December 8, 2022 Agenda and Minutes

Board of Directors Meeting

Thursday, December 8, 2022, 6:30 p.m.
room B123/Convening Center, Center for Advanced Manufacturing, 500 Technology Way, Florence, KY 41042

Board Members Present: 
Haley Anderson
John Baines
Larry Brown
Charlie Coleman
Dr. Justin Ervin
John Hayden
Erik Hermes
Madeline Kues
Charles L. Session, Jr.

Board Members Absent: 
Ruth Howell

Gateway and KCTCS Faculty and Staff Present:
Phil Dischar, Marketing Manager
Jane Frantz, Executive Assistant, President’s Office
Dr. Fernando Figueroa, President/CEO
Dr. Denise Fritsch, Dean of Institutional Effectiveness
Christi Godman, Vice President, Workforce Solutions
Amy Hatfield, Associate Vice President, Human Resources
Adrijana Kowatsch, Vice President Development and External Relations
Larry Kraczek, Information Technology Specialist
Shelby Krentz, Director of Early College Opportunities 
Heather Milby, Student Financial Aid Specialist
Michael Orr, Director of Development
Doug Penix, Associate Vice President for Academic Services
Paul Tontillo, Director of Budget & Fiscal Services
Dr. Teri VonHandorf, Provost and Vice President, Academic Affairs
Andre Washington, Associate Vice President Enrollment
Ingrid Washington, Vice President, Student Affairs
Jamie Younger, Vice President, Administrative & Business Affairs

Guests:
Debbie Cannatella
Mark Young 

I.     CALL TO ORDER/PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE/MOMENT OF SILENCE/ROLL CALL
Chair John Baines called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. The board recited the Pledge of Allegiance and observed a moment of silence. Roll call was taken. The record will reflect that a quorum was present.

II.     MISSION MOMENT
Dr. Figueroa introduced Mr. Mark Young to speak to the board about his Gateway story. Mr. Young is a Gateway graduate and NKU student.  He is a veteran and was a firefighter in the Air Force reserves and for the city of Covington. He first enrolled at Gateway in the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) program. He continued to take classes at Gateway and explore different career paths. He has earned an Associate in Arts degree, Nurse Aid certification, and a Commercial Driver License (CDL).

Mr. Young said that his true calling is working with veterans, and he is achieving that by earning his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in social work.

In pursuing education, he has taken classes at other local colleges, and he returned to Gateway because of the quality of the education, the affordability, small class size, and individual attention. He encourages anyone who might be intimidated by college to go to Gateway and take advantage of the tools they provide to be successful. He was able to gain confidence and improve his study habits. He knows the faculty care deeply about the success of their students. Mr. Young offered the suggestion that Gateway provide opportunities for social engagement for adult learners.  

Mr. Chuck Session offered congratulations and thanks to Mr. Young.

III.     APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Chair Baines called for a motion to approve the minutes from the October 20, 2022, meeting. Upon motion by Mr. Erik Hermes, and seconded by Mr. Larry Brown, a vote was taken to approve the October 20, 2022, minutes as presented. The vote was unanimous to approve.

IV.     COMMITTEE REPORTS
No reports were presented

V.     CHAIRPERSON’S REPORT
Chair Baines asked each board member to consider donating to the Gateway Foundation with the pledge cards provided at the meeting. He encouraged participation at any level with the goal of 100% participation.  

Chair Baines asked the board members to write down words or phrases to express topics of interest and priorities for the college. He then read the notes aloud for the board to discuss and decide if the item was inside or outside of the board’s sphere of influence, as determined by the board’s duties and responsibilities. The notes included such items as how to connect with students; continuing improvement of staff and faculty; overcoming misconceptions about community college; providing a trained workforce; and discussing the vision, purpose and mission of the college. Discussion followed with the conclusion that whether the board concluded that the topics were inside or outside the board’s responsibilities, they are still things that at least one board member cares about. If the item is outside the board’s purview, then it may not be appropriate for the board to spend time on, given the limited scope of work as a board.

Chair Baines presented Mr. Session with a proclamation of appreciation since he is retiring from the board after this meeting. Mr. Session expressed appreciation for the dedication of Dr. Figueroa, the faculty, and staff.  He thanked the board members and exhorted them to keep up the great work, saying there is no more important mission than the education of the people of this region.

VI.     PRESIDENT’S REPORT
Dr. Figueroa invited Dr. Teri Von Handorf to present information to the board about enrollment trends and the impact on Gateway’s strategy to serve the region. The presentation included explanations of dual credit benefits for students, high schools and Gateway, and data on enrollment trends. In summary, Gateway is monitoring enrollment numbers with the goals of increasing the number of high school students who matriculate, that is, to enroll at Gateway after high school. Local schools are embracing the availability of Gateway online courses with credentialed faculty in combination with their own high school teachers as a face-to-face resource for students in the course. Dual credit enrollment in technical courses is not as high as in general education courses because not as many of the technical courses can be offered online, but Gateway is expanding class offerings on campus. Students in technical classes matriculate to community and technical colleges across the state at a higher rate than the students who take only general education courses. The number of students who earn associate degrees while in high school may increase, but those students are counted as completers for performance funding measures.

Dr. Von Handorf spoke about studies by the Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE) which show that students who participate in dual credit classes are more likely than those who do not take dual credit to enroll and succeed in higher education. Gateway data is reported through a platform called Decision Support System (DSS) that can track student success rates by course, classification (dual credit or credential seeking), modality (online, face-to-face, or hybrid), and other specifications.  

The budgetary impact of dual credit classes is monitored since tuition is only 50% of the full credit hour tuition cost. Gateway monitors enrollment, combines sections when they need to be, and shares this data with high schools so they know the reasons for class decisions. Gateway manages the impact of growing dual credit enrollment on staffing decisions such as hiring an academic advisor to be located part-time at the Ignite Institute to ensure exceptional service for the faculty and students. Gateway collaborates with the high schools to creatively use our campuses and theirs to expand access to dual credit. For example, the lineworker program is filled and will expand in the fall, thanks to the generosity of Duke. The high schools are working with Gateway to adjust the students’ schedule so they can take classes at Gateway in the evening for the lineworker program.

Mr. Doug Penix, the Associate Vice President of Academic Services, presented information regarding online learning, which is one of his areas of responsibility at Gateway. He gave an overview of online trends and explained the Gateway approach. Gateway’s online learning priority is the quality of the course for student success. Online learning expands access to high quality education; enables students to balance life, work, and school; and allows for quick response to changing technologies and student education needs.  

Mr. Penix reviewed enrollment data for online classes at Gateway, saying that the percentage of students taking at least one online course increased from 45% in 2017 to 68% in 2022. The percentage of students taking only online courses has increased to 37%.  He reviewed the terminology of the delivery options for online classes.  

Success data for online courses is monitored very closely. An example of addressing a problem was with a general education course that showed a decreasing success rate. The dean, faculty member and course designer worked together to make some changes and success improved 30%.  

Mr. Penix reviewed financial data as measured through the number of Gateway delivered credit hours and total number of credit hours generated by Gateway students. The difference arises when Gateway students take courses at different colleges. The support and services for students is at the same level for online and on campus students. A student support module is built into every course shell for centralized access for live video help and 365 tutoring.

Some course demands are large, and Gateway is the first college in KCTCS to hire faculty who are 100% online. These trends may affect decisions about facilities and space, but Gateway is being careful not to make any immediate changes in case things change and students start to take more face-to-face classes. We are continuing to look for new ways to use space and technology.

Gateway and KCTCS are focused on the quality of online courses. KCTCS has created a book of essential standards as the guide to building a quality course based on four categories – course design, interaction and collaboration, assessment, and learner support. Gateway has been working on these aspects of online learning since the beginning of our online course development under the Innovative Pathways in Technology and eLearning Careers (IPTEC) grant 10 years ago. Gateway developed a course template that is consistent across the college so that once a student is familiar with a Gateway online course, they can navigate all of the courses. Gateway has developed over 125 courses, 142 certified online faculty, more than 30 certificates that are 100% online, and five online associate degrees.

Mr. Andre Washington, Associate Vice President for Enrollment gave a report on the final fall 2022 enrollment numbers exceeding the goals and progress on spring 2023 enrollment. His department, faculty, and staff are working to increase the number of students who re-enroll before the end of the semester. He asked the board members to speak to family, friends, and colleagues about Gateway programs and to share that there are multiple start dates for students to enroll throughout the semester.

Mr. Paul Tontillo, Director of Budget & Fiscal Services, shared that the budget outlook is favorable. The key drivers for fall and spring tuition are both looking better than plan. Other factors that are positive or stable so far are summer tuition, Workforce Solutions programs, and state appropriation. The expense drivers of salaries and benefits are stable as budgeted. Tuition waivers are expected to be higher than initially projected and student bad debt has increased slightly, but overall, it is probable that we will be slightly ahead of budget.

Dr. Figueroa concluded the President’s report with a reminder to the board about the updates to the college board handbook from the system office, pointing out earned media opportunities that he participated in in the last few weeks and meetings with new Northern Kentucky legislators, sharing new and continuing outreach to underrepresented populations with the Esperanza Center and Gateway DEI efforts, and offering a goodbye to retiring Mr. Jamie Younger, Vice President, Administrative & Business Affairs.

VII.     ADJOURNMENT
Chair Baines called the meeting adjourned at 8:12 p.m.

Important Dates to Remember

Board Meetings 2023 - February 9, March 30, May 18, September 7, October 19, November 30