COCONINO COMMUNITY COLLEGE RECEIVES $1 MILLION GRANT FOR CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

By R. Oliphant
Saturday, February 2nd, 2019

Grant received from the Dell E.  Webb Foundation last week

The Coconino Community College’s construction technology management program received a $1 million grant last week from the Dell E.  Webb Foundation.  The funds will be used to renovate the current Construction Technology Management facility at its Flagstaff Campus.  It will also be used to expand existing CTM classes and in-demand programs such as heating, ventilation and air-conditioning and refrigeration or HVACR technology.

The ultimate goal is to increase the number of degree and certification earners in the construction trades from an average of 30 students 294 students over a three-year period.  This is in response to growing demand in the industry, according to the Department of Labor statistics, and a growing number of northern Arizona contractors who cite shortages in the local skilled workforce.

 

Categories : CTEC

NEWEST DATA SUPPORTS FAR LARGER COMMUNITY COLLEGE INVESTMENT IN VERDE VALLEY

By R. Oliphant
Thursday, January 31st, 2019

Strongly suggests Valley should receive back about 35% of $80 million College annually spends rather than an estimated 13% it now receives; it’s time for an Administrative College

The newest population and business data strongly suggests that Yavapai Community College should invest much more annually in the Verde Valley than its current estimated $10 to $12 million dollars of its $80 million dollar budget. 

The current Verde Valley population is reported by the Verde Valley Economic Development organization at 72,461, which is 31% of the total Yavapai County population.  (A study used in January 2018  by the College put the east County population at 74,663, west County population at 145,776 and 12,296 other.)  The Verde Valley also has 3,654 business establishments, which is 39.3% of all businesses in the County.  All of the data was contained in the Verde Valley Economic Development Organization  2018-2023 Strategic Plan.

The residents and businesses all pay property taxes that are now the primary source of support for the Community College. Data has repeatedly shown a significant portion of those taxes is being used to develop programs and projects for the citizens on the west side of the County. 

The Valley has many needs including a robust Career and Technical Education facility, student residence hall, expanded viticulture program with expanded labs, expanded culinary program and additional facilities, expanded nursing  training facilities, sound stage to develop its film program, a small indoor performing arts facility to develop its performing arts curriculum, a robust music program, etc. It is very clear that only with an Administrative College, which will give the 72,461 residents some control over how their tax money is spent, will the Valley have any chance at developing and expanding any of these programs and the curriculum on the Verde Campus or at the Sedona Center.

Categories : Administrative College

MATH READINESS AMONG US HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES A HUGE PROBLEM; DROPS TO 14-YEAR LOW IN 2018

By R. Oliphant
Wednesday, January 30th, 2019

Experts warn that the negative trend in math readiness is a red flag for our country

In a report issued at the end of October 2018, readiness in math following high school graduation is trending downward among ACT-tested US high school graduates. The report said it had fallen to its lowest mark in 14 years. It was based on 2018 graduates around the country who took the ACT® test.

The percentage of ACT-tested graduates who met or surpassed the ACT College Readiness Benchmark in math—suggesting they are ready to succeed in a first-year college algebra class—fell to its lowest level since 2004. Only 40% of 2018 graduates met the math benchmark, down from a high of 46% in 2012.

In addition, students’ average score on the ACT math test dropped to its lowest level in more than 20 years—down to 20.5 (on a scale of 1 to 36), continuing a slide from 21.1 in 2012 to 20.7 last year.

According to ACT, student readiness in math was on an upswing from the early 2000s to 2012, but it has gradually declined since then.

“The negative trend in math readiness is a red flag for our country, given the growing importance of math and science skills in the increasingly tech-driven US and global job market,” said ACT CEO Marten Roorda. “It is vital that we turn this trend around for the next generation and make sure students are learning the math skills they need for success in college and career.”

You may read the full October 2018 report by clicking here.

 

Categories : ACT
Tags :

ARIZONA LEGISLATURE MAY GIVE COMMUNITY COLLEGE UNDOCUMENTED GRADS TUITION BREAK

By R. Oliphant
Wednesday, January 30th, 2019

Bill would direct colleges to create new tuition rate for these Arizona students, which at Yavapai is now $366 per credit when taking more than six credits compared to $87 per credit for residents

Senate Bill 1217, sponsored by Cave Creek Republican Senator Heather Carter, would direct Yavapai Community College and other colleges in Arizona to create a new tuition rate for all students who graduate from Arizona high schools.

The Bill would allow young immigrants covered under the Federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and students who are undocumented to pay a different price than the out-of-state tuition rates, which are about three to four times higher than in-state rates.  If the bill passes, a DACA student who graduates from an Arizona high school would be eligible for the new tuition rate for the four years after they graduate from high school.

At Yavapai Community College, the standard per credit tuition rate for residents is $87.  Out-of-state tuition for a nonresident taking more than seven credits is $366 per credit.

The bill follows a decision by the Arizona Supreme Court in April that ruled that Maricopa Community Colleges could not legally grant in-state tuition to DACA recipients.

 

Categories : Tuition

$2 MILLION DOLLAR MOVE FOR NARTA TO PRESCOTT CAMPUS NICE BUT WAS IT NECESSARY?

By R. Oliphant
Tuesday, January 29th, 2019

Some critics claim the expenditure is not educationally essential given the Prescott Valley training facility was claimed to be “state of the art”

The new training facility for the Northern Arizona Regional Training Academy (NARTA) on the Prescott Campus is nearing completion.  The total cost to taxpayers associated with moving NARTA from the Prescott Valley Center to the Prescott Campus is put at $2,037,000.  Taxpayers are picking up the entire cost of the transfer because no grant money is involved.

The change in location is a part of the College’s 2013 multi-million capital development Master Plan. This Plan has resulted in spending millions of dollars on the West side of the County for new parking lots, renovated and new classrooms and buildings.

Critics of the two million-dollar expenditure argue that the move is “nice,” but not educationally essential.  They point out that the location on the Prescott Valley Campus has been described as a state-of-the-art training facility for NARTA.  However, the Master Plan justified the move as minimizing travel for faculty and students and locating a program on the Prescott campus where housing is a little closer to the training.    Critics say the 10 to 15 minute drive from Prescott Valley to the dorms on the Prescott Campus hardly justified the $2 million expenditure.

Critics also were concerned about the two million-dollar expenditure because the building will be used exclusively for training 25 to 30 students during only two 20 week semesters annually.  This is unlike the Prescott Valley facility where NARTA shared classrooms with other students.

The Prescott Valley Chief of Police, Bryan Jarrell and the Prescott Chief of Police, Debora Black, both heavily lobbied the Governing Board at the March 2018 meeting for the project.  The Board voted 4-1 to spend the $2 million with Second District Representative Deb McCasland the lone dissenter. She argued that while she strongly supported the NARTA program, she did not see that this was a wise expenditure of scarce educational funds. 

NARTA acts as a regional training center serving city, county, tribal, and state law enforcement agencies throughout the state of Arizona. Recruits must be sponsored by an agency before entering the academy. Classes such as Drivers and Firearms Training and Stop and Approach are held at off-campus locations.

Yavapai County Sheriff’s Sgt. Karl Waak, the current academy commander, said in a College news release that the new headquarters is just what NARTA needed — functional space that isn’t shared with other college programs. He cited as a significant benefit the ability for cadets to conduct critical training drills indoors during inclement weather.

 

Categories : Construction

COMMUNITY COLLEGE WINE CENTER GIVEN MAJOR AWARDS IN COMPETITION FOR BEST ARIZONA WINE

By R. Oliphant
Sunday, January 27th, 2019

Receives double gold, silver and bronze medals for various varieties of its 2017 wine

The Yavapai Community College Southwest Wine Center was among 250 entries from 32 labels who competed for the best wines in Arizona at the azcentral Arizona Wine competition at the  Grand Wine Gala held Friday, January 26. This was a part of the ninth  Annual Grand Wine Festival that continued on  Saturday and Sunday at Heritage Square Park in downtown Phoenix – now the largest celebration of Arizona wine in the country.

The Center received a number of medals for its various wines.  It received a double gold medal for its Patada 2017 wine, a silver medal for its Malvasika Bianca 2017 wine, and a bronze medal for its Graciano 2017 and Red Storm 2017 wine.

Congratulations to the Southwest Wine Center for its outstanding performance.

(Source:  Arizona Republic, January 26, 2019, pp. 1C, 3C, 6C.) You may view the entire story about the wine competition in the Arizona Republic  by clicking here.

 

Categories : Southwest Wine Center

PEREY RECEIVES AWARD AT SAN ANTONIO CONFERENCE FOR “WORK IN CREATING CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION (CTE) PARTNERSHIPS AND PROGRAMS” IN VERDE VALLEY

By R. Oliphant
Friday, January 25th, 2019

Award based on “building and launching programs in culinary and hotel and restaurant management”

In a press release Yavapai Community College announced that Executive Dean of Yavapai College Verde Valley Campus and Sedona Center, Dr. James Perey,  recently received national recognition in accepting the PACE Economic Development Award at the Association for Career & Technical Education (ACTE) CareerTech VISION conference in San Antonio, Texas.

ACTE is the largest national education association in the United States, dedicated to providing educational leadership in developing a competitive workforce. The national winners for the ACTE division of Post-secondary Adult Career Educators (PACE) were announced at an award presentation recognizing outstanding post-secondary leaders in the country.

The PACE Economic Development Award recognized Dr. Perey’s work in creating Career and Technical Education (CTE) partnerships and programs tied directly to the economy.

Dr. Perey led Yavapai College’s $5 million renovation of the Sedona Center, which included building and launching programs in culinary and hotel and restaurant management tied directly to the local economy.

You may read the entire College press release by clicking here.

Categories : Career and Technical Education

COMMUTER MEAL PLAN A GOOD VALUE FOR STUDENTS ON PRESCOTT CAMPUS

By R. Oliphant
Thursday, January 24th, 2019

Why shouldn’t the meal plan concept be expanded to Verde Campus and Sedona Center? 

Yavapai Community College has a great commuter meal plan that is available to students other than resident hall occupants on the Prescott Campus.  As stated by the College in its marketing statement, these meal plans are a “great value” for those students who choose to purchase them.  And they are!

The question is this:  Why shouldn’t students on the east side of the County at the Verde Campus and Sedona Center have an equal opportunity to purchases similar plans?  Why should they have the same or similar benefits as those students on the Prescott Campus?

Hopefully, the new College president and/or the Governing Board will expand the program throughout the District.

Shown below is the advertisement for the Commuter Meal Plan on the Prescott Campus.

 

Categories : UNDERSERVED

YAVAPAI COMMUNITY COLLEGE HIRES LINA SHOOK AS ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR SEDONA CENTER WITH A HOST OF DUTIES PLUS PROGRAM DIRECTOR FOR OSHER LIFELONG LEARNING PROGRAM

By R. Oliphant
Wednesday, January 23rd, 2019

Alabama graduate, Masters from Auburn, working at the University of Montana  with decade of OLLI experience at Auburn University before moving to Montana will live in Sedona

Linda Shook

In a College press release, it announced that it had hired Linda Shook as the Associate Dean for the Sedona Center and Program Director for Osher Lifelong Learning Program. 

The College reported that Ms. Shook will live in Sedona.

Shook is a graduate of the University of Alabama and holds as Master’s Degree from Auburn University in Adult and Continuing Education Administration.  She spent the last year as the interim Summer Programs Coordinator/Summer Director at the University of Montana.

Prior to taking the position at the University of Montana, she served a decade with the OLLI program at Auburn University and spent a four-year stint as its director before moving to Montana.

She will be the guest of honor at OLLI’s kick-off spring luncheon programs. The first “Lunch and Learn” will be held on Wednesday, January 30, from 1:00 – 2:00 p.m., in room 34 of Yavapai College’s Sedona Center.

She will also be the guest of honor at the second lunch called the “Brown Bag Brain Buzz,” which will be at the Verde Valley Campus Thursday, January 31, from 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. in Room G-106.

According to the College press release, Shook will serve as the local OLLI Director and the Associate Dean of the Yavapai College Sedona Center, “the head of the College’s Community Education program in the Verde Valley, the organizer of the College’s programs for local high school students (specifically, their College for Kids Program), and the liaison between Yavapai College and the Sedona and Verde Valley city governments and other entities concerned with higher education and economic development in this area.”

It appears she will have her administrative plate overflowing with all these programs to oversee.

 

Categories : College for Kids, OLLI (Osher Lifelong Learning)

COLLEGE SPENDS $225,000 FOR DESIGN/COST ESTIMATES OF MULTI-USE (SOCCER) FIELD

By R. Oliphant
Wednesday, January 23rd, 2019

Tells Board at January meeting that funds for this project have been spent–where does such a project sit in terms of educational priorities?

 Vice President Dr. Clint Ewell reported at the morning workshop January 8 that Yavapai Community College had spent up to $225,000 to initially decide whether it wants to build a multi-purpose field on the Prescott Campus. This amount was approved 4-1 by the Governing Board in last year’s budget.

 Most observers are aware that the primary purpose of such a field is to replace the two leased fields now used by the boys soccer team and provide the soccer team with a field on the Prescott Campus. Critics argue that it is a needless expenditure of limited funds and unnecessary because the present leased soccer fields cost the College very little. Moreover, the current soccer fields have been used successfully for years and were selected for two national Junior College final championship events.

In addition to spending the funds for design, etc., last year the College moved over a million dollars from its capital construction fund for a parking lot adjacent the proposed soccer field to what it calls its “deferred maintenance fund.”  In essence, the move took the spotlight somewhat off the project and placed it in a less contentious area of the College budget.

Finally, the College Foundation has indicated it is willing to put almost a million dollars into the soccer field.

Neither the College nor the Governing Board has at any time indicated where such a project like this sits in the list of educational priorities for students in the District.  Wouldn’t it be nice to see a list of priorities?

Categories : Budget, Multi-use Field
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