July 6, 2001

Board of Regents Advances Seamless System

The KCTCS Board of Regents took action June 29 to promote seamless pathways and enhance service to students and communities across the Commonwealth.

In a series of votes, the regents supported the consolidation of functions, services and programs in the community and technical colleges of KCTCS. During its meeting at Madisonville Community and Technical colleges, the board:

• Endorsed the pursuit of single accreditation for community and technical colleges. Currently, community colleges are accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), while technical colleges are accredited by the Council on Occupational Education (COE).

Because of the vote on Friday, each of the 16 districts of KCTCS will move as appropriate to have all of its colleges accredited by SACS, said KCTCS President Dr. Michael B. McCall. Pursuit of single accreditation will promote seamlessness within KCTCS districts and will simplify students' transfer of credits to Kentucky universities, which are accredited by SACS.

"To be comprehensive, all of our colleges need to offer a full array of technical and academic programs," McCall said. "A comprehensive community and technical college system will provide Kentucky citizens access to technical and university transfer programs that integrate the critical academic skills, demanded by business and industry, with the specific knowledge required for careers in the new economy."

• Gave final approval to consolidation of functions, services and programs by Madisonville Community College and Madisonville Technical College.
  
  
• Endorsed the pursuit of a single accreditation by the same colleges, which compose the Madisonville Community and Technical College District.
  
  
• Gave initial approval to the consolidation of functions, services and programs in the Southeast Community and Technical College District, which includes Southeast Community College and Cumberland Valley Technical College.

In other action, the Board of Regents:

• Approved a new name - Kentucky River Community and Technical College District -- for the district that comprises Hazard Community College and Hazard Technical College. The name emphasizes the colleges' service to the region through campuses in Hazard, Hindman, Hyden and Jackson, all of which are located along the river.
  
  
• Endorsed the system's capital budget request for 2002-04. The request includes 42 construction projects valued at a total of $331 million. The request now goes to the Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE) for approval. CPE then will submit a capital construction request for all higher education institutions to Governor Paul E. Patton and the Kentucky General Assembly for consideration during the 2002 legislative session.
  
• Approved a series of technical programs proposed by Maysville Community College. The college will offer an associate in applied science (AAS) degree in General Occupational and Technical Studies. Maysville CC also will offer diploma programs in Practical Nursing, Horticulture Technician, Automotive Technician, Collision Repair Technician, Combination Welder, Industrial Maintenance Technician, Machine Tool Technician, Medical Assistant and Surgical Technology.
  
  Several of the diploma programs will be offered in conjunction with the Mason County Area Technology Center, a secondary vocational school. Others will be offered at the postsecondary technology center scheduled to open in fall 2002 on the Maysville CC campus.
  
  Students will have the option of taking only a diploma-level program, or expanding their studies to earn the associate degree.
  
  
• Approved new programs at the following colleges:
  Hopkinsville Community College - AAS in General Occupational and Technical Studies; certificates in Medical Office and Administrative Office
  Henderson Community College - AAS in Industrial and Engineering Technology
  Jefferson Community College - AAS in Nuclear Medicine Technology
  Paducah Community College - AAS in Paramedic Technology
  Laurel Technical College - diploma programs in Practical Nursing and Respiratory Care Technology
  Ashland Community College - certificates in Information System Support and E-Commerce
  Cumberland Valley Technical College - certificates in Phlebotomist and Medical Office
  Owensboro Technical College - certificate in Cisco Basic Networking
  
• Elected new officers for 2001-02: chair, Cynthia Read of Louisville; vice chair, Lorna Littrell of Henderson; and secretary, Joseph Wise of Louisville.
  As chair, Read replaces Martha C. Johnson, of Northern Kentucky, who has led the KCTCS board since the system was created in summer 1997.
  In a resolution, regents commended Johnson for her "energy, talent, dedication and leadership."

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Interim College Presidents Appointed

Two interim KCTCS college presidents were recently selected. Dr. McCall appointed Dr. Diana M. Calhoun-French as Jefferson Community College's interim president and Carl Barnett as the interim president at Paducah Community College.

French, a 20-year employee of JCC, has served as dean of academic affairs at the JCC-Southwest Campus since 1984. She received her bachelor's degree from Bellarmine College, her master's from Wake Forest University and her doctorate from the University of Louisville. All her degrees are in English. She taught at U of L from 1974 to 1980 and has worked at JCC-Southwest since that that time, first as assistant professor and then as dean of academic affairs.

Barnett served as dean of student affairs at Madisonville Community College from 1977 to 1997. He then served as interim president of the Madisonville college, and also has served as interim president of Hopkinsville Community College and Ashland Community College. He has a bachelor's degree from Murray State University and a master's degree from Eastern Illinois University. He also has a specialist degree in community college administration from Murray State University.

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Blood Drive Scheduled

The Bloodmobile will be at the KCTCS Spindletop offices from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 26. Each donor will receive a free T-shirt.

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News from the Colleges

Kentucky River District

Hazard Community College recently held a Young Writers' Camp for children in the third or fourth grade. The students spent three hours each day writing for a portfolio on subjects ranging from favorite pets to community problems. One of the instructors for the camp was Hazard Community College's Lisa Maggard.

Hazard CC's professor of nursing, Donna Combs, recently attended a three-day course in Cleveland on end-of-life care. She was one of 100 nurses from across the nation selected to participate in the program.

Madisonville District

Jude Roy, assistant professor of Humanities at Madisonville CC, had a short story accepted by the Journal of Kentucky Studies. The story, "Les Ames en Pein", should appear in the journal's fall/winter 2001 edition.

Valerie Wolfe, disability resources coordinator for Madisonville CC and Madisonville TC, attended the KY AHEAD (Association for Higher Education and Disabilities) Conference.

Helen Grothem, assistant professor in the occupational therapy assistant program, recently attended a workshop in Chicago on sensory defensiveness in adults and children and techniques for treatment.

Hopkinsville District

The Hopkinsville Community College Foundation, Inc., will sponsor a free 90-minute seminar July 17 on asset protection/estate planning. A panel of estate planning professionals will present asset protection strategies and answer estate planning questions.

Hopkinsville CC administered a record number of GED examinations during 2000-2001, according to continuing education and community service coordinator Carol Kirves. During the year, Kirves' office tested 551 examinees (up ten percent), administered 1846 subtests (up seven percent) and offered the test on 22 dates, an increase of five percent.

The Hopkinsville CC board of directors recently approved the first reading of the college's strategic plan for 2000-2005. Dr. Bonnie L. Rogers, president of Hopkinsville CC, told the board that the yearlong process to develop the plan was guided by KCTCS and involved the entire campus. The final reading and official adoption of the plan is scheduled for the board's regular meeting in September.

Big Sandy Region

Mayo Technical College recently hosted an Application Planning Meeting for the Kentucky Family Literacy Project. The organizer of the event was Cynthia L. Read, director of the Kentucky Institute for Family Literacy and chair of the KCTCS Board of Regents. Information was shared concerning the application process for the Department of Adult Education and Literacy's Family Literacy Program, and for the Even Start Literacy Program. Program design and collaboration were also discussed.

Mayo TC faculty and staff attending the meeting included Jennifer Leedy, ABE/Literacy coordinator; Perarlene Richie, ABE instructor; and Janet Caudill, program secretary/aide. Mayo director, Bobby McCool, welcomed the participants to Johnson County and the Mayo campus.

Owensboro Region

An Owensboro Technical College staff member will return to the United States on Monday after spending ten days in Portugal as part of a 13-member mission team. While in Portugal, Norma Worth, her husband, Joe, and other members of the Bellevue Baptist Church mission team worked during the morning with elementary children in typical Vacation Bible School activities; conducted sports events during the afternoon; and worked with college-age students at night in "English as a second language" classes. About 300 students participated in each session.

Maysville District

The new HIRE program developed by Maysville Community College, in conjunction with the Buffalo Trace Education Consortium and the Maysville-Mason County Chamber of Commerce, recently completed its first session. The program, designed to help area industries find qualified employees, provides pre-employment training for persons interested in entry level manufacturing positions.

The 48-hour course, held over a three-week period, includes classes in communications and teamwork, math and measurement, safety and health, quality assurance, blueprint reading, problem solving, manufacturing fundamentals, and computer use. Participants also are assessed through the Kentucky Manufacturing Skills Standards Certification system. Sources of funding for the program include KCTCS' KY Wins initiative.

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