Scott Turner
In Motion Staff Writer
Scott Turner/ In Motion
At the beginning of every academic year, finances are always a concern. A financial report presented by Isalene Montgomery, Vice President and Chief Business Officer of Finance, gave positive news to the trustees by noting that the school has been maintaining spending habits and not going over-budget. One of the trustees, Brad Giles, had some questions regarding some portions of the budget.
“Some of these titles and classifications don’t add up. I’m concerned we may need to change that, or else we might wind up with mission creep into some of our budgets,” Giles said.
Montgomery was able to assuage his concerns after explaining that it was purely due to legal reasons regarding the budget allocation that they were named that, and mission creep would not happen. She also reported that the operations revenue collected has decreased from previous years, but this is due to lowered tuition and closer management of assets by department heads.
Akeima Guinyard, Associate Director of TRiO, and Rabecka Collins, a Transition Specialist working there, gave the Board an in depth view of the TRiO program. The program is designed to help those who have never had any real experience with college and give them some help acclimating to their new surroundings. To qualify, one needs to either be a first-generation student, demonstrate financial need, or have a documented learning or physical disability. Applicants must also have a high school diploma or GED, and no previous college degree.
“The TRiO program’s goal is to help those who might need more help getting used to college. We reward persistence, increase academic standing, and increase graduation and transfer rates. We offer tutoring to help students who qualify for the program, typically one hour per week per subject.” Guinard said.
Finally, Vice President of Enrollment and Student Development, Buckley James, came to give a report that corroborated Laurie White’s earlier statements regarding the changing climate of the student body.
“Our AA program is largely traditional students, age 18 or just out of high school. Our AS degrees have a fairly even spread, and our Bachelor’s programs are 70 percent older students, age 26 and up.” James said.
He went on to relate enrollment data, including one of the newer programs initiated, dubbed the “Come Back Program,” which got back in touch with students who had fifteen hours or fewer left on their degree and had not attended classes for one or more years. Of 119 students contacted, 57 re-enrolled to complete their program. President Carol Eaton had some firsthand experience with someone who had been re-enrolled with the program.
“I actually ran into someone shopping one day when I had forgotten to take off my name tag. She said, ‘You’re the President of Daytona State! You got me to re-enroll after I couldn’t graduate because of math credits. I’m taking one of the new math courses and doing great!’ Granted it wasn’t actually me personally, but the program has really helped people come back and finish degrees when they never thought they could,” Eaton said.
This meeting also marks the first meeting of the newest member of the Board of Trustees, Anne Patterson. Patterson has a Master’s degree from the University of Florida, serves on the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, and is the president of Mainly Math Inc. She was incredibly supportive of the TRiO program, particularly their focus on tutoring in math.
“I’ve been a math teacher for many years and I must say that any program that takes that much time and care with their members, to help them, is inspiring, especially since I’ve been hearing of the bad math dreams students have for years,” Patterson said.
The Daytona State Board of Trustees has many concerns in regards to running the college, and were presented with a myriad of new information to be able to do so with confidence. With new marketing and enrollment techniques being utilized, and having the support of the TRiO program, it is proving to be a positive semester at Daytona State.
The Board of Trustees Meeting was held September 17 at the Daytona Campus.