Site search
sponsored by
News
So you know ...
Other action taken at the Wednesday meeting of the Umpqua Community College Board of Trustees included:
• Approved a resolution to establish a $700,000 contingency fund for the 2009-10 school year. According to the resolution in the meeting packet, the account was started to pay for furnishings and equipment as new buildings were constructed and old ones remodeled, as well as to take care of deferred maintenance projects.
UCC does not currently have a “set-aside” account for deferred maintenance, according to the resolution presented to the board.
• Approved changes to course fees. Course fees were increased for nursing, dental, culinary arts and hybrid online courses. All noncredit community education class fees were reduced from $10 to $5.
Justification for the fee raises was in the board packet as follows:
— $200 fee for nursing assistant-acute, which was a new class and would cover materials and costs;
— $100 each for dental materials I and II for materials required to develop student proficiency;
— $750 — a $250 increase from the current charge — for a noncredit phlebotomy class to cover increased pay, insurance, consumables, safety, IV practice arms and HIPPA verification;
— A new $50 each for nine culinary classes, such as regional cuisine and cooking theories and skills. The costs would go to cover food, linens and paper products;
— Credit hybrid online classes will increase from no fee to a per-term fee for $15.
• Approved two resolutions that would allow the college to spend $100,000 to get preliminary outlines for two planned buildings, a Regional Health Occupation Training Center and Regional Industrial Technology Training Center, with which to begin the public campaign to gather support for an intended bond levy to construct the two buildings. College officials hope half the construction of the buildings will come from matching state funds.
• Approved a resolution to name the vineyard road “Aranda de Duero Avenue,” in a nod to the sister city in Spain.
• Approved a resolution to transfer $212,370 from contingency into the enterprise and community services to absorb the unanticipated revenues from increased enrollment.
• Approved a resolution to transfer $52,000 from contingency to shore up a shortfall at the Ford Childhood Enrichment Center.
• Approved a resolution to establish a $700,000 contingency fund for the 2009-10 school year. According to the resolution in the meeting packet, the account was started to pay for furnishings and equipment as new buildings were constructed and old ones remodeled, as well as to take care of deferred maintenance projects.
UCC does not currently have a “set-aside” account for deferred maintenance, according to the resolution presented to the board.
• Approved changes to course fees. Course fees were increased for nursing, dental, culinary arts and hybrid online courses. All noncredit community education class fees were reduced from $10 to $5.
Justification for the fee raises was in the board packet as follows:
— $200 fee for nursing assistant-acute, which was a new class and would cover materials and costs;
— $100 each for dental materials I and II for materials required to develop student proficiency;
— $750 — a $250 increase from the current charge — for a noncredit phlebotomy class to cover increased pay, insurance, consumables, safety, IV practice arms and HIPPA verification;
— A new $50 each for nine culinary classes, such as regional cuisine and cooking theories and skills. The costs would go to cover food, linens and paper products;
— Credit hybrid online classes will increase from no fee to a per-term fee for $15.
• Approved two resolutions that would allow the college to spend $100,000 to get preliminary outlines for two planned buildings, a Regional Health Occupation Training Center and Regional Industrial Technology Training Center, with which to begin the public campaign to gather support for an intended bond levy to construct the two buildings. College officials hope half the construction of the buildings will come from matching state funds.
• Approved a resolution to name the vineyard road “Aranda de Duero Avenue,” in a nod to the sister city in Spain.
• Approved a resolution to transfer $212,370 from contingency into the enterprise and community services to absorb the unanticipated revenues from increased enrollment.
• Approved a resolution to transfer $52,000 from contingency to shore up a shortfall at the Ford Childhood Enrichment Center.
WINCHESTER — Umpqua Community College is no longer tied for the lowest per credit tuition costs in the state. It now it holds that distinction singularly — by $1.
A planned $3-per-credit tuition hike was scheduled to begin charging students $66 per credit each term, up from $63. At $66, UCC would have been tied with Central Oregon Community College in Bend for lowest tuition in the state.
As of the Wednesday board meeting, the tuition hike will only be $2, or $65 per credit each term. A student taking 15 credits for three terms during the year will pay about $90 more for education.
Due to a glitch in how students were counted, UCC wasn't being fully funded by the state for all its full-time-equivalent students, officials said.
“The college has had full state funding restored, where before it had only part funding for the FTEs it had,” said UCC spokesperson Bentley Gilbert.
Money the colleges receives toward that full funding will be applied to reduce the tuition hike by $1 per credit. Officials say they don't know the exact amount yet, as it's dependent on state funding.
The tuition increase was made to the proposed 2009-10 budget keep the college from making deeper cuts to its services as it prepared for less state funding.
But Vice President of Administrative Services Beverly Brandt said the tune coming out of Salem right now is a little sweeter than before, although there's still no word how much more than the earlier estimate of $412 million in community college funding the Oregon Legislature may decide to dole out to the 16 colleges.
“Right now, I'm feeling very optimistic with what's coming out of the Legislature,” she said. “We just don't know yet what the magic number will be.”
The proposed budget, which comes before the board later this month for adoption, was based on the $412 million estimate. Anything higher from the state will mean UCC can add items back to the budget. Brandt said those additions will likely come in the form of increased funding for part-time instruction to accommodate the higher than normal number of students enrolling in courses.
The board also voted Wednesday to change its Gold Card policy, which will impact course costs for seniors and people with disabilities in the program beginning next January.
Gold Card program members are county residents 60 years or older or who receive Social Security payments as a result of a disability. The program is jointly sponsored by local school districts.
Changes to the program include paying 50 percent of tuition and 100 percent of fees for credit courses, and, instead of a flat rate $26 per noncredit and community education courses, card members will pay 50 percent of the cost of tuition and fees for those classes.
Robin Van Winkle, director of community education, said the change was made to help the largely self-sustaining community education system pay for its overhead, more than 60 percent of which is paid for through course costs.
Van Winkle said she has been contacting members enrolled in classes this past term and the change puts the college in line with policies of other state colleges which offer a senior discount.
She said of the 16 community colleges in Oregon, only about 40 percent offer a discount between 25 to 50 percent, about 15 percent offer a varying rate and 40 percent do not offer any senior discount for community education. Blue Mountain Community College was the only other Oregon college with a flat rate similar to UCC's old policy.
Van Winkle said the community education department tries to make a variety of courses and pricing available in order to offer something for everyone, and though prices may rise for some classes due to the policy change, other courses may be lower than was the case with the flat rate.
• You can reach reporter DD Bixby at 957-4211 or by e-mail at dbixby@nrtoday.com.
A planned $3-per-credit tuition hike was scheduled to begin charging students $66 per credit each term, up from $63. At $66, UCC would have been tied with Central Oregon Community College in Bend for lowest tuition in the state.
As of the Wednesday board meeting, the tuition hike will only be $2, or $65 per credit each term. A student taking 15 credits for three terms during the year will pay about $90 more for education.
Due to a glitch in how students were counted, UCC wasn't being fully funded by the state for all its full-time-equivalent students, officials said.
“The college has had full state funding restored, where before it had only part funding for the FTEs it had,” said UCC spokesperson Bentley Gilbert.
Money the colleges receives toward that full funding will be applied to reduce the tuition hike by $1 per credit. Officials say they don't know the exact amount yet, as it's dependent on state funding.
The tuition increase was made to the proposed 2009-10 budget keep the college from making deeper cuts to its services as it prepared for less state funding.
But Vice President of Administrative Services Beverly Brandt said the tune coming out of Salem right now is a little sweeter than before, although there's still no word how much more than the earlier estimate of $412 million in community college funding the Oregon Legislature may decide to dole out to the 16 colleges.
“Right now, I'm feeling very optimistic with what's coming out of the Legislature,” she said. “We just don't know yet what the magic number will be.”
The proposed budget, which comes before the board later this month for adoption, was based on the $412 million estimate. Anything higher from the state will mean UCC can add items back to the budget. Brandt said those additions will likely come in the form of increased funding for part-time instruction to accommodate the higher than normal number of students enrolling in courses.
The board also voted Wednesday to change its Gold Card policy, which will impact course costs for seniors and people with disabilities in the program beginning next January.
Gold Card program members are county residents 60 years or older or who receive Social Security payments as a result of a disability. The program is jointly sponsored by local school districts.
Changes to the program include paying 50 percent of tuition and 100 percent of fees for credit courses, and, instead of a flat rate $26 per noncredit and community education courses, card members will pay 50 percent of the cost of tuition and fees for those classes.
Robin Van Winkle, director of community education, said the change was made to help the largely self-sustaining community education system pay for its overhead, more than 60 percent of which is paid for through course costs.
Van Winkle said she has been contacting members enrolled in classes this past term and the change puts the college in line with policies of other state colleges which offer a senior discount.
She said of the 16 community colleges in Oregon, only about 40 percent offer a discount between 25 to 50 percent, about 15 percent offer a varying rate and 40 percent do not offer any senior discount for community education. Blue Mountain Community College was the only other Oregon college with a flat rate similar to UCC's old policy.
Van Winkle said the community education department tries to make a variety of courses and pricing available in order to offer something for everyone, and though prices may rise for some classes due to the policy change, other courses may be lower than was the case with the flat rate.
• You can reach reporter DD Bixby at 957-4211 or by e-mail at dbixby@nrtoday.com.
UPDATE: Campus gears up for building bond
It's been almost half a century since the state has funded new construction on Umpqua Community College's campus, but the state is looking at doing just that this year.
UCC is among the top three Oregon community colleges in line to receive a capital construction general obligation bond from Oregon this biennium. After testifying before the Oregon Legislature's Ways and Means' Capital and Tech Subcommittee Monday, President Blaine Nisson said he was feeling very positive about UCC capturing that bond. He expects to hear the decision within the next few days. The state bond would match 50 percent of the development of a regional health occupation and science training center on campus at about $8.5 million. UCC will have six years in which to pass a matching bond of its own or it will have to return the state funds. Last week, the UCC board approved resolutions for the preliminary drafts of the health and another industrial technology training center, with which it will present its bond proposal to Douglas County voters. UCC is in the top half of the priority list to receive similar matching state funding for the second building, possibly in 2011, Nisson said. “This is absolutely huge,” Nisson said of the new funding that could allow crammed nursing, dental and pharmacy classes to spread out under one roof, as well as give the college room to develop more health-related programs. |
