Creston— The Southwestern Community College (SWCC) board of directors met Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2019, at 5:30 p.m., in the Administration Center on the Creston campus.
The board approved the college’s annual dues to the American Association of Community Colleges.
During the meeting, the board re-appointed the following members to the Education Foundation board for the 2019-20 year: Amy Hook of Creston, Randy Huewe of Creston, Rick Oshel of Osceola, Allen Pohren of Red Oak, Jerry Smith of Osceola, Alec Turner of Corning, and Dr. Barb Crittenden, SWCC representative.
The board approved a building partnership contract with the Decatur County Development Corporation. Bill Taylor, vice president of instruction, told the board this would be the fourth year of this joint project with Decatur County Development Corporation and the Central Decatur Community School District. Through this project, the college’s high school carpentry and building trades career academy with the Clarke, Central Decatur, and Lamoni school districts will construct a home on Decatur County Development Corporation-owned property in Leon.
Tom Lesan, vice president of economic development, gave board members an update related to the construction projects on the Creston campus. Lesan said the renovation of the science labs is approximately eight days ahead of schedule. The concrete work is complete in the labs, the sheetrock has been hung, and the walls have been taped and mudded. The science lab project is on track to be completed by Thanksgiving break. Science classes will once again be held in the labs at the start of second semester classes in January. Lesan said the expansion of the Ag Site facility is a little delayed due to the rain, but all concrete work is now complete.
Taylor presented to the board regarding the Guided Pathways grant SWCC recently received from the Iowa Department of Education. Taylor explained Guided Pathways as a nationwide student success initiative for community colleges focusing on simplifying student pathways to degrees, implementing intrusive advising practices to assist students, eliminating roadblocks by identifying at-risk students, and developing systems to track outcomes that lead to credentials, transfer, and/or employment. The college received a $60,000 grant and the grant itself will have an implementation phase of two years. As part of the grant, SWCC will hire a part-time success coach, purchase Dropout Detective software to assist with retention of students, and create co-requisite courses in developmental English and mathematics.
Kim Bishop, SWCC dean of student services, told the board the college is exploring the addition of a collegiate Esports program. Bishop said in 2018 there were 73 college varsity Esports programs in the nation and already today there are more than 130 collegiate programs. Two colleges in SWCC’s athletic conference have already implemented teams. Bishop said research shows Esports programs are growing enrollments and attracting a population of students that hasn’t been attracted to colleges in the past. The NJCAA, the national governing body of two-year college athletics, announced the creation of NJCAA Esports in September 2019. Bishop said research will continue on this topic with the possibility of implementing a team at SWCC for the 2020-21 academic year.
###