STLCC-Meramec hosts four forums open to students, faculty and staff, allowing for open communication.
By: SPENCER GLEASON
Editor-in-Chief
Meramec Interim President Pam McIntyre had a round-table question and answer open forum
Interim STLCC-Meramec President Pam McIntyre had an open forum on Nov. 20. The question and answer round-table atmosphere gave an opportunity for faculty to have an unguarded discussion with McIntyre.
During the forum, McIntyre answered questions that dealt with STLCC’s removal from the League of Innovations and student tracking attendance issues, as well as higher education, updating the STLCC website and the Western Governors Association.
The League of Innovation is an international organization dedicated to increasing the community college movement. It is made up of 19 schools that develops web resources, provides services and leads projects and initiatives to continue efforts to make positive differences for students and communities.
“The college has been reaffirmed in the League of Innovation two different times now because every time a chancellor leaves, the school goes through a review as to whether or not they remain in the league, as a board member,” McIntyre said.
According to McIntyre, the League looks at ways the community college is being innovative and how the school does their curriculum differently than other community colleges.
“If you’re going to be moving things forward in an innovative way, you have to have the support [of the Board of Trustees],” McIntyre said. “Each time, when Zelema Harris became the chancellor and then when Myrtle Dorsey, Ph.D., became the chancellor, we presented six or seven different innovative projects. They said that they felt that there was some inconsistency in terms of how the board supported the administration. That’s all I know.”
Aside from the League of Innovation, McIntyre addressed the student tracking attendance issues.
“My understanding is that they have a committee working on that and faculty members are part of that committee. Part of the problem is, that it’s a Banner module that Banner still has to do some work on to make some of the things work,” McIntyre said. “The biggest problem that I’m aware of is how you do the attendance tracking for online and self-directive learning and internships.”
According to McIntyre, STLCC was the first community college to implement this particular part of the Banner module for tracking.
“Like anything, when it first gets rolled out, you can see some problems that exist in it. Some of the things, I think have fixes,” McIntyre said. “Some of the things, even in the spring semester, people will kind of work around. Banner is trying to go in and make the changes.”
Vice Chancellor of Finance and Administration Kent Kay hosted a budget forum for faculty
During the budget forum on Nov. 11, Vice Chancellor of Finance and Administration Kent Kay discussed the operating fund.
Kay went through the challenges for the 2015 fiscal year, which will begin on July 1, 2014 and go until June 30, 2015.
According to Kay, STLCC has eight challenges for the fiscal year. Among those, STLCC would have to adjust budgets to reflect current and anticipated enrollment, adjust adjunct salary budgets to reflect actual enrollment and identify funds for a possible salary increase.
“We are very fortunate — and I’ve looked at other community colleges,” Kay said. “to have the kind of support that the city of St. Louis and the county of St. Louis along with the little sliver of Jefferson and Franklin counties that we have and their support for community education.”
Despite the support, Kay said there would be a $3.6 million reduction in the amount budgeted due to enrollment decline. There would be an additional drop in the 2015 fiscal year enrollment due to demographics analysis and softer enrollments in first-time and transfer students.
According to Kay, budget assumptions for salaries and benefits include a possible one-percent increase in salary, which would cost $832,000, including benefits. There would be a $600,000 increase in medical insurance.
Although, these are projections, Kay said that there are challenges when there are necessary fees that are key to the success of the students.
“Sometimes it’s challenging when there are fees that are so key to the success of our students and our faculty and our staff,” Kay said. “But continue to do the good job that you’re doing.”
Interim Chancellor Dennis Michaelis, Ed. D., had an open forum with Meramec faculty to address concerning issues
The final forum scheduled at STLCC-Meramec was the open forum with the Interim Chancellor Dennis Michaelis, Ed. D., on Monday, Dec. 2.
After addressing the faculty, Michaelis answered questions and bounced potential ideas off of the Meramec staff.
“As you can imagine, I have lots of responsibilities over the coming months. I take those responsibilities very seriously,” Michaelis said. “A great deal of that has to do with listening to what all of the people who work at STLCC have to say. I want your opinions. I want to hear with what’s on your mind.”
Michaelis discussed the number of interim and acting positions not only at Meramec, but all across STLCC.
“The number of interim and acting positions, not only on this campus, but all across STLCC as well, concerns me,” Michaelis said. “I believe, that as soon as we can get to a point of stability or relative stability, the better off we are.”
Along with the Meramec president position being filled by an interim, the STLCC-Florissant Valley president position will soon be available with the upcoming retirement of Marcia Pfeiffer, who recently submitted her notice of retirement.
“She has guaranteed me that she will be an advisor in the coming days and months after she’s gone to finding her replacement. I really recommend to the board of trustees that we start a full-scale national search for her replacement,” Michaelis said. “I think one of the things that our college — not just Meramec, but all of our college — needs at this point is stability. I know that’s a little hypocritical of the guy who is interim chancellor, but that’s what I believe.”
Along with the number of interim and acting positions, Michaelis also addressed the Cosand Center and how much he wishes he could be closer to the students.
“I used to be at a community college in Texas and I’m not trying to bring Texas here, but one of the things that I know I’m going to miss here, after being there, is that I’m not around students at the Cosand Center,” Michaelis said. “I want to be around the students. I’m going to go to the campus and just hang out. Maybe visit a classroom or two or hang out in the student center.”
Although Michaelis knows his time at STLCC will be short, he let faculty know that his goal is to direct the college on track for long-term positive results.
“One of my real goals is to make sure that when I leave here, this will be a college that all the players in community college administration will look at and say, ‘That’s a heck of a job. I think I’ll apply for that,’” Michaelis said. “I think right now, there would be hesistation on the part of a lot of the best and the brightest around the country. You don’t want that. You want this college put in a position of what it has been in the past.”
Linda Nissenbaum, of Disability Support Services, addressed ways students and faculty can help during emergencies
During the safety forum on Nov. 21, Manager of the Access Office and Disability Support Services Linda Nissenbaum and Interim STLCC-Meramec President Pam McIntyre brought light to how students and faculty can prepare for emergency situations on campus.
Nissenbaum discussed what she considers to be helpful tactics prior to emergency situations at Meramec.
“Students are expected to take certain steps to ensure their own safety. One of the things that we ask is that they consider a personal emergency plan. This is online and it’s in our student handbook,” Nissenbaum said. “Just be aware that this is available. We want people to fill this out and take some proactive planning for their own sake. It wouldn’t be bad for all of us to maybe take some proactive planning and make sure that we have all these things available.”
Along with the personal emergency plan, McIntyre mentioned how useful emergency contact information is when the appropriate papers are filled out.
“We’ve now given the police dispatcher the ability to go up and access that information so that when the police officer calls they can call up their emergency contact and they can call that contact and say that an ambulance has been called,” McIntyre said. “Then the emergency contacts know to go to the hospital and meet the individual. The student has the ability to fill that out. The employees have the ability to fill that out. It’s that people have to fill it out.”
According to Nissenbaum this is something new for the police department.
“They didn’t have that access before. We’re always learning and finding new ways to support students in an emergency. That’s one of the ways we’ve done that,” Nissenbaum said.
Aside from preparing for an emergency situation, remaining calm is the best thing to do in an emergency. According to Nissenbaum, that will help resolve the situation in a smooth manner.
“I would think one thing is to remain as calm as possible because everything around you is going to be chaotic. And people tend to act in a chaotic way,” Nissenbaum said. “The best thing you can do is to make sure people understand what’s going on around them and to stay calm.
