President's Forum Notes
Attendees: President R. Shaink, VP Student & Administrative Service Scott Jenkins, VP Academic Affairs Amy Fugate, Interim CFO Larry Gawthrop, Accounting Supervisor Ethel Mason, Recruiting Coordinator Tom Saelens, Counselor Anne Gupton, Dean Counseling & Student Development James Leonard, Executive Dean Student Services Delores Deen, Dean Business Division Bob Loth, Executive Dean Educational Systems Cheryl Bassett, Dean Fine Arts Jessie Sirna, Dean Health Sciences Patricia Markowicz, Chief Human Resources Officer Mark Kennedy, Dean Humanities Patricia Bergh, Executive Director Institutional Research Gail Ives, Executive Director Library Denise Hooks, Executive Director/Architect Physical Plant Larry Koehler, Public Information Sharon Campbell, Director Registration/Cashiers Tammy Cummings, Dean Science & Math Johanna Brown, Dean Social Sciences Margaret Brainard, Resource Administrator Student & Admin. Services MaryLou Sullivan, Executive Assistant Student & Admin. Services Cindy Sanders, Student Activities Coordinator Dawn Vanniman, Director WorkForce Development Robert Matthews.

1. Lack of Handicap Parking – student complained that she cannot get a space near the building she has classes in, said that she has been working with DisAbility Services and still has gotten nowhere.
1. S. Jenkins said that we will get with DisAbility Services and see what we can do.
2. Parking in General – complaints of people leaving paid parking tailgating and how that makes the count off so that the lot reads “full” when there are empty spaces.
1. S. Jenkins explained about the upgraded camera’s to track license plates, the speaker box at the gate and the officer now patrolling. Can’t pay at entrance because of blocking traffic. Counters are reset approx. every two days to read correctly. Said possibly we could put out flyers as to notify students, but really it’s something they should know not to do.
3. Theatre Major – a student said that there are 20-30 students here at MCC that wish to be Theatre Majors and we do not have that program. He has been working with Dean Sirna and a professor. Dr. Fugate told him that he is doing the right thing and to keep working on it and she would talk to them also.
4. Financial Aide:
1. Why are students steered to use Nelnet? Why partial payments?
   
i. D. Deen answered: students check disbursements for the year – you choose how to get your money. Nelnet provides services to most colleges, they are efficient and there’s no actual paper.
2. Why can’t you have workstudy and a loan?
   
i. D. Deen answered: cost of attendance dictates amount of funds. Often a loan and work study put you over the allotted amount. For special circumstances see Troy Boquette or Tonya Bailey.

3. Why doesn’t MCC have more workstudy jobs available?
   
i. D. Deen: 2 kinds of workstudy – Federal and Michigan. MCC pays well over the 20% we are required to pay. When minimum wage went from $5.15 - $7.15 we had to reduce the number of jobs available. We are currently looking into community jobs that are relevant to career.
4. Why can you buy an iPod but not lunch with Financial Aide?
   
i. D. Deen & C. Bassett: there are rules regarding financial aid and one of those is ‘no food’, must be spent on essentials for academics. MCC wants to limit those purchases such as ipods and the like, but some lectures can be loaded onto an ipod – so it’s considered academic.
5. Can we use financial aide to buy books online, like half.com?
   
i. D. Deen & S. Jenkins: we don’t have a way to do that at this time, it is quite an issue to exchange or return books online. We do not make these rules at MCC, they are governmental guidelines and we are able to get a large amount of aide for our students as we follow all the rules and guidelines.
6. Are there plans to institute a debit card for refunds?
   
i. D. Deen & S. Jenkins: we are considering it. We will be continuing talks over the summer. We just switched over our Datatel system and need to make sure that all works smoothly first.
7. Won’t debit cards endanger our aide?
   
i. MCC tuition and such will be paid first still, it will not be possible to run amuck with the funds.
5. There are almost constant complaints regarding the bookstore, what can be done?
1. D. Deen & S. Jenkins: please send all concerns to Dean Deen. VP Jenkins went over the district manager and they have a list of concerns that they are meeting on. It is an ongoing project. There is a meeting next week regarding MCC’s concerns.
6. What does WorkForce do?
1. Mr. Matthews: WorkForce can help you find services that you may be eligible for that the college cannot help with such as books, transportation and childcare. Call 232-2501
7. Anything for Big Brothers/Big Sisters to do with their Littles on campus?
1. S. Jenkins & R. Shaink: not directly. There are lots of workshops and clinics for kids in the Spring and Summer such as sports, music, art, etc. You can also set up a tour of MCC, there are career fairs, college night, concerts and art shows. There are also lots of community center activities designed for families.
8. There is a MySpace for MCC and it’s not run very well and there is a lot of misinformation going on, what is MCC going to do about it?
1. S. Jenkins: apologized for not having the answer yet, but someone is looking into it.

9. What would MCC do in a case such as Virginia Tech?
1. S. Jenkins & R. Shaink: Our Public Safety officers are actual officers, they go to a lot of training on situations like this, such as Lock Down Training. Marketing has codes to notify the TV and radio stations. We have a 170 person Emergency Response Team – you’ll see them in yellow jackets outside during emergencies or drills – those are volunteer staff members. Our PA system is campus wide – most campuses do not have one – there are a couple of dead zones that are being worked on now. The officers are the ones to make the decisions in these situations as they have the expertise. Other buildings are not notified until afterward because it is not important for them to know.
10. What is the plan for bandwidth?
1. C. Bassett: We first tried managing our bandwidth, we just did not have enough. Just today signed document to buy more. It will be placed where there is the most need.
11. Are there any plans for the natatorium?
1. S. Jenkins: Yes, there are plans. Several discussions have come up because of it not being used as it was too expensive to upkeep. There have been talks with P. Markowicz, A. Fugate and L. Koehler regarding moving the Fitness Center to the Natatorium. The faculty, staff and students were also involved in the discussions. There may be some space for student activities of some sort. The final decision should be made in June.
12. Student transferred from Central Texas College, one class was missed and he had to retake. What are we doing to prevent that in the future?
1. D. Deen: there is a process for classes to be judged equivalent. We now also have a “transfer wizard” on the MCC website. It is for all the colleges in Michigan. Sometimes a class is slightly different and won’t transfer as you think it might.
13. No one asked this, but R. Shaink brought it up: food on campus!
1. Consultant firm brought in, space decided – breezeway at Curtice-Mott.
2. Next month Board of Trustees – the committee will recommend a vendor
3. Then a cafeteria will be designed and hopefully open by next fall.
14. Why do none of the payphones on campus work?
1. D. Deen: we have learned that payphones are still critical, we thought they may not be because of cellphones. Tammy Cummings is working with Jarred in IS to keep them all working.
15. Mott Middle College students
1. D. Deen and A. Fugate: D. Deen works closely with MMC principal and the students should no longer be hanging out in PCC during lunchtimes, there is an officer assigned to MMC. MMC is now giving student orientations for one week which is also used as a screening process. If they miss the orientation, they must attend one given on the weekends.