Verde Valley Board Advisory Committee recommends Governing Board halt Ten-Year-Master Plan development; create a strategic plan
The Chair of the Verde Valley Governing Board Advisory Committee, Mr. Paul Chevalier, reported on the Committee’s work over the past several months at the March 3 Governing Board meeting. The full videotape of the report given to the Governing Board can be accessed by clicking here.
The Committee recommended that no further capital construction be approved by the Board until (a) the College produces a strategic development plan for both sides of the mountain and (b) the Advisory Committee has had a reasonable opportunity to comment on it before any action is taken.
Mr. Chevalier expressed concern that the present capital improvement plan, like last year’s Ten-Year-Plan, strongly favors the west side of the County. As a result, there is little capital improvement money for the Verde Valley. He said the Committee may be recommending capital improvements for the Verde Valley “but such recommendations would be moot if all the money is [already] allocated” to the west side of the County.
The Committee also asked for the opportunity to study whether some of the capital improvements proposed in the Ten-Year-Plan on the west side of the County might be better put in the Verde Valley. He explained that “this is why a strategic plan for both sides of the mountain, with our comments about it, should be submitted to you” before any further capital improvements are made.
The Committee also recommended that the College redirect its recruitment program to more effectively deal with declining enrollment. It recommended that the College provide staff to work closely and talk directly to students in each school district, students of the Yavapai Apache Nation, students in Charter schools, and in home schools in the Verde Valley.
The Committee recommended the creation of a yearly program of continuous and direct interaction with all students grade 3 through high school. The goal is to build a relationship of trust with them and seek out what each high school student wants and has the aptitude to do for a living. The Committee believes the College needs to provide those courses that provide students with their wants and aptitude. This may also help keep the College curriculum relevant.
The Committee believes that the College needs to create and maintain a strong relationship with the parents of potential students and ensure that parents are familiar with Yavapai College and all it has to offer long before their children are in their senior year of high school. The Committee observed that such a commitment may require a larger College staff trained and dedicated to this kind of College recruitment.