December 10, 1997

Minutes of Meeting

Call to Order and Introductions

The Iowa Coordinating Council for Post-High School Education met on Wednesday, December 10, 1997 at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids. Vice Chair, Paul Tambrino called the meeting to order then the members and guests introduced themselves. Vice-Chair Tambrino introduced President Norm Nielson who welcomed the Council to Kirkwood Community College. The following individuals were present:

Members of the State Board of Education
Sally Fruden*

University Representatives
Robert Koob*

Representatives of Independent Colleges
Michael Ferrari*

Representative of Private Businesss Schools
John Huston*

Iowa Public Television Representative

Iowa Association of Community College Trustees
Gene Gardner*

Community College Representatives
Paul Tambrino*

Members of the Bd. of Trustees of Member Institutions
Ralph Schlenker*
Don Byers*

Iowa College Student Aid Commission Representative
Gary Nichols*

Student Representatives
Charles Whiteing*

Liaison Representatives
Robert Barak, Iowa State Board of Regents

Guests
W.H. Knight, Jr University of Iowa
Thomas Tully, University of Dubuque
Norm Nielson, Kirkwood Community College

*Indicates voting delegate.

A. Approval of Minutes

The minutes from the October 8, 1997, Council meeting were approved as submitted.

B. Treasurer’s Report

John Hartung presented a statement of income and expense for fiscal year 1997 with a November 30, 1997 balance of all accounts of $14,601.16.

C. Coordination (Program Requests)

New Business

Briar Cliff College

  • Nursing Program (On-Campus)

Action: Approved

Buena Vista University

  • Criminal Justice Major (Off-Campus)

Action: Approved

Clarke College

  • Athletic Training Program (On-Campus)

  • BFA in Graphic Design (On-Campus)

Action: Approved

Iowa Western Community College

  • Graphic Communications Specialist (On-Campus)

Action: Approved

Northeast Iowa Community College

  • Emergency Medical Technician- Intermediate (On-Campus)

  • Emergency Medical Technician- Paramedic (On-Campus)

Action: Approved

North Iowa Area Community College

  • General Machinist (On-Campus)

  • Tool & Die Design (On-Campus)

Action: Approved

University of Dubuque

  • Masters of Business Administration (Off-Campus)

Action: Approved

(Note: The Council also voted under this item to request Upper Iowa University to come back to the Council for approval of its off-campus business program to make this action consistent with previous actions of the Council.)

D. Interim Approvals

Clarke College

  • Middle Schools Endorsement (on-Campus)

Action: None -Presented for Information only

E. Strategic Planning Committee Report

President Koob presented the Strategic Planning Committee Report on behalf of David Buettner who was not able to be at the meeting. He briefly discussed the three strategic initiatives developed by the Committee. Koob indicated that the primary purpose of today’s discussion was to present and get comments on the Committee’s approach to the "cost" issue. Koob indicated that the Committee had agreed that this measure would consist of an institution’s "educational and general" expenditure (as presently reported) divided by the full-time equivalent undergraduate enrollment (as defined and reported in the ICCPHSE enrollment report). John Hartung reported on his efforts to determine where such data could be found. Hartung indicated that the data were available in the IPEDS data that was collected by, or provided to, the College Student Aid Commission. Barak indicated that there are problems in using the IPEDS data that is intended for aggregate use at the federal level. The IPEDS data does not track with the financial information used by the State of Iowa consequently there are severe interpretation problems in using IPEDS data.

Koob said that the Committee would look into the problems in the use of IPEDS data and perhaps explore other sources of data. In response to a question as to why the data was being collected, Koob indicated that it was the intent to show the comparable costs for each institution for the benefit of consumers and policy makers. He asked if the Council had any concerns with the way in which the Committee was proceeding on this issue and no concerns were raised.

F. ACCESS Education Commission Report

President Norm Nielson, a member of the ACCESS Education Commission provides a summary of the Commission’s report entitled "IDEALS" an acronym for Iowa Distance Education and Learning Strategies. Nielson noted that the Commission’s Report recommends:

1. A central Web-based registry of distance learning resources should be developed and maintained.

2. The Governor should call an annual conference to highlight distance learning in Iowa.

3. Consumers should be provided comprehensive and reliable information on important aspects of distance learning.

4. All current and emerging technologies should be examined for their potential to meet Iowa’s distance learning needs.

5. A group should be established to advise the higher education community on distance learning needs and to coordinate non-academic activities related to distance learning.

In the discussion that followed Nielson’s report several Council members noted the need for the Coordinating Council to take the lead in establishing an advisory group composed of representatives of business, industry, and others to address the issues identified in the Commission’s Report. It was recommended that the ICCPHSE Executive Committee develop a recommendation for consideration by the Council at its February meeting.

G. For the Good of the Order

The next meeting will be held Tuesday, February 10,1998, at Iowa Valley Community College in Marshalltown. A major agenda item for this meeting will be a discussion of the ACCESS Commission Report and particularly the establishment of an advisory group on distance learning.

Respectfully submitted,

Robert J. Barak

Permanent Secretary

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