MAC Trustee OK COVID Grant Spending | training

In the request, Probst Roger McMillian gave the trustees an outline of what he will be making available to the school.

“This is a two-year scholarship received by the college as part of the COVID stimulus package without a consensus,” he said. “Some of the highlights of the project are the temporary offsetting of some online assessment and clinical trial tuition fees by paying a portion of Allied Health’s online fees for two years; Providing simulation equipment for the Law Enforcement Academy (LEA); Providing Internet access for students who do not have access to broadband or who cannot afford access through the provision of mobile WiFi hotspots for MAC parking spaces; and provide teachers with the knowledge, technology and support they need to develop and build interactive, engaging ADA-compliant online curricula. “

With regard to the faculty, McMillian stated that this would include professional development for online course design and the temporary staffing of a “dedicated course designer to help implement new ideas to quickly translate most of the content.”

It also includes several software components for video editing and subtitling, makes it easy to convert Word test documents to online learning platforms and subscriptions for plagiarism detection, and a temporary IT support person to teach and teach teachers how to use the services. Also included would be multiple Microsoft Surfaces and Document Cameras for teaching online in faculty offices or from home, and paying for some Earth Science kits to enable online labs.

The Board of Trustees unanimously approved McMillian’s motion and gave him the option to use the entire $ 908,714 grant without having to return to the board of directors for approval to purchase individual items from the grant.

Immediately after the vote, trustee Camille Nations said: “This is exciting.”

McMillian replied to Nations and said, “It’s very exciting to have. I think if you look at the associated budget, there are two positions that we will hopefully have to bring to you in January that we will bring on board to strengthen our online offering and our activities around the teaching on this one To improve campus. “

MAC President Dr. Joe Gilgour Angela Erickson, Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Health Sciences, received an award for excellence.

“Angie is – you don’t have time to hear everything she’s doing for college,” Gilgour said. “The last couple of years have been really tough dealing with all of these things like COVID, vaccinations and keeping the program going. She just does a great job for us. It is very well deserved. “

Following the monthly report by Dr. Gilgour provided Erickson with a report on the results of the LPN and ADN license exams to the Trustees.

The Board of Trustees received an update from the MAC Foundation from Kevin Thurman. He told trustees that a radiothon held for the foundation last week raised around $ 4,300 for the enhancement grant, which he believes will be over $ 50,000 by the end of the year. According to Thurman, the $ 50,000 will provide $ 200,000 in purchasing power.

Thurman also announces a new award this year the foundation will give – the Eileen Sechrest Contribution to Athletics Award.

“This goes to people who contributed to MAC athletics but weren’t necessarily coaches or players. So, [Eileen Sechrest] receives our first award. “

Although the trustees approved a request to replace exterior doors on campus last month, Dr. Gilgour withdrew the motion for another vote because last month’s bids were inaccurate. Gilgour assured the trustees that the project is still being funded by HEERF (Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund) funds and that funds are still available. The trustees unanimously approved the project for a total of $ 221,190.40

Student Services Dean Julie Sheets asked the trustees to approve the school’s two-year academic calendar.

“The only change that is really different is that we’ve moved the closing from a Saturday event to a Friday night event, and that’s what we’re going to try,” she said.

The curators unanimously approved the two-year academic calendar.

The board retrospectively approved an offer for a soccer field. Gilgour said three bids were received. The knockdown was for $ 899,000, which will also be paid for the use of HEERF funds.

After the unanimous vote, Trustee Alan Wells turned to the board of directors and said, “I want to say that we’ve been involved with football on campus for a long, long time. We missed a lot of students going elsewhere. I think that’s very positive for us. “

In another measure, the trustees approved an offer from First State Community Bank to sell the school desk, with trustee Stuart “Mit” Landrum abstaining. Offers for a new tractor and flooring were also accepted.