Cartoon One Health Care Issues

An open letter to the CVTC Board

You have unwittingly fallen into a HUGE trap. Sungard has currently only 6 local employees. Nearly everyone else is located outside the state. Even if they were paid at an average of $100,000 each, that leaves 1.4 million leaving the district each year. Since Sungard Collegis came here we have lost about 23 IT professionals. Right now we will have only one person on staff who can respond to hardware or software problems.

I realize that they are touting the “new” Citrix as the salvation of why they do not need any staff. Citrix will work for many, but by no means all, of our teaching software. It will not work well with our Business Enterprise software or Banner. It does not work at all with software like AutoCad.

Adam Stavn was right when he reported about the survey of helpdesk users. Students thought that they were fine. Faculty thought that they were so-so. Staff thought that they were only fair to poor. These numbers are probably very accurate and not at all slanted. Here is why.

As the former helpdesk person for nearly a year, I have a very good understanding of how the process works. I know how each call is handled and how it is rated for attention.

Students who call in usually have login issues which can easily be fixed from a call center. If they have other issues it is likely to be an issue with their ISP or internet service provider which is out of our control. The students are satisfied either way. They will only rebel when their classroom has issues. Without adequate staffing, that will be quite possible.

Faculties have issues with the technology or infrastructure. Often the piece of equipment that they need in order to teach is not functioning properly. Occasionally it is related to issues that can easily be fixed from a distance. While they may be somewhat satisfied to date that will change as the support that was just laid off will not be available for fall.

Staff is the one at the bottom of the call list. The procedure that is in place with Sungard Collegis is to make every call from the “front office” a very high priority. No matter if the question is one that needs attention sometime into the future it must be answered immediately, even if that means dropping something more pressing. When a staff person is waiting for someone to fix the infrastructure in order to do production it is not very comforting to know that you will have to call the helpdesk, explain for 20 minutes what the problem is, and then wait for hours or days for someone to arrive to correct the issue. Some issues have even been closed without resolution only to be opened again. Since we only have one person left with experience it will be even worse into the future.

Hiring new people will have little impact on this as they will not be part of solving these issues. Perhaps our “front office” will be also feeling the pinch, as they try to solve their own issues with balky equipment instead of having the immediate attention that they are used to.

The new positions which will be created will by necessity be simply a duplication of the work that our people did before. The difference will be in the amount of money that you will have to pay in order to get anyone to take the jobs. The pay scale, even locally, is much higher than what we pay our own people. It would have been a great saving to train our own people to bring them up to the “skill set” wanted instead of “hoping” to get someone at twice the price. The last job that was offered to get an “expert” for a lower wage has cost the college thousands more than having the past employee do the work.

Again, training has a lot of benefits to CVTC when our own employees have it. To date Sungard Collegis frequently sends their own employees to the training instead of our own people. If they walk out the door in the future CVTC will be the losers yet again.

Submitted by Linda Danzinger. Oh boy, We finally have a person using their name. We are moving in the right directon now folks. Thanks much Linda. You can have all the space you want.

Turf Management vs. Administrative Assistant Programs:

Turf Management Generally Required Courses:
Soil & Water Management is a study of elements of soil and water science and management as they relate to agricultural situations.
Principles of Plant Growth provides an introduction to plant structure and function with practical application to agricultural plants.
Concepts of Turf Management is an introduction to identi­fication, cultivation, and maintenance of turf grasses.
Turf Grass Pest Control covers detection and prevention of turfgrass pests with emphasis on methods of control or eradication.
Intro to Irrigation introduces the student to basic irrigation and drainage principles, uses of irrigation, and irrigation system design for landscape use.
Landscape Construction & Installation presents an intro­duction to the basic construction and installation techniques necessary for implementation of the finished landscape plan.
Turfgrass Irrigation & Drainage - using basic hydraulic concepts, students determine irrigationneeds and frequen­cies.
Landscape Plant Materials presents principles of identific­ation, cultivation, and maintenance of woody and herba­ceous landscape plants and turf grasses.
Landscape Plans provides an introduction to problems in landscape planning including use of plant materials and ele­ments of design, using computerized programs of design.
Turf Grass Equipment Management covers the operation and maintenance of specialized turfgrass management and equipment.
Putting Green Management deals exclusively with golf put­ting greens including design, construction, and maintenance of typical greens.
Applied Ecology is an exploration of the ecology of plant form, function, abundance, and diversity.
Turf & Athletic Field Maintenance introduces specific sports field design, installation, and maintenance.

Average Annual Wages: $18,900 to $21,310 annually. http://www.wscc.cc.tn.us/careerinfo/teched/GolfCourseandTurfgrass%20Management.asp

Graduates of CVTC's Bus Off. Programs have job titles that include:

* Administrative Assistant
* Medical Front Office Assistant
* Financial Administrative Assistant
* Medical Transcriptionist
* Front Office Receptionist
* Data Entry Specialist
* Human Resources Administrative Assistant
* Medical Coding Professional
* Legal Assistant

http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes436011.htm

Hourly Wage $12.11 $14.54 $17.90 $22.19 $27.28
Annual Wage (2) $25,190 $30,240 $37,240 $46,160 $56,740


So, let's get this straight. CVTC is dropping it's Administrative Assistant Programs, which are exceptional professions for single, divorced and related women with children especially. The work hours are conducive to handling child care scenarios, offer good benefits, promotions, opportunitiies to advance and so much more. These positions generally start at a wage of 30% higher income per year, and at the high end is nearly double the income of a Turf Management Professional. Since most turf management positions are seasonal in many parts of the US, then the wages will be offset by unemployment, and enviable situation. Most turf management positions have little or no benefits, and the capability to speak Spanish is highly respected.

Ok, now the nuts and bolts. What will these women do in Turf Management? YOu already know what a "secretary" and how respected they are for what they do..
1. Try to do what they were taught to do, but work in a man's world, Golf, money, you name it. It will be difficult.
2 Get to wear some special sort of clothing most likely.
3 Breathe in those wonderful insecticides and get all over your clothes.
4 Trap gophers and moles and more.
5 Have bug and mosquito bites up the wazzoo..
6 Those gardening skills may come in handy.
7 Oh yeah, I forgot you get to be hot, sweaty, dirty, and if it rains soaking wet too. (Everything a women dreams of) This along should attract any man, well after a few beers, two rounds of golf, and you get the drift..................
8 I forgot the greenhouse, nursery and lawn maintenance jobs, which offer less than the wages mentioned above.
Now the positives:
1 Most likely will be able to drive the beer cart around the golf course when it's slow. Of course, that means changing into some more efficient clothing to attract the golfers attention. Sounds like a new wardrobe to me.
2 Get golf lessons and fees at a reduced price for the family. There should be a lot of interested ex-husbands who would take care of the kids now....
3 Have the winters off in Wisconsin and Minnesota. Since many women are divorced, and can't leave the state, that might cause a problem. Hell kids adjust.

So if you really think this is a positive transition. give Dr. Ihlenfeldt a call or email him. He'll enjoy the opportunity to discuss this with you.

This article provided by Bullsht.........And we thank you for that BS. Armstrong.

Reconsider CVTC outsourcing by John Moseng Former Instructor

Chippewa Valley Technical College is currently considering outsourcing most, if not all, of its administrative Information Technology (IT) functions to a company named SunGard. SunGard originally was brought in several years ago to help the college IT department address several problem areas. I thought they were to address those problems and help the college IT department to become self-sufficient again, thereby working themselves out of a job.

However, the college (the president and the board) has continuously expanded SunGard's role, signing several long-term contracts for more and more work. Except for top management, most employees have not been impressed with SunGard's work. Good employees (often former students of mine) have left or been reassigned-demoted, and SunGard employees (some in Florida) have replaced CVTC employees.

The college also may be considering outsourcing many of the admissions, business office and library functions to SunGard. Dedicated, longtime employees will lose their jobs, many to be replaced by SunGard employees in Florida. The maintenance-custodial functions also are up for possible outsourcing.

Outsourcing makes sense in certain cases, such as providing some services to CVTC's outlying locations where CVTC employees can't be justified. However, with a new president about to be hired, it would seem prudent to let the new president evaluate the situation before further outsourcing is finalized. Please contact CVTC board members (see www.cvtc.edu/Board/Board.htm) and ask them to stop the layoffs of dedicated employees and to stop sending many of these jobs to Florida.

JOHN L. MOSENG

Retired CVTC IT Department chairman

Eau Claire

Article supplied by Bullsht; and thank you for the headsup. Too bad this article wasn't published before the board meeting.

Board Finalized Budget Staff Gone

They did amidst a lot of participation, I have been informed. CVTC staff members who have put in up to 31 years, and do not qualify for benefits, or even early retirement. There is no option for these staff members, no early retirement, no health benefits, and no severance pay. What they got, is out the door, part of Dr. Ihlenfeldts In-source policies.

It is amazing, how Dr. Ihlenfeldt can justify the same exact health insurance costs, a much great level or pay for leadership, cash stipends when management retires into the thousands of dollars, four weeks vacation the first year they work and well more.

CVTC Union staff do not receive those same benefits, and obviously, since they are less educated, have more demeaning jobs, make much less money, recieve less benefits than their counterparts in leadership, it is easier to get rid of them. Funny how this world works. He who owns the Gold makes the rules is an old saying.

In a few years, you'll have to look hard to find anyone to assist in technical support, unless you wish to call Florida. Maybe they'll have some great deals on cars, trucks and more there. And then maybe not.

Good job, Board of Trustees and Dr. Ihlenfeldt.

Just my take from scads of emails, strongarm.

New Leader Telegram Staff Writer Working for Dr. I

I guess, Dr. Ihlenfeldt's tirade in front of CVTC staff members in the hallway, swearing he was going to get Brad Bryan of the Leader Telegram fired, must have worked. Several staff members overhead Dr. Ihlenfeldt clearly on his cell phone. Anyone heard from Brad lately??????????????????????? I sure haven't.

The Outcome: Brad Bryan printed an altered or ammended article for Dr. Ihlenfeldt and now Dr. Ihlenfeldt has found another staff writer who he obviously enjoys.

Good luck Keighla Schmidt - But I would get Dr. Ihlenfeldts Press Releases in his own words on tape. Then you might have a leg to stand on.

This submission provided by Bullsht. And thank you so much.

CVTC budget keeps climbing

Keighla Schmidt Leader-Telegram Staff

The amount of money Chippewa Valley Technical College spends each year has significantly risen over the past decade and continues to rise. The $79 million proposed budged for 2007-08 — up 5.47 percent from $74.9 million in 2006-07 — is increasing due to health insurance costs for its employees and growth in the student population. The CVTC board of directors will meet to look over college spending at 6 p.m. Thursday. (Maybe as a taxpayer you should be there and ask some questions) CVTC President Bill Ihlenfeldt said the driving force of the increased budget is health care coverage. Over $7 million of the budget is spent on health insurance; 85 percent of the CVTC budget is personnel costs, he said. 'It's just going to get worse,' Ihlenfeldt said. 'It's become a real burden for public and private institutions, not just technical colleges.' Health care cost for CVTC have risen by 18 percent this year. The proposed combined levy, $31.7 million, a 3.9 percent increase from 2006-07, comes to the institution as it is consistently increasing its student population by 5 to 15 percent annually. It's a growth rate faster than any other technical college in Wisconsin. To keep tax increases in check, Ihlenfeldt said the college is trying and reduce the burden health care costs bares on them. By outsourcing some of the jobs in the cafeteria and bookstore with employees from a third party which does not offer health insurance, the personnel cost has decreased some. Some teaching positions were eliminated by offering courses online. Employees given health care benefits were asked this year if they would voluntarily pay a part of their premium, despite their contracts saying CVTC pays 100 percent of their health care. (Well, one more lie for Dr. Ihlenfeldt. It seems the cafeteria's services were taken over by Profit Foods and then Chartwells. The first transition occurred sometime about 1990, and the bookstore was outsourced to a nationalwide firm in 2003). Is this a current statement or accumulative, as most of his mistruths are labeled. What next Dr. Ihlenfeldt? Truckdriving? Ihlenfeldt said the college 'operates on a business model' to keep up with the growing population's desire to take classes at CVTC. The model has led to maintaining quality during rapid growth and low unit costs. (This model has also paid Dr. Ihlenfeldt very well for his services, and why would a college President who has bragged for years, he was going to outsource every job he could, would actually do this.) I guess if you earn $25-$35K a year, you are not deserving of the health benefits that the elite are entitled to. Dr. Ihlenfeldt has stipulated this to two of the CVTC unions, and the teachers weren't one of them. "Your wages are not inline with the cost of the benefits you recieve, and I will have to do something about this." Hey, maybe raise the wages for the lowest paid employees, to say $160,000 each, which is what Dr. Ihlenfeldt makes approximately. ) Maybe that would be more in-line. This article and comments supplied by Dipsydoodle.

Insurance drives CVTC budget

Updated: 6/19/2007 Leader Telegram:

By Keighla Schmidt Leader-Telegram staff

Chippewa Valley Technical College officials are changing their nationally recognized disability services program to be more cost effective, but that move could come with a different kind of cost.

CVTC President Bill Ihlenfeldt said three disability services instructors will be moved from the program and be placed as instructors in general education classes.

There are five instructors and a clerical assistant in the disability services department. One new person will be hired to work as a manager for disability services.

The change would mean students with disabilities no longer would be segregated from other students.

Services previously provided in a separate center would be integrated.

"It will change," Ihlenfeldt said of the disabilities services. "I have no reason to believe a student wouldn't get services they want."

Disability services personnel help students by reading tests, recording books on tape, helping people in wheelchairs and providing special computer software for people who have vision problems.

CVTC serves 224 students identified as requiring disability services. Joe Hegge, vice president of education, said 62 students used the lab in 2006-07.

A CVTC instructor who asked to remain anonymous said 263 disabled students already are mainstreamed, going to the same classes as other students and only to the service lab in their off time.

The instructor said the disability center's role is to prepare those students for the "real world."

Tina Oleson uses the disability services offered at the college and worries that fewer instructors will hamper learning opportunities for herself and those like her.

"I have many obstacles to overcome and now am at a loss to where my future will lead," Oleson said.

Ihlenfeldt said all students must eventually go into the workforce and be equipped to handle situations. Mainstreaming those students will improve their chances of future success, he said.

"If they can't, then I question what our role should be," he said.

Oleson said she sometimes had trouble scheduling the help she needed before, and assistance will be harder to come by with fewer disability service teachers.

In a written statement, Oleson said those instructors "struggle to meet the needs of so many special people and still have the heart to go that extra mile to encourage the overcoming stigmas."

She said many students have planned their college careers based on receiving disability services. Now she is unsure how fewer people will accommodate those needing extra assistance.

"I don't know what I'm going to do," she said.

I guess, Dr. Ihlenfeldts heart is as big as the Grinch, at least for those who are disadvantaged. What next?

This article provided by Dipsydoodle, thanks and for you comment. I love comments.

PUBLIC HEARING AND REGULAR MEETING OF ...

PUBLIC HEARING AND REGULAR MEETING OF THE CHIPPEWA VALLEY TECHNICAL COLLEGE DISTRICT BOARD
June 22, 2006

Read it in it's entireity: http://www.cvtc.edu/Board/BdMinutes/20060622.pdf

But the best part is on page four and here it is:

4. Chairperson’s Report
a. Mr. Monson indicated that he, Mr. Habeck, and Mr. Brummeyer represented the
Board in a panel presentation at the Leadership Retreat. Dr. Ihlenfeldt thanked
them for participating.
b. The final letter to Paul Gabriel was distributed and signed by Mr. Monson.
Copies of the letter will be sent to the 15 college presidents and board chairs.
c. Mr. Monson reported that the Board approved a five percent raise for Dr.
Ihlenfeldt and that an additional three percent of the President’s 2006-07 salary
will be placed in a tax sheltered annuity based on the completion of performance based
goals established by the District Board. (FY’07 Goal: Groundbreaking for
NanoRite: A Center for Innovation).
(This amounts to an income of $153,500 and about $4,500 in an IRA account besides. )
5. Mr. Monson reminded the Board members to complete their Plus/Delta Evaluations
before leaving the meeting.
6. The meeting adjourned at 7:48 p.m.
Recorded by: Submitted by:
Candace S. Johnson Mary L. Zimmerman
Administrative Assistant-President Chippewa Valley Technical College District Board

This article provided by Bullsht

Eau Claire Country Club Social Fees Paid for Dr. Ihlenfeldt

Did you know besides Dr. Ihlenfeldt's yearly salary of roughly $160,000, the Porsche Carrera the board purchased for him, he also gets the following every year since 2003:

2007 Social Membership Dues at Eau Claire Golf and Country Club:
You can request this info, and this amount has been reimbursed since 2003 to Dr. Ihlenfeldt. Some years ago, Dr. I. was forced to give up his golf and social benefits at the Country Club, after college employees found out about it, and he was going to cut money from the Student Support Funds. This was about 1995 -1999. Anyhow………… Call Dr. Ihlenfeldt at 715-833-6212 and ask for a copy of PO# 197188, Date: 1/15/2007, Delivery date of PO payment 1/26/2007. Description: 2007 Social Membership Dues at Eau Claire Golf & Country Club. Amount of this PO is $784.92 for this year. This amount was paid to Dr. Ihlenfeldt as a reimbursement for the fees he personally paid.

Maybe, instead Dr. Ihlenfeldt will take you to dinner and help quiet your voice.

Health Insurance Coverage Improvements for Dr. Ihlenfeldt:

PO#188418, Amount of $100.00; on 8/23/2005. This was for reimbursement for a non-insurance claim payment for Dr. I’s physical exam, which was not covered. Obviously, Dr. Ihlenfeldt has some extra health coverage exemptions, that the rest of the CVTC staff do not get.

The Business Model allows great flexibility for leadership staff, vs. teachers, support staff and custodial employees. Better for Dr. Ihlenfeldt anyhow. Call Dr. Ihlenfeldt and request the same coverages if you are an employee. Then maybe not.

Submitted by Bullsht, thanks much.

I am so grateful for you listening to us.........

It is very much appreciated. We have not had that experience for many years now.

I started at CVTC back in 1993 as a computer operator/programmer. I have always worked the line between the mainframe and the individual employees or students whom needed reports or service. When the mainframe went out and we went to a Unix system I devoted my time to Access database uses, primarily for the web applications but some for other administrative uses. Some were to house data needed for my seven or eight state reports that were not supported within Banner.

In 2001 when Collegis came they used my databases as the reason for coming. Those databases surely must be "side systems". A side system is one where you take data out of the main application and update the side system without updating the main application. Out of over 100 databases, only one database met that criteria and they have had to wait until this past year to make our "Banner" work with that system. Instead now we have hundreds of Excel "side systems".

The week after Collegis came about 7 of us were singled out for an individual interrogation with Bruce Barker and our supervisor that lasted about 1 1/2 hours each. I was not allowed to speak for myself or others. I was just accused of being anti-Collegis. When I explained that we needed the expertise that this company brought and we should be better for the experience. However, I was never believed by anyone but my immediate supervisor. I felt violated. I then became what they were trying to prevent. I soon became the president of our local union. I became active in the union as I could not see any other way out of what was becoming a living nightmare.

At first we documented what we had done for the college. Then they sent our expertise to Florida or somewhere else. At that time we became expendable. I worked with those who were laid off such as the network administrator who had built the network from the ground up and knew each piece of it. But they had a warning device in Florida that would tell us if there was an issue with the network. So what if we did not have anyone to actually fix the problem if one arose.

That first year while Collegis was working with us to upgrade our main system, Banner, they let most of their own expertise go. The experts that were here working on our system were devastated when their friends back in Florida were laid off.

For the past four years Collegis' "experts" have been anything but. We tried to hire locally, but they needed more than we were willing to pay for. When they needed someone anyway, they often hired whoever walked in the door regardless of their abilities or training. The only thing that seems to matter is where they used to work. If they worked for Cray, no matter in what capacity, they must be able to do something for us. The people who have done the work before and have been trained are of no value in comparison. So, to this day we do not hire really qualified people.

They speak repeatedly of our new hires needing special certifications. We must hire someone who has them. However, we don't want to pay them more than starting wages.

They hired a network tech who had Novell certification. Within 6 months we bacame a Windows shop. All of her certification was at that point obsolete. Whenever they asked for further people I brought that up and the requirements seemed to go away.

They created the dismissal of our telephony expert. He managed to transfer to maintenance to avoid losing his retirement. Whenever they talked about replacing him they said that we teach Cisco so we could get a student to do what he did. I reminded them that voice was the equivalent of Cisco 7 and 8. We only taught 1 - 4. Anyone with the highest levels of Cisco could begin work at about $80,000. We only wanted to hire them at $35,000. We have never gotten someone to do that work competently. We have paid many, many thousand dollars to various companies and still have a questionable system to show for it.

There were hardware techs who worked with student and employees hardware as well as software. We were told repeatedly that the users were expecting too much. The users must do everything themselves. We had been simply coddling them. Everything that we had done over the years was very wrong. All of these good and talented people were simply not needed.

When we did good work, Collegis took the credit. When things went a bit differently, it was obviously that our people were just "stupid". Every meeting was abusive. We were screamed at and threatened on a daily basis. It was common for people to be on medication just to be able to come to work.

Four years ago, I was laid off myself. I then chose to bump into the help desk. I was threatened by my new supervisor. She was sure that I could not do the work as her "favorite" had been in that capacity before. She told many people that she was going to "get me". I worked in that job very well for nearly a year. The only person who was not happy with my performance was my "supervisor". She created a well crafted dismissal and I was finally "terminated" from my position just 2 months before the help desk was outsourced to Florida. It was well known that this function would go to Collegis so HR and Bruce Barker crafted a transfer to Neillsville as they knew that a terminated sitting President was going to cause trouble.

Most of my time was spent supporting the many people who relied on me to stand between SunGard Collegis and administration. Whenever I met with Bruce Barker and Tom Huffcutt we were told that we "always" were obstructionists, we "never" produced reports that Bill wanted, and so on. I finally told Bruce to just listen to himself, he was doing what he said that we were doing. I told him that he knew that those statements were simply not true. From his demeanor, I believe that he realized that that was the truth. Unfortunately it didn't last long.

Time moves on.

Again, thanks for listening.

Collegis and Dr. I togeher again.

www.acct.org/pdf/F51.pdf

Read this full article. Collegis obvious supplied, their name is all over it.

dipsydoodle

Providing efficient business solutions.(information management)

Source: Community College Week

Publication Date: 17-MAR-03

Providing efficient business solutions.(information management)

COPYRIGHT 2003 Cox, Matthews & Associates

Chippewa Valley Technical College (CVTC) turned to technology to help transform the way the college would do business. The Wisconsin college purchased an administrative system, SCT Banner, which had the potential to improve data analysis, communication and other business applications at CVTC's five campus locations.

It took years to approach the product's potential. Rather than give up on the technology, college administrators were eager to receive greater value from their investment in Banner. They sought help with managing the enterprise-wide system, and in 2002, CVTC called upon the higher education technology expertise of Collegis for a two-year business partnership to manage and support Banner and a host of other IT functions, according...

[ It's now 2007, that's an awful long two years Dr. Ihlenfeldt. One more lie]
To read the entire article link here to http://www.accessmylibrary.com/comsite5/bin/pdinventory.pl?pdlanding=1&referid=2930&purchase_type=ITM&item_id=0286-6073694

CVTC job cuts will be balanced by new hires in other areas

Updated: 6/11/2007 Leader Telegram

CVTC job cuts will be balanced by new hires in other areas

By Brad Bryan

Leader-Telegram staff

Chippewa Valley Technical College is laying off more than two dozen positions this week, all in the effort to meet its shifting needs, said President Bill Ihlenfeldt, but only a handful are getting pink slips. As the institution comes to terms with its next budget cycle, 27 jobs are being cut and 26.5 new positions are being created for a net loss of less than one-half position, Ihlenfeldt said. CVTC employee union representative Kim Yoder said she was unable to comment on the layoffs because all information on the positions was not provided. The eight employees being laid off are being notified today and Tuesday. Nineteen currently open positions are not being filled. Of the eight layoffs, three are faculty and five are support staff. The five support staff-IT positions will be replaced by CVTC employees who have other skills, "It's the only way I can keep up with rising health care costs," Ihlenfeldt said. "The faculty positions are always in a state of flux." Ihlenfeldt also said CVTC will request proposals this summer to outsource its admissions call center and document duplication services. Part of the need for layoffs comes as CVTC adds four new programs, physical therapy assistant, micro-fabrication, university transfer-liberal arts and horticulture-turf management, Ihlenfeldt said. Bryan can be reached at (800) 236-7077, 830-5840 or brad.bryan@ecpc.com.

Letter: CVTC move harmful

5/23/2007 12:35:11 PM Leader Telegram Eau Claire

Suspending the administrative assistant and office assistant programs at Chippewa Valley Technical College is a major loss for the area. Suspending these two programs is unwarranted and was done to fund the new (and unnecessary) associate of science in liberal studies degree.

Loss of the office administrative degrees is being explained as eliminating an expensive program with low enrollment. Enrollment is not low if all students — part-time as well as full-time, on the satellite campuses as well as the Eau Claire campus — are counted.

These programs have created a skilled office workforce throughout the Chippewa Valley. The programs are key to (predominantly) women entering the workforce for the first time, re-entering the workforce, seeking to enhance their existing skills, or re-training because they have lost a job or must change careers due to health issues.

We need a skilled labor force in the Chippewa Valley. A key portion of that labor force must be administrative or office support staff. Our profession is no longer the stereotypical “secretary.” We support business and industry with skilled computer applications, conference planning, report writing, communications via Internet, record-keeping, public relations and supervisory skills.

CVTC is changing its mission to offer a program that is not needed. Each UW campus offers an associate degree, the same two-year program CVTC wants to offer. The two-year UW center campuses were established to meet the needs of residents in those counties wishing to get the first two years of a liberal arts education. All of those campus credits are transferable to the four-year universities.

The CVTC Board is not elected and therefore not directly accountable to taxpayers. Please go to the CVTC Web site (www.cvtc.edu/Board/Board.htm) to find the full list of board members. Although you will note no contact information is listed, I urge you to try to get in touch with them.

CYNTHIA WELCH

Menomonie

CHIPPEWA VALLEY TECHNICAL COLLEGE

Scroll down a page, to the area of this color, and you won't believe Dr. I's statement. Really. Don't believe it, ask for a copy from CVTC. Just call 715-833-6200.

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

8:30 AM – RCU Community Center

Minutes

Members: (* = Present): *Judi Anibas, *Bruce Barker, *Leslie Bleskachek, *Dawn Bosold, *Sue Brehm, *Sherry Chambers, *Margaret Dickens, *Larry Doyle, Shawn Emberts, *Jim Gross, *Joe Hegge, *Beth Hein, *Mark Hendrickson, Tom Huffcutt, *Bill Ihlenfeldt, *Margo Keys, *Ellen Kirking, *Kirk Moist, *Doug Olson, *Diane Pavelski, Dan Raffesberger, *Adam Stavn, *Terry Bilderback, *Jim Mortwedt, and *Candy Johnson.

1. Announcements

a. The Cabinet Retreat is scheduled for June 25, 26, 27. Location to be determined.

b. Bill asked that all communication with the Board go through the President’s Office. He also asked that if Board members contact individual Cabinet members, they should let the President’s Office know of that. Bill wants information to go to all Board members—not just one.

c. Bill announced that he has tickets available for the Breakfast in the Valley on June 8^th. Cabinet members can contact Candy if interested.

d. Bill reported that he presented the budget to the Board last week. It will be published shortly. He indicated the three unions declined the proposal to pay a portion of their health insurance premiums and the proposal to go to self-funded insurance.

1. Status Reports

a. FTEs - 4582 current, 4419 previous, 4597 projected, 94.47% of target; 4% increase over last year.

b. Admissions – Larry reported that applications for fall are up 16% over last year. There are 155 applicants for the University Transfer program.

c. Contracted Training Revenue - $632,845 current, $949,172 previous, $1,186,671 projected, 53% of target, down 33% from last year. Jim Gross has asked that larger contracts be entered into the database to give a clearer picture of the status of contracted training revenue for the year.

d. News Release Ideas – budget, new nursing instructor in River Falls, quality initiatives with faculty development, motorcycle classes, Nanoscience student trip to CA, Nanoscience Capstone, River Falls Criminal Justice graduates, high cost seminars, nursing graduates (largest number of grads, high passing rates on Boards, Nursing Alliance grads), summer safety issues.

The NanoRite ribbon cutting is scheduled for Friday, August 24. Also need to plan an open house for METI Live in June or July.

e. Academic Council – No report.

f. Operations Team – No report.

g. IT Update – Adam is working on a process to prioritize unfunded projects.

2. Action Items

a. June Board Agenda. The June Board agenda was reviewed. Program Investigation for Landscape and Turf Management was added by Margaret. Jim Gross may be bringing forward a Code Blue Floodhouse construction item forward later this summer.

3. Information Items

a. Title III Grant Update. Tabled until June 5^th.

b. New Mailing Requirements. Doug Olson reported on new postal rates that went into effect on May 15, 2007. Size, shape, and weight matter. Doug will work with Margo to schedule training sessions for support staff on the new regulations.

Mixed Results of Technology Outsourcing

it-fyi: Mixed Results of Technology Outsourcing (Chron of Higher

technews (technews@ou.edu)
Mon, 25 Oct 1999 09:00:53 -0500

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From: technews <technews@ou.edu>

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Subject: it-fyi: Mixed Results of Technology Outsourcing (Chron of Higher

Date: Mon, 25 Oct 1999 09:00:53 -0500

Technology 'Outsourcing': the Results Are Mixed

By GOLDIE BLUMENSTYK

Betty B. Friedman begged and cajoled for two years before the tech-support
people at the College of Notre Dame provided her graphic-arts students with
their own computer laboratory.

Holding the classes in the college's Macintosh lab just wasn't working, she
says. Not only was the space too cramped for art projects, but the computers
were always being reconfigured by students and professors from the education
department to suit their software, and by other students who used the
computers for various assignments. That messed up her students' specialized
software for photographs and design, leaving them frustrated and unable to
do their own assignments.

But the people in the college's Office of Information Technology -- employed
not by Notre Dame but by Collegis, a company hired by the college -- had
their own ideas about efficiency.

"They thought I was a flaky artist," Ms. Friedman recalls, and they didn't
appreciate the academic issues involved. "As a whole, they didn't understand
the graphic-design needs" of the program.

Additional complaints echoed in other corners of this compact, hillside
campus: The computer-science department grumbled about the maintenance of
its UNIX lab; business professors griped about slow response times for
fixing computer glitches and rapid turnover within the Collegis staff;
people in the communications department were annoyed that Collegis seemed to
be forcing upon the college a brand of software that professors felt was
inadequate for creating course World-Wide Web pages.

And nearly everyone, faculty members especially, winced at the realization
that the college was forking over about $700,000 a year to Collegis -- a
considerable sum for an institution that has sometimes had to put off buying
badly needed computers because fewer students enrolled than the budget
planners had projected for that year. Notre Dame's operating budget is just
over $22-million.

Such clashes are not uncommon for the small but growing number of
institutions like the College of Notre Dame that have decided to hire
outside companies to manage their information-technology operations.

While outsourcing can help colleges gain computer expertise quickly and
avoid the hassles of recruiting and retaining technical personnel, the
arrangement can also create problems of its own.

Officials of East Tennessee State University, for instance, say they've
generally been pleased with the strategic-planning and networking projects
that Collegis has undertaken since its arrival there 18 months ago. But the
company hasn't done nearly as good a job at training college personnel to
use a new telephone system, says Burt C. Bach, provost and vice-president
for academic affairs.

Putting outsiders in charge of the computer-users' help desk at East
Tennessee State also created some disruptions. People with computer problems
are no longer assured of getting service from the technician who knows their
department and its needs best, says Mr. Bach.

Collegis's way of assigning personnel "is more rational and efficient" than
the university's, he says -- but "we had not envisioned the cultural
problems." East Tennessee is paying Collegis $7.9-million over five years.

George Washington University, which uses SCT to manage its
administrative-computing systems, says outsourcing gives the university the
advantage of drawing on extra personnel from the company when the workload
demands it. But university officials have been frustrated when SCT takes
expert personnel away temporarily to work elsewhere.

"You have to make sure you're getting the resources you're paying for," says
Lou H. Katz, vice-president for business and treasurer. "If you don't speak
loud enough, people may get moved away from you." George Washington spends
nearly $6-million a year for SCT's services, which keep about about 50 SCT
employees on the campus.

In at least one case, problems between a company and a customer have
escalated into a lawsuit.

Golden Gate University, a Collegis client since 1994, renewed its contract
for administrative-computing and networking services for four more years in
1997. It also engaged Collegis to help create a distance-education program.
A year later, however, Golden Gate terminated the $7.2-million contract,
reportedly because its officials were dissatisfied with the company's work
in developing financial-reporting tools and unhappy with the company's
repeatedly transferring its computer experts away from Golden Gate.

Collegis filed a complaint against Golden Gate with arbitrators, demanding
$1-million in damages. The university, in turn, filed a lawsuit against the
company. Golden Gate and Collegis settled their dispute this past June. In a
three-sentence press release, the university acknowledged that the
company's" past efforts have been very helpful" in establishing the
distance-education program. According to Golden Gate officials, a
confidentiality clause in the settlement prevents them from discussing the
situation further. The college now manages its own information-technology
operation.

Collegis agrees that it had a problem with the contract, but says that the
issues were resolved and that, in the words of its chairman and chief
executive, Robert Lund, "we walked away friends."

Michael R. Zastrocky, an analyst who follows higher education for a
technology consulting company, the Gartner Group, says such conflicts give
pause to many institutions that might otherwise consider
information-technology outsourcing.

"There is still a lot of fear" among colleges about outsourcing, he says.
Because computing plays such a central role on campuses, officials are
reluctant to give up control. He estimates that fewer than 2 per cent of the
nation's 3,400 colleges and universities now outsource their
information-technology operations.

Collegis, based in Orlando, Fla., and SCT, in Malvern, Pa., are the biggest
outsourcing companies for information technology in higher education.
Collegis says it has 35 clients, nine of which it signed up this year. SCT
reports 21. Some colleges employ smaller outsourcing companies.

Collegis, known at the time as Technology Solutions Inc., was smaller and
under different management at the time the College of Notre Dame signed on,
in 1995. And while matters have never reached the lawsuit stage, the
relationship has been rocky from the start.

Only now, after rewriting portions of the contract to make it much more
specific about Collegis's responsibilities, do Notre Dame administrators say
they feel comfortable about the college's relationship with the company.

"It's an arranged marriage, and we've learned to love each other," says
Lucille Sansing, vice-president for academic affairs.

Still, some faculty and staff members are not smitten. Even administrators
who support the Collegis arrangement say Notre Dame's experience --
including some missteps and financial limitations on the college's part --
illustrate the difficulties of making outsourcing work.

If colleges think they can just hire an outsourcing company and then look
away, they are mistaken, says Carol Probstfeld, vice-president for
administration at Notre Dame, who guided the rewriting of the Collegis
contract. "That's not the reality."

One of the most important steps in starting out, say Notre Dame officials,
is to be as precise as possible about what you're looking for. That is
easier said than done, though. "If you're outsourcing, you probably don't
know what your needs are," Ms. Sansing says. "You just know you have needs."

Despite its location in the heart of Silicon Valley, the College of Notre
Dame was not especially wired in 1995. Fewer than 50 of its 200 full-time
faculty and staff members had computers on their desks. The campus had no
computer network or direct access to the Internet. Some of the computers in
the student labs dated from the late 1980s.

But the president, Margaret A. Huber, was eager to advance the computing
mindset at the college, as were a few tech-savvy professors. Having served
as president of a comparable institution, La Roche College, in Pittsburgh,
she knew that hiring and keeping qualified computing personnel were
headaches she didn't want. At a small institution like Notre Dame, which has
about 1,700 students, "you don't have the layers of people to worry about
the hiring and the training," Ms. Huber explains. That's especially true in
northern California, she adds, where the market for information-technology
workers is hot.

In its first four years at Notre Dame, Collegis did help get the college up
to speed. The company assisted in developing a computer network and oversaw
the wiring of the half-dozen or so buildings that house most of the
college's academic activities. It supervised the expansion and upgrading of
the computer labs -- there are now about 60 workstations, in four locations
-- and the installation of computer stations for nearly all full-time
faculty and staff members. It also assumed responsibility for managing the
college's administrative-computing system, and upgraded Notre Dame's
telephone systems.

But many of the other benefits the college expected from Collegis were slow
in coming. The academic liaisons that Collegis brought in to help professors
learn technology, for one, "weren't clicking" with faculty members, says Ms.
Huber -- either because the company's employees "weren't good clickers," or
because the professors resisted their approach.

Others here say they were disappointed that Collegis, despite being well
compensated, didn't help the college enough in developing its own long-term
plans for using technology. "What I really was hoping that Collegis would
come with was models from other institutions," says Gregory White, an
associate professor of mathematics and computer science. Knowing how other
colleges set up their computer labs or what sorts of elements belong in an
information-technology plan would have helped Notre Dame do its own planning
better, he says. With its limited resources and small roster of full-timers,
the college was hard put to locate expertise on its own.

Collegis also annoyed some professors in recommending that they all use a
particular brand of software, Web Course in a Box, to create sites for their
courses on the World-Wide Web. Faculty members found the product unsuitable,
and the college eventually chose a different program, WebCT, after Collegis
helped coordinate a faculty-led evaluation of several alternatives.

Ms. Probstfeld, the vice-president for administration, says the college
shares some of the blame for the software problem. "In the absence of us
planning, they were making decisions for us," she says.

Collegis, for its part, was stymied by the college's unpredictable finances.
Robert Snyder, the company's first site director on the campus, recalls that
during his first summer, he was delayed in buying and installing new
computers for the labs because a vice-president wouldn't release the funds
until the fall. Other officials later explained that the college had become
accustomed to spending tuition revenues only when it was sure that the
projected number of students had actually enrolled.

Mr. Snyder, who left after two years, is now pursuing a graduate degree in
Asian philosophy at the University of Idaho. His successor stayed 18 months.
The college's new site director -- its third in four years -- is Paul W.
Bishop, who held a similar position at Golden Gate and also was the
company's director of instructional technology.

Of Collegis's seven employees at Notre Dame, only one who started out four
years ago is still here. Mr. Bishop is looking for someone to fill the
academic-liaison slot, another post that has turned over twice.

Roger Goodson, chairman of Notre Dame's business-administration department,
says the turnover has been disruptive to faculty members, many of whom are
themselves struggling to master computing skills. Many also felt that the
company wasn't giving the college's fledgling computer effort as much
technical support or assistance as they had been led to expect.

According to Mr. Goodson, the expectations were high because the contract
with Collegis wasn't precise enough -- "loosey, goosey, and playful," as he
describes it. As he and others note, few of the proposed projects and
services included either specific timelines or measures for assessing
whether they were completed correctly.

"We were very unhappy with our agreement with Collegis" two years ago, Ms.
Probstfeld confirms. "We've come a considerable distance" since then.

As part of the renegotiated contract, completed a year ago, Collegis is
being asked to meet specific performance standards, such as responding
within five hours to complaints about the administrative-computing system
and within 24 hours to complaints about individual computers. The company is
also expected to insure that the computers in the four labs are operational
at least 95 per cent of the time.

"I realized I needed to be real specific about what I wanted" after talking
with Golden Gate and with Menlo College, another former Collegis client, Ms.
Probstfeld says.

At the same time, the college has adopted policies that will make it easier
for Collegis to do its job. A new policy for deciding which classes will be
held in computer labs, for example, should simplify the task of managing the
labs for open use.

College officials say they are impressed by the expertise of their newest
site director, Mr. Bishop. Unlike his two predecessors, he's knowledgeable
about Macintosh computers and UNIX systems, and that knowledge is helping
him win over key constituencies on the campus.

A former college employee himself -- he was director of computing at
Washington College, in Maryland, from 1984 to 1994 -- Mr. Bishop understands
the small-college culture and its limitations. Unable to proceed with some
additional computer acquisitions and the planned wiring of dormitories
because enrollment this fall didn't meet projections, he is pushing ahead
with other projects, such as additional training, that don't cost as much.

He is also spending a lot of time with the college's Technology Advisory
Council. Notre Dame is still developing its plans for using technology, and
"we need to help them do a better job of that," he says.

Mr. Lund, Collegis's chairman, acknowledges that the Notre Dame case has
been difficult. He came to the company shortly after two venture-capital
firms bought it, in April 1996, and changed its name and management.

Back when the College of Notre Dame was signed up, "our models weren't as
sophisticated or well developed as they are today," he maintains. Collegis
now employs about 550 people, about half of whom joined the company from
institutions where Collegis has taken over computer operations. The company,
which hopes to go public soon, offers stock options to some of its site
managers and senior employees.

For all of its problems, Notre Dame's president says she is still satisfied
that using Collegis makes sense. "I don't think this institution could do
the same thing for less money," Ms. Huber says.

Even critics of outsourcing acknowledge that contracting with a company for
technology services can help colleges like Notre Dame to avoid difficult
compensation issues, because the institutions are spared the problem of
having to offer higher salary ranges to computing professionals than they
provide for their professors. Many technology professionals earn far more
than the $53,415 average annual salary for a College of Notre Dame
professor.

Still, Mr. Goodson and some other professors contend that the college could
save money by phasing out Collegis -- which would eliminate the expenses of
the company's profit margin and overhead -- and developing more expertise
itself.

As for Ms. Friedman, with her nice new computer-graphics lab neatly tucked
away in a corner of the art studio, she is pleased. "It's a great set-up
now," she says, noting that students have room to design logos in pen and
ink, scan them into the computer, and then alter them using Adobe's
Photoshop software.

Well, mostly pleased. Collegis bought higher-end equipment than she would
have, she says. The scanner is so sophisticated that "it's a little hard for
beginning students to use."

And she's still mystified by the furniture -- polished wood desks that fit
together into a long oval, and an upholstered, rollaway chair for each of
the six computers. "They spent half the budget on the table system, which is
gorgeous," Ms. Friedman says. "But I would have rather bought two more
computers."
_________________________________________________________________
Copyright 1999 by The Chronicle of Higher Education

---

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This article supplied by Dumbsht , thanks

Emailing Lynn Cundiff - Salt Lake Community College

H. Lynn Cundiff
embattled president of Salt Lake Community College

2002 - Newly appointed Salt Lake Community College president H.. Lynn Cundiff continues to keep the campus in the news. Cundiff is a conservative Protestant from Georgia and has angered many Salt Lake Community College faculty and students, a number of whom have accused Cundiff of making anti-Mormon and anti-Utah comments and policies. Cundiff drew criticism for his decision to outsource all of the college's academic and administrative information systems and computer networks. In December 2001, Cundiff signed a five-year contract for $26.5-million with a Florida-based company, further upsetting detractors who consider Cundiff incompetent and divisive.

27 March 2003: Cundiff "resigns"

A letter to the editor in the Deseret News (http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,405017996,00.html) calls for a probe into Cundiff's actions:

It seems that the Board of Regents does not want to discuss this issue, but as a Utah resident and taxpayer, I feel it needs some public airing.

During the Winter Olympics, the president of Salt Lake Community College had all its campus sites operate from 6 a.m. to 1 p.m., Monday-Friday except for the South City Campus. H. Lynn Cundiff had that campus site locked down for the duration of the Winter Olympics and rented that facility to a group of some 40 Southern Baptists, who came up from Alabama and Georgia, where they slept, showered and ate. Cundiff charged each of these folks $10 a night.

During the Winter Olympics, these Baptists went out to all the winter venues, the Medals Plaza, Bud World and Washington Square passing out literature that was demeaning to the state of Utah and hostile to the state's dominant religion.

Perhaps the Deseret News would like to investigate why Cundiff feels he has the right to use the state of Utah's South City Campus for the express purpose of propagating information that is negative to this state and to the LDS Church. It also seems odd that Cundiff would demean the very source of his livelihood and undermine the institution the Board of Regents assigned him to preside over.

Fred Thompson
Salt Lake City

---

Headline: Audit Reveals Questionable Use Of Funds at SLCC

By: Kirsten Stewart
Date: 20 August 2002
Source: Salt Lake Tribune
URL: http://www.sltrib.com/08202002/utah/763320.htm

A financial audit of Salt Lake Community College has identified problems with loose financial controls and instances where President H. Lynn Cundiff skirted the competitive bid process and profited from the use of his private plane on college business. But it found no evidence to back more serious claims over misuse of funds.

The audit, released Monday, was conducted by the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education in response to three anonymous letters mailed to SLCC's board of trustees. The letters contended that Cundiff spent recklessly on campus technological improvements, depleted the college's savings and misused student fees.

The three-page report, which also contains SLCC's response, unearthed no proof of such behavior. But it does highlight some minor accounting irregularities and "sticky issues" the college has agreed to address, said Cecelia Foxley, higher education commissioner.

Perhaps the most serious is Cundiff's repeated use of a plane he co-owns on college business. According to the audit, Cundiff, a licensed pilot, used the plane on official business and billed it to the school when commercial air or other travel means would have been cheaper.

"Billing rates were inconsistent and above the standard rate charged for pilot's usage of a private plane [and] in two instances tachometer readings did not correlate with the reported usage charged to the college," Greg Fisher, the audit's lead investigator, said in the report.

Cundiff has since accounted for the use of the plane but reimbursed SLCC $2,100. "We needed him to pay it back so he didn't share in any profit," explained Foxley.

The report also lists two occasions where Cundiff skirted a competitive bid process required of all state agencies when signing contracts with private companies.

The first occurred when SLCC hired The Clements Group, a Utah-based company that sells advice on fund raising. The second involved a controversial $26.5 million contract with CollegisEduprise to manage SLCC's network.

SLCC contends that public colleges have the right to enter into "sole-source" contracts when only one vendor offers the required products or services. Such was the case with Collegis and The Clements Group, the report states.

SLCC administrators also "concur" that classroom buildings at the college's South City campus were improperly used when Cundiff agreed to rent gymnasium and locker room space to Action Ministries International, a group of nondenominational Christian journalists and sports chaplains, during the Winter Games. He charged each member of the group $10 a night.

That violated state health and other code requirements, because the building wasn't designed to house people overnight, according to the audit.

The state Board of Regents, which oversees the state's nine public colleges and universities, plans no corrective action.

"I am confident that appropriate steps are and will be taken to address these issues," said Foxley, who has asked only that Cundiff submit a report detailing how much he has spent on technology the past two years and any gains made as a result.

Cundiff couldn't be reached Monday for comment but said in a prepared statement that he hopes the report "will put to rest any misconceptions that might detract from our mission."

"When the audit was proposed, I welcomed the change to verify what I already knew to be true," he stated. "In the past year, Salt Lake Community College has served its largest student body while dealing with dramatic budget cuts. I appreciate the efforts of all our faculty and staff who made this possible."

The audit hasn't put to rest the suspicions of at least one former employee, however.

Bob Teague, who recently retired as SLCC's associate vice president over technology, said he is frustrated by the regents' passivity. "The audit identifies that SLCC skirted the competitive bid process. Do we just ignore that for $26.5 million?"

Teague disagrees that the college was locked into a deal with Collegis. The company competes directly with SCT Corp., the designer of administrative software that SLCC already uses, he said. And other companies such as IBM Corp. also sell network managing services to colleges.

Foxley said that may be true, but "I have to rely on SLCC and its trustees" as to whether those companies could do everything SLCC needed.

Teague counters that SLCC trustees, who approved the Collegis contract, also dropped the ball.

"Since when do trustees get to trump Utah law?" he said. "They bear the name trustee because they represent the taxpayers of this state. That's who they are trustees of, not the president." He called for the Legislature to conduct its own investigation into SLCC.

---

Headline: SLCC Pays A Price for High-Tech
By: Kirsten Stewart
Date: 4 August 2002
Source: Salt Lake Tribune
URL: http://www.sltrib.com/08042002/utah/758890.htm

Laptops: $750,000. New office software: $250,000. Going wireless: $2 million.

Joining the 21st century: priceless -- believes Salt Lake Community College President H. Lynn Cundiff.

Cundiff knows technological revolutions don't come cheap. Since taking command of SLCC two years ago, he has spent about $10 million revamping the college's outdated computer networks and information technology operations.

"The stuff didn't work. Now it does," says the 57-year-old technophile, who insists technology will help prepare students to work in today's computerized world and enable SLCC to reach more students. It may even bring in a little extra cash.

A number of faculty, staff and students believe there is a price, however, and it's way too high for the benefits, some of which have been slow to materialize. They contend that Cundiff is spending recklessly, depleting the college's savings and misusing student fees. The allegations have reached the Office of the Commissioner for Higher Education, which is conducting an audit.

"Morale is lower than I've ever seen it. Everyone feels nervous," says Neal Grover, an auto collision and repair instructor who took early retirement, but still teaches part time. "It's going to be interesting to see what happens next year, because a number of key people have left. They saw the writing on the wall."

Says Larry Barlage, another teacher, "People are worried about the direction this college is going."

Cundiff has "gutted the trades program," eliminating small-engine instruction and letting go of three of the college's four welding instructors, says Barlage, who suspects some of the cuts were ordered to free up cash for technology.

Judd Morgan, a college vice president, denies such claims. Program and job cuts are the result of the state's budget crisis, he says. Lawmakers carved $3 million from SLCC's $17 million cache in taxpayer funds.

Nevertheless, Higher Education Commissioner Cecelia Foxley has dispatched an auditor to investigate allegations of overspending at SLCC that were outlined in three letters sent anonymously to the college's trustees.

Cundiff says the letters are filled with falsehoods and innuendos.

"This is junk. It's just junk. How can I respond to people who won't sign their name to a letter? I don't think it's healthy for the college," he says.

Waiting for an Audit: Nolan Karras, regents chairman, is suspending judgment until the audit is complete, possibly early next week. But he says, "I like Lynn. I think he is doing a fine job."

Randall Mackay, SLCC's trustee chairman, is less circumspect. Having discussed the letters with Cundiff, Mackay concludes they are "mean-spirited" and "based on misinformation."

The complaints wouldn't even merit scrutiny were it not for today's penny-pinching climate, says Mackay. "These are difficult times for all colleges in the state of Utah. Salt Lake Community College is no exception."

That is no excuse, argue some on campus.

"It's like 9-11. People who have hangnails say it's because of 9-11. We overspent on technology before the budget fell apart and used reserves we should not have," says Robert Teague, SLCC's former associate vice president over technology. Concerned about the college's future, Teague took early retirement this summer.

According to financial data obtained under the Government Records Access Management Act, SLCC's fund balance, or savings account, is nearly half of what it was when Cundiff took the helm two summers ago -- down from $14 million in fiscal year 2000 to $8 million in 2002. And Cundiff's discretionary account, comprised mostly of unrestricted earnings on cash balances, is broke.

Hurt by Low Interest: Kent Ferrel, controller, says, "We're spending more than we used to on technology initiatives and new facilities." But he blames most of decrease on "an extremely low interest earnings environment."

Other Utah colleges report equally low savings levels. Snow College's discretionary account is just above zero and Southern Utah University's savings pool is negative $300,000.

But Teague is worried that SLCC is headed down the same road as the College of Eastern Utah, which has considered claiming financial distress as it struggles to pay back an $850,000 deficit in its savings -- the product of overspending on salaries and scholarships.

Cundiff has a reputation for entering into unusual and controversial agreements with high-tech companies.

At Floyd College in Rome, Ga., where he served as president for eight years prior to coming to Utah, Cundiff financed a "free" student laptop program with another small college in the Georgia state system. To pay for the plan, the schools charged students hefty fees -- $300 a semester at Floyd -- and formed partnerships with banks, a telephone company, Internet provider and computer companies.

Though deemed an educational success, the program failed to pay for itself, leaving the schools $1.5 million in debt.

Still, there are those on campus who support Cundiff's high-tech makeover.

Last year, Cundiff spent $750,000 on 350 laptops for SLCC's full-time faculty -- "a great way to go," according to Darlene Gubler, director of faculty and staff development. "The portable computers enable faculty to create presentations at home and then download them inside the classroom. If a student has a question about grades or assignments, the professor can search their files right there."

In the past two years, Cundiff also spent $250,000 converting SLCC's e-mail and office software from Novell to Microsoft, upgraded the registration and record-keeping systems for $2.5 million, and built a wireless network for $2 million.

The largest check Cundiff signed, however, was for $5.3 million -- spent hiring CollegisEduprise, Inc. to manage SLCC's entire network operations. The contract is the Florida-based company's largest and will cost SLCC $26.5 million over the next five years.

It is a first-of-its-kind deal, acknowledges an unapologetic Cundiff.

But SLCC's information systems grew up ad hoc and the computer network was unreliable, he says. "There were no firewalls, no security systems, nothing.. Do you want to be a college that's moving ahead for the next 15 years or stuck in the past 15 years?"

Improvements: Even critics of the Collegis deal say it has improved operations.

Tiffany Rousculp, an English professor and member of the American Federation of Teachers local, is opposed to the philosophy of privatizing education. But "from where I sit," Collegis offers better service, she says.

And Cundiff insists Collegis won't cost much more than he would have spent anyway. At $5.3 million a year, the contract is within $300,000 of SLCC's 2001 information technology budget.

In addition, he plans to leverage the company's resources by developing an International Center for E-Education Excellence, a clearinghouse for new applications of technology in the classroom, which he hopes to sell to other schools.

"What do you think the University of Utah does, or Utah State? Just because they have a technology park, they should be doing those things and a community college shouldn't?" Cundiff asks. "We're looking for ways to develop outside revenue sources."

Teague says it is preposterous to believe Collegis will save money.

"The numbers just don't compute," he says. "To help sell the deal, Collegis has promised to hire the college's existing IT staff, about 80 people, and give some raises. How can they do that, throw extra resources at the network and save money?"

Teague also opposes the behind-closed-doors nature of the deal.

Competitive Bids: By law, state agencies are required to take competitive bids before awarding contracts to private companies. But Cundiff skirted the bid process, claiming no other company offers the combination of services Collegis does. The Attorney General's Office agreed.

"That's how Cundiff does everything," Teague says of Cundiff's management style.

At least one student agrees.

Gabby Bradford, former student body president, says Cundiff arranged a deal during the 2000-01 school year with her predecessor, Jake Packard, to use $2 million of a $6 million pool of student funds to help pay for the wireless network.

The collection of student fees was earmarked for renovating the student center at the Redwood Road campus.

"But Cundiff said we didn't need that much and asked Jake if he could use $2 million to buy students' wireless network cards and portable computers, which students could rent," says Bradford. "Jake agreed to give him the money without talking to anyone, advisers or other student leaders. The deal was made in the corner of the lunchroom."

According to Bradford, Cundiff has spent $1 million so far and students "haven't seen a dime." Network cards are available for purchase, but not for rent, and the portable computers don't exist.

Defending Expenses: Cundiff defends spending the $1 million, saying students soon will have wireless access. He has promised to spend the rest of the money on devices that will enable students to tap into the network.

Bradford, however, is skeptical.

"I never saw proof of that. I don't think they kept a good record of where the money has gone," she says. "At first he seemed interested in making the plan work. But as the year went on, he realized maybe he was a little over his head and he became defensive. How can a college president bully a student body president into giving him $2 million?"

Morgan believes Cundiff will stick to his promise.

Though not fully behind Cundiff's digital dream, he backs Cundiff 100 percent. "He really wants to help the students learn differently. He means well."

Cundiff has no regrets. Weighing the risks and benefits of his high-tech blueprint, he says, he wouldn't change a thing.

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EDITORIAL: 'Trust Us'
Salt Lake Tribune Derides Cundiff Administration For Ignoring State Law

Date: 21 August 2002
Source: Salt Lake Tribune
URL: http://www.sltrib.com/08212002/opinion/opinion.htm

The Board of Regents' audit of Salt Lake Community College revealed no Enronesque accounting, but it leaves at least one unresolved issue -- did SLCC ignore the competitive bidding process?

Utah's competitive bidding laws allow a state agency to hire a company without first seeking bids on a project if the company is the only one that can meet the needs of the agency. SLCC administrators say that was the case with the two contracts being questioned.

Higher Education Commissioner Christine Foxley stated that she had to "rely on SLCC and its trustees" as to whether this is true. That reliance may be misplaced. One thing the audit reveals is carelessness about at least some state rules. Each individual instance may not have been a major issue, but the combined effect of the SLCC president [Lynn Cundiff] charging the school for time he spent flying a plane he co-owns with the school, not recording accurate costs for those flights and allowing school buildings to be used in violation of state health codes raises important questions about the administration's attention to detail. Those questions make real answers to the bid process controversy imperative. SLCC assurances that what it says is true are not real answers.

If the commissioner wants a thorough audit report, she should demand more information about the decision to award two contracts without first soliciting bids. Presumably the college has some documentation showing that the companies it contracted with provide unique services not available anywhere else. A state agency can't just make the claim in order to avoid the bidding process, it must back up its claim. Where is that back-up?

There are discrepancies in the way SLCC has been administered. Similar problems probably occur at most higher education institutions given the sheer number of people involved in college administrations. But when those discrepancies reveal a pattern of not paying attention to state law, regents and taxpayers should not rely on the word of the administrators and trustees that everything is just fine. Get the proof that the competitive bidding process was not necessary under state law or put the auditors back to work. For taxpayers, this case will not be closed until there is a better explanation for the awarding of multimillion-dollar contracts than the school trustees thought it was OK. It's not enough to just have them say, "Trust us."

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Note: We wrote to President Cundiff's public relations secretary asking for his side of this story. We also asked for any comments or actions made by Cundiff that would refute charges made by SLCC faculty members that Cundiff is anti-Mormon and has openly made prejudiced comments. The public relations secretary did not respond. Nor could we find any news stories, press releases or other material online to refute these charges.

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Cundiff Quits Top Post at SLCC

By: Shinika A. Sykes
Date: 27 March 2003
Source: Salt Lake Tribune
URL: http://www.sltrib.com/2003/Mar/03272003/utah/42244.asp

Salt Lake Community College President H. Lynn Cundiff tendered his resignation Wednesday, effective May 23.

In a letter to SLCC's board of trustees and the Board of Regents, Cundiff said he was leaving to pursue a "limited-window entrepreneurial opportunity" in business.

Cundiff, a 57-year-old Missouri native, has been president of SLCC since Aug. 1, 2000. Before coming to Utah, he was president of a two-year college in Rome, Ga., for eight years.

"He has worked hard to bring about positive changes and improvements during his tenure and we wish him the very best in his new venture," Board of Regents Chairman Nolan Karras said Wednesday.

Karras named Judd Morgan as the school's interim president. Morgan had been vice president of student services at SLCC until his retirement in June 2002.

Trustee Randall Mackey said Morgan is a consensus builder who is held in high regard by faculty and staff.

"We know [Morgan] will continue in the right direction during this crucial interim period," Mackey said.

Morgan, who worked for SLCC for 27 years, had been a consultant to the school after his retirement.

"While we face significant issues with funding, I am dedicated to the unique mission of SLCC," said Morgan. "I am confident in our ability to improve the best possible educational experience for students."

Under Cundiff's short leadership, SLCC's students and faculty have seen a variety of changes. The school -- with 13 locations across the Salt Lake Valley, plus the Internet-based "eEducation" -- serves around 60,000 students through credit and noncredit courses and workshops.

A year ago, Cundiff challenged the eEducation team to double enrollments and course offerings, a goal the school will exceed, said Chris Jorgensen, director of eEducation.

"SLCC has experienced dramatic growth in use of information technology for teaching and learning because President Cundiff made it a priority for the college," said Jorgensen. "That was no small task and [Cundiff] had the guts to go out and get it."

Commissioner of Higher Education Cecelia Foxley also had high praise for Cundiff.

"We knew he would have other opportunities, but we are grateful for his contributions to Salt Lake Community College and the Utah System of Higher Education during his time in Utah."

It has not all been smooth. Last year, an audit by the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education revealed loose financial controls at the school and instances where Cundiff skirted the competitive bid process. The audit was in response to complaints that Cundiff had spent recklessly on technological improvements, depleted the institution's savings and misused student fees. Cundiff also reimbursed the school $2,100 for overbilling for the use of a personal plane for school business.
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