NCMC Sees Impressive Enrollment Growth

Enrollment at North Central Missouri College has taken an impressive jump this fall, according to information provided at Tuesday evening’s meeting of college trustees, which also included the employment of a new TRiO program director.
According to information presented by NCMC President Dr. Lenny Klaver, the college has experienced an 11.5 percent increase in head count over last fall, with 1,199 students enrolled, not including dual credit, which brings the total enrollment to 1,832 students for a total increase in head count of 6.6 percent over last fall.
When looking at credit hours, the college has experienced a 7.7 percent increase, with students generating 13,677 credit hours. When dual credit is included, a total of 16,634 credit hours are being generated, which is a 5 percent increase. Full Time Equivalent (FTE) enrollment is 1,140, an increase of 7.7 percent and when dual credit is added, that number is 1,386, a 5 percent increase.
Dr. Klaver broke the enrollment down into several categories, presenting that information to trustees for their review.

Dr. Klaver also presented information on the college’s five pillars of quality (academic excellence, student success, enrollment management, campus and community and culture of responsibility) and the steps that are planned to reach the goals set within those five pillars. In addition, Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. Tristan Londre and Associate Vice President for Student Affairs Dr. Kristen Alley reported on the college’s Strategic Enrollment Manage-ment Plan, focusing on recruitment, retention, academic progression, completion and quality improvement as the college works to determine the “right” size for the college and each of its various programs.
Numerous personnel and purchasing decisions were made during the meeting, with trustees hiring Janet Pultz of Kirksville to serve as the TRiO program director, taking a position left vacant by the resignation of Marci Cutsinger last month. Ms. Pultz has experience as the advising specialist for the McNair TRiO program at Truman State University, where she has worked with the program for several years. She began her duties Sept. 18 and will be paid $54,000 annually.
On the recommendation of Heather McCollum, who has been serving as the interim TRiO Director, the board increased the salary of Student Support Services Tutor Coordinator Stacey Russell by $1,217 for 2017-2018 and the salary of TRiO Academic Advisor Tocarra Williams by $946 for this year. Both have had increased roles in their areas of responsibility. Sharalyn Robinson, who serves as a financial aid processor, was moved on the salary schedule from $13.31 per hour to $14.75 per hour, effective Oct. 9. The movement, according to a recommendation from Director of Financial Aid Kimberly Meeker, will put her in alignment with her credentials and appropriate placement on the classified staff salary schedule.
Jessica Tabbert of Trenton was approved for employment, hired to serve as financial aid advisor at a salary of $11.71 per hour, beginning today. Two internal transfers were approved, including the transfer of Ryan Woodward from systems administrator to network/security administrator. He will be paid $37,640 on a 12-month contract, with a salary incentive increase of $2,360 if he completes A+ Certification. Also approved for an internal transfer was Rickiann Hoskins, who will move from PC Technician to systems administrator. She will earn $35,000 per year on a 12-month contract and will also be given a $3,000 salary increase incentive to complete A+ certification.
Four persons were approved as adjunct instructors, including Roxann Beckham of St. Joseph, who will teach microcomputer applications classes; Ryan Morehead of Kansas City, who will teach speech and theater classes; Ashley Phillips of Faucett, who will teach early childhood classes; and Joshua Pearson of Kirksville, who will teach a variety of classes for the health sciences department.
Trustees also approved a new position, “IT Helpdesk Specialist” to be implemented into the NCMC personnel structure. The position would report to the chief information officer and be a non-exempt classified staff position paying $11.62 to $13.24 per hour.
Several purchases were approved, including 21 head of feeder heifers from the Daviess County Livestock Market for a total purchase price of $16,990.90; the renewal of the college’s internet connection and related support from Morenet at a cost of $36,177.84; the renewal of Veeam backup software from CDWG of Vernon Hills, IL at a cost of $12,425.64; the renewal of a hardware maintenance agreement for servers and storage equipment from Park Place Technologies of Mayfield Heights,OH at a cost of $12,002.16; the renewal of support and maintenance for the Heartland Onecard system from Heartland Campus Solutions at an annual cost of $16,387.65; the renewal of software maintenance for Dynamics Great Plains (the accounting software used by the business office) and CRM (the software for the Ketcham Community Center) at a combined annual cost of $10,912.48 from Associates Solutions Inc. of Lenexa, KS; the purchase of computer hardware from CDWG at a cost of $42,336.57; and the purchase of Smart classroom equipment from Kansas City Audio-Visual of Kansas City at a cost of $68,662 to replace existing classroom equipment. That existing equipment will be used at the North Belt Center, which is a new campus opening in Country Club located in the north part of St. Joseph in Andrew County.
Trustees approved revised board policies regarding records retention and teacher overload. The new overload policy would allow, at the discretion of the vice president of academic affairs, an instructor to teach additional overload hours above 27 credit hours per semester, if needed to meet student demand. A discussion was held pertaining to need to ensure quality instruction when faculty are carrying such a large load. Trustees were assured that quality will not suffer and it was noted that, if needed, additional faculty would be hired.
Also approved during the meeting was the 1303 Facility Construction application for the construction of two new facilities for the Green Hills Head Start program, which is administered by the college. One site will be located at 301 W. 18th St., in Trenton, which is an empty lot west of the Head Start Central Office. The other site is in Brookfield where a modular facility is currently located.
Two persons were honored during the meeting, including Tina Totten, director of the Academic Resource Center, who received the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development’s Excellence in Teaching Award, and trustee Chris Hoffman, who was honored for serving on the board for 25 years.
An executive session was held to discuss personnel, legal matters and real estate, with no announcement made.
The next regular board meeting is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 24 in the Frey Administrative Center.