NPC Minutes of the Board of Trustees Meeting
The National Park College Board of Trustees met in a regular session on September 27, 2023, beginning at 3:30 PM. Trustees present were Mike Bush, Joyce Craft, Rhonda Harrington, Lance Porter, Forrest Spicher, Renee Westfall, and Raymond Wright.
Staff, faculty members, and guests present were Bill Allison, Blake Butler, Sarah Day, Wade Derden, Jessica Ellis, Kelli Embry, Roger Fox, Nicole Herndon, John Hogan, Janice Ivers, Brian Kroening, Julie LaRue, Melony Martinez, Rose Milnes, Mark Oliver, Andrew Pennington, Bill Ritter, Nathan Ritter, Miki Smith, Sheryl Strother, Jerry Thomas, Darla Thurber, Gary Troutman, and Tim Webb.
The media was notified of the meeting. Brandon Smith of The Sentinel Record was in attendance.
Chair Joyce Craft opened the meeting with a welcome at 3:30 PM.
Trustee Porter provided the invocation.
Sarah Day introduced the guests present.
Items for Action
- Trustee Bush made a motion to approve the August 23, 2023, minutes as presented. Trustee Porter seconded, and the motion passed unanimously.
- Trustee Spicher made a motion to approve the June 2023 financial statements as presented by Andrew Pennington, Controller, during the Finance Committee Meeting. The motion passed unanimously.
- National Park College Vice President for Administration, Kelli Embry, presented the proposed 2023-2024 National Park College High Priority Objectives (HPOs) for the academic year that began in July 2023. VP Embry explained that the final report on the HPOs for FY/AY 2023 would be presented at the October Board of Trustees meeting. Discussion ensued with questions asked and answered. Trustee Wright made a motion to approve the High Priority Objectives as presented. Trustee Spicher seconded and the motion passed unanimously.
- National Park College Human Resources Director, Julie LaRue, presented the ratifications of personnel actions. Trustee Bush made a motion to approve the ratifications as presented. Trustee Harrington seconded, and the motion passed unanimously.
Items for Report
- National Park College Vice President for College Advancement, Dr. Wade Derden, shared an update on National Park College's 50th-anniversary celebration. Derden stated that the 50th celebration does not belong solely to the college but to the community. This event is about celebrating the fulfillment of the vision that county residents had fifty years ago. Dr. Derden encouraged board members to attend the community-wide drop-in celebration on October 5 from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM on the NPC campus. NPC Marketing created a video presentation showcasing the college’s history, spotlighting key figures including NPC faculty, staff, and trustees. This presentation was screened for the audience.
- National Park College Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management,
Darla Thurber presented the Fall 2023 Enrollment Report. VP Thurber noted NPC’s total
headcount (credit and concurrent enrollment) is 2,316 for fall 2023 compared to 2,336
students for fall 2022. Credit student enrollment for fall 2023 is 1,742 compared
to 1,826 enrolled in 2022 as of the 11th-day census count. Semester credit hours for
fall 2023 are 21,401 compared to 21,743 for fall 2022. Thurber reported that credit
students are taking an average of 12.31 credit hours compared to 11.9 credit hours
last year. This is the highest average number of hours to date and translates into
students who are closer to completing on time. Concurrent enrollment had a significant
increase of 14.3% year over year. The fall 2023 count is 583 compared to 510 for fall
2022. Thurber reported a record number of students living on campus with 233 students
in Dogwood Hall this fall, commenting that the residents are highly engaged and have
high participation rates in Student Life events.
Associate Vice President for Workforce, Bill Ritter, reported that Adult Education had served 444 students since July 1, compared to approximately 368 in the same period last fiscal year. Ritter reported that this increase is across all Adult Education programs and at all centers, but especially in the new Allied Health programs, which are offered free to the public. The Allied Health programs continue to attract more students which translates into more students placed into the workforce quickly and in good-paying jobs in the Hot Springs area. Ritter shared that the National Park Technology Center (NPTC) has 411 students enrolled this semester, compared to 360 enrolled in the fall of 2022. This is an increase of about 14%. Ritter emphasized NPC’s dedication to providing high school technology students with concurrent credit courses, nationally recognized industry certifications, and a direct path to either the workplace or to complete a 2-year degree at NPC after high school graduation. Ritter noted that NPTC offers Automotive, Marine Repair, Machine Tool Technology, Medical Professions, and recently added high school Welding. Additional allied health certifications, including a dental assistant certification, and certified nursing assistant certification in high school Medical Professions will be added in the spring of 2024. Ritter also announced a change to the NPTC name from National Park Technology Center to NPC Career Academy, noting that with all of the changes and additions in the high school programs, the National Park Technology Center name no longer fully describes the mission of preparing students to go directly into a career in the local workforce. With the help of the NPC Advancement team this summer, focus groups with students and surveyed parents and high school leaders were asked to find a name that better describes these efforts. Based on this input, the new name will be the National Park College Career Academy. This new name will officially be implemented on July 1, 2024, with the transition beginning over the next few months.
Vice President for Workforce, Dr. Bill Allison, reported that Community and Corporate Training programs served 2,660 non-credit students and logged 46,238 contact hours in 2023, compared to 2,717 and 33,995 respectively in 2022. - Board Chair Report - Chair Craft stated that she was encouraged by the growth in the concurrent and high school programming that NPC offers. Craft was also pleased by the success of the Adult Education program, believing it to be a crucial service to the local community. Chair Craft noted the tendency to focus on the college students’ headcount but emphasized that NPC reaches so many other students. Craft expressed appreciation to Dr. Hogan for setting a high bar for himself and the campus through the High Priority Objectives. Chair Craft ended by encouraging the Board of Trustee members to mark their calendars for the 50th-anniversary celebration on Thursday, October 5th.
- President's Report - President Hogan expressed appreciation to the board for their remarks and approval of the 2023-2024 High Priority Objectives. Hogan thanked Kelli Embry for coordinating the effort. Dr. Hogan highlighted the growth in NPC’s concurrent credit, high school technology, Adult Ed, and non-credit programs, as well as an increase in the number of students enrolled in the four-year, on-campus programs. Dr. Hogan expressed his support for the name change of the National Park Technology Center to the National Park College Career Academy. Hogan stated that this change, along with some of the programmatic changes occurring, will help NPC refresh the high school instruction so that the college is better aligned with the expectations and needs of the community and local employers. Dr. Hogan recognized the NPC marketing team on the notification that they will be receiving five regional medallion awards next month from the National Council for Marketing and Public Relations, noting that this team has amassed nearly 60 regional and national awards since 2016. Hogan noted the NPC banners around campus and downtown Hot Springs. Hogan expressed his gratitude to the Board of Trustees for their faithful and consistent support.
There was no further business. Chair Craft asked the trustees for further comment.
- Trustee Harrington expressed her appreciation for the unmatched team unity.
- Trustee Spicher shared his excitement in commemorating the milestone represented by the 50th-year anniversary celebration.
- Trustee Porter noted that it is nice to serve with a group that takes time to celebrate achievements, while still moving forward to greater things.
Trustee Westfall motioned to adjourn.
The meeting adjourned at 4:21 PM.
Joyce Craft, Chair
Beverly Joe, Secretary/Treasurer
