Board of Trustees
January 11, 2024
The North Arkansas College Board of Trustees met in regular session on Thursday, 11, January 2024 in the JPH conference center. Chair Pledger called the meeting to order at 3:00 p.m. Trustees Don Tomlinson, Scott Miller, Pam Henry, Scott Miller, Sarah Newman, Debbie Johnson, and Chris McNew were present.
North Arkansas College personnel attending included Dr. Rick Massengale, Richard Stipe, Brandon Cone, Maxine O’Brien, Dr. Matt Cardin, Dr. Laura Berry, Kelsea Lowery, Kris Greening, Jo Adams, Ryan Hoffman, Tavonda Brown, Dr. Rodney Arnold, and Terri Smith from Harrison Daily Times.
Approval of Agenda
Chair Pledger asked if there were any changes to the agenda as presented. There being none a motion was made, unanimously approved.
Regular Reports
Finance Report: Richard Stipe shared E&G and Auxiliary budget activities through December 2023.
In the E&G fund, Richard Stipe stated the total monthly revenue was $1,589,382, and the expenditures ended at $1,572,597. The year-to-date total of revenues was $ 11,490,192, and expenses were $8,653,404.
Auxiliary: The month's revenue totaled $71,346, and the expenditures totaled $92,211. Mr. Stipe stated the trend line pattern is tracking slightly ahead of what is expected for this time of year.
President's Report: Dr. Massengale said as of January 5th, the enrollment headcount is 1602, and the student semester credit hours are 16,140. He mentioned enrollment has increased in the past three Spring semesters. Dr. Massengale said students' concurrent headcount is 34.5% for Spring 2024. He gave an update on Education without Walls. Dr. Massengale listed updates on the Wabash Industry, Clinton public schools, offerings with Searcy County public schools career center, and the High School Practical Nursing Program (OSD). He ended with an invitation to the John Paul Hammerschmidt Lecture Series with speaker Sidney Moncrief on Tuesday, February 13th, at 6:30 pm at the JPH conference center. Trustee Miller asked what classes will be given at Clinton schools. Dr. Massengale said to start, it will be general education classes.
Consent Agenda
The Consent Agenda included the December regular meeting minutes, replacement position, and Director of Physical Plant. Chair Pledger asked for a motion to approve the Consent Agenda. A motion was made by Trustee Newman, seconded by Trustee Johnson, and unanimously approved.
Monitoring Report
Mr. Richard Stipe presented the January monitoring report, Support Financial Stability. Mr. Stipe began with an overview of the strategic planning goal four and objective 4.2. He stated that the report will be primarily objectives 4.2.2, Conduct an annual financial review in comparison with accepted benchmarks to ensure ongoing financial health for the institution, and 4.2.3, Provide communication to college leadership, community members, and external constituents regarding the necessity of adequate cash reserves to maintain economic purchasing capacity and cash flow protection. The report compares ag娱乐官网 with other Arkansas community colleges.
Mr. Stipe spoke about the unrestricted operation reserve with the fund balance as a percent of revenue with GASB pension and OPEB liability. He broke down a comparison chart of the fund balance as a percent of revenue without GASB pension and OPEB liability and noted we are slightly behind the average of other Arkansas community colleges. Trustee Miller asked about the impact of the GASB pension and OPEB liability average of other two-year colleges and why it does not reflect a similar negative impact compared to ag娱乐官网. Richard said it is for two reasons: one is that most colleges have larger fund reserves, and the other is that not all colleges have the same amount of liability. ag娱乐官网 has a slightly higher proportion of historic employees in APERS and Teacher Retirement systems. He said we carry a somewhat higher liability due to the amount enrolled in the retirement systems.
Mr. Stipe discussed a comparison chart over the expenditures per FTE with GASB pension and OPEB liability. He said for the 2022-2023 year, ag娱乐官网 was at $12,206 compared to other Arkansas Two-Year colleges at $13,258. He discussed a comparison chart over the expenditures per FTE without GASB pension and OPEB liability. He broke down the expenses per FTE of Instruction, Academic Support, Student Services, Institutional Support, Physical Plant, and Scholarships. He said most of our spending has decreased over time.
Mr. Stipe spoke about comparing in and out-of-district tuition and fees with other Arkansas community colleges. He discussed Arkansas Two-year colleges' annualized tuition and mandatory fee comparisons for FY 2023-2024. ag娱乐官网 ranked tenth in the state with lower costs in the district. He spoke about the program grants & awards received, excluding scholarships. ag娱乐官网 has received $7.8 million compared to other community colleges at $5.4 million in FY 2022-2023.
Mr. Stipe listed the current performance indicators: E & G fund balance and reserve stable but growth needed, fund balance without GASB effect is well above the minimum recommended level, expenditures per FTE student and comparable to ATYC average, tuition rates are affordable and below the ATYC average for in-district, and grant attainment exceeds the ATYC average. He said going forward, North Arkansas College will continue to increase the E & G fund balance as a contingency for future challenges, continue to improve student recruitment efforts, increase student retention efforts, continue program and area reviews for greater efficiencies, effectiveness, and viability, continue to offer affordable and competitive tuition and rates, and continue aggressive grant attainment effort.
Mr. Stipe discussed the revenue comparison data with total unrestricted fund revenues per FTE. From 2022 to 2023, ag娱乐官网 was $12.3 thousand compared to other two-year colleges at $14.5 thousand. He gave an overview of the tuition and fee revenues per FTE chart and state appropriation revenues per FTE. Trustee Miller asked if there were two primary funding: FTE-based and student-based. Richard stated that it is the historic funding everyone receives, and the productive formula funding impacts it.
Chair Pledger adjourned the meeting at 3:53 p.m.
Chair Linda Pledger Submitted by Joetta Adams
