Two new admissions representatives at Barton Community College reflect the growing mountain of paperwork and reporting required of higher learning institutions, the BCC Board of Trustees heard Tuesday.
The board held its August business meeting and approved hiring Emily Spickler and Kami Maxwell for the admissions office on campus. The board also approved hiring Brad Witherspoon as the assistant men’s basketball coach.
During his monthly report on strategic planning at the college, Vice President Charles Perkins commented on the number of reports colleges must supply to the Kansas Board of Regents. The institutions have begun to question whether they are all necessary.
There are “reports, sub-reports and sub-reports on sub-reports,” Perkins said.
Board President Mike Johnson said he’ll travel to Topeka next week for KBOR’s Technical Education Authority (TEA) retreat, and members plan to discuss the issue again.
Barton also prepares reports to the Higher Learning Commission, which oversees its accreditation. As the report on reporting continued, trustee Don Learned asked, “Why does it have to be so difficult?
“It just blows me away,” Learned said, “to think about all of the time and money we have to spend.” It’s an expense for other community colleges and universities as well, he said.
“It’s not getting better,” Perkins said. For example, he recently learned that a two-page report on “student protection” was recently mandated.
In other business Tuesday, the board:
• Combined its September study session and business meeting into one joint meeting, due to scheduling conflicts. The meetings will be scheduled from 4-5 and 5-6 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 19. A quorum of board members is expected to attend the Association of Community College Trustees Conference at the end of the month in Las Vegas, Nevada, which is one reason for moving the meeting previously scheduled for Sept. 26. The Sept. 26 meeting and Sept. 12 study session are canceled.
• Approved the City of Great Bend’s Neighborhood Revitalization Plan, as discussed at the last study session. This plan allows for residents in specific areas within the city to apply for tax rebates for certain improvements to their properties.
• Linn Hogg, director of Volunteers in Action and RSVP, gave her annual report. The college provides the program with office space and other in-kind donations. VIA/RSVP also receives funds from the county and from United Way of Central Kansas, as well as nearly $49,000 in federal funding that President Trump has threatened to eliminate from the budget, Hogg said. However, programs provided include Meals on Wheels and other services that have bipartisan support.
Hogg’s report and other supporting documents from Tuesday’s board meeting can be found online at https://docs.bartonccc.edu/trustees/meetings/fy1718/201708/Agenda.pdf.
• Perkins also showed trustees the Institutional Research department’s “Quick Facts” demographics page, which is embedded in the BCC website, and the new “Barton at a Glance” dashboard that will soon replace it.
