In accordance with the terms and provisions of the Texas Open Meetings Act, Chapter 551 of the Texas Government Code, the Board of Trustees of the Austin Community College District convened in public session on Monday, February 2, 1998, at 6:00 p.m. in the Board Room (201) of the District Administrative Offices located at 5930 Middle Fiskville Road, Austin, Texas 78752, with the following members present: Carol Nasworthy, Chair/Presiding Officer; Beverly Watts Davis, Vice Chair [arrived at 6:35 p.m.]; Lillian J. Davis, Secretary; Hunter Ellinger; Sharon Knotts Green; Allen Kaplan; Della May Moore [arrived at 6:05 p.m.]; and John Worley. Rafael Quintanilla was absent.

 It is further found and determined that in accordance with the policies and orders of this Board, the notice of this meeting has been posted and return thereof made pursuant to the terms and provisions of the Texas Open Meetings Act, Chapter 551 of the Texas Government Code, and there has been full compliance with the terms and provisions of said act, including the timely posting of the subjects of this meeting.

 Community Dialogue

 The Board of Trustees and Dr. Richard Fonte, College President, met with staff and members of Hays Consolidated Independent School District to discuss school-to-work and school-to-college issues. Also participating were two school administrators from Del Valle Independent School District and the Coordinator of the Rural Capital Area School-to-Work Consortium. Dr. Steve Kinslow, ACC Vice President for School Relations and Provost of Northridge and Open Campuses, distributed and discussed information concerning the ACC Service Area; Program Guidelines for ACC Service Area Independent School Districts, and Resource Manual for ACC's Out-of-District Service Area. Needs identified by participants included:

• dual enrollment, both technology education and academic transfer;
• increase continuing education program offerings;
• support economic development (technology) in South Austin;
• explore joint use of facilities;
• improve access for Del Valle ISD-either ACC go to them or improve transportation;
• market to first generation graduates; and
• take advantage of proximity of new airport by developing programs to address employment needs.

Dr. Nasworthy expressed appreciation to school district staff and board members for participation in community dialogue. School district personnel and board members voiced appreciation for having the opportunity to meet and interact with the ACC Board of Trustees. Dr. Fonte stated that Austin Community College will continue to collaborate with school districts, businesses, and the community leaders.

Reconvene

Dr. Nasworthy reconvened the February 2, 1998, meeting of the Austin Community College Board of Trustees at 7:10 p.m.

Citizens' Communication

No one registered to address the Board.

Recognitions

• Sandra Wolfswinkel, Acting Associate Vice President for Human Resources, introduced new employee Robert Eagan, Project Coordinator, Facilities and Operations Department.

Reports from Employee Associations

• Full-Time Faculty Senate - Mike Midgley, President, advised there was no report to be presented. Comments will be provided on the Proposed Amendment to Board Policy, C-4, Internal Employee Associations, after the Senate has reviewed the proposed policy.
• Adjunct Faculty Association - Lee Bartolino, President, commented regarding a preference for using the term "scheduling" rather than "slotting"; the evaluative process and perceived problems of confidentiality; favoring scheduling by vice presidents; and opposed farming out of any developmental courses to outside services.
• Professional/Technical Employees Association - Roslyn Wallace, President, distributed information and called attention to the need for two Association members to be added to the membership of the College-wide Budget Priorities Committee to increase the effectiveness of the committee's input into the budget process.
• Classified Employees Association - No report was presented.
• Student Leadership Association - Karen Hamlett, President, distributed information and commented regarding establishment of the Association and current and future activities.

Information/Reports to the Board

• Dr. Fonte advised that the May 1998 Board of Trustee Election Update will be presented at the next meeting.
• Dr. Nasworthy called attention to the January 1998 Personnel Actions listed on pages 1-3 of the agenda.

Item for Consent

Dr. Nasworthy introduced the Consent Agenda.

Agenda Item 6914

Consideration of Approval of Minutes for January 5, 1998, Meeting and January 16-17, 1998, Special Meeting and Retreat

Recommendation: That the Board of Trustees approve the minutes as presented.

Dr. Nasworthy called attention to the following correction in the January 16-17 Minutes, Vote on Item 6913, College President's Contract:

"The motion passed on a vote of 6-1.
For: Lillian J. Davis, Hunter Ellinger, Allen Kaplan, Della May Moore, Carol Nasworthy, and Rafael Quintanilla.
Against: John Worley
Absent: Beverly Watts Davis and Sharon Knotts Green."
Della May Moore moved and Hunter Ellinger seconded that:
MOTION: the Board of Trustees approve the minutes, as corrected.
VOTE: The motion was approved by unanimous vote.
Not Voting: Carol Nasworthy, Chair
Absent: Rafael Quintanilla

Items for Discussion/Possible Action

Agenda Item 6915

Audit Services of Martinez, Mendoza & Colmenero, P.C.

Dr. Nasworthy introduced the item and Jerry Miller, Associate Vice President for Business Services, stated ACC currently has two systems running since the conversion to Datatel and the current auditors are familiar with both systems. Extension of the services of Martinez, Mendoza, and Colmenero for one year will allow ACC to complete the audit on time and at a less cost factor.

Beverly Watts Davis moved and Allen Kaplan seconded that:
MOTION: the Board of Trustees extend the services of Martinez, Mendoza, &
Colmenero, P.C., for one year.
VOTE: The motion passed by unanimous vote.
Not Voting: Carol Nasworthy, Chair
Absent: Rafael Quintanilla

 Agenda Item 6916

Advance Refunding Transaction

Dr. Nasworthy introduced the item and Dr. Fonte indicated that there are two issues to be considered: (1) authorization for preparation of documents/documentation for ACC to sell additional bonds via the bond market, and (2) for the College to continue to use the services of Jorge Rodriguez for this transaction.

Jerry Miller and Jorge Rodriguez, Vice President and Managing Director, Coastal Securities, provided information and responded to questions from Board members concerning the proposed financial transaction and Mr. Rodriguez' services. The Board was advised that fees are paid only on a "when and if issued" basis. Should this transaction never come to fruition, there will be no fees paid. It takes several weeks to prepare the documentation and the documents must be in place to take advantage of this opportunity. Action on this item will allow preparation of the documents.

Completed documents depicting the financial condition of the College will be presented for action at the next Board meeting.

Beverly Watts Davis moved and Allen Kaplan seconded that:
MOTION: the Board of Trustees authorize preparation of the necessary documentation to allow ACC to enter this favorable market and the College continue to use the services of Jorge Rodriguez for this transaction.
VOTE: The motion was approved by unanimous vote.
Not Voting: Carol Nasworthy Chair
Absent: Rafael Quintanilla

Agenda Item 6917

Rio Grande Roof Replacement

Dr. Nasworthy introduced the item and Daniel Perez, Associate Vice President for Facilities and Operations, provided information and responded to questions from Board members concerning the roof replacement to the main building only, the bidding process, and cost of the project. Dr. Fonte stated that this replacement is part of the Three-Year Facilities Master Plan approved in June 1997. Dr. Fonte made the Board aware that additional roofing will be requested to include the courtyard space to improve student life in the courtyard area at the Rio Grande Campus. The change order will be submitted to the Board for action since it is not included in the Three-Year Facilities Master Plan.

Hunter Ellinger moved and John Worley seconded that:
MOTION: the Board of Trustees award the Rio Grande Campus Roof Replacement contract to D. R. Kidd Co., Inc. (HUB) in the amount of $217,550 ($189,850+$27,700 [Alternative No. 1]
VOTE: The motion passed by unanimous vote.
Not Voting: Carol Nasworthy, Chair
Absent: Rafael Quintanilla

Agenda Item 6918

College Policy E-3, College Budget, Revisions

Dr. Nasworthy introduced the item and Dr. Fonte stated this item is in response to a question raised at the January 16-17 Board Retreat concerning how revenue is projected and how revenue should be projected; expenses and how they are budgeted; and the connection between the two. Dr. Fonte provided information and responded to questions from Board members. He stated this item will be on the agenda for the next meeting

Agenda Item 6919

Housekeeping Policy Revisions to Policies B-4, Board of Trustees Bylaws; C-3, Duties and Responsibilities, College President; and C-11, Routine Real Estate Items

Dr. Nasworthy introduced the item and Dr. Fonte discussed the proposed revisions to policies. Board members discussed College Policy B-4, Board of Trustees Bylaws, and requested clarification regarding 2. Board Officers and Committees, 2.1. Myra McDaniel, College Legal Counsel, will provide appropriate language to be included regarding duties of the officers.

This item will be on the agenda for the next meeting.

President's Report

Dr. Fonte advised the Board that his number one priority is increasing full-time faculty and presented a three-year plan to increase full-time faculty. He stated:

"I am proposing today a three-year plan to increase by 60 the number of full-time faculty from 303 to 363 by the fall term of 2001. This proposal will represent my number one priority for next year's 1998-99 budget. The expansion is estimated to cost an additional $560,000 for the first installment of 20 new faculty and $1.7 million annually by the third year.

"While ACC does not officially adopt its budget until May, I believe that this year's entire budget planning process, which begins this month, must be dominated by objectives that will advance the teaching and learning process at the college.

"The first year of expansion includes additional faculty for Computer Information Systems and the Semi-Conductor programs along with additional Math and Science faculty. The 20 new faculty are equally balanced between the workforce areas of the college and the academic university transfer programs. This reflects the college's balance in serving these two missions.

"The workforce program additions, however, will allow the college to expand into several new programs including Pharmacy Assistantships, a Surgical Room First Assistant program, and Interpreter Preparation.

"The increase in full-time faculty, however, is not based solely upon the need to meet new program development, but also to address an imbalance in the use of part-time faculty that ACC has had for many years. I believe that ACC needs to have its ratio of full-time to part-time faculty more closely reflect the patterns at Texas' leading community colleges. Our ratio currently trails behind Dallas Community College, Houston Community College, North Harris, Collin County and Tarrant. In comparison to this group of colleges, we have the least full-timers available per student. In addition to reducing the interaction between faculty and students, especially outside of class, the absence of full-timers impacts the creative renewal of the college. The full-timers do the overwhelming majority of curriculum work-to keep the college up to date.

"During my first year at ACC, I have found we have difficulty in staying current at ACC, because we don't have sufficient full-timers who have the time to devote to program renewal issues. While the quality of instruction within the classroom using our mix of part-time to full-time has been very good, we fall behind in keeping up with other colleges on the introduction of new programs or keeping ourselves at the cutting edge.

"We are currently very large users of part-time faculty with only 22% of all teaching faculty being full time. While this is an improvement over 1992 when our accrediting agency, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) criticized the college's percentage of only 17% full-time faculty, the college's progress has been slow at best. In 1997, we had 1,074 adjunct faculty and they taught 64.7% of all classes.

"The large use of part-timers led to an organization concentrated on monitoring and supervising part-timers, rather than focused on issues of teaching and learning. The situation was further exacerbated by the ACC policy of having many full-time faculty supervise part-time faculty rather than teach students or work on curriculum and program change.

"The reorganization implemented during my first year increased the number of sections taught by full-timers, but has not been able to provide sufficient full-timers for both instruction and the renewal of our teaching and learning environment at ACC.

"Under the proposal, ACC by the third year will have 42% of its class sections taught by full-timers. This percentage represents a good mix for our area. The plan will not eliminate the appropriate use of part-time faculty, especially in the workforce area. It will also allow us to continue to draw upon a strong supply of very well qualified, part-time faculty because of the high education levels in this region.

"It will be essential to continue to monitor our situation. Additional full-time faculty may be necessary beyond the 60, if we experience significant enrollment increases. In particular, we will need to determine if we have sufficient full-time faculty for the essential tasks of developing a world-class community college with a world-class curriculum. I believe that with this plan for 60 new full-time faculty, we will more closely approximate the accepted national patterns while taking into account our unique situation in Austin."

Dr. Fonte stated that his expectation is that within a year Austin Community College will surpass ratios which exist in Houston and Dallas. He indicated that advertising for full-time faculty will begin within the next two weeks, and will include national publications.

Several Board members expressed appreciation to Dr. Fonte for establishing a three-year plan to increase full-time faculty at the College. Dr. Fonte stated program coordinators, task force chairs, and deans were involved in this very elaborate process and preparation of the plan.

Announcements

• Dr. Frank Friedman, Executive Vice President for Students and Academic Services, stated scheduling of adjunct faculty for the Summer began on February 2.
• Beverly Watts Davis distributed information to Board members and called attention to the availability of Community Outreach Partnership Centers Program Grants. She indicated her interest in Austin Community College applying.
• Hunter Ellinger distributed a January 31, 1998, update of College Policies, including recent revisions.
• Dr. Sharon Knotts Green stated the Silver Anniversary Conference of the Texas Association of Black Personnel in Higher Education will meet in Fort Worth on April 2-4, 1998, at the Worthington Hotel. Registration forms are available from Dr. Green.

Recess

The Austin Community College Board of Trustees recessed into Executive Session at 8:40 p.m. to consult with Legal Counsel regarding pending and contemplated litigation pursuant to Texas Government Code 551.071.

Reconvene

The Board of Trustees of Austin Community College reconvened in public session at 8:50 p.m.

Adjournment

There being no motion before the Board, the February 2, 1998, meeting of the Austin Community College Board of Trustees was adjourned at 8:50 p.m.

 Approved By

Dr. Carol Nasworthy, Board Chair

Dr. Lillian J. Davis, Secretary