SPC seeks grant to decrease nurse shortage

by Courtney Bullard, co-news editor

South Plains College will be applying for a $1.6 million grant to decrease the shortage of nurses in this area.

Stephen John, the vice president for institutional advancement at SPC, presented an overview of the grant during the November meeting of the South Plains College Board of Regents.

The Community-Based Job Training Grant is funded by the Department of Labor. The purpose of the grant is to support workforce training for high-demand industries.  According to John, there is a critical shortage of registered nurses on the South Plains.

The grant will allow the college to renovate Building One on the Reese Center campus to turn it into a Center of Clinical Excellence. John explained that there is a problem of not having enough available clinical spots in hospitals for student nurses. To combat this issue, the Center of Clinical Excellence will hold simulated clinicals featuring specialized mechanical mannequins that will prepare students to treat things such as a heart attack.

“It will reduce the amount of time students stay in hospital clinical by 25 percent,” said John.

This program will also improve the retaining of nursing students and help at-risk students. The project will take three years, and John said he feels SPC has a good chance of receiving the grant.

In other action, the Board voted to extend the contract of Dr. Kelvin Sharp, the president of the college.

“This Board thinks you’re doing a good job,” said Mike Box, chairman of the SPC Board of Regents.

Regent William Clements made the motion to add $6,000 to Dr. Sharp’s base salary, and the Board unanimously approved it.

“I haven’t seen a man yet put his whole heart in the mission and purpose of the college like he has,” said Clements.

Dr. Sharp also requested permission to look into buying property next to the Plainview extension Center, which was approved.  Next to the Plainview Center are three lots, two of which are small and have an abounded carwash and laundry mat. The 2.3-acre lot is much cheaper and has a house in poor condition.  Dr. Sharp will have to look into the property to see if it is possible to purchase and one day perhaps build on it.

“If sometime in the future we wanted to grow technical programs, we would have room,” said Dr. Sharp.

In response to House Bill 1, which calls for a close look at the curriculum of public schools with regard to preparing students for college, the P-16 advisory council was established. The council, which is headed up by Yancy Nunez, dean of arts and sciences, is made up of SPC faculty members.

The council will be meeting to discuss the preparation of students for entry-level college coursework. According to Darrell Grimes, vice-president for academic affairs, a little less than 20 percent of students at SPC are in developmental courses, especially math classes. The council’s aim will be to lower that percentage and improve the overall success of incoming college students.

Dr. Sharp presented a fall headcount comparison of all Texas community colleges. SPC had 9,297 students enrolled for the fall semester, which is a 2.8 percent increase from 2006.   The cost of SPC’s tuition and fees, on average, is $1,243, per semester, while tuition only increased $6 from last year. The overall cost of tuition at Austin College and Blinn College, institutions Dr. Sharp described as being most like SPC, is $3,540 and $2,036, respectively.

“We try to keep tuition and fees low,” said Dr. Sharp.

The Board also reviewed the fall 2008 calendar. According to David Jones, vice president for student affairs, the calendar has to be ready earlier than in the past because many students already ask for it. According to the calendar, classes for fall 2008 will begin on Aug. 25.

The Regents also approved selling two properties. Both properties have been off the tax roll, which is a list of all taxable property within a given jurisdiction, for many years. Property at 804 S. Slaughter Avenue in Sundown will be sold to Laveta Bloodworth  for $600, while property at 102 W. Carter St. in Sundown will be sold to Bobby Little for $200.

In an update on the recent insurance issue for Texas community colleges, the state has come to the consensus to continue funding the cost of insurance for faculty. Although this issue has been resolved, many on the Board feel that there will be more battles over funding in the future.