The North Central Missouri College Board of Trustees approved purchasing property/casualty/liability insurance November 28th.
The insurance through the Missouri United School Insurance Council for the 2024 calendar year will cost $246,369. Vice President of Business and Finance Tyson Otto reported that was an increase from $177,181 on last year’s premium.
He said the increase was due to multiple factors that the college was expecting. One factor was the addition of the Savannah Campus. MUSIC increased its insurance line rates for the first time in 20 years because of a nationwide trend in an increase in claims and increasing costs to replace and repair. NCMC also added some positions, gave higher salary increases, and added facilities and contents.
Otto noted that, in the time he has been at NCMC, property/casualty/liability insurance was bid out twice, and MUSIC was the best option.
The board approved two resignations. They were for Talent Search Advisor Zachary Dudley and Academic Affairs Assistant Dana Lockwood. Dudley and Lockwood’s last day was November 3rd.
Employments were approved. They included Belinda Egbuta of Savannah as Savannah Campus Assistant with a start date of December 1st. Abigail Bilby of Saint Joseph was hired as nursing faculty at the Savannah Campus with a start date of January 3rd. Adjunct instructors hired to start in the spring were Tabatha Hatfield of Litchfield Park, Arizona and Devon Matthias of Eielson Air Force Base of Alaska for sonography courses and Bridgett Hubbartt-Bass of Leonard for chemistry/science courses.
The board approved emeritus status for Beth Crawford. She has served NCMC since 1999. She has taught nursing classes and coordinated the Bethany evening/weekend program. She has also been active in committee work. The board previously approved Crawford’s retirement, effective December 29th.
Approval was given to an update to the Non-discrimination Policy to comply with efforts from the Biden administration and the U. S. National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism. The policy now says “Discrimination Based on Actual or Perceived Religion, Shared Ancestry, or Ethnic Characteristics are Prohibited Forms of Discrimination in the Workforce Development System.”
Approval was also given to filing dates for the April election for two members of the NCMC Board of Trustees. Positions held by Don Dalrymple and Rob Maloney will expire.
The candidate filing period set by the state is December 5th through 25th. Candidates can file during regular business hours, except for December 22nd and 26th.
The board approved a date change for its December meeting due to the college being closed on the next regular meeting date. Next month’s meeting will be in the Frey Administrative Center Board of Trustees Meeting Room December 19th at 5:30.
An in-kind hourly rate increase was approved for Green Hills Head Start, retroactive to September. The in-kind volunteer hourly rate was increased to $13.80 an hour in conjunction with the new cost-of-living minimum wage. The amount was figured by using the $12 an hour minimum wage and adding 15% fringe cost.
North Central Missouri College had three Missouri Community College Award winners. Chris Hoffman received the Trustee Leadership Award, Sophia Swink received the Excellence in Teaching Award, and John and Delores Kuttler received the Award of Distinction.
NCMC President Doctor Lenny Klaver reported at the November 28 NCMC Board of Trustees meeting that the awards were presented at a dinner at the MCCA Annual Convention.
Hoffman has been a trustee since 1992. NCMC Klaver congratulated Hoffman in person on November 28. Klaver said Hoffman was a good advocate for NCMC.
Sophia Swink is the Practical Nursing to Associate Degree in Nursing director. The Kuttlers have supported NCMC and the Barton Farm Campus.
NCMC had other finalists for MCCA awards. Vice President of Business and Finance Tyson Otto was a finalist for the Administrative Professional Leadership Award. Resource Center Coordinator Shellee Castanada was a finalist for the Classified Staff Achievement Award.
Klaver reported NCMC has submitted the first part of the 2025 Aspen Prize application, which included a National Student Clearinghouse authorization form and student progress data. The college will submit the application narrative by December 12 to be considered for the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence.
Klaver commented that it was an honor to be nominated.
Chief of Staff Kristi Harris said the board might be asked to help with the nomination process.
Klaver reported that, from August 1 through November 10, Student Support Services had 1,311 individual appointments for advising and 162 advising hours. There were 94.3 formal tutoring hours and 103 formal tutoring contacts. There were 1,075 student hours in the lab. Klaver noted the lab is always busy, and it is an asset for students.
He reported 21% more students enrolled on the first day of registration for the spring than the previous year.
Later in the meeting, Vice President of Student Affairs Doctor Kristen Alley reported 836 students had registered for 10,000 hours for the spring, as of Monday morning, November 27 at 10 a.m.
Klaver reported that, in the last month, NCMC’s email protection services processed more than 486,000 inbound messages. Identified email threats included 57.1% phishing, 19.2% telephone-oriented attack delivery, 18.6% malware, and 5.1% business email compromise.
For the 2022-2023 year, NCMC retained 87% of its full-time workforce. Of the 18 employees who left, two retired, and 16 were non-retained.
Klaver noted 79% of the college’s full-time employees are women.
Vice President of Academic Affairs Doctor Tristan Londre reported more than 120 students, advisors, and guests attended the State Professional Agriculture Student Organization contest on the NCMC Main and Barton Farm campuses from November 7 through 9.
The college hosted 90 students from 13 high schools for Nursing and Health Science Day at the Savannah Campus the morning of November 3. In the afternoon, there was an employer panel and a career fair for NCMC’s current nursing and health science students.
Political Science Instructor Doctor Sterling Recker recently received the Mid-American Alliance for African Studies Servant Leadership Award for his work with the organization.
Londre reported Industrial Technology Instructor Rick Sharp attended a seminar on Drone Applications in Public Safety and Agriculture at Kansas State University on November 2 and 3.
Childhood Development Instructor Noel Staddie attended the National Association for the Education of Young Children Conference in Nashville, Tennessee, from November 15 through 18. Londre said the conference focused on two-year colleges, and Staddie learned about what programs are doing throughout the country.
Dean of Instruction Doctor Mitch Holder reported on his participation with the American Association of Community Colleges Commission on Student Success in Washington, D.C. He said it was a good opportunity to participate.
Holder shared that a Senate committee asked the commission questions because a bill is being considered that deals with mental health at colleges. He believes there should be legislation to provide funding for mental health at rural institutions that have budgetary restraints.
Holder said the AACC Commission on Student Success also helped reinforce legislative priorities and discussed Pell Grant funding.
Alley reported NCMC’s Registrar’s Office had 58 December graduation applications for 56 students.
She gave a report on Residence Life. She said resident assistants are important, and they are student leaders. They manage their time and help other students. She commented they also work well together as a team.
Alley noted that Residence Life Director Donnie Hillerman has said Residence Life Coordinators Kenlee Frank and Demetrius Houston are two of the best residence life coordinators NCMC has had.
Alley reported the Anchor buildings are the most popular for students residing on campus.
She mentioned that Great Western Dining accommodates students who have allergies.
She said living on campus creates a collegiate environment. Student involvement is popular with college freshmen. Students learn about different cultures and life skills.
Alley added that she is looking forward to the new student center.
Chief Information Officer Jennifer Triplett reported most students had completed monitoring security cyber training. Students are not required to do the training.
She said the Power Campus upgrade was successfully completed. NCMC created new servers to host.
Green Hills Head Start Director Janet Gott reported she participated in the recent Grundy County emergency tabletop exercise, and it was good. The Head Start centers are now talking about evacuation locations.
Gott said the Second Harvest Community Food Bank delivered 160 bags of food, and more bags are to be delivered in December. Homework bags were also distributed.
