Trustees approve new Job Board for students, employers

The regular session of the Butler Community College Board of Trustees met December 10 at 4:30 p.m. in the Dankert Board Room of the Hubbard Welcome Center.

The Consent Agenda was approved unanimously with Ken Bohon making the motion and Lechtenberg seconding. Under the Consent Agenda, Trustees approved a $12,500 contract with Handshake, a job board that connects employers and career centers with students seeking work and experience. Handshake works with more than 900 colleges and universities and more than 450,000 employers world-wide. The system will give area employers the ability to post job openings once and the job will register to all schools in the Handshake network. Handshake will be accessible via the college’s website by July 1, 2020.

Furniture was also approved related to the relocation of services from the Andover High School to the college’s 5000 Building on East 13th Street. Trustees approved a $29,851.62 purchase of 200 chairs and 13 carts for the new community room which will be available to the public. The successful bidder was John A. Marshall and Co. In addition, board members approved the purchase of 80 tables for the community room from Mitylite Inc. for $19,414.45.

Trustees ratified Memorandums of Understanding for Business Education Training Analysis (BETA), the college’s corporate trainer division. BETA will again partner with the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) as well as with BDI DataLynk, a Standards-Based Company offering Fiber Optic Association (FOA) sanctioned Fiber Optics Training courses.

SHRM and BETA will partner on the offering of four courses for human resource professionals. SHRM is the world’s largest professional, not-for-profit Human Resources Association with more than 260,000 members in 140 countries. SHRM is recognized as the one-stop shop and the go-to resource for solutions and services for handling people-management challenges. Information on the SHRM and Fiber Optics offerings can be found at www.butlercc.edu/beta.

Trustee Dr. Greg Joyce commented on the continuing education credits (CEUs) that Beta is working on to further development. “This touches so many different areas like healthcare and education.”

Trustees reviewed the College’s Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Dr. Esam Mohammad, Associate Vice President of Research and Institutional Effectiveness, highlighted for the board that the college achieved in 2019, for the first time more than 1,500 degree and certificate completers in a single academic year. The college had 1,496 completers in 2018.

“This is a hallmark for the institution to reach this threshold despite the recent enrollment decreases experienced,” Esam said.

The KPI report also noted that the Grade Point Average (GPA) of Butler students when transferring to Wichita State University is higher than those students beginning at Wichita State University (also called WSU native students). The average GPA for Fall 2017 Butler students was 2.68 compared to the average of WSU native students of 2.55 GPA.

Eileen Dreiling and Jim Howell thanked the administration for the information on the KPIs. They found the information valuable and appreciate how it tied to the strategic plan.

BOARD ACTION ITEMS
Under Board action items Trustees reviewed proposed changes to the Board of Trustees Handbook and bylaws. The changes made mostly altered wording for clarity rather than altering actual board practice. Areas of clarity included filling board vacancies, publishing notices in the area newspaper of such vacancies and the passage of motions. Trustees also added wording was for clarity of action when recessing into Executive Session, when dealing with reimbursements for board travel, and formally tying the handling of complaints in with the college’s standard policy and procedures already in place. Ron Engelbrecht made the motion to approve with Lance Lechtenberg seconding. Board members approved the item unanimously.

Board members thanked Karen Karst, bookstore manager for her 22 years of service to the College. Karst announced her retirement effective December 31, 2019. She has been the right hand for the bookstore and over the years had given much attention and care to the students of Butler.

REPORTS
Among reports heard by the board, the Student Government Association reported on their activities engaging students. Recently, students helped cook a meal for those at the local Ronald McDonald House. Students enjoyed it and they hope to do more of this in the future.

RECOGNITIONS
Dr. Kimberly Krull, Butler president, thanked the more than 60 volunteers comprising El Dorado citizens and Butler faculty and staff, who assisted with El Dorado’s Celebration of Freedom event November 9.

The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, January 14, 2020.