Creston—The Southwestern Community College (SWCC) board of trustees met on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023, at 5:30 p.m., in the board room of the college’s Administration Center for their regular monthly board meeting.
Dr. John Franklin, SWCC interim vice president of instruction, spoke with the board regarding the Iowa Last-Dollar Scholarship (LDS) program. The program, which was launched during the 2019-20 academic year as part of the Future Ready Iowa initiative, awards recipients in Iowa community colleges or accredited private colleges tuition and fee costs for gaps not covered by other financial aid.
Franklin mentioned each year the Iowa Workforce Development Board reviews and approves an updated list of high demand occupations for the LDS grant program. He said business administration was recently added to the LDS statewide eligible programs of study list. Prior to this, business administration was listed by SWCC as one of its five flexible regional occupations (beyond the state-approved occupations). Due to this change, SWCC administration was asking the board for permission to add accounting as a regional selection to fill the opening created on the list by the move of business administration to the statewide list.
Following Franklin’s presentation, the board voted to approve accounting as a regional selection for the Last-Dollar Scholarship program effective for the 2024-25 academic year. Qualifying Southwestern students enrolled in the accounting program will now be eligible for Last-Dollar Scholarship funds in 2024-25.
Devon Tyler-Leith of Tyler Insurance Services, Inc., in Creston, attended the board meeting to speak regarding SWCC’s asset protection. Tyler-Leith said the insurance industry continues to operate in uncharted territory with weather events, crises, and natural disasters occurring on a regular basis throughout the country. She said she worked closely with Bill Meck, interim SWCC chief financial officer, as well as Brandi Shay, newly hired SWCC chief financial officer, to determine the best options for coverage for the college’s insurance renewal.
Items of note on the comparison of 2022 and 2023 renewals include moving from a $2,500 property deductible to a $5,000 property deductible and increasing the wind/hail deductible to $50,000 for the Instructional Center and $25,000 for the Student Center/Allied Health & Science Center. Tyler-Leith said work comp remains stable with the Mod Factor up a little from 1.21 to 1.24. The cyber limit was raised to $3 million and another form added was the flood and earthquake policy that gives the college another $1 million above the base of $150,000 that EMC provides for all campuses.
Following a question from Tony Cass of Creston, board president, about premium amounts, Tyler-Leith said they would have an indication of rates in January, but won’t know for sure until March or April; however, she indicated the property increase would likely be at least at the 20 percent level, matching last year’s increase.
The Bond Trac Report included on the meeting agenda was tabled until the next meeting.
Kim Bishop, SWCC dean of student services, reported on fall 2023 enrollment. Bishop reported SWCC head count is up 54 students, for an increase of 3.4 percent from the fall of 2022. She reported credit hours are up about 1 percent, or 115 credit hours, from the previous fall. Bishop reported housing is vibrant this fall as well, with 213 students living on campus.
Wayne Pantini, SWCC vice president of economic development, spoke to the board regarding a potential state CDL grant opportunity the college is applying for this fall. The program, open to Iowa community colleges, was announced by Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds in August. The state will be awarding $5 million total for community colleges, with $1 million per college being the grant limit. The grant itself is due to the state on Sept. 25.
According to Pantini, southwest Iowa does not currently have a CDL provider. If awarded and implemented, Pantini said SWCC would hope to generate 50 enrollments each year.
Emily Shields, executive director of the Community Colleges for Iowa, spoke to the board regarding current efforts at the state level related to community colleges. Shields explained the purpose of the Community Colleges for Iowa and asked board members to consider becoming SWCC’s representative in the statewide organization.
###