Regents told spring enrollment remains high
Published or Revised February 05, 2010
At their first meeting of 2010 on Feb. 1, the Paris Junior College Board of Regents heard preliminary good news about enrollment: the informal total was at 5,616. This number will go down on the official drop date, but PJC is still tracking to break another enrollment record. "We have stretched our facilities, faculty and staff," said Dr. Pamela Anglin, PJC President. "We've got to think about adding classrooms and faculty and staff positions." When asked about whether the boom would continue, Dr. Anglin stated that it was somewhat linked to the economy, and thanks to the Workforce Investment Act, "We have a lot of people here that are retraining. We have people with degrees coming back to take our workforce training programs." Dr. Anglin also explained the process to update PJC's strategic planning process for 2010-2015. The five-year cycle is beginning again, and the top goal of increasing enrollment and retention coming out of the last process has been met and exceeded. An environmental scan will be presented in March to the regents, and goals set in April. In the President's Report, Dr. Anglin gave an update on the residence hall construction, which is moving ahead of schedule. She also reported on a letter from Gov. Rick Perry and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst calling on PJC to report how a 5 percent cut to the college's budget would be made this year and next. The total for this year would be $456,000 and $463,000 for next year. "I'll be sending a letter along with the data to explain how it's up to community colleges to retrain our workforce and put people back to work," Dr. Anglin explained. "We want to be as positive as we can, but we need to communicate what a 5 percent cut will do." She also provided an update on the LeadPJC group, and the ongoing interim review from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (the group responsible for PJC's accreditation). In other business, the regents:- Amended the college's investment policy to clarify that PJC was meeting the requirements of the Public Funds Investment Act.
- Approved an extension with Nebraska Book Company to run PJC's bookstore for an additional year, as permitted by the three-year contract.
- Amended the bond order of Aug. 13, 2009, to clarify the original intent that after 10 years the interest rate would be set annually.
- Were introduced to the newly elected officers for the PJC Faculty Association: President Nancy deBin, Vice President Anthony Sawyer, and Secretary Cynthia Steward.
- Received a personnel update including the promotion/reassignment of Natasha Whitaker as Academic/Financial Aid Advisor for Sulphur Springs and Greenville and the resignation, effective Dec. 13, 2009, of Dr. Scott Williams as director of Workforce Training and Continuing Education.