Bert's Alerts - July 24, 2015
In the Spotlight
College of Western Idaho’s (CWI) Nampa Campus is experiencing some upgrades this summer with new signage being installed. As part of the College’s Wayfinding project, CWI added building-name signs in the Aspen Creek complex and Academic Building, as well as navigational signs near the Nampa Campus entrance and Aspen Creek parking lot. In an effort to further brand CWI's campus, new window artwork was also added to the Academic Building and Micron Center for Professional Technical Education.
News Highlights
Ada County Campus – Due Diligence on Boise Property Update
The College of Western Idaho has received the completed appraisal on the property at Main and Whitewater Park Boulevard in Boise, which the College has entered an agreement to purchase. The CWI Board of Trustees reviewed the appraisal that valued the property at $8.975 Million which supports the Purchase and Sale Agreement amount of $8.8 Million.
“The appraised value of the land reaffirms our confidence that this site is the best location for CWI to develop a campus to better serve the community college district based on its location, size, access, and cost” said CWI Board Chair Mary Niland. “We are still in the midst of our 180-day feasibility period, and cost is one of the factors we are assessing prior to a final decision. We respect and appreciate the interest of the community in our campus development plans, and value the conversations this process has inspired and that we continue to have. The Trustees and the College pledge to involve the community and keep you informed as we move forward through the feasibility period and with planning the future development of CWI’s Nampa, Boise, and online campuses to better meet the needs of our students and the community.”
In addition to the appraisal review, the Board of Trustees reviewed the Request for Qualifications results for a conceptual plan on the property. The Board provided approval for the College to enter into contract with CTA Architects for preliminary work for the proposed Ada County Campus in Boise to allow time to involve governing agencies and the public in the process. The College is in the process of conducting additional due diligence including environmental tests, land surveys, audits, and conversations with various city officials and agencies.
CWI has launched a new section on the College’s website to help consolidate updates related to Campus Development. Campus Development news, conceptual plans, information on tours, and more can be found by visiting /info/campus-development. The webpage is a great reference point for development information and will be updated as CWI moves through various initiatives.
CWI Board Approves Budget for FY 2016
Based on the second reading of the College of Western Idaho’s (CWI) budget presentation, the CWI Board of Trustees has approved the College’s fiscal year 2016 (FY 2016) operating budget. The total amount is $53.76 million.
Revenue is as follows:
| State Funds (including Academic and Professional Technical) |
34% |
| Tuition and Fees (including course fees) |
41% |
| County property taxes (including out-of-district tuition payments) |
13% |
| Other (self-support, grants & contracts, other) |
12% |
Budgeted Expenditures include:
| Instruction | 40.8% |
| Academic Support | 19.8% |
| Student Services | 10.9% |
| Public Service and Scholarships | 1.5% |
| Institutional Support | 14.1% |
| Operations and Maintenance | 12.9 |
Of the expenditures 62.3 percent is allocated to personnel, 35 percent to operating expenses, and 2.7 percent for capital outlay.
The College has taken a conservative approach to budgeting this year as we anticipate a decrease in tuition and fee revenue, based upon enrollment projections and average credits taken per headcount. The College’s total budget decreased by 1 percent as compared to the fiscal year 2015 originally-approved budget.
Departmental budgets will be loaded into the system over the next few weeks. The budget office will send additional communications as these are available within myCWI. Questions regarding CWI’s operating budget can be directed to Tony Meatte at 208.562.2752.
Grants and Program Funding Support
As College of Western Idaho (CWI) continues to grow and expand the need for funds to support programs and students also increases. All grants and funding requests to outside entities must go through the CWI Grant Process.
CWI has established a Grants Committee to aid in the process of identifying needs and funding opportunities to support the College. This committee is comprised of members from multiple departments throughout the College (see details on myCWI) who meet once a month to review grant opportunities and needs. The CWI Advancement Department has resources and is the point of contact for all grant submissions and reporting on behalf of the College and the CWI Foundation. If you haven’t met Rena McKean, Project Manager for Grants and Annual Funds, rest assured that she is working every day to find, apply, and secure funding to support CWI.
Faculty and staff should contact one of the Grant Committee representatives or Rena McKean with funding needs that have a potential for grant or donor support. Rena can assist you through the process and make sure that CWI’s guidelines are being followed. By contacting her, you are giving yourself the smoothest and best possible avenue to get your request approved and hopefully funded.
Details on the Grant Process and Committee Membership can be viewed on myCWI under College Resources/Foundation and Alumni/Grants Office. If you have any questions or concerns please contact Rena McKean at 208.562.3182 or email renamckean@cwi.edu.
Academic Building Changes Include New Food Service
Anyone working at or visiting College of Western Idaho’s (CWI) Nampa Campus Academic Building this fall will notice several changes to the first floor. The CWI Bookstore, operated by Follett, has closed its Academic Building location to consolidate resources to the Micron Center for Professional Technical Education. The change will allow CWI to re-dedicate the space to Student Life moving forward.
Recognizing a need to replace the Bookstore’s food service at the Academic Building, CWI is pleased to announce a self-service food and vending market is being installed in the first-floor common area. The service, operated by Canteen, is currently being offered at CWI’s Ada County Campus. The market offers a variety of items, including fresh food. The micro-market concept is based on an honor system of payment where customers access items out of machines and pay at a kiosk. The kiosks accept cash, debit and credit cards, and Paypal accounts. There are security cameras in the area to monitor payment.
Canteen is aiming to have the new market installed and operational by the first week of August.
HR Advisory Committee Provides Recommendations from Employee Feedback
The College of Western Idaho (CWI) Human Resources Advisory Committee (HRAC) is happy to announce it has completed a review of the 2015 CWI Employee Satisfaction Survey and developed a list of recommendations to address the top challenges identified in the annual survey. After careful evaluation, the HRAC consolidated the employee feedback into three priority topics:
- Communication
- Participatory Governance
- Career Advancement and Growth
Within each priority, the HRAC outlined a number of challenges identified from the survey. For communication, employees expressed a need for better communication lines to cascade information up, down, and across the College. The survey also revealed difficulty in finding employee and department specific information. Furthermore, employee feedback identified a lack of understanding in the role of Participatory Governance at CWI. Finally, the survey presented a need for better explanation of the difference between the promotion and competitive process for advancement and continued succession planning.
Based on these challenges, the HRAC has created a preliminary list of recommended actions that were approved by College Council and President’s Cabinet. Over the next couple months the HRAC will meet with key stakeholders from the College for input on each recommendation and to develop an implementation plan.
Employees interested in learning more about the HRAC’s recommendations are invited to contact any of the committee members: Brian Plumb, Eric Studebaker, Charles Dickinson, Linda Hyde, Debbie Jensen, Susan Fujinaga, Jake Garcin, Sharon Montgomery, and Lillian Talley.
The full survey results and a summary presentation are also available for review on myCWI under Faculty Staff Resources > Human Resources > CWI Employee Satisfaction Survey Summaries.
Blackboard Archival Reminder
College of Western Idaho (CWI) would like to remind employees that Blackboard content from the semester prior to summer 2014 will no longer be available on the Blackboard Archive site after July 31. CWI conducted its annual Blackboard update and part of the process included moving archived content to an external hard drive. The change is intended to support data integrity on Blackboard. Faculty will still be able to access Blackboard content prior to summer 2014 through a Helpdesk ticket. Faculty are encouraged to export any content for which they want 24 hour access prior to July 31.
Please contact CWI’s Center for Teaching and Learning with any questions or concerns.
Willard is July Staff of the Month
College of Western Idaho (CWI) is happy to announce its July Staff of the Month honor has been awarded to Doug Willard.
Willard joined CWI in 2009. He is one-of-six Technical Support Specialists (TSS) at the College. He supports multiple sites which include Horticulture, Culinary, and the three buildings located at the Ada County Campus. He has obtained multiple Information Technology certifications, which include MTA, Network+, A+, MCSE 2003, in addition to taking multiple programming classes which include Pascal, C, C++, and Visual Basic.
Willard takes pleasure in supporting the students, faculty, and staff at the Ada County Campus. His responsibilities include installing, upgrading, removing software from computers, repairing computers, printers, copiers, and other electronic devices, assisting students, faculty, and staff with their technical needs, and deploying / recycling new computers and other electronics.
Willard upholds the CWI core value of Innovating for the 21st Century by ensuring that students, staff, and faculty receive the best customer service, in the most efficient manner, with the best technology available at the time. His caring attitude and willingness to educate his customers—both internal and external—show that he truly enjoys his work. No problem is too small and you can always count on Willard to resolve your problem with a smile.
He is happily married with two kids, one very energetic (almost) five-year-old grandson, three cats, and one wiener dog. In his down time, he enjoys gardening, reading, playing games, and most recently “fishing” with his grandson, who seems more interested in seeing if the fishing tools work under water than whether the bobber disappears.
Please join in congratulating Doug Willard as the July Staff of the Month.
