VGCC Marks Record Enrollment For Fall Semester 1999
VGCC BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING: SEPT. 20, 1999
President Robert A. Miller of Vance-Granville Community College is an optimist, but even he said he was surprised when Fall Semester curriculum enrollment surpassed the 1998 previous high.
Miller told the college’s Board of Trustees at their bi-monthly meeting Monday, Sept. 20, that 3,308 students enrolled in curriculum programs in the semester that began Aug. 23. This is 74 more than Fall Semester 1998 enrollment, an increase of 2.29 percent.
The largest student increase was in Technical programs, which grew 123 students to 1,357, a 10 percent rise. Vocational programs had the largest percentage increase – 14 percent – with 46 new students raising enrollment in those programs to 401. Enrollment in the College Transfer program is up 23 students, to 453.
Small decreases in enrollment showed up in high school programs conducted by VGCC and in special students, those students who are taking curriculum courses but are not seeking a degree or diploma.
In addition, President Miller told the trustees that enrollment in extension classes during the spring and summer was up over the same period in 1998. Basic skills/literacy programs HAD 196 students enrolled, an increase of 24 over the previous year, and occupational extension classes also showed an increase in participation.
Increased enrollment has created a need for more parking on the main campus, and Trustee J. David Brooks, chairman of the Building Committee, reported the college has plans to develop a new, lighted parking lot for 50 cars.
Construction Update
Brooks reported that final approval of plans for two new buildings at the Franklin County Campus are expected to get final approval from the State Board of Construction within two weeks, and they will be put out to bid immediately after approval is received.
Approval was slower than expected, Brooks said, because the biotechnology lab planned at the Franklin Campus had to be approved by environmental departments within the state government. That has been done, and state officials are pushing the plans through now, he added.
Brooks also said the 7,940 square-foot addition to the South Campus building between Butner and Creedmoor has been completed and is being used for classes. A new, larger Cosmetology department is housed in the new addition, as well as an emergency services training room and a computer lab for occupational extension classes.
Renovation of the older part of the facility has also been completed, and those spaces are also in use.
Open House for the public will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 26, at the new and renovated South Campus.
Brooks also said that Vance and Granville counties have agreed to provide $672,000 to replace the heating and air-conditioning systems in five buildings at the main campus, and bids are being sought for this work. “All the buildings are on one system now so that when one building is being heated or cooled, all of them are,” he said. “Individual heating and cooling units will be placed in each of the five buildings so that each can be controlled separately. This will be much more efficient and will result in energy savings.”
Owens Roofing Co. of Raleigh has been awarded a contract to replace the roof on the administration building on the main campus, and this bid was below the projected cost of the project, Brooks reported.
New Program Study
The trustees approved, at the recommendation of Henrietta H. Clark, chairman of the Curriculum Committee, a feasibility study for adding a Human Services Technology program to the college curriculum.
Human Services Technology, Human Services Technology-Mental Health and Human Services Technology-Substance Abuse would prepare students to work in a variety of institutions and agencies to provide social, community and educational services. If approved, the programs will begin at VGCC in the 2000 Spring Semester.
President Miller said that John Umstead Hospital and Murdoch Center in Butner, as well as Area Mental Health and other human services agencies, utilize a lot of people with these skills. “They have a shortage of trained people, they are hard to find, and the agencies are excited about us adding this program,” he said.
Board Chairman John K. Nelms said that adding programs such as this demonstrates the flexibility to respond to community needs that only community colleges have.
New Faculty, Staff
The board approved employment of 33 new professional staff, upon a recommendation by T.W. Ellis Jr., chairman of the Personnel Committee.
President Miller said that this was an unusually high number of new employees at the beginning of a school year and explained that changes in state requirements and enrollment growth were responsible for this. Many of the new faculty and staff members have been working on semester-by-semester contracts, and the state now requires that they be given full-time employment status.
Ellis said he was particularly impressed by the high quality of education and teaching backgrounds of the new professional staff.
Budget Committee Chairman John M. Foster reported the state has completed its 1998 financial audit of the school and gave Vance-Granville the best audit obtainable. State auditors found no serious discrepancies in financial reporting by the school, and the trustees praised the VGCC financial staff for its excellent work.
In the photo at above right, Abdul Sm Rasheed, right, takes the oath of office for a second four-year term on the Vance-Granville Community College Board of Trustees. District Court Judge J. Henry Banks administers the oath. Rasheed, of Henderson, was appointed to the college board by the Vance County Board of Education.
