Wrap-up on LTCC

5/09 unedited tahoe mt. news

By Kathryn Reed

Jiggering who can teach, bringing back the old president, naming buildings, rethinking Kids College, and sticking with the quarter system – it’s been a busy few months for Lake Tahoe Community College.
The “community” in Lake Tahoe Community College may disappear in the fall as the school begins to reign in who is allowed to teach.
LTCC is starting to enforce the “minimum qualifications” definition when it comes to hiring full time and adjunct faculty beginning with the 2009-10 school year.
Everyone who has taught at the college will be grandfathered in, which affects sporadic adjunct faculty more than full-timers because the college only hires full-time faculty with a master’s degree. LTCC is known for employing people whose real life experiences are as relevant to the classroom as those who hail from academia.
Tightening the rules will not have a fiscal impact because salaries are not based on years of education like in the K-12 system.
Assembly Bill 1725 from 1987 is the law that will be enforced. It says community college instructors must have a master’s degree in their discipline or equivalent.
“Or equivalent was more loosely applied than it should have been,” said Lori Gaskin, vice president of academic affairs at LTCC. “What we are doing locally is tightening up that, the ‘or equivalent’.”
AB1725 says traditional academic classes must be taught by someone with a master’s in that field. Leniency can come with hiring someone for a full-time job when the applicant has a master’s in a related field. That degree, plus professional experience and their published work would be some of the additional criteria.
The community college system realizes it’s not possible to get a master’s in all fields. Some two-year schools have automotive programs. A master’s doesn’t exist in auto mechanics. This is the case for many vocational programs.
In those scenarios, minimum qualifications are defined as a bachelor’s plus two years of relevant professional experience or an associate’s degree with six years experience.
Gaskin said enforcing the intent of AB1725 may limit course offerings.

Guy Lease returns

It took three board meetings for it to be solidified that Guy Lease, former LTCC president, would return as interim head of business services this month.
After Scott Lukas, Academic Senate president, on April 14 rattled off a slew of concerns about Lease’s return, the board decided a special meeting was necessary to fully air the issue. However, the board moved so quickly with a 5-0 vote to hire lease at the April 20 special meeting, those in the audience were heard asking “Is that it?”, while many looked baffled there was no time to speak.
At the April 28 regular meeting, board President Kerry David apologized for not allowing more time a week earlier, thus the reason for the third airing of the topic.
At that meeting, Lukas and instructor Steve Fernald expressed concerns about moral. This issue was also brought up at the April 14 meeting, with Lukas and instructor Mike Spina giving the board an earful.
In June 2006, two years before Lease retired, the faculty issued a vote of no confidence in his leadership. Some on staff disagree with Lease’s past budget processes and worry the transparency that now exists will become clouded with his return.
With Lease’s long history with the college, he was VP of business services before becoming the second president, some faculty consider this a “sweetheart deal.”
Whether the board’s decision is a lingering thorn this fall could be evident by the faculty putting up candidates to challenge David, Mason and Molly Blann, all who will be up for re-election in November.
At the third meeting, Fernald asked for the board to meet with the faculty to explain the rationale for bringing Lease back despite a 24-1 vote out of 44 full-time faculty members to not have Lease return. David promised such a meeting would happen.
Spina was particularly concerned with how it looks like the State Teachers’ Retirement System is being circumvented.
It was also brought up that the college would be paying Chris Janzen, who retired effective April 30, his vacation pay for two months and cutting Lease a check.
It will cost the college $11,810 a month, with $10,498 going to Lease and $1,312 to Professional Personnel Leasing, the consulting company he works for. Lease is supposed to work 40 hours a week. He did not attend any of the board meetings.
The board points to Lease’s ability to step in without a learning curve, especially with the unknown fiscal impact of the May 19 special election.
Applications for a permanent hire will be taken until June 13, with July being the soonest someone could be onboard. Lease’s contract expires in nine months or when someone is hired full time.

Naming rights

Duke Theatre and Haldan Art Gallery may soon have company.
How the college goes about naming future parts of the campus is expected to be discussed by the board of education this month.
President Killpatrick said when he worked in Nevada the going rate was $250,000 to get a name on a community college building.
A slew of policies will need to be examined such as what happens if the building is torn down, what happens if someone disgraces the college, should the person be dead or living or does it matter, and other criteria other than a group or person having a hefty sum to give.
Killpatrick believes naming buildings after people “lends a certain amount of prestige to the college.”
He could see the fitness center and designated rooms at the library being the next to be named after someone – right after the demonstration garden. The anonymous donor for that project is expected to request whose name goes on the garden after it is completed.
Most likely it will be set up so any donated funds go through the college’s foundation.

Kids College

Kids College, the decade-old program that provides youngsters with non-traditional summer education, may not exist past this year because some college administrators believe it doesn’t fit in with the true purpose of a community college and others question its financial solvency.
The college board of education earlier this year voted to stick with the status quo for 2009, except that the college wants to be compensated for all expenses – including staff answering phone calls about the summer school.
Costs that have not been part of the equation in past years mean an increase in fees. Some of the classes had to be eliminated as well.
The goal each year is to break even. When a profit has been made, the extra money went into the college’s coffers. In lean years, the college made up the difference.
“It comes back to the primary mission of California community colleges. It doesn’t say to provide enrichment to K-12 students,” explained Gaskin, VP of academic affairs. She points to the classes primarily being non-academic as a reason for the college to disassociate itself with the program.
It is unknown if some other entity would run Kids College if LTCC backs out.
Classes are for ages 8-18. Forensics, CSI Tahoe, rock climbing, arts – those are the sorts of things the more than 300 kids can take.
“It's important that the community as a whole understands that for programs to continue, people have to participate in them. We're hoping that families will vacation in their own town and that they will invite their family and friends from other areas to come to Tahoe and attend Kids College classes with them,” said Lisa Huard, program coordinator.
Classes are listed at www.ltcc.edu. Registration, which is not available online, begins May 26. Classes start June 22. They are open to all kids – doesn’t matter the state they live in, if they live here full time or part time or are visiting.
For youth who can’t afford the fees, about $7,000 in scholarships is available from service clubs. For information, contact Lisa Huard at (530) 543-2310, ext. 225.

Quarter system intact

At the April 20 special board meeting, the bulk of the discussion was about whether the college should switch from quarters to semesters. Since the late 1980s this has been debated five times, with 2006 being the last time it was brought up.
The board voted 4-1 to keep the college on quarters like it has been since the school opened. Karen Borges was the dissenter.
A survey of faculty, support staff and students revealed no overwhelming sentiment to alter course.
Three institutions in the California Community College system are on quarters. Of the 107 semester schools, 46 are on compressed semesters – 16 weeks instead of 18. LTCC was considering the 16-week scenario.
Because of a change in software at the college a decision had to be made last month. The subject is not expected to be revisited in the next 10 years.
Editor’s note: Kathryn Reed has been an adjunct faculty member at LTCC. She does not have a master’s degree. She is slated to teach a Kids College course for the first time this summer.