Yavapai Community College had a 10% fall enrollment decline; state universities as a whole had  an enrollment increase this fall primarily because of online classes with only NAU seeing  fewer students

According to an article written by Rachel Leingang in the December 1, 2020 Arizona Republic, enrollment at the Maricopa Community Colleges dropped this fall by 14.5% when compared to last fall.  The Maricopa Community Colleges have seen steadily declining enrollment since 2010.

The 14.5% drop is compared to the 10% drop in fall enrollment experienced by Yavapai Community College. Enrollment in community colleges nationwide fall enrollment fell  by 9.5% this year, according to the the National Student Clearinghouse.  https://nscresearchcenter.org/stay-informed/ First-time freshmen, in particular, declined nearly 19% at community colleges nationally.

Maricopa Chancellor Steven Gonzales speculated on the causes of the decline during an interview with Ms. Leingang.  He said that private and for-profit programs that credential students have provided increased competition. According to Gonzales, they  often spend more on marketing and recruiting students and provide more hands-on support.

He also said that some students may be delaying college  because they worry for their health and safety and because they want a classroom experience that they will learn best in. Furthermore, “If you’re going to put college versus ensuring you have a place to stay and eat, and you need to go find a job as quickly as possible to just make those ends meet, you’re probably not going to choose college right now.”

It appears that students who are Native American, Black and Hispanic experienced an  even larger enrollment decline in the fall. This may be because the pandemic and its resulting economic downturn have more profoundly affected people of color.

Enrollment at each college, provided by the Maricopa Community Colleges’ Office of Institutional Effectiveness to the Arizona Republic, appears below:

• Chandler-Gilbert Community College: 13,395 this fall compared to 15,585 last fall, a decline of 14.1%
• Estrella Mountain Community College: 8,768 this fall compared to 10,120 last fall, a decline of 13.4%
• Glendale Community College: 14,374 this fall compared to 18,054 last fall, a decline of 20.4%
• GateWay Community College: 4,670 this fall compared to 5,067 last fall, a decline of 7.8%
• Mesa Community College: 16,948 this fall compared to 20,351 last fall, a decline of 16.7%
• Phoenix College: 9,538 this fall compared to 11,109 last fall, a decline of 14.1%
• Paradise Valley Community College: 6,575 this fall compared to 7,900 last fall, a decline of 16.8%
• Rio Salado College: 17,362 this fall compared to 19,103 last fall, a decline of 9.1%
• Scottsdale Community College: 7,634 this fall compared to 8,602 last fall, a decline of 11.3%

Need for special events coordinator at $50 to $64 thousand raises some eyebrows (internal posting only)

Yavapai Community College has listed 32 job openings as of July 13, 2018.  (See them by clicking here.)

However, a listing for a Special Events Coordinator job was made only internally. (See this job by clicking here.)  

 There have been some questions raised about the need for the position and a salary that ranges from $50,000 to $63,000 annually.  The questions being raised by some of the Blog readers include: (a) Is this a newly created position?  (b) If not newly created, who has been doing event planning over the past 50 years?

The Blog  is seeking answers these questions.

Verde Campus Executive Dean Perey one of the three; Governing Board to play no role in selection

Yavapai College has announced the three finalists for the  of Vice President of Instruction and Student Development.  The College Governing Board will play no role in making the final selection.

Although the College has not posted who will make the final decision (although it is clear the Governing Board will not do so), it apparently rests with President Penelope Wills.  This is in keeping with the corporate model that the administration now operates under, which seeks to remove input from County residents and the Governing Board.  It vests almost total power and control in the unelected president of the College.

The finalists are: Dr. Christopher C. Ezell, who has served as the Vice President of Academic and Student Services (and chief academic officer) for the past ten years at Danville Community College (DCC) in Danville, Virginia.   Before that, Dr. Ezell worked for twenty-five years with Vincennes University (VU) in Indiana.

Dr. Ron Liss is the second candidate and was the Western Campus President for Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C) from July 2013 to July 2015. He was Vice President for Academic Affairs at Santa Fe Community College (SFCC) in N.M., where he served from 2007 to 2013.  Liss held numerous positions at Montgomery College in Maryland, including Dean of Business, Management, Chemistry, and Information Sciences; Director of Distance Learning and Academic Innovation; and Director of Academic and Student Affairs. He spent 15 years at the Community College of Baltimore County as faculty, department chair, division chair and director of instructional technology.

Dr. James Perey, the third candidate, has been the Executive Dean of the Verde Valley Campus and Sedona Center since 2012.  He is generally viewed as the “fall-guy” for Wills’ in the Verde Valley. Dr. Perey has served as an Associate Dean for Career and Technical Education overseeing the Chino Valley Agribusiness Center and programs throughout the district. Before his administrative assignments, Dr. Perey served as a full-time faculty member in the Agribusiness department teaching a variety of classes in agriculture and agribusiness. In addition, he has served in numerous other leadership roles at Yavapai College, including outcomes assessment coordinator and faculty senator. 

Prior to coming to Yavapai College in 2002, Dr. Perey served as a lecturer and professional development coordinator at the University of Arizona, Department of Agricultural Education, where he assisted in preparing new teachers by both teaching classes and providing professional development. His academic career began in the classroom as a high school instructor where he spent four years teaching in a small, rural farming community in Arizona.

For much more background on the candidates, please click here.

Wills’ irked at comments in monitoring report 

Comments in a monitoring report regarding treatment of employees drew fire from an obviously irked President Wills and the Chair of the District Governing Board at the April 14 Board meeting.  Wills demanded that “either the data needs to be presented or it needs to be retracted unless that’s not appropriate for that.” The comments, written by Board member Deb McCasland, were contained in a monitoring report and became public at the April 14 Board meeting. They are in part reproduced here.

Governing Board member Deb McCasland.

Ms. McCasland wrote in the monitoring report:  “In my opinion there is a disconnect in what is reported and what actually happens. The number of employees leaving the college is a high number compared to previous years and administrations.  I think the CEO has failed on numerous occasions to provide leadership in Questionable situations blaming the messenger and not the actual situation. I have discussed situations that in my opinion are unethical and possibly illegal with Dr. Wills. Her responses were she was not aware of the situation or it was because of `disgruntled employees.’ All of the information I shared was from personal observations or former employees.”

The Board Chair, Pat McCarver, obviously angered by the written comments, repeatedly warned McCasland. McCarver said:  “I . . . personally found your comments, Deb, to be offensive, inappropriate, and unprofessional.  . . . I do think you need to be very careful about what you say * * * when you are making accusations.”   

The Board went on to approve the monitoring report without change.  You may view the exchanges, which were caught on video, by clicking here.