Published

Creston— The Southwestern Community College (SWCC) board of directors met Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2022, at 5:30 p.m., in the board room of the Administration Center.

The board approved consent agenda items, including the tentative agenda, payables, and depository resolution.

The board re-appointed the following members to the Education Foundation board for the 2022-23 year: Amy Hook of Creston; Julie Lanning of Creston; Rick Oshel of Osceola; Allen Pohren of Red Oak; Jerry Smith, board of trustees member, of Osceola; Alec Turner of Corning; and Dr. Marge Welch, SWCC representative.

During discussion of monitoring process, Fred Shearer of Corning, vice president of the board of trustees, asked about the proposed paraprofessional curriculum.

Lindsay Stoaks, SWCC vice president of instruction, explained the paraprofessional program could begin as early as spring semester. With the program in place, students could complete three of the college’s existing courses—EDU213 introduction to education, EDU151 observation and teaching I, and EDU245 exceptional learner-- to qualify to apply for the paraprofessional generalist certification through the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners. Shearer, a former public school administrator, said he thought this would be beneficial and that he considered it a good improvement.

During the president’s report, Dr. Marge Welch, SWCC president, asked Kim Bishop, SWCC dean of student services, to speak regarding the athletic department’s upcoming Athletic Fundraiser. Bishop said the 2022 Athletic Fundraiser is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 3, with doors opening at 5:30 p.m. She said it will be new to have the event on a week night. At this point, 15 tables have been sold. Individual tickets, $35 each, are also being sold for the event.

Smith, the SWCC board’s representative on the Community College for Iowa, formerly IACCT, reported on the most recent IACCT meeting. He said the group held a two-day meeting last week including a day with the Iowa community college presidents. He spoke briefly about the continued discussions taking place regarding the funding formula for community colleges and said this is an issue SWCC needs to watch very closely. Welch added that with leadership changes, there is only one president who was in place when the formula was established, therefore presidents are having to educate themselves about the formula itself. Smith said overall it was a very good two-day meeting.

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