Quarterly Report
TO THE BOARD OF REGENTS KCTCS PRESIDENT DR. RYAN QUARLES June 2024
The information contained in this report provides a summary of my activities and initiatives related to the three pillars of the 2022-26 Strategic Plan from April to June 2024.
A MESSAGE FROM DR. RYAN QUARLES
IT HAS BEEN A BUSY AND PRODUCTIVE QUARTER. I wrapped up my Focus on the Future Tour at the end of April. It was an incredibly rewarding experience to visit each of our KCTCS colleges. The leadership, faculty, staff, and students at each stop went out of their way to make me feel welcome and to really showcase their programs and students. I was blown away by some of our staff and student stories, and I enjoyed seeing many of our hands-on, technical, workforce-focused programs in person.
The 2024 General Assembly ended on April 15, and KCTCS fared very well in the budget that covers our next two years. Thanks to everyone who joined me in Frankfort for our advocacy days to talk to legislators and to support KCTCS. Our hard work and intentionality resulted in no cuts to our operational budget, a $6.9 million annual inflationary increase to our operating funds, $4.6 million to cover our skyrocketing fire and tornado insurance premium, and a considerable increase to the Work Ready Kentucky Scholarship, just to name a few. This support from the General Assembly is very important as we begin to look at the future of our system.
I had the opportunity to attend and speak at several community events including the American Enterprise Institute’s summit on the future of work, the Kentucky Chamber’s Young Leaders program, a breakfast conversation with Commerce Lexington that showcased KCTCS and BCTC, and the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education’s Climb Convening, which focused on KCTCS’s great work in the future of the healthcare workforce.
I joined leadership at Elizabethtown Community and Technical College as well as the Kentucky Governor, state legislators, and several community and workforce partners to cut the ribbon on the ECTC BlueOval SK Training Facility in Glendale. We’re proud to be a part of training the Ford battery plant workforce and bringing jobs to Kentucky.
May brought graduation season and an opportunity to let our students shine. I was honored to give the commencement address at Big Sandy Community and Technical College. I left those ceremonies inspired by our students — by their accomplishments, their determination, and all they’ve overcome. They truly have bright futures ahead of them in careers that will help their families and our state.
One of the most significant things happening this quarter was the beginning of work on SJR 179. As you know, this Senate Joint Resolution allows us the opportunity to work together to determine the best course for KCTCS to set our system up for a successful future. I’m excited about the conversations we’ve had, the experts we’ve heard from, and the collaborative spirit that my colleagues have had in their approach to this work. I’m encouraged and inspired by what we’ve done so far and am eager to continue.
I appreciate the support we receive from our Board of Regents, and I look forward to continuing to work with each of you for the success of our students and the future of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System. Please see a summary of this quarter that follows.
I. LEARNER SUCCESS
Established Transfer Agreements with the University of Kentucky, Ohio University, Asbury University, and Alice Lloyd College
While KCTCS maintains several transfer pathways with colleges and universities across Kentucky and in neighboring states, there are still many opportunities to explore. This quarter, we signed new transfer agreements with Ohio University, Alice Lloyd College, and Asbury University. Additionally, in early March, I met with University of Kentucky President Dr. Eli Capilouto to discuss how we could expand some of the great transfer opportunities UK has with Bluegrass Community and Technical College to other colleges in our system. I was very excited to get a
transfer agreement in place between UK and our entire college system in early June. These transfer agreements are built to be flexible and evolve with changes in higher education. We look forward to building on our partnership with UK to establish healthcare pathways — particularly in nursing — in the near future.
This quarter I also had meetings with the presidents of Northern Kentucky University, Centre College, and Midway University. I look forward to those future partnerships.
Formed the FAFSA Rapid Response Task ForceKCTCS, as well as colleges and universities across the country, dealt with unprecedented delays in students’ ability to apply for federal financial aid this spring. The delay stemmed from the largest overhaul in decades to simplify the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), and the potential impact of the delays was substantial. We know that about 80% of our credential-seeking students receive some form of financial aid each year. The inability to access that aid could be the difference in one our students completing their education. At the end of March, I launched the FAFSA Rapid Response Task Force, leveraging the strength of our system. Relying on our own experts at our colleges, we came together and developed a quick and significant response. This task force developed and implemented a communication plan for KCTCS students, provided estimated financial aid notifications for new and returning students, monitored and continues to monitor the impact of FAFSA simplification to provide recommendations for strategic enrollment actions, and worked to anticipate short- and long-term implications of aid notification and award delays so we can provide our students with solutions. At the end of May, we had received 85% of the number of FAFSA applications that we did at the same time last year. While still behind, this is a significant improvement from where we were in March (a little over 7,000 records had been received compared to around 35,000 at the same time the year before). This task force continues to work on solutions for our students. |
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Launched Dual Credit Week CampaignIn April, KCTCS celebrated Dual Credit week by recognizing many of our dual credit high school students and profiling them on social media and through news releases. KCTCS has 27,454 dual credit students from 354 high schools enrolled, representing 35% of our total enrollments. This campaign stressed that through taking their combined 142,624 credit hours, those students saved an estimated $13 million in tuition costs. We know the importance of continuing to offer these dual credit opportunities and improving our success in enrolling these dual credit students as full time KCTCS students after they graduate high school. As part of these efforts, I have visited local high schools to meet with some of our students, including serving lunch to them at Great Crossings High School in Scott County. I also had the chance to meet with several students who had completed associates degrees before graduating while I attended the Big Sandy Community and Technical College commencement ceremonies.
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Delivered Commencement Address at Big Sandy Graduation
In May, I was honored to give the commencement address at Big Sandy Community and Technical College. Meeting many of our students has been a highlight of my “first semester” of this job. Attending the two graduation ceremonies at Big Sandy really reinforced for me the importance of the diversity of our programs, the flexibility of our schedules and course offerings, and the need for our credentials to align to the state’s top workforce needs. Over the Fall 2023 and Spring 2024 semesters, KCTCS awarded 43,463 credentials, up from just under 40,000 last year. That includes over 31,000 certificates, over 10,000 associates degrees, and nearly 2,000 diplomas. I’m proud of our students — all they overcame to get here, what they’ve accomplished, and what they’ll go on to achieve — but I’m also proud of each faculty and staff member who helped make their successes possible.
II. EMPLOYMENT SUCCESS
Opened of the ECTC BlueOval SK Training Center
In May, I joined Elizabethtown Community and Technical College President Dr. Juston Pate, Governor Andy Beshear, state legislators, and community and business partners to cut the ribbon on the 42,000-square-foot ECTC BlueOval SK Training Center, which will begin onboarding classes in June. This is a great example of a partnership that will help KCTCS rise to the challenge to meet the needs of Kentucky’s employers and prepare the workforce of tomorrow to address the state’s labor shortages. The EV battery plant is expected to hire 5,000 employees, most of which will be trained at our KCTCS facility. We recognized 10 of its recent hires — all ECTC recent graduates — at the ribbon cutting event.
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KCTCS Named Workforce Partner on $1M Grant through National Science Foundation to Advance Additive ManufacturingKCTCS was awarded $1 million in funding in partnership with the Kentucky Science and Technology Corporation and the University of Louisville to advance economic development in the additive manufacturing — 3D printing — space. KCTCS will be responsible for expanding workforce development to ensure that companies adopting this technology have skilled talent to support their operations. We will also work to build more efficient bridging between the education infrastructure and the demands of the workforce. This will provide opportunities for students to explore additive manufacturing and build relevant skills. |
KCTCS Sponsored Boys and Girls Club Youth of the Year Awards for KentuckyIn April, KCTCS sponsored the Boys and Girls Club Youth of the Year Awards, which were held in Louisville. During the competition, high school students from Ft. Knox to Harlan compete for scholarship opportunities. With families and club staff from across the commonwealth in attendance, we provided information about the Work Ready Scholarship as well as Education First Employers. Strategic partnerships like these allow KCTCS to promote our pathways to students, parents, and youth influencers including Boys and Girls Club employees. We are looking at opportunities to further partner with Boys and Girls Club both at the local college level and for these statewide awards. |
Joined CPE for Climb Convening 2024: Sustaining Mental and Behavior Healthcare Careers
This event in May was dedicated to sustaining healthcare workforce careers through higher education pathways, peer worker training, and workforce collaboratives. In Fall 2023, KCTCS launched the CLIMB-Health Initiative, which creates postsecondary pathways at KCTCS for individuals in recovery/reentry seeking entry-level employment as peer specialists. This event featured work by the KCTCS CLIMB-Health colleges and our new postsecondary education initiatives supporting Kentucky’s recovery and reentry populations.
I spoke about the vital role KCTCS plays in sustaining the healthcare workforce by creating opportunities for marginalized populations by utilizing healthcare education pathways and workforce partnerships to help meet an ever-growing demand for these workers. We have over 800 CLIMB-Health students across our nine colleges with CLIMB-Health programs.
Highlighted How KCTCS is Connecting More Kentuckians to Employment at the AEI Summit
I joined Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education President Dr. Aaron Thompson and founder and CEO of One Workforce Solutions John Pallasch on a panel at a summit hosted by the American Enterprise Institute in May. The panel, The Future of Work in Kentucky: Education, Skills, and Opportunity, highlighted the great work being done in higher education — particularly at KCTCS with our focus on workforce development — to connect more Kentuckians to employment. We had a great conversation. I stressed the many benefits of KCTCS to Kentuckians from all backgrounds including our accessibility of location and schedule, our affordability, our online offerings, and our scholarship opportunities. I also highlighted our career-focused technical offerings that set students up for careers in the state’s most in-demand industries.
III. ORGANIZATIONAL SUCCESS
Began work on SJR 179: Hired Consultant, Developed Work Teams, and Established a Timeline for Completion
During the 2024 session, Senate Joint Resolution 179 was passed, directing KCTCS to determine and report findings and actions to improve and advance the existing system. It directs us to address 11 key items related to governance and organizational structure, affordability, administrative organization, academic programming, and student pathways including a statewide workforce plan. SJR 179 gives us the opportunity to create a roadmap for the future of a successful community and technical college system in our state. We are on an aggressive timeline to meet our deadline of presenting a Board-approved plan to the General Assembly in December. As such, we began work this quarter and have already laid the foundation for what is ahead.
I want to engage and empower the colleges in the creation of the action plans for each of the 11 items that we need to address. We have organized the 11 topics into five scope areas. Each of these Work Teams include representation from faculty and staff at the colleges and staff from the System Office to ensure we have balanced viewpoints and perspectives throughout this process. This quarter, our first work team, Governance and Organizational Structure, began meeting. I also brought on a consultant, Dr. Paul Friga, an expert in public higher education, to help us along our journey this year. I have and will continue to check in regularly with our legislators on our progress and work with CPE to ensure we are aligned with expectations. I look forward to the opportunities that this work brings.
Inaugural Giving Day Raised over $1.5M for KCTCS
On April 25, we launched our inaugural KCTCS Giving Day during Community College Month. This 24-hour fundraising event provided the opportunity for the entire commonwealth to come together to lend financial support for KCTCS scholarships, food pantries, emergency aid, student enrichment programs, and other initiatives for students facing financial hardships across the state’s 16 community colleges. Individuals and businesses were able to give locally to individual colleges or to the system. We had several successful match pledges — including a generous pledge from this board — and it was an incredibly successful first year. We received a total of 1,089 gifts and raised $1,504,362. We had 411 first-time donors, and the largest number of gifts came from KCTCS alumni. This was an incredible initiative, and we look forward to expanding it and raising more money for KCTCS next year.
Named Interim Presidents of Southeast and Big Sandy
We had several great candidates for the interim president positions at Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College and Big Sandy Community and Technical College. In May, I selected Dr. Patsy Jackson and Dr. Todd Brand to serve in those positions. Combined, they bring more than 50 years of experience in higher education to these roles. Both have great histories at KCTCS and significant experience at community colleges. Both are excited to assume their positions and bring energy and excitement to these interim offices and the willingness to work together for the betterment of the system. Both assumed their roles on May 9 and attended their first meeting of the President’s Leadership team at the end of May. That meeting of PLT was a deep-dive retreat into the work of SJR 179 and I was happy to have the insights of these new interim presidents at the table.
Requested Audit of Kentucky Fire Commission and Instated Acting DirectorThe Kentucky Fire Commission is a valuable member of our system and does important work in our state. As a result of some reports and initial findings early this year, the fire commission leadership is undergoing changes and as such, I am conducting a review of its processes, procedures, and fiscal stability. In May, alongside Kentucky Fire Commission Board Chair Ricky King, I requested the Office of the Kentucky Auditor of Public Accounts complete an independent audit of the commission to determine whether fire commission leadership were following all KCTCS policies and procedures. The findings of our initial review were disappointing to both the commission and to KCTCS. In the spirit of my commitment to transparency and accountability, we will be working closely with the General Assembly and the regulatory agencies to develop and implement new policies and procedures to ensure that transparency. I look forward to addressing and curing any audit findings and moving forward with an even stronger partnership with the Kentucky Fire Commission to serve our commonwealth. |
Completed Leadership Team by Filling Final Open Cabinet PositionsBridget Canter and Todd Kilburn joined my cabinet this quarter. Bridget, serving as the new vice president of human resources, has served in a similar role at West Kentucky Community and Technical College since 2006. Todd will join us in June as our chief financial officer. He most recently served as chief financial officer and business administrator for Fourth Baptist Church and Christian School and as vice president for institutional finance for Central Baptist Theological Seminary in Minnesota. Previously, he was CFO for the Idaho State Board of Education. Additionally, this quarter I named Shannon Rickett as my chief of staff and Hannah Rivera will serve as our full-time head of external relations and our legislative liaison. The final cabinet position is that of the provost. That search is well under way with many exciting and qualified candidates. |
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Completed Evaluations of the 16 College PresidentsOver the course of two weeks in late May and early June, I completed the evaluations of all 16 college presidents. In years past, this evaluation process has been drawn out and stretched across several months. I enjoyed speaking one-on-one with each of our presidents and I greatly appreciated the comments provided by their college advisory boards. I look forward to continuing to work together in the future. Also this year, I am bringing back annual evaluations of System Office employees. Those annual evaluations had been previously deferred due to changes in administration. Bringing back that evaluation process is crucial to our commitment to reorganizing System Office and aligning ourselves with the new compensation structure. Implemented Compensation Changes Across the SystemIn late May, KCTCS notified all its employees about the results of the compensation study, the new structure, and updated salary bands — approved by the Board of Regents in December 2023 — and how they would be impacted on July 1. As many of you know, this new compensation structure is 20 years in the making and the result of careful analysis and consideration aimed at aligning our compensation practices with our strategic goals and the evolving landscape of higher education. We didn’t receive any feedback that wasn’t expected, and we have been able to provide employees |
with information regarding the key features of the new compensation structure and changes to job titles. This new structure is designed to ensure that KCTCS remains competitive in attracting and retaining top talent and is intended to provide clearer career progression paths for faculty and staff. Fostered Community Partnerships: Kentucky Chamber, Commerce Lexington, Winchester Clark County Industrial Authority and MoreI’ve been hard at work this quarter fostering partnerships with industry leaders and building relationships in our communities. I had a great meeting with Kentucky Farm Bureau President Eddie Melton and spoke to the Winchester Clark County Industrial Authority about future partnerships with business and industry leaders in workforce. Additionally, I joined a panel of young CEOs at a young professionals event hosted by the Kentucky Chamber and joined Bluegrass Community and Technical College President Dr. Greg Feeney for a Commerce Lexington breakfast where we had the opportunity to showcase the great work of BCTC and KCTCS and also talk about the potential for workforce and student success when more local businesses and industries partner with us. I am working to capitalize on existing relationships and forge new partnerships to provide more education and career opportunities for our students. |
I HOPE YOU FOUND THIS BRIEF SYNOPSIS of our accomplishments during this last quarter helpful. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me. We have a lot to accomplish this calendar year, and I look forward to working with you, together, to shape our community and technical colleges for the next generation.
THE 16 COLLEGES OF KCTCS
are united in our commitment to making life better for our students, communities and the citizens of Kentucky
Ashland Community & Technical College
Big Sandy Community and Technical College
Bluegrass Community & Technical College
Elizabethtown Community & Technical College
Gateway Community & Technical College
Hazard Community & Technical College
Henderson Community College
Hopkinsville Community College
Jefferson Community & Technical College
Madisonville Community College
Maysville Community & Technical College
Owensboro Community & Technical College
Somerset Community College
Southcentral Kentucky Community and Technical College
Southeast Kentucky Community & Technical College
West Kentucky Community & Technical College
