decision making

Sometimes decisions just don't work out as planned. For those of you that watched the Patriots-Colts game last night, you know what I mean. Bill Belichek, the coach of the Patriots, made a decision to go for a 4th and 2, from the Colts 28 yard line, with only 2 minutes left in the game, and the Pats were winning.

Crazy call? Bad decision? Hindsight says yes it was. However, it is a decision that Belichek made earlier in the year, and many times in the past, and it turned out to be a good one. However, last night, the Colts defense held. Colts scored four plays later and won the game.

Today, the Monday morning quarterbacks are feasting on Belichek. This will probably go on for a few days, and then will be replaced by someone else's bad decision.

If you step back, Belichek's decision was based upon accumulated knowledge and insight from years of coaching, days of planning for this game, gameday performance, and instinct. He used all the tools in front of him to make the decision in a 2-3 minute timeframe. When you think about it, it's only a game. There will be another one next week. And one play does not win or lose a game.

Coaches, managers, CEO's, etc. are all faced with decision-making opportunities many times a day. Some of them have much higher profiles and are watched very closely. Others, just trickle by without anyone noticing. Occassionally, they come back to bite.

Being prepared to make decisons is paramount to making a good decision. Belichek was certainly prepared last night, but it still turned out badly for his team.

The message here today is to always be prepared. You never know when you are going to be called upon to make that game-changing decision.

Mike Kearns

veterans at MCC

Veterans Day 2009 is now past. Towns all across America celebrated the roles of the dedicated men and women who are serving, and have served in our nation's armed forces. The college has experienced significant growth in the number of students that are veterans, and we expect that to continue.

MCC had previously assigned the responsibility of servicing our veteran students to Brian Zoll in the Registrar's Office. His job as Assistant Registrar is fully demanding, and yet he ably serviced the growing number of vets. Recognizing that he could not continue in that role, we created a new position, the Veteran Services Coordinator.

Eric Corder, a vet himself and current college employee, was hired in that position. Eric's responsibilities include the servicing of each veteran's account at the college and recruiting and advising vets.

The account servicing reponsibities are demanding and require monthly monitoring of student status and compliance with GI Bill benefits. The slightest of changes in status can cause significant differences in eligibility for benefits; which is why it is so important that the student and college are in close, continuous communication.

Eric's other role is to spread the word to all vets that they are eligible for benefits from the GI Bills. The vets are entitiled to receive benefits throughout their lifetime and that is the message the college is communicating. Vet's family members, spouses and children, are also eligible for benefits; their accounts are also serviced by Eric.

If you know a vet who has questions, Eric is the man to talk to!

Mike Kearns

a busy week

This week was very busy. I travelled to Phoenix on Tuesday to meet with representatives from ASU to talk about partnering with them for bachelor degree program offerings at MCC. The same day, the community college presidents met in separate meeting with the Governor, her Chief of Staff, and representatives from a task force working on P-20 Council plans.

The Governor's Office seems to be well-grounded in the reality of the state's economy. They don't mince words, they don't sugar-coat the current situation, and are trying to be very transparent in sharing information about the economy and state budget. It looks like 2 more lean revenue years are ahead for the state, which will force reductions in state expenditures; and, that is no surprise and not new information.

On Wednesday and Thursday, I had meetings with the local school superintendants where we discussed partnerships and assisting each other. Thursday's meeting included discussions with our 3 locally elected state representatives and senator.

It's very interesting to view the differences of perspectives, having been with the Governor days earlier. Politics and idealogies are the hallmark of governing, and they are what stimulate discussion and argument; however, at the end of the day, compromise is the name of the game.

It looks like a special session of the legislature may be coming soon where we'll see how much compromise will occur. I did detect an air of optimism as each politician expressed their views; one certainty is that they each realize how important it is to adopt a state budget for this year.

Mike Kearns

another year, same as the last

The state released new information this morning regarding the magnitude of the state budget deficit for this fiscal year. Previously, it was reported to be projected at $1.5 Billion for the year; today's reports indicate a projection of $2 Billion.

Last year, the trend of escalating state budget deficit was a common quarterly announcement. It looks like the trend is continuing. Several economic indicators such as unemployment rates and income tax revenues demonstrate contrary evidence that the recession is over. Until those indicators begin a continuous and sustained upward trend the state revenues will not increase. It's really quite amazing how one instance of positive movement in an indicator stimulates the media to spin it into an economic turnaround.

We have already run forecasting models based on the initial deficit projection. Today, I have requested that we expand that modelling to a higher level of deficit reductions.

As you may know, we have adapted a strategic financial analysis model to our financial and budget processes. I am confident that we can maintain the financial strength of the college by using these analytic processes; however, I don't know at what expense to current operations.

As the year progresses, and the legislature reconvenes, we will be getting more news; and, I know it won't be any better than what has been released already. I'll try to keep everyone informed as we learn more.

Mike Kearns

safety is always on my mind

Can you imagine a new rendition of a favorite Willy Nelson song, "Safety is always on my mind". I don't want to claim that this haunts me on a daily basis, but it is something I think about several times every day.

The college is responsible for the safety of students, employees, visitors, passersby, and even those who access our websites. There are so many ways that we influence people to make decisions; whether it's to park their car in this space or that, to turn left instead of right, to enter through this door or that one, etc. Each choice has so many variables and consequences if the space is not safe and secure.

We've had folks slip and fall on wet floors because they were not aware of someone mopping; we've had lacerations, bruises, and contusions due to equipment malfunctions or misuse; we've had accidents in science labs, we've had people trip on cracks in the sidewalks, we've had people scared out of their wits because of "strangers", etc.

Safety is a concern for all of us. It takes a team effort to identify risks. What is normal to one person can be perceived as a risk of injury or personal security to another.

The college is making a concerted effort to heighten the awareness of personal safety in all aspects of operations. The Safety Committee meets monthly to discuss these issues. A regular agenda item addresses every incident report that is filed and recommends corrective action so that the incident won't be repeated. Dave Brusby is the chair. Blaine Yost, the Risk Management Officer, is a key member of the committee.

If you have concerns regarding any safety issue, please bring it forward to the committee. If you are troubled by bringing it forward yourself, ask your campus dean to do it for you. This is too important an issue to let it slide; yours, or another's, safety may be at risk!

Mike Kearns

conference update

This past Thursday and Friday, I attended the American Community College Trustees Congress with one of our board members. The hot topics were the nation's economy and the American Graduation Initiative proposed by President Obama, which has found its way through the House as HR 3221 and will be heading for a vote in the Senate very soon.

The most hotly debated topic in this bill relates to student loans. The President proposes the removal of private banks from the process and using the direct student loan plan of the federal govenrment as the only source of loans. This will eliminate the "middle man" costs which will be poured back into the amount available for lending. The banking industry is lobbying hard to get this removed.

As previously mentioned in my blogs, there is also $2.5B dedicated to community college renovations and facility construction, which has really piqued our interest.

The leadership and lobbyists of all our national associations are working long hours in their attempts to get this bill through the Senate. If it passes, we are probably a year away from the dollars actually becoming available.

The college has also been vigorously pursuing other competitive grants from the stimulus plan. Of the 3 opportunities submitted so far, we just received news that one was approved. It involves another partnership opportunity with the Local Workforce Investment Board. (This will be our second such stimulus funded project with them).

Politics and philosphy aside, it's great to know that stimulus dollars are finding their way to Mohave County. We all contribute through our taxes; it's refreshing to see it come back our way.

Mike

a proposed budget cut or an opportunity

The state has requested that Arizona Community Colleges respond to a proposed 15% midyear budget reduction. Mohave CC has been appropriated about $3.6M from the state for fiscal year 2009-10. A 15% reduction is about $540,000. Last year we were appropriated over $4M and were reduced over $1.2M by the time the fiscal year was finished.

The reduction proposal was not unexpected; state revenues have been less than the budgetted amount since the new fiscal year began on July 1. The shortfall continues to increase as each month passes. My expectation is that 15% will not be enough; I expect the total amount to be over $1M by the end of the year.

The college administrative staff has been targetting specific budget items for conservation and reduction in such ways that would not directly impact the delivery of instruction to students. In fact, some have added service while reducing cost.

We have viewed the reduction in state funding as an opportunity to not only review expense items but also seek out new revenues by increasing service in venues not previously served, searching and applying for new grants, partnering with other organizations and community colleges for the delivery of programs, and making sure we are accessing the federal stimulus dollars in as many ways as possible.

We also know that we can't continue to operate the organization in the time-honored traditional style of the past. Many of those traditions have added to the financial burdens that now have become a challenge to overcome in this economy. An organizational transformation of operating paradigms is necessary. Next week, the college will be undertaking the final stage of the strategic planning process; this topic has already arisen in previous stages, and looks to be one of the areas of focus of the college in the future.

MIke Kearns