Board Meetings

    KCTCS Board of Regents

    Board of Regents Meeting Minutes
    March 14, 2024
    9:00 a.m. EST
    KCTCS System Office, Conference Room 102 A/B

    1. CALL TO ORDER
      Chair Martin called the regularly scheduled meeting to order on March 14, 2024 at 9:03 a.m. EST.

      Attendance
      Chair Barry Martin (Present)
      Vice Chair Keith Hamilton (Present)
      Secretary Brianna Whitten (Present)
      Mr. Rusell Cox (Absent)
      Ms. Karen Finan (Present)
      Mr. Christopher Girdler (Present)
      Ms. Kimberly Greene (Present)
      Mr. Joseph Heerdink (Present)
      Ms. Layah Hodges (Present)
      Dr. Patsy Jackson (Present)
      Ms. Alexandra Martin (Present)
      Ms. Candace McGraw (Absent)
      Ms. Kelly Rabinowitz (Present)
      Mr. James Lee Stevens (Present)

    2. OPEN COMMENT PERIOD

      There were no requests for open comment.

    3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES

      Regent Whitten made a motion to approve the minutes of the December 7-8, 2023 Board of Regents meeting. Regent Jackson seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

    4. CHAIR’S REPORT

      Chair Martin discussed the events he has attended with Dr. Quarles in 2024, including the Kentucky Chamber Dinner and the Louisville Healthcare Heroes event.

    5. PRESIDENT’S REPORT

      Dr. Quarles thanked the Board, the Presidents, his Cabinet, and staff. He then outlined his first 70 days in office as KCTCS President.

      KCTCS has met with one hundred members of the General Assembly, executive branch leaders, including CPE, and university presidents. Dr. Quarles has begun traveling to all sixteen colleges. A System Office forum was held in January, and another is planned in April with special guest Paul Patton.

      Dr. Quarles introduced several new members of his staff: Dr. Tony Newberry, who is serving as his senior advisor in a short-term capacity, Derrick Ramsey who is working closely with Workforce Solutions, and Shannon Rickett who will lead the newly created Automotive Caucus. Dr. Quarles updated the Board on several vacant Cabinet positions and announced that KCTCS is moving to a Provost model to align with other Kentucky universities and community college systems around the nation. The Southeast and Big Sandy President positions were recently posted to internal candidates only.

      Dr. Quarles emphasized the need to be proactive and not reactive. His focus will be on the most relevant initiatives to reduce initiative fatigue. He stated the President’s Leadership Team (PLT) will be doing a holistic review of the entire system.

      Dr. Quarles provided notice to the Board that he has joined the Goodwill and God’s Pantry Foodbank boards.

      KCTCS has corrected three of the findings from the state audit and is working on a forensic audit to be concluded by October. The System Office has instituted a back to office policy and there will be a reorganization of the System Office once it is determined what functions should be at the System Office, at the Colleges, or shared. He is also developing an evaluation tool for his Cabinet and PLT.

      Dr. Quarles provided an update on pending legislation including Senate Joint Resolution 179 which calls for an evaluation of KCTCS. Finally, Dr. Quarles congratulated Dr. Phillip Neal, who is a finalist for CEO of the year, and complimented Technology Solutions on a successful Peoplesoft merger.

    6. INCREASE LEARNER SUCCESS

      Acting Provost Waggoner provided updates on enrollment, program approvals and suspensions, the AI Steering Committee, the Online Learning Assessment plan, and the Program Optimization workstreams.

      Regent Finan made a motion to approve the awarding of KCTCS colleges’ candidates for degrees and diplomas and ratify certificates as presented in the supplemental booklet, KCTCS Candidates for Credentials October 2, 2023 – March 14, 2024, with the credentials (degrees, diplomas, and certificates) to be awarded to the candidates upon certification that the requirements have been satisfactorily completed. Regent Heerdink seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

    7. INCREASE ORGANIZATION SUCCESS
      1. Huron Project
        Dr. Sarah Ballard provided updates on the twelve priorities and various workstreams.

        Space Utilization
        Processes and procedures have been developed for capital construction projects, space utilization and external lease management.

        Academic Programming
        Data has been analyzed and specific projects have been identified.

        Financial & Organizational
        Data from the HAAS survey has been analyzed and future state options have been identified for review.

        Strategic Sourcing
        A redesigned Procure to Payment SharePoint site has gone live and staff has researched eProcurement options.

        Project Management Office (PMO)
        A project management tool has been developed and a project management SharePoint site will go live April 1st after the data is validated. The PMO is also providing support for the other workstreams.

        Data Strategy
        A data assessment and data dictionary has been completed and the team is coordinating with the space utilization workstream on a data crosswalk.

        Acting Vice President of Human Resources Canter provided an update on the Compensation Program.

        Employee Impact Analysis
        All staff positions will be mapped, validated, and calibrated by March 15th. Employees will be notified May 1st of their new job title and pay band. The new KCTCS Compensation program will go into effect on July 1 and any pay adjustments will be effective as of that date. No employee will move backwards in pay, but not every employee will receive a pay raise.

        The Board took a recess at 10:41 a.m. EST and resumed at 10:55 a.m. EST.

      2. KCTCS Board of Regents Audit Committee Meeting
        Chair Martin presented the Audit Committee report. Internal Auditors Dean Dorton conducted an IT audit, Marketing audit and business office audits for Madisonville Community College (MCC), Owensboro Community and Technical College (OCTC), Hopkinsville Community College (HCC) and Hazard Community and Technical College (HCTC).

        The IT audit had one high risk finding, two moderate findings and two low risk observations. Dr. Quarles noted that Technology Solutions is ahead of schedule on several recommendations from the internal audit. The Marketing audit had one moderate finding, and two low risk observations. MCC had one low risk observation. OCTC had no findings. HCC had no findings. HCTC had one low risk observation.

      3. KCTCS Fiscal Year 2022-2023 External Audit
        External Auditors FORVIS reported on the KCTCS Fiscal Year 2022-2023 External Audit. Mary McKinley reported an unmodified clean opinion on financial statements. No significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in internal controls were found. The GASB 96 was adopted during fiscal year 2022-2023. Ms. McKinley presented the Board with the Audit Committee letter.

        Regent Whitten made a motion to approve the 2022-2023 Annual External Audit Report. Regent Jackson seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

      4. Financial Report
        Interim Vice President Combs thanked his staff and the external auditors. Mr. Combs reported that KCTCS is in a strong net position as of December 31, 2023. Mr. Combs reported that investment income is up, and state deposits have increased from tuition revenue. The Sales and Service category is down because HEERF funds have been expended, and the Public Service category is down because KBEMS has been removed from the KCTCS budget. The Operation and Maintenance expenditures are also down due to efficiencies. Mr. Combs reported that Dr. Quarles has allocated an additional $2 million out of the President’s initiative budget to fund TRAINS through the end of the fiscal year. Between July 1st and December 31st, there were 162 TRAINS projects with 12,505 enrollments.

      5. KCTCS Board of Regents Required Reserves
        Mr. Combs and Dr. Quarles recommended to the Board a 3% budget reserve for fiscal year 2025. The recommendation is based on feedback from the College Presidents and Business Officers. Dr. Quarles indicated that the recommendation could change year to year.

        Regent Hodges made a motion to approve setting aside a 3% budget reserve of State Appropriation and Tuition and Fees less System-wide contracts for FY 2025. Regent Finan seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

      6. KCTCS 2024-25 Tuition
        Mr. Combs stated that the Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE) approved no more than a $7 increase to KCTCS’ tuition over 2 years and KCTCS approved a $4 tuition increase last year. The recommendation is a $3 increase to tuition this year.

        The Board discussed the need to increase tuition to attract and retain top talent. Regents Hodges and A. Martin reiterated that the increase in tuition is a worthy investment for students. Regent Whitten discussed the additional fees for a course on top of tuition.

        Regent Heerdink made a motion to approve and report to CPE a $3 per credit hour tuition increase for the 2024-2025 school year. Regent Hodges seconded the motion. The motion was approved. Regent Whitten and Regent Girdler voted no.

      7. KCTCS Budget Scenarios Including Employee Compensation
        Mr. Combs and Dr. Quarles outlined the Governor’s proposed budget, the House’s proposed budget and the Senate’s proposed budget, all of which are favorable to KCTCS.

        Mr. Combs indicated the colleges are budgeting for a 3% cost of living adjustment for the next fiscal year, for a total of $8.8 million dollars. It will cost $4.7 million dollars to bring all employees to the minimum of the new pay bands.

      8. KCTCS Capital Projects
        1. Fire Commission Property Acquisition
        2. JCTC Parking Garage Scope Increase

          Mr. Combs provided an overview of each capital construction project. The Fire Commission is requesting initial approval for their project and JCTC is requesting approval for an increase in the scope of their project.

          Regent Whitten made a motion to approve an interim project in the amount of $4,000,000 for the Fire Commission. Regent Rabinowitz seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

          Regent Hodges made a motion to approve the increase in scope for the JCTC Parking Garage. Regent Jackson seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

          The Board took a break for lunch at 12:22 p.m. EST and resumed at 1:00 p.m. EST.
      9. Ratification of Personnel Actions
        Acting Vice President Canter presented the personnel actions from October 31, 2023 through January 31, 2024 for ratification.

        The Board held a moment of silence for those KCTCS members that have passed away.

        Regent Finan made a motion to ratify the personnel actions. Regent Hamilton seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously with those present in the room.

      10. Quorum and Voting Procedure
        Hon. Duncan explained that the Quorum and Voting Procedure is to codify the manner in which the Board votes and to clarify that quorum is based on number of members and not number of votes.

        Regent Finan made a motion to approve the Procedure for Establishing Quorum and Voting. Regent Heerdink seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

      11. KCTCS Strategic Plan 2022-2026 Key Performance Indicators
        Associate Vice President Crouch presented on the key performance indicators for the 2022-2026 Strategic Plan.

        Goal 1: Increase Organizational Success
        The employee retention key performance indicator is above target. The alternative revenue indicator is a monitoring only metric and although alternative revenue has declined from the previous year, historically, KCTCS is well above where it was in the past.

        Goal 2: Increase Employment Success
        Both the targeted industry sector credentials and the post-KCTCS outcomes key performance indicators are up from the previous year.

        Goal 3: Increase Learner Success
        KCTCS has surpassed the ultimate target for the academic year enrollment key     performance indicator and has met the annual target for the two-year persistence rate key performance indicator.

      12. KCTCS 2025 Calendar
        Board Liaison Shannon Rickett presented the 2024-2025 Board of Regents meeting schedule.

        June 13-14, 2024: Southcentral Kentucky Community and Technical College
        September 19-20, 2024: Henderson Community College
        December 5, 2024: KCTCS System Office
        March 13-14, 2025: KCTCS System Office
        June 12-13, 2025: TBD
        September 18-19, 2025: TBD
        December 4-5, 2025: KCTCS System Office

    8. EXECUTIVE SESSION
      Regent Finan made a motion to go into executive session pursuant to KRS 61.810(1)(c) to discuss proposed or pending litigation and KRS 61.810(1)(f) to discuss individual personnel matters that may lead to the appointment, discipline or termination of an individual employee. Regent Whitten seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. The Board went into executive session at 1:27 p.m. EST.
    9. ADJOURNMENT
      Regent Whitten made a motion to return to open session. Regent Jackson seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. The Board returned to open session at 2:19 p.m. EST.

      Chair Martin announced that no action was taken in executive session.

      Regent Stevens made a motion to adjourn. Regent Jackson seconded the motion. The motion passed by consensus and the meeting adjourned at 2:21 p.m. EST.