December Cabinet Notes

Posted on January 11, 2010 by CSN
 December 14, 2009

Cabinet Members:
President Mike Richards
John Bearce, Interim Director of Institutional Research
K.C. Brekken, Communications Manager
Thomas Brown, Chief Campus Administrator, Cheyenne
Art Byrd, Vice President, Student Affairs
Patty Charlton, Senior Vice President for Finance & Facilities – absent
Darren Divine, Interim Vice President, Academic Affairs
Richard Hinckley, General Counsel
Bill Kerney, Faculty Senate Chair-Elect – absent
Penny McCollum, Campus Site Administrator, Henderson Campus – absent
Joan McGee, Chief Campus Administrator, Charleston Campus
Larry Mason, Interim Vice President, Diversity & Cultural Affairs – absent
Jacque Matthews, Executive Director, Foundation
Dave Morgan, Chair, Administrative Faculty Assembly
Mark Rauls, Faculty Senate Chair
Cat Maihen, President, Classified Council
Mugunth Vaithylingam, Chief Information Officer
Nathaniel Waugh, Student Government President
Anne Zemek de Dominguez, General Counsel
Guests: Eric Garner, Manager, Public & College Relations
Taylor Gray, Webmaster
 

The meeting was called to order by Dr. Richards at 9 a.m.

The notes of the November 9, 2009 cabinet meeting were approved.
 
K.C. Brekken, Eric Garner, Taylor Gray and Dave Morgan gave an over view of the strategic plan for CSN communications. The plan for improvement came from feedback of the challenges to link to specific data, the archaic look of the CSN website, no official method of communication with students, and a number of other issues. The content management system is 10 years old, outdated and not supported any longer. There are many options for the CMS update. The ad-hoc communications committee is in the process of reviewing these options for practicality for CSN. Some other issues being considered include intranet – to keep internal and external information separate, a website redesign for easier navigation, multi-lingual support, online help desk, and possibly a CSN Wiki for student content and perspective. Some marketing and public communication ideas –of course, all contingent upon availability of funds – include an updated phone system, email opt-in for marketing communication, branding opportunities with a publication similar to CSN‟s “Report to the People” but targeting residential customers, a large outdoor LED screen on each campus for advertising events, important dates, etc., and images to tell CSN‟s story with updated photos of students and campuses. The images will create a good first impression and showcase all CSN has to offer. The Intercampus Communication System needs upgrades in the equipment that facilitates putting the information on the many screens around the campuses. Modernization is required for video capability, and the possibility of broadcasting a news network (for instance). Upgrades are also needed for Emergency Notification capability using the ICS screens. Dr. Byrd added that a grant request for a Public Address speaker system is also being investigated as an enhancement to the Emergency Notification System. K.C. said that it is unlikely that the upgrades decided upon would be implemented all at once, but rather will be put into operation in phases.
Dr. Richards distributed a report from the University System of Maryland that details its efficiency efforts. The reporting system has been in place in Maryland for five years and has helped greatly with funding requests from the Maryland legislature. The NSHE Board of Regents has placed high priority on each of the Nevada institutions‟ ability to demonstrate similar efforts, and detail those efforts in an efficiencies report. Dr. Richards encouraged the cabinet members to visit the University System of Maryland website to view the reports from previous years.
 

 
 
John Bearce updated everyone on the progress of the iNtegrate project. A major shift coming up will begin in January as the consultants start working with the non-pilot institutions in preparation for each school‟s “go-live” dates. In January, there will be a review of the academic structure of each institution, and a series of Campus Community meetings will begin in February. CSN will host the first meeting. The training modules will be transitioning from part-time to full-time in 2010. The tentative schedule is as follows:
Admissions: PT March 2010 – FT April 2010
Academic Advising: PT April 2010 – FT July 2010
Financial Aid: PT February 2010 – FT June 2010
Student Financials: PT March 2010 – FT July 2010
Student Records: PT March 2010 – FT June 2010

He told everyone that the cabinet will put together the report that will support CSN‟s efforts to obtain funding from the legislature for the next biennium, and distributed a CSN draft report for everyone to look over. He noted that the report should contain very specific data and minimal narrative.

TMCC and UNLV meet regularly to discuss any difficulties or issues with each “go-live.” The non-pilot institutions will benefit from the pilot schools‟ experience and will be better prepared for the implementation. John also reported on the Shared Instance meetings that take place weekly via video conference and include SCS, NSHE System Office, and NSHE Institutions. A face to face meeting took place on CSN‟s Charleston campus on December 8 with all the participants listed above. The meeting lasted most of the day, but was very productive. Dr. Richards reminded the group that a tech fee increase was approved for the iNtegrate project. The money to support the project is not coming from the general fund.
K.C. reported on the H1N1 clinics at both the Cheyenne and Charleston campuses. The one at Cheyenne was closed down at 11 am due to lack of heat at the campus. The Charleston clinic was successful.

Darren Divine talked about the midnight classes being offered for Spring. He emphasized that the offering is being done on a trial basis, and the outcome will be evaluated after the semester ends. The classes have had some positive press. Darren also told everyone that the classes were meant to help students who actually need the late-night class time. The classes were not meant to be overflow for regular sections. Spring enrollment is up. Biennium discussions about 3

funding are pending, and CSN will move forward while at the same time evaluating our increasing needs very carefully.

Dave Morgan said the AFA would be voting on bylaw changes at the next meeting on December 18. Kelly Wuest was voted the AFA employee of the month.

Mugunth Vaithylingam detailed the projects that OTS is currently working on. Among the many OTS items in progress are:

A password policy draft which will require passwords to be changed regularly has been submitted to Patty Charlton.

A student e-mail system committee is discussing CSN needs versus wants in a new system

OTS is discussing classes with CAPE to increase encryption awareness, „WinZip.‟

OTS is researching how the under-utilized features in Outlook could fill some of CSN‟s needs

A Frequently Asked Questions page is being developed for faculty and staff. The content is being determined by categorizing help desk tickets and calls.

Patty Charlton and Mugunth are discussing the need and the possibilities of developing a CSN intranet.

Desktop, Laptop, and Mac refreshes – OTS is investigating an IBM product (Lenovo) to assist with CSN and OTS‟s security priorities

Microsoft will have a booth at convocation (Tech Connection) on January 12, and they will have a session on Windows 7 as well.

Mark Rauls reported that Faculty Senate has three major policies to complete at the first of the year:

Academic Dishonesty / Plagiarism

Drop policy for students not attending the first week of classes

Electronic Elections (Angel)

Faculty Senate has formed a work group to discuss Gen-Ed requirements. The group is working with Hyla Winters and UNLV‟s Gen-Ed Committee.

Nate Waugh gave some highlights from Student Government and site visits. An Open House/Mixer at the Boulder City site is planned in collaboration with the Rotary Club and the Boulder City Chamber of Commerce. The event is planned for January 13. ASCSN will cover the cost of advertising, food and drinks. Nate and VP Foster are coordinating with Moapa Valley High School for a college visit day. ASCSN will help retention give tours to the students and coordinate the trips to CSN and UNLV. Also, Student Government is working with the campus bookstore to coordinate book delivery for students there. Students would reserve the books and the bookstore would deliver them to the site near the first day of classes. Student government is also working with Counseling Services to have a counselor go to the Summerlin site once per month to meet with students there. The Mesquite site will have a Back-to-School BBQ on January 14. The community will be invited as well as several guests from Administration. Represented at the Mesquite event will be Counseling, Financial Aid, and Registration. Also at the Mesquite site, some substandard and incorrect signage will be replaced. The same signage issues exist at the Caliente site and Sherri Payne is collecting the information to get both sites set. The Caliente site has advertising concerns, and Student Government has received a request to pay for advertising for Spring classes. The ad would be in the form of an insert into the 4

Lincoln County Record, which goes out to 2300 people. The Nellis site will be visited the first part of January.

Nate also reported on recent events including his Karaoke rendition of “Unforgettable.” Some upcoming events will be Karaoke ll, Active Shooter Presentation for Students, Stop the Violence Presentation, and Battle of the Bands. The Battle of the Bands event has been tentatively set for April 2010 on the Cheyenne campus; the rest of the events‟ dates are yet to be determined. There are currently four vacancies for senators in Student Government. The Veteran‟s Memorial is moving forward. There is a gubernatorial higher education forum in April. For student union areas, Student Government is looking into various entertainment ideas.

Anne Zemek de Dominguez informed the cabinet members that the legal department would be working regular hours over the holidays.

Dr. Richards reported what he knows about the current budget situation. The Governor is asking for plans from other Nevada institutions to cut 1.4% and 3% in additional spending for the current fiscal year. Those plans are due to the Governor January 19. There may be a special session in January. CSN is in the process of preparing with a plan just in case it is needed.

Dr. Richards told the group the Holiday Party was sensational and thanked the Foundation. Jacque Matthews said that the Vice Presidents donated gifts for the raffle, and our guests donated 800 pounds of food from the event to Three Square Food Bank. About 450 people attended the party. Dr. Richards wished everyone a Merry Christmas and adjourned the meeting.

Meeting adjourned at 10:12 a.m. (after only 72 minutes!)

Next meeting scheduled January 11, 2010.

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