Utah System of Higher Education
Davis Technical College
Friday, November 19, 2021

COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
MINUTES

Board Members Present
Harris H. Simmons, Chair
Aaron Osmond, Vice-Chair
Nina R. Barnes, Vice-Chair
Jesselie B. Anderson
Mike Angus
Jera L. Bailey
Lisa Michele Church
Wilford Clyde
Alan Hall
Patricia Jones
Crystal Maggelet
Tanner Marcum
Arthur E. Newell
Shawn Newell
Valirie Serawop
Scott Theurer

Board Members Absent
Stacey K. Bettridge
Sanchaita Datta

Office of the Commissioner
Dave R. Woolstenhulme, Commissioner of Higher Education
Geoffrey Landward, Deputy Commissioner and General Counsel
Alison Adams-Perlac, Associate General Counsel
Rich Amon, Chief Financial Officer
Trisha Dugovic, Director of Communication
Brynn Fronk, Executive Assistant to the Utah Board of Higher Education
Jared Haines, Senior Advisor for Technical Education
Julie Hartley, Associate Commissioner of Academic Education
Melanie Heath, Assistant Commissioner of Strategic Initiatives
Malissa Jones, Office Manager
Spencer Jenkins, Chief Student Affairs Officer
Carrie Mayne, Chief Economist
Scott Wyatt, Senior Executive Director of Online Education
Kim Ziebarth, Associate Commissioner of Technical Education

Institutional Presidents Present Chad Campbell, Bridgerland Technical College Clay Christensen, Mountainland Technical College Paul Hacking, Tooele Technical College Taylor R. Randall, University of Utah Darin Brush, Davis Technical College Kelle Stephens, Dixie Technical College Astrid Tuminez, Utah Valley University

Jim Taggart, Ogden-Weber Technical College Brad J. Cook, Snow College Brennan Wood, Southwest Technical College Aaron Weight, Uintah Basin Technical College Noelle Cockett, Utah State University Brad L. Mortensen, Weber State University

Davis Technical College
Leslie Mock, Vice President of Instruction
Russ Galt, Vice President of Administrative Services and CFO
Melanie Hall, Director of Marketing and Community Relations

Other Guests
Steffine Amodt, Weber State University student
Eric Magnuson, Davis Technical College student

Vice-Chair Barnes called the meeting to order at 7:30 a.m.

Closed Session

Board Vice-Chair Osmond made a motion to go into closed session for the purposes of discussing the character, professional competence, or physical or mental health of an individual; Board member Anderson seconded the motion and the motion passed.

Committee of the Whole

Vice-Chair Barnes called the Committee of the Whole meeting to order at 9:00 a.m.

Student Update

Student updates were provided by Steffine Amodt from Weber State University and Eric Magnuson from Davis Technical College. Board member Maggelet asked if Eric received any credit for his military service which he confirmed he did. This was an information item only; no action was taken.

New Student Board Members

New student Board members Tanner Marcum and Valirie Serawop introduced themselves to the Board. Brynn Fronk administered the Oath of Office to Board member Serawop. This was an information item only; no action was taken.

Committee Report (TAB A)

Committee updates were provided by Board member Church, Board member Arthur Newell, Board member Shawn Newell, and Board member Angus.

Board member Arthur Newell provided an update on the Academic Education Committee. The committee primarily discussed using the strategic plan as a guide and their assignments within the plan. Priorities around the system unification are not as far along. They are expanding access for adult learners. The Cicero Group reported on the Voice of the Customer Report. Trisha Dugovic gave an update on the statewide marketing campaign. An action item that came out of their meeting is the revisions to policies R208 and R209.

Board member Crystal Maggelet provided an update on the Technical Education Committee. The committee addressed the need to market the great value of the tech programs. They discussed their strategic initiatives efforts. Their work with transition to credit and the initiative from clock hour to credit hours continues. Jared Haines discussed the Custom Fit Program. Carrie Mayne talked about the alignment of data between workforce development and understanding completion rates at all the institutions.

Board members Church and Marcum provided an update on the Student Affairs Committee. The committee heard from students about campus safety that was very powerful. The Cicero Group presented the Voice of the Customer Report. They had an ongoing discussion about student basic needs which they will continue since it’s front and center to student success. Chris Coles will join Board member Church to visit various admissions officers to address concerns. UHEAA is going through changes and they will come back to the Board at some point to report on their new business model. Board member Church expressed excitement regarding the workshop series with National Leadership Academy (NLA) which will begin in January. Board member Marcum visited many campuses the past several months. The students are interested in having the Board adequately trained on equity, diversity, and inclusion. The Campus Safety and Equity Advisory Council had a great group discussion regarding admissions equity. Vice-Chair Osmond asked how the committee is prioritizing and implementing the feedback. Board member Marcum explained the council meets once a month and reports to the Student Affairs Committee and items are being added to the consent calendar. Board member Osmond asked about next steps with NLA. Board member Church stated that workshops will take place from January through June 2022. Vice-Chairs Barnes and Osmond expressed support for the NLA workshops.

Board member Clyde provided an update on the Finance and Facilities Committee. The committee’s recommendations on policy revisions that will be added to the consent calendar. The committee discussed the cost structure model of the institutions, the scoring system process, and priorities for the strategic plan. They also reviewed the nonstate funding projects of the institutions.

This was an information item only; no action was taken.

Strategic Plan Update (TAB C)

Melanie Heath provided an update on the strategic plan to the Board members. Board member Marcum acknowledged that Board members could take advantage of utilizing Asana. Several Board members expressed desire to have access to Asana. Melanie will walk through access at the December committee meetings. Board member Hall enjoyed seeing the Asana report and would like to see it more often. This was an information item only; no action was taken.

State Online Program

Vice-Chair Osmond introduced Scott Wyatt and the research he’s done for the State Online Program. Scott provided an update since he was not ready with a proposal. He gave a summary of key learnings of interviews he’s had, a sense for where he’s going next, and suggestions from the Board. President Cook felt positive and optimistic after listening to colleagues around the country. Board member Marcum mentioned this is an opportunity to address student populations which are not currently being addressed. Board member Church asked for guiding principles and if they have the support of the presidents. Scott stated the strategic plan is the guiding principals and they are not at a place to make recommendations. Board member Hall expressed this is the most important conversation as a system going forward. President Cockett addressed the significant cost in implementing this program and expressed a desire to be on the task force. Presidents Tuminez and Randall emphasized the problem still needs to be defined. They do not agree that a one size fits all approach is the highest quality of education the State of Utah could provide. Board member Clyde expressed that if we don’t think about how education is going to be delivered in the future and be innovative, we will be left behind and scrambling. President Cook said the next steps are to look at the market and identify what the students want. Board member Maggelet mentioned the need for the Board to understand where each institution is at in the process of online education today. Board member Serawop highlighted the importance of online education options for students today. Vice-Chair Osmond identified the following asks:

1. What is the business problem we are trying to solve and document that.
2. Identify what the principals are that we are going to use to make decisions.
3. Document the research that we’ve done already and let’s have it in a written format we can actually consume, study and understand.
4. Crystal brought up the need for an inventory of what we already have in the online space.
5. We need to get to that structure of how do we proceed from an operational perspective and that’s the establishment of this formal task force that is an extension of the Board to oversee all that.

Vice-Chair Osmond made the motion to establish this new task force that we include five or so members of the Board, five or so presidents and the head of online initiative and we attack those items and come back to the next Board meeting with answers and information and tools that we can truly discuss; Board member Arthur Newell seconded the motion and the motion passed.

Board member Arthur Newell nominated Vice-Chair Osmond to chair the committee and Vice-Chair Osmond accepted the nomination. Chair Simmons would like the committee co-chaired by Vice-Chair Osmond and one of the presidents. He would like the presidents to discuss amongst themselves and submit a name to the Commissioner.

Institutional Goals Performance Funding

Carrie Mayne and Rich Amon reviewed the institutional metrics with the Board members. They requested comments from the Board to take to the legislature. Board member Hall asked what percentage of student in our high school graduating class enroll in one of our institutions. Currently we are at 63.87% accessing post-secondary. He asked what resources would we need to go after the remaining percentage in an effective way. This was an information item only; no action was taken.

Keys Expansion Update

Commissioner Woolstenhulme introduced Kathi Garff and Rick Folkerson from Keys to Success. Rick Folkerson provided the Keys Expansion update to the Board. Board members inquired about availability to Utah students and out-of-state students as well as marketing and available features. This was an information item only; no action was taken.

USHE Partnership with Huntsman Mental Health Institute

Board member Church introduced Dr. Mark Rapaport, CEO of Huntsman Mental Health Institute. Dr. Rapoport highlighted the Huntsman Mental Health Institute with the Board. He discussed the Mental Health Crisis Care Center as well as the Utah Mental Health Translational Research Building. President Tuminez recognized the giant army in front lines of mental health and expressed interest in exploring a partnership between the Huntsman Mental Health Institute and Utah Valley University. This was an information item only; no action was taken.

Enrollment Report

Carrie Mayne informed the Board that enrollment for fall was reported for all 16 institutions. This was an information item only; no action was taken.

The Costs & Benefits of Higher Education Report

Carrie Mayne introduced John Downen, the deputy director of economic and public policy research at the Kem C. Gardner Institute at the University of Utah. John presented the Benefits of Higher Education Report which was done by the Gardner Policy Institute. Due to technical issues, the presentation was inaudible. The report will be circulated to Board members and presidents. This was an information item only; no action was taken.

Earn to Learn

Commissioner Woolstenhulme introduced Kate Hoffman, CEO and Founder of Earn to Learn. Kate provided the background and history of Earn to Learn. Vice-Chair Osmond asked what the funding would be used for and where the proposed funding would come from. Kate explained the model does require a local match and they’re securing funding through local philanthropy. The Commissioner stated the fund source would have to be a Board discussion. Richard Ellis explained there would have to adjustments in their processes, but it is not impossible. Board member Church proposed this go to Finance and Facilities Committee and requested a report back to the full Board. Board member Clyde agreed to take it to the committee. Board member Maggelet expressed interested in her company partnering with Earn to Learn. Chair Simmons asked if there was a way to use the UHEAA proceeds with institutional funds plus the private sector so there’s a three-way match. Board member Marcum acknowledge that this is a topic on the minds of the students. Vice-Chair Osmond made the motion to move that the Finance and Facilities Committee take a deeper look into Earn to Learn and report to the Board with findings for formal approval. The motion was seconded by Board member Church and the motion passed.

Shared Services

Rich Amon provided an update on shared services. The report is anticipated to be completed by January at which point it will be a major discussion item for the Board meeting. President Tuminez asked when the presidents will have in depth information on this. Board member Clyde anticipates that once they have information from the consultants they will sit down with everyone to get feedback. It was emphasized that this is a long-term process. Chair Simmons stated it isn’t going to happen quickly, but will be done intelligently with a lot of advance notice. This was an information item only; no action was taken.

Institutional Non-State Funded Capital Projects

Board member Clyde reviewed the Institutional Non-State Funded Capital Projects that were brought before the Finance and Facilities Committee. Board member Clyde made the motion to move to approve the following projects to seek legislative bonding authority:

• University of Utah – Kahlert Village 4th Wing
• University of Utah – Impact Health & Prosperity Epicenter
• University of Utah – West Valley Health and Community Center
• Utah State University – Maverick Stadium Improvements
• Dixie State University – Campus View Suites Phase III
• Utah Valley University – Parking Garage

He further moved to approve the following non-state funded project to seek legislative funding for O&M, add the O&M to the Board’s 2022 budget request:

• Utah State University – Nora Eccles Museum of Art

The motion was seconded by Board member Arthur Newell and the motion passed.

Jeff West from Salt Lake Community College asked for the Board’s approval to move forward with the change in the financing terms for their property in South Salt Lake City. Chair Simmons made the motion to authorize Salt Lake Community College to extend the contract for a mixed-use development with a private developer for a 99-year term. The motion was seconded by Board member Jones and the motion passed.

Policy R208 and R209

Geoff Landward reviewed the revisions to Policy R208 and R209 with the Board. Board member Theurer made a motion to adopt the revisions to R208, Resource and Review Teams and R209, Evaluation of Presidents effective immediately. The motion was seconded by Board member Shawn Newell and the motion passed.

Personnel Update

Commissioner Woolstenhulme recognized Rich Amon and his departure from the Utah System of Higher Education. This was an information item only; no action was taken.

Consent Calendar

Board member Church made a motion to approve the consent calendar with the removal of the SLCC Non-traditional arrangement; Board member Marcum seconded the motion and the motion passed.

Motion to Adjourn

Board member Anderson made a motion to adjourn; Vice chair Osmond seconded the motion and the motion passed.

The meeting adjourned at 3:30 p.m.

Date Approved: January 14, 2022