MATT RESNICK
Members of the Neosho County Community College Board of Trustees were shown data on student diversity and inclusion at Thursday’s monthly meeting.
Dr. Sarah Robb, Vice President for Student Learning, informed trustees that NCCC’s academic success rates for minority students, as displayed through disaggregated data, were lagging in the areas of enrollment, retention and credentials in comparison to the five-year average of all Kansas community colleges.
The average enrollment among Hispanic students at all community colleges statewide is double that of NCCC, at 14 and 7 percent, while the retention rate is 59 percent statewide and 49 percent at NCCC. The statewide credential rate for Hispanic students is 14 percent and just 6 percent at NCCC.
Enrollment for Black students checks in at 10 percent statewide and 7 percent at NCCC. Retention of Black students is 4 percent below the statewide figure at 44 percent, while credentials among Black students are 7 percent across Kansas and 5 percent at NCCC.
Disaggregation data for White students as presented by Robb is well above the state average in both enrollment (74 to 61 percent) and credentials (82 to 65). Retention among White students is three percentage points below the statewide average, at 58 percent.
“We’ve always disaggregated the data by race to see how we’re doing,” said NCCC President Dr. Brian Inbody.
“In this case, we’re really taking more of a deep dive into retention and into completion — and it shows that we have some work to do with some of our different groups.
“We’re doing great with some, but with others it’s time to look at what we’re doing and how we can improve those scores.”
Regarding the topic of lower scores for minority students, Inbody noted that not all students enrolled at NCCC are in pursuit of a credential from the school.
“Some students come here to get an Associate’s Degree,” he said. “Others are here for a year to pick up some classes and then move on to a university so they can save some money. That’s a success for us, that’s not a ‘stop-out.’ That’s someone who came here with a goal — get some classes in – and left with those classes successfully.”
Inbody anticipates the school’s Hispanic population to increase in the near future.
“Hispanics are the fastest growing group in America, so we expect that number to go up over the next five to 10 years,” he said.
The school received a checklist from the Association of Community College Trustees outlining procedures that could help with diversity and inclusion. Robb touched on a few of those areas, which include a review of policies in relation to hiring practices, such as review of position descriptions related to candidates and CEO performance evaluation. Additionally, a review of policies related to contracts and minority bidding is recommended, in order to determine if changes are needed.
“This is a great way to get started — looking at what you’re doing with your policies, hiring (and) support services, and are you doing things that specifically speak to those groups,” Inbody said. “We’re going to start with that list and work our way down it, and make sure that we’re doing all that we can.”
Beverage contract
In other business, trustees renewed the beverage contract with Pepsi Bottling Group. NCCC renews its exclusivity rights for its soda provider roughly every five years. The current soft drink agreement took effect July 1, 2015, and expired June 30, 2020, but was extended on an annual basis due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Total funding over the 5-year term of the contract was $59,750.
Bid specifications were sent to both Pepsi and Coca-Cola. Inbody, who has been with the school since 2003, said it’s the first time he recalls Coca-Cola replying with an offer. The school’s money, however, was better maximized with Pepsi, which also includes the popular beverage Dr Pepper.
NCCC receives $12,500 from Pepsi for sponsorship/pouring rights, and would get $0 from Coke. The college also receives $3,750 from Pepsi for its Gatorade kit, heavily used by athletics, $1,500 in marketing funds from Pepsi, and $2,000 in product support from Pepsi.
Estimated vending commissions were nearly $9,000 higher for Coke, while rebates were also projected to yield better dividends than Pepsi, making Coke’s total variable funding $13,799 compared to Pepsi’s $3,110. Pepsi’s total fixed funding over the 5-year period left Coke in the dust — $19,750 to $2,750. Pepsi also bested Coke in total funding – $22,860 to $16,549. Pepsi also added a donation toward a scoreboard ad.
Inbody recommended that trustees accept the 5-year proposal from Pepsi.
“This is the first time Coke’s ever submitted a bid, and we were happy to get it,” Inbody said. “Competition usually results in better prices and better product. In a side-by-side comparison, it made more sense to go with Pepsi.”
As the school’s longtime provider, Inbody said that Pepsi had the inside track. Pepsi’s commission figures were based off hard data pertaining to the college over the past five years, while Coke’s were just guesses.
“Coke was not our provider, so they had to make estimations,” Inbody said. “The number Coke provided seemed to be way high from the amount of soft drinks that are consumed here. We felt that even though the number is pretty high on their bid, we didn’t believe we would sell enough Coke to reach that number.”
Trustees approved the following in personnel:
• Resignations: Jordan Burton, assistant director of residence and student life; Brady Garrison, assistant baseball coach and coordinator of residence and student life; Teka Piper, educational Talent Search academic advisor; Bobbie Forrest, Construction Technology instructor; Lorraine Kuzen-Stephens, library clerk; Brianne Lint, softball coach; Lindsey Donovan, STARS transfer/career advisor.
• Hires: Andrea Fredricks, assistant bookstore coordinator; Dee Steinbach, Occupational Therapy Assistant fieldwork coordinator; Aaron Dowsett, men’s and women’s assistant soccer coach; Kimberly Luebbering, director of STARS.
• Luka Kapkiai to continue as division chair for applied science for two additional academic years through June 2024.
