Only information provided County residents after Tuesday’s meeting was a Board motion stating that it “accepts the goals” it set during the secret meeting
Robert Oliphant, Editor
Author Archive for R. Oliphant – Page 24
Blog presumes cancellation due to low enrollment but College is being asked for more information; three classes full
Yavapai Community College’s Sedona Center/Verde Valley campus offered 14 community education classes through its Division of Lifelong Learning to begin in September. According to the information posted on the Community Education website, a total of seven (50%) of the classes were cancelled that were to begin on September 25, 26, or 27 at either the Verde Valley Campus or the Sedona Center.
The blog presumes that the classes were canceled due to insufficient enrollment. It has requested further details from the Community College regarding these cancellations, but as of now, no response has been received.
The following classes offered as a part of the Community Education program on the Verde Valley Campus and at the Sedona Center are listed as having been canceled:
Broadway Musical Theatre Dance
Intermediate Conversational Spanish
Jazz Funk at the Sedona Performing Arts Center Studio (Sedona)
Patents & Copyrights Made Easy
Power Barre Fitness (Sedona)
Power Barre Fitness (Sedona) (to start a day later than the other)
Watercolor Pencils
Single event on Verde Valley Campus was a luncheon of alumni who worked at Verde Valley Campus
Yavapai Community College’s third annual Alumni Reunion was held from Thursday, September 21 to Sunday September 24. According to the events planned for the reunion, as announced by the Community College, one event was scheduled on the Verde Valley Campus while eleven events were scheduled on the Prescott Campus.
The event on the Verde Valley Campus was a luncheon for former staff, which was held on Friday, September 22, 2023.
The events on the Prescott campus covering Thursday thru Sunday included the following;
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YC Alumni Small Business Summit in Partnership with SBDC
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Are YOU a RAD Alum mixer
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YC Staff Alumni lunch
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Athletics Alumni Mixer
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Athletics Volleyball Game
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Phi Theta Kappa Fun Run
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Come celebrate National Hispanic Heritage month at YC!
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Learn why NOW is the perfect time to join the trucking industry.
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Hall of Fame Athletics Brunch
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Soccer Games Men’s and Women’s
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Prescott Film Festival
September 28 – October 26, Patty McMullen-Mikles Art Gallery
Yavapai Community College will hold a “Clarkdale Artists Exhibition” on the Verde Valley Campus from September 28 to October 26 at the Patty McMullen-Mikles Art Gallery.
The opening reception is Thursday, September 28 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. The Gallery is open three days a week (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Final approval pending from IAC, which is a medical professional accreditation organization. Dr. Rhine announces she will hold press conference Monday, October 16, outside Building 1 on Prescott Campus to reveal exactly what the degree is about
Dr. Lisa Rhine announced to the Yavapai Community College faculty on Thursday, September 15 that the College has received approval from the Higher Learning Commission to offer its second baccalaureate degree. Full approval is pending before the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission (IAC). The IAC is a nonprofit, nationally recognized accrediting organization.
The IAC was founded by medical professionals to advance appropriate utilization, standardization and quality of diagnostic imaging, interventional and therapeutic procedures. The IAC programs for accreditation are dedicated to quality improvement and patient safety and all support one common company mission: Improving health care through accreditation®. Since its inception in 1991, the IAC has granted accreditation to more than 14,000 sites.
Dr. Rhine also announced that she would hold a press conference outside Building 1 on the Prescott Campus Monday, October 16 “to reveal what it is,” referring to the new baccalaureate degree. She did not provide a time for the conference.
Second consecutive year McCasland has been recognized nationally; Monahan described as a “dedicated educator and former law enforcement officer with a passion for empowering others”
In a press release issued by Yavapai Community College on September 15 it was announced that District Governing Board Chair Deb McCasland and Professor Jerald Monahan were regional winners and national finalists for the Association of Community College Trustees awards. Last year, McCasland received the American Association of Community Colleges’ Trustee of the Year award.
The American Association of Community College Trustees is a nonprofit business involved with advocacy efforts aimed at federal government. It also provides Yavapai Community College for a charge its educational services, including annual conventions and seminars, instructional publications, and other board services. The College has hired it in a number of capacities over the years.
You may read the press release from Yavapai Community College written by JJ McCormack that contains additional information about the recognition by clicking here.
Yavapai Community College President Lisa Rhine says the ten apartments to be subsidized in part by the College in this complex provide another housing option for employees and students who work at or wish to attend the College’s Verde Valley Campus or Sedona Center
Last week the Prescott Valley based Fain Signature Group announced on its website that it had completed 44 new apartments in the apartment complex off 89A in Cottonwood. Residents began moving in on Friday, September 8th. Its goal is to complete the complex with a total of 192 apartments sometime this year, if possible.
Readers may recall that on June 8, 2023, Yavapai Community College announced it had partnered with the Fain Signature Group to rent ten apartments for Verde Valley Campus/Sedona Center students and employees at the Cottonwood complex. At the time, the College released no other details regarding the number of apartments it anticipated leasing or any estimate of the amount of subsidy it would provide for those who leased them.
Readers may also recall that in an interview with Verde Independent reporter Vyto Starinskas published June 11, 2023, Vice President of Finance and Administrative Services Clint Ewell provided the following information: The Community College will rent 10 units, five 2-bedroom and five 3-bedroom apartments. “We plan to sublet these apartments to our employees, and will offer them to YC students if there is not enough employee demand.”
In the Fain Signature Group’s September 8 website announcement, Yavapai Community College president Lisa Rhine is quoted as saying: “The housing availability and affordability situation in our county has reached a point where Yavapai College is losing valuable faculty, staff, and prospective students. YC will continue to identify and invest in solutions for this issue. We are thankful for the Fain Signature Group’s vision and willingness to partner with the College to create solutions. The Inspiration Apartments in Cottonwood will provide another housing option for employees and students who work at or wish to attend the College’s Verde Valley Campus or Sedona Center.”
The Community College has not released any additional information regarding the subsidy for these apartments, the number of units currently available to them from the 44, or the volume of applications from students and employees for the newly available accommodations.
There is a pressing need for greater transparency on the part of Yavapai Community College. County residents deserve a more inclusive and informative process, particularly for a publicly funded institution of this magnitude.
You may visit the Developer’s website announcing the availability of the apartments and containing additional information about them by clicking here.
Study session to run from 1:00 p.m. for over an hour. There are 15 minutes set aside for a business meeting. A 90 minute secrete executive will then be held to establish goals for President Rhine in the coming year. Board rejects modern technology and will not live stream meeting
The Yavapai Community College Governing Board is scheduled to meet on September 19 at the Rock House on the Prescott Campus. The first part of the agenda called a “work session” is scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m. According to the announced agenda, about 15 minutes have been set aside for a “business meeting” later is the session. That will be followed by a secret executive meeting that may run for an hour and a half (See agenda). The purpose of the executive meeting is to set goals for President Dr. Lisa Rhine for the coming year.
About ten minutes have been set aside at the beginning of the meeting for input on any subject by members of the public. A citizen wishing to address the Board is normally asked to complete a “Request to Speak” form, and give it to the Recording Secretary. The speaker should be prepared to limit his or her remarks to the designated time (from one to three minutes although typically three minutes).
Under Arizona law, a citizen has a right to attend, listen, tape record, or videotape all of these meetings. The public may not disrupt, but may speak during the Call to the Public at the beginning of this meeting if the call is on the agenda. See Ariz. Att’y Gen. Op. No. I78-001.
You may access the minimalistic agenda that appeared on the Governing Board’s Saturday morning September 16 website by clicking here. https://www.yc.edu/v6/district-governing-board/sub/2023/09/09-19-2023-meeting-summary.pdf.
The less than opaque process regarding distribution of information to the community by the Governing Board is disturbing. Few know much at all about the operational decisions involving its two campuses and four centers in the County. This presents a significant challenge for rural residents throughout the County interested in the health of the College.
One example of the opaque process is how the agenda is handled. The agenda provided prior to the handful of yearly Board meetings leaves community members with scant opportunity to familiarize themselves with items touched because of the intentionally sparse descriptions of agenda items. This lack of detail creates a formidable hurdle, if not an insurmountable one, in evaluating whether a particular agenda item justifies the significant sacrifice of a 100 to 200-mile round trip and a day off from work to attend the meeting in person.
Another example of the opaque process is the Governing Board’s rejection of of modern technology. Despite having all the equipment and personnel needed, it refuses to live-stream its infrequent sessions exacerbates the problem about a resident of the County gaining meaningful information. County residents are left without real-time updates and information about the affairs of a $100 million dollar government educational institution funded by their property taxes.
A third example of the satisfaction the Board has with the out-of-date opaque process is its refusal to require those using PowerPoint slides during a meeting to provide them so they can be posted on the Board website either prior to or after their use during a meeting.
There is a pressing need for greater transparency and accessibility in the District Governing Board’s proceedings. Rural residents and taxpayers deserve a more inclusive and informative process, particularly for a publicly funded institution of this magnitude. Or maybe, there’s a pressing need for new Board members who actually care about providing their constituents with actual information.
Is also expanding Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies, including ChatGPT, into its visual arts programs
Yavapai Community College has launched its first virtual reality course in Art 201 on the Prescott Campus. This is described in its catalog as the study of “Western art from the Fourteenth to the Twentieth Century. Two-and three-dimensional art and architecture are evaluated in historical and cultural context. Application of design principles.”
Copyright 2023 Robert E. Oliphant Eyeonyavapaicollege.com