Board of Directors Meeting March 1, 2023

Mr. Walker called for a motion to approve the minutes from the December 7, 2022, meeting of the BCTC Board of Directors. Robert McNulty made a motion to approve the minutes and Richard Webb seconded. The motion passed unanimously.

Dr. Akakpo shared that Dr. Paul Czarapata, KCTCS President, has resigned. The Board of Regents has appointed Dr. Larry Ferguson, President of Ashland Community & Technical College, to serve a 60–90-day term as Acting President. A committee has been formed to select and appoint an Interim who will serve during the national search.

1. Ms. Thurman gave a presentation that covered the focus and mission of the African American Student Initiatives program as it follows a student from beginning to end. The AASI program is housed on the Newtown campus.
   1. Bridge to Success Summer Program. This program assesses African American students who are first time freshmen with a high school minimum GPA of 2.0 who will be attending BCTC in the fall. They will receive a scholarship that will cover two classes (FYE 105 and Communications 101) in the summer after high school graduation.
   2. Welcome B(l)ack Fest. This family-friendly event occurs during welcome week in August and showcases the services that AASI offers. 
   3. Academic Support Program Inspiring to Reach Excellence (ASPIRE) Scholarship Program. This is a scholarship program for African American students who are first time freshmen with a high school minimum GPA of 2.5 who will be attending BCTC in the fall. In addition to providing a scholarship that covers up to four semesters of classes, the program also provides an academic advisor, workshops, weekly tutoring, and community-building activities. 
   4. AASI Pathway Cohorts: First Year Experience (FYE 105). Two classes are offered in the fall: one for African American students and one for African American males. In addition, there are “common hours” established outside of these classes that offer workshops, tutoring, and activities that will foster success for any student who wants those services.
   5. A Few Good Men and Becoming HER. These are mentoring programs that meet twice a month and provide opportunities for students to interact, ask questions and create bonds with other students.
   6. Achievement In Motion Mentoring. BCTC received a grant to begin this mentoring program for men of color at BCTC. The mentors are men of color who are at BCTC or in the community (pastors, community leaders, etc.). The program also incorporates a weekend retreat with curriculum that is designed by BCTC’s men of color mentors for students who are men of color.
2. Cultural Opportunities & Celebrations
   1. Black History Month included trivia days, movies, field trips to the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati and Transylvania University and ended with our annual Taste of Soul.  
   2. MLK Day Celebration.
   3. Juneteenth Celebration.
3. Monthly Transfer Visits. There are opportunities for our students to learn about scholarships, find out what it will take to transfer to a four-year college or university, and make connections to resources.
4. Federal Work Study & Leadership Opportunities. Students in these areas become peer mentors/resources and help provide a safe space for other students. In April our FWS students will attend the Kentucky Association of Blacks in Higher Education conference to continue to build their leadership skills and take advantage of networking opportunities.
5. Finals Study Hall and Academic Workshops. These are partnerships with our Black Faculty Alliance (BFA) and our academic departments. Members of our BFA tutor our African American students before finals. We also partner with our academic departments to offer workshops on topics such as study skills, stress management and test taking.
6. Exceptional Black Graduates Ceremony. This was done years ago but was dissolved. It’s been brought back to celebrate students who have put in all the hard work to earn their degree.

1. Dr. Akakpo shared that enrollment is 9,517 as compared to 8,354 at the same time last year. This is a difference of 1,163 students, or an increase of 13.9%.
2. Credential-seeking student numbers have increased by 159 students over last year (6,671 this year compared to 6,512 last year).
3. The biggest growth came from dual credit. The enrollment last year was 1,474 compared to 2,384 this year, which is an increase of 910 students. 
4. Dual credit students make up our largest “campus” with 2,384 students, followed by our Newtown campus with 2,151 students and Leestown campus with 1,085 students. 

1. Lisa Bell presented an amended capital projects priority list for review and approval.
   1. The list includes six (6) new construction projects and seven (7) asset preservation (renovation) projects. We will have to match 13.04% of the funding for the asset preservation projects that are selected by System Office for funding.
   2. In the first biennium (2024-2026) there are three asset preservation projects and one new construction project requested.
   3. Mr. Walker called for a motion to accept the revised plan as presented. Olivia Scholz made a motion to accept the revised plan as presented, and Bob McNulty seconded. The motion passed unanimously.
2. Lisa Bell gave a general update of the FY 2023 Budget Reports, Budget Narrative, Yearly Comparison, as well as Current Year Visuals, Revenue, and Expenses.
   1. HEERF grant funds were received in FYE 2022, which is reflected in the FYE 2023 and FYE 2022 Revenues & Expenditures Comparison. 
   2. The changes in the collection of bad debt expense and the impact this will have on future collection and budgets was discussed.
3. Budget planning has started for FYE 2024. The KCTCS Board of Regents approve salary increases and tuition rates.

1. Applications as of January 30, 2023:
   
   1. Spring 2023 – 5,459 (increase of 877 apps from 2022)
2. Enrollment
   
   1. The significant increase in Dual Credit enrollment was discussed, including 150 additional students from Madison County for the fall.
   2. This increase has also created an increase in the student load for our advisors. BCTC is taking the appropriate steps to address these increases. 
   3. Summer and fall enrollment opened today (March 1). We are offering the early registration campaign that has been used in the past.
   4. Efforts to engage students who have not registered or have withdrawn were highlighted.
3. Kentucky National TRIO Day
   
   1. BCTC hosted over 300 high school and college students on February 25.

1. Final amount raised through the GoodGiving campaign was $83,000.
2. The Faculty/Staff Giving campaign raised over $12,000 with 12% of our employees participating. We doubled the number of employees who donate through payroll deductions.
3. Congressman Andy Barr secured $1.57 million to support nursing and biotech programs at the Winchester campus.
4. Students are being assisted through the Schell Foundation fund. This fund has not been active for several years but is being offered again as a means of support for students who incur unexpected expenses.
5. Upcoming events include a Women in STEM lecture by BCTC alumna, Dr. Cagney Coomer (March 28); the Scholarship Celebration Breakfast (April 21) and the BCTC Fall Golf Scramble (September 15). 
6. Grants Update.
   
   1. Since July 1, 2022, the College has been awarded $10,868,414 through competitive grant processes and sources (including $3,545,289 in new awards since December 1, 2022).
   2. Since December 1, 2022, the BCTC Foundation has received an additional $15,887 through grants.

1. The Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Celebration was held on January 12 on Leestown campus. Ms. Kristina Gamble, Director of the Black Cultural Center at Berea College was the keynote speaker. There were also performances by students from Bryan Station High School and participation by our Black Student Union President and members.  In-person attendance was 85-90 plus 80 who attended virtually.
2. BCTC sponsored two tables for the 29th Annual “Unity Breakfast.” All members of LET, Chair Walker and several of our students attended.
3. The kickoff event for Black History Month featured keynote speaker Dr. Lacretia “Cre” Dye. In addition to the kickoff, there were six other events offered during the month.
4. Green Dot training will be offered soon to our faculty and staff.
5. Diversity report was submitted to CPE prior to the deadline.
6. BCTC’s 3rd Annual LGBTQ+ Conference is March 3rd. This will be the first year the conference is offered in person as well as virtually. Registration was open to all 16 KCTCS colleges. JustFundKY sponsors this event each year.
7. Twelve students and five faculty/staff members will spend two weeks in South Africa in May. Two of the students are part of the UK and BCTC 2+2 program for engineering. They will be able to do their Toyota internships during this trip.

1. Since starting with the new applicant tracking system in December, 45 jobs have been posted, and 22 jobs have been filled and the employees successfully onboarded.
2. New efficiencies in hiring will be introduced during this month’s APT meeting. 
3. For the first time, all the funds that were set aside for Professional Development ($100,000) for the fiscal year have been encumbered.
4. Health & Wellness activities have included partnering with the counseling department on mental health issues, offering three vaccine clinics (65 employees and students were vaccinated) and planning a Health & Wellness week in April for faculty and staff.
5. Professional Development has worked with Dr. Yates on the LGBTQ+ Conference and with academics on the Changing Classroom Cultures Conference that will happen later this month.

1. Marketing through strategic communications is focused on a funnel effect of enrollment, awareness, recruitment, and retention.
2. The Site Improve scores for our website are all above industry standards and we have improved in all categories from last year to this year.
3. BCTC is number one in the KCTCS system in social media engagement and reach.
4. Our return on ad spending is up 115% since last fiscal year.
5. We added Meltwater, a new application to improve our earned media percentage. This application allows us to target press based on what they have recently covered, both locally and nationally. This has most recently benefitted BCTC with coverage of the US Department of Labor Grant and the federal funding championed by Congressman Barr.