RELEASE DATE: January 19, 2007
CONTACT: Public Affairs (919) 807-6962
State Board approves data warehouse system to track nursing and teaching students
Board pays special tribute to the Father of Community Colleges
Raleigh – The State Board today continued its role towards helping the state solve two of its most critical workforce shortages. The Board approved funding for a project to keep track of nursing and education students and help them succeed. The allocation of $135,817 from the State Board Reserve Fund to the University of North Carolina General Administration (UNC-GA) will finance the planning and set-up phase of the North Carolina Education Insight Project for Teaching and Nursing. UNC-GA will provide the leadership for a proposed data management system that will permit North Carolina’s K-20 educational institutions to make informed decisions about programs and practices across education. SAS will handle the planning component. The project starts with nursing and education students since that segment of the workforce has greatest shortages.
In his report to the Board, System President Martin Lancaster reported that he, UNC President Erskine Bowles, Superintendent of Public Instruction June Atkinson, and University staff met with US Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings in Washington. They talked about the possibility of federal funding for the Data Warehouse Project, which could serve as a national model. Lancaster said the Secretary was very interested in this initiative that will allow education agencies to track students from their kindergarten days to receiving a PhD and to analyze the various influences on their education.
With the Legislature set to convene next week, two higher education boards want to send a strong signal of cooperation to lawmakers. The State Board endorsed a resolution supporting legislative initiatives of the University of North Carolina Board of Governors. This action continues the developing symbiotic relationship between the two systems and their governing boards as they work to ensure that all North Carolinians gain the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in life and work. The University Board of Governors passed a resolution supporting the legislative agenda of the State Board of Community Colleges at its last meeting.
The Board welcomed the new president of Randolph Community College. Dr. Bob Shackleford (left) took over the leadership of Randolph Community College on January 1, 2007, replacing interim president Dr. Larry K. Linker. Linker, who originally retired as Randolph’s president in 2000, returned to the college after Dr. Richard Heckman resigned. Dr. Shackleford told the Board that he was delighted to have the opportunity to lead the college in this time of transition. “The best is yet to be,” he said. Shackleford was the vice president for student development at Rockingham Community College in Wentworth, N.C. He is a native of Roxboro where he was once a student of former State Board Chair James J. Woody, Jr.
Kennon Briggs, System vice president for business and finance, reported to the Board that the process for determining the amount of state funds Blue Ridge Community College must repay was on track. He said that he and the college’s chief financial officer, David Whitson, have determined that salaries and benefits totaling $407,642 in state funds were paid in to the baseball and volleyball coaches. The next step is for Blue Ridge to determine what percent of time the coaches actually spent teaching. Only that portion is allowable to be charged to state funds. Coaching and recruiting duties do not qualify.
Briggs assured the Board that the discovery process, which has been conducted without any interference from outside sources, will be complete by January 31. A final report, including the amount and repayment timetable, will be made to the Board at its February 16 meeting. Only private and unrestricted institutional funds can be used to repay the state.
The Board approved an allocation of $8 thousand from the State Board Reserve Fund to Forsyth Technical Community College. The funds will be used to initiate a study of a comprehensive education and training system for the motorsports industry of North Carolina.
The final action of the Board today was to pay tribute to the man whose vision became the North Carolina Community College System. The Board unanimously endorsed a resolution honoring Dr. William Dallas Herring, who died on January 5. The Board also gave its enthusiastic approval to a proposal from the community college presidents to place a statue of Dr. Herring in front of the Caswell Building, upon approval by the State Capital Planning Commission. Each college will each be asked to contribute college funds to pay for the statue. A sculptor must be identified.
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