The Colorado Mountain College Board of Trustees held a regularly scheduled work session and meeting via Zoom on Dec. 8, 2020.
The work session included a panel of students from nearly all campuses, who talked about their recent academic experiences at the college. Trustees appreciated hearing from students directly about the pros and cons of the adjustments the college made to deliver a full academic schedule during the pandemic.
In the work session trustees also heard information about strategic investments and financing, as well as a preview of the budget and tuition, including an analysis of fall enrollments.
Although the number of students enrolled at CMC decreased this fall, mostly among first-time enrollees, the number of credits taken per student increased. Also, compared to fall 2019, nearly half of enrollment declines were among non-credit students — those taking courses for personal enrichment, wellness or skill enhancement — which trustees heard is understandable considering most of these classes are face-to-face. The remaining trends appear to follow national patterns nearly exactly, with larger than average declines in first-time students and male students of all ages.
In the board meeting, trustees unanimously voted to:
- accept fourth-quarter FY 2019-20 financials
- accept first-quarter FY 2020-21 financials
- appropriate FY 2019-20 reserves
- approve amendment to the contract with the general contractor for the CMC Steamboat Springs virtual nursing lab.
In the meeting trustees also unanimously:
- accepted the audited financial statements for 2019-20, as presented by the college’s auditors, CliftonLarsonAllen LLC
- certified the college’s existing mill levy of 4.013
- approved insurance broker services contract with Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services, Inc.
Importantly, the annual audit from CliftonLarsonAllen LLC was described as “clean” by the external auditing firm. Moreover, the audit reported no deficiencies in college financial systems or controls, though the auditors recommended that the college remain committed to existing processes and train employees to help protect against fraud, which is on the rise in the current economic environment.
Because the meeting and work session were held via Zoom and everyone attended individually, all trustees, employees and visitors were able to adhere to public health protocols.