ACCC still growing

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June 11, 2010 - 12:00 AM

It came down to the final days before Allen County Community College officials could breathe easy this summer.
“Three weeks ago, our summer enrollment was up only 3 percent,” ACCC President John Masterson said. By Thursday, in the first week of summer classes, enrollment growth ballooned to 10 percent.
The numbers were shared with ACCC’s Board of Trustees at its monthly meeting. The upward figures are important because they ensure ACCC will not experience lost state aid.
Virtually all of the enrollment growth came in ACCC’s online courses, a continuing trend of the past few years.
“One of the things we’ve noticed is that online students usually are slow in enrolling,” Masterson said.
The college has experienced steady enrollment growth for the past 10 years, much attributable to ACCC’s Burlingame campus and now its online courses.

ACCC IS gaining a dean for its Iola campus while losing its music instructor.
Trustees approved hiring AnDrea Cleaves as the school’s new Iola campus dean.
Cleaves taught English this year at Normandale Community College in Bloomington, Minn.
The Iola campus dean position was created after trustees announced the dean of instruction’s role would be split, creating one position for the Iola campus and one for online learning.
Meanwhile, Brad Herndon, the college’s vocal music director, is resigning. Herndon and his family are moving to Alaska.
Trustees also approved hiring Whitney Falkenstien as an assistant volleyball coach, assistant residence hall director and admissions counselor. Falkenstien played volleyball and basketball for the Red Devils from 2006 to 2008.
Ann Lindbloom was promoted to ACCC’s online learning coordinator. Lindbloom previously was assistant online learning coordinator.
Ruth Owens-Jurgens resigned as the college’s addiction and prevention studies specialist.
Trustees said they would advertise the music instructor’s position, for an assistant online learning coordinator to replace Lindbloom and to replace Owens-Jurgens.
Vacancies still exist for an English instructor at the Burlingame campus, an assistant cheer and dance coach and an assistant women’s basketball coach. Applicants are being interviewed for those vacancies.
In a related matter, the trustees approved $500 salary increases for its instructional staff. Individual raises also will be provided for longevity and for added degrees.

TRUSTEES renewed the college’s athletic insurance plan for the 2010-11 academic year.
The plan is partially self-funded. The college’s rates will remain unchanged for the next year, in part due to the lack of medical claims this year. The college paid out only about $2,000 in claims, the lowest figure since ACCC began the self-insurance plan seven years ago.
The low pay out is attributable to a lack of major injuries for the college’s athletes and the fact that the college’s insurance is a secondary plan, with most athletes already covered by insurance elsewhere.
The plan has saved the college thousands of dollars in premiums over the past seven years, Masterson noted.

THE COLLEGE will look into the possibility of serving as an incubator and training center for a data management company.
Concept Analysis and Integration, based in Silver Springs, Md., is considering relocating to Iola.
If so, the company would need a local training center for its employees and Internet access.
Masterson told the trustees that the college is eager to assist with the training; any computer access on a large scale would be limited to the summer.
“Once fall gets here, our computers are booked up,” Masterson said.
Concept Analysis deals primarily with government data, Masterson said.

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