College finalizes master plan

GRAYSLAKE – The College of Lake County will begin seeking bids this fall for major college-funded components of its sustainable campus master plan.

David Agazzi, vice president of administrative affairs, updated the school’s board of trustees on progress on refining the scope of the master plan at its recent meeting.

The master plan will expand and modernize facilities on all three of the colleges campuses through a combination of state and college funding. In February 2013, the board of trustees approved a $74 million budget for portions of the master plan that will be college-funded through reserves and alternative revenue bonds.

Since then, additional needs have been identified and cost estimates refined, including factoring in recent construction inflation.

Agazzi said the new budget recommended for the college-funded portions of the master plan is $87.4 million. This budget, he said, covers high-priority components of the plan. The additional cost will be covered from available resources without the need for additional bonding.

The first major construction bid for the plan will be for a geothermal field to reduce energy costs and will come to the board of trustees for approval later in the fall, Agazzi said.

Speaking after the meeting, Board Chairman Amanda Howland stressed the importance of the master plan for making essential campus improvements to reduce energy costs, improve technology and serve students better.

“We’ve taken a careful look at our most essential needs, and now it is important to move forward to keep the project affordable. In this market, delay runs the risk of costs escalating,” she said.

Triple A bond rating reaffirmed

President Jerry Weber reported that Moody’s Investors Service has reaffirmed the college’s Triple A bond rating – the highest quality classification it offers. This is particularly good news given the recent news that higher education institutions in Illinois have been placed on watch status because of the states budget situation, Weber said.

Student success campaign launched

College of Lake County students are beginning the new academic year with an expanded array of services to support their success, according to a report to the board provided by President Jerry Weber. He spoke about a project to improve one important measure of student success – the graduation and transfer rate.

The initiative is part of a national focus on increasing U.S. graduation and transfer rates to ensure a globally competitive workforce. The effort is being supported by individuals and groups as wide-ranging as President Barack Obama and major organizations like the Lumina and Gates foundations.

Graduation and transfer rates are based upon tracking a cohort of entering students over three years. Students are considered successful if they graduate or transfer within three years.

Currently, 42 percent of the College of Lake County’s students in the tracked cohort graduate or transfer within three years. Through budgetary reallocations, the college is investing $2.4 million this academic year in a package of services and programs aimed at improving this statistic.

The package includes proactive coaching for at-risk students, tutoring services and college-readiness and dual credit initiatives to help students become better prepared for college-level work.

The college began offering the package of services this summer with a jump start program for at-risk entering freshman. In the fall semester, about 3,000 students will receive coaching and intervention services.

Grants and contracts

The trustees accepted a $1.04 million grant from the Illinois Community College Board to fund adult education courses for English as a second language, general education development, literacy and vocational skills training programs from July 1, 2014, through June 30, 2015.

The board also accepted a grant for $98,921 from the Workforce Investment Board of Will County to fund a training program to prepare adults and out-of-school youths for employment as certified nursing assistants, medical assistants and phlebotomy technicians. The grant period runs from Sept. 30, 2014, through Sept, 29, 2015, and is the fifth year of a five-year program.

Other approvals included an intergovernmental agreement with the village of Grayslake to bring parcels of property recently acquired by the college along Washington Street and Route 45 within the jurisdiction of the Village of Grayslake.

Finally, the trustees also approved a five-year lease between the college and Lake County to provide office space on the Grayslake campus for the Office of the Regional Superintendent of Schools. The rent in the first year, starting Nov. 1, will be $78,856.