band structure for faculty and staff.

  1. Alignment to pay range minimums
    1. Staff and faculty members earning less than the range minimum are brought up to the minimum.
  2. Alignment to pay range midpoint
    1. Staff and faculty members earning less than the market target (40th percentile) are brought up to the pay range midpoint.
  3. Proportional alignment to new range
    1. Staff and faculty members are brought into the new range based on their current range penetration within the current KCTCS salary schedule.
  4. Alignment based on time in position. Note: this scenario is an add-on from the original presentation to the Board of Regents. The Regents wanted a scenario that looked at years of service.
    1. Staff and faculty members are brought into the portion of the range that ties to their years in position range penetration, with twenty years serving as the range maximum.

The compensation minimum pay benchmarking data included two-year institutions, all colleges and universities in Kentucky, and non-academic positions in the private sector. The Board of Regents did want to ensure that the range penetration of 40% became the goal for the system as a whole. Differential geographic indicators have been created to realize the pay scale is different geographically across the system.

Bridget then presented the Market Alignment Costs per scenario for the system as a whole, noting that 43% in benefits would raise each scenario's total cost.

  • Scenario 1 – Cost to Minimum Range
    • Staff - $4,362,688
    • Faculty - $29,811
  • Scenario 2 – Cost to Range Midpoint
    • Staff - $17,930.823
    • Faculty - $6,707,154
  • Scenario 3 – Proportional Alignment
    • Staff - $14,140,695
    • Faculty - $1,241,105
  • Scenario 4 – Time in Position Alignment
    • Staff - $10,341,150
    • Faculty - $9,459,179

Market alignment scenarios do not model any reductions to employee pay.

Market alignment scenarios reflect base pay increases only and do not reflect benefit load.

Bridget also presented the impact on WKCTC with the number of staff and faculty impacted in each scenario mentioned above and the total costs to the college.

  • Scenario 1 – Cost Range Minimum
    • 37 Staff - $224,925
    • 0 Faculty - $0
    • 37 Total Staff/Faculty- $224,925
    • Total cost with benefits - $321,643
  • Scenario 2 – Cost Range Midpoint
    • 88 Staff - $883,367
    • 86 Faculty - $449,565
    • 174 Total Staff/Faculty- $1,332,932
    • Total cost with benefits - $1,906,093
  • Scenario 3 – Cost Proportional Alignment
    • 93 Staff - $609,674
    • 59 Faculty - $39,641
    • 152 Total Staff/Faculty - $649,315
    • Total cost with benefits - $928,521
  • Scenario 4 – Cost Years in Position Alignment
    • 67 Staff - $492,272
    • 61 Faculty - $504,473
    • 128 Total Staff/Faculty - $996,745
    • Total cost with benefits - $1,425,346

Bridget noted that Scenario 1 has zero faculty impacted with an increase because WKCTC brings the faculty in at a higher rate than the minimum of the current existing pay band. Because that is our standard practice, the faculty are in a better position; therefore, they are above the minimum in the new pay band ranges. Similarly, the reason is the same for the amount faculty would receive vs. staff in Scenario 3.

Bridget noted that if one of the Scenarios is voted on by the Board of Regents, we don't know when it will take effect due to back work that will have to be completed, such as policy updates, rebuilding the compensation structure in the payroll system, and education for our employees on the system.

Another part of the study included pay equity. There was no pay discrimination against races across the system and colleges. They looked at gender, and WKCTC was one of five colleges in the system that fell into this area of pay equity potential issues. Their study shows that the men are paid less than the women at WKCTC. No discussion of the outcomes of this portion of the study was addressed at this time. More information is needed to see if there are justifiable reasons why the disparity exists.

Challenger Learning Center (CLC) Report

CLC Director Mellisa Duncan presented the $500,000 Explore Space Campaign and noted the PJC Board of Trustees has given a $250,000 match commitment. The Center is twenty years old and in a new technology era. Three targets of the campaign include

  • Simulator Upgrades - new computers, monitors, switches, robotic arms, camera system, and sound refurbish
  • Mission Sponsorship Funding - to help offset the end of the GEAR UP grant funding
  • Audiovisual Upgrades - all classrooms will receive new upgrades, including computers and projection systems.

The Board viewed a CLC video produced by JT Crawford from the Marketing and Communication department. The video is available on the WKCTC YouTube Channel at https://youtu.be/5yHGxdC0Qng?si=n3u6y04JleheptiU The campaign ends on April 15, 2024, with a celebration day. There will be a day of giving on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. Mellisa asked the Board to pledge support to the Campaign.

Dr. Reece followed up with an encouragement to the Board on behalf of the college to support the campaign.

Student Success Center (SSC) Report

SSC Director Sanci Teague shared the one-year progress of the SSC. The SSC takes a holistic approach to marrying academic and non-academic student support. The number of student appointments in the Center has significantly increased since last fall. There has also been an increase in tutors and unduplicated students served. The SSC also has an online presence with Brainfuse for 24/7 tutoring. Math is the highest demand for students needing support. The SSC has expanded support with embedded tutoring in some of the most difficult courses and on-site tutoring on campus and in some off-campus locations.

Sanci highlighted the Summer Bridge Program that bridges students from high school to college. Of the students enrolled in summer 2021- summer 2023, 2 graduated in May 2023, and one is set to graduate in December.

Student non-academic needs, such as food insecurities and housing, are addressed through assigned Success Coaches. The coaches reach out through many locations on and off campus and participate in activities to raise awareness for the Center to engage students. The Success Coaches have significantly impacted students and student retention.

Sanci reported the last aspect of the Center is the First Year Experience(FYE)classes that marry the academic setting with campus resources. The class helps transition the student to college within the first semester. The goal is to empower them with the tools they need to map out their career pathway and ultimately result in credential completion. Students enrolled in FYE are more likely to be retained.

WKCTC 20TH Anniversary Celebration

Marketing Director Janett Blythe noted the college had been celebrating its twentieth anniversary with several events this year. The final two celebratory events will be renaming the Allied Health Building on October 17 and on October 19, a conversation panel to take us back 20 years to the consolidation. Both events will be live-streamed for those who cannot attend.

Enrollment

Vice President of Student Services Octavia Lawrence, provided an overview of fall enrollment. Currently, credential-seeking enrollment is at 2,823 students. Compared to last year, at this time, we are down 61 students. Total headcount is at 4623 compared to 4734 this time last fall. There will be workforce numbers added to that total. The census date closing out fall enrollment is November 1.

Credential Seeking

  • Up 26 URM CS students, URM students make up 20.4% of our student population.
  • Enrolled 60.0% of our Spring 2023 students for fall, which is an increase from last year's 57.4% from Spring 2022 to Fall 2022
  • Down 3.1% overall

Total Headcount

  • Down 2.3% in THC
  • We are up 98 high-school students from this time last year, or 7.4%.

Looking ahead at our non-credential visiting students, which are students enrolled in four-year universities but taking classes with us, there has been a significant decrease in those numbers. In addition, they are looking at our adult twenty-five and over student population to increase enrollment.

Campus Operations

In the Vice President of Campus Operations Shay Nolan's absence, Dr. Reece reported that the roofing and paving projects are on target. He also noted that a ribbon-cutting on the Nature Trail was this week.

Student Government Association (SGA)

SGA President and Student Board of Directors Representative Lindsey Gipson reported that SGA was bringing back the community trunk or treat event scheduled for October 20. Collaboration with the media department is underway for a podcast for students led by students. Lindsey noted that they hope to do more activities in the spring semester to make the campus fun and engage students to feel welcome and wanted.

V. Chair's Report

Chair Simmons commented on the seriousness of the Huron process and SJR98 and the major changes it could mean to KCTCS and the college. He noted that the Directors may be called on for advice.

Chair Simmons recapped the upcoming 20th Anniversary events dates and noted the joint Board meeting with PJC on November 9. He announced the annual holiday luncheon on December 8 at noon in Haws Gym. Lastly, Chair Simmons encouraged the Board to attend graduation on December 11.

VI. Adjournment

Chair Simmons called for a motion to adjourn. Director Barry McDonald made a motion to adjourn, and Director Gorman Bradley seconded. Motion passed. The meeting adjourned at 2:58 p.m.

Gorman Bradley, Secretary