Gillette Community College fears ‘bumpy’ talks with Sheridan

Gillette Community College fears ‘bumpy’ talks with Sheridan
By Jake Goodrick
Gillette News Record
Via Wyoming News Exchange
GILLETTE — Five months into the existence of the Gillette Community College District, trustees are beginning to feel a sense of urgency in addressing the ongoing negotiations with Sheridan College.
In the process, trustees recognized that the “smooth” talks between districts could get “bumpier.”
A recent bump came when the Northern Wyoming Community College District moved Gillette College online classes to Sheridan College for fall 2022. This week, trustees and one faculty member expressed concern over how the decision could impact student access and faculty jobs.
“We’re nervous, we’re scared,” said Kelly Derryberry, a Gillette College faculty member of nearly 30 years. “I’ve lost employees. Positions aren’t being filled.”
Both districts are in the process of completing an agreement on the terms of Gillette College’s departure from NWCCD.
Separate exhibits are attached to the agreement to cover the terms of the transition, including the transfer of facilities and employees. All Gillette College faculty and students remain part of NWCCD while terms of the transition are worked out.
GCCD Board of Trustees Chairman Robert Palmer said this week that he has a goal of having all agreements in place, along with a “clear path moving forward,” by June 30, the end of the fiscal year.
He emphasized that it is important to address staffing “as efficiently and effectively as possible.”
The first exhibit outlining the transfer of money to the new district was completed relatively quickly. The next two negotiations dealing with the transfer of facilities and transfer of faculty to the new district have taken more time.
Representatives with each district last formally met around mid-December and are scheduled to meet again next week. Trustees said that during the hiatus, they have been unable to get specific information from NWCCD they said is crucial to the negotiations.
The hold-up could be due to the holiday break and new personnel in Sheridan.
Palmer said that he is seeking clarity for the specific costs involved with the shared overhead between the two districts. There are undoubtedly shared overhead expenses, but determining a more precise cost or who is responsible for which expenses is difficult, he said.
“Help us understand,” Palmer said. “What is that number and what does it consist of?”
The overhead costs include administrator salaries, human resources and IT needs.
During the transition, state appropriation for Gillette College — not the new district — will continue to funnel through NWCCD, as has been the case historically.
But that becomes complicated if the new district takes on the Gillette College staff while NWCCD continues to receive the state funds for the Gillette College students, who would continue to be accredited through NWCCD, Palmer said.
Palmer said that if the new district takes on the staff and faculty while NWCCD continues receiving the student enrollment and FTE credit, both sides will need a new agreed upon division of state funds “because if we don’t have that negotiation, they get all the benefit of the state appropriation, we get all the costs associated with running the college.”
Although the discussions have been “cordial” so far, board trustee Josh McGrath said it could change as negotiations come down to brass tacks.
“I think it could get bumpier,” he said. “These are discussions that frankly are going to have to get handled and soon.”
Both districts agreed to a shared set of values that includes protecting students and faculty from potential harm caused by the unprecedented district transition. But in the early stages of the years-long transition process, concern for faculty and student well-being is brewing in Gillette.
“The one thing I’m concerned about is students,” said board trustee Tracy Wasserburger at this week’s meeting.
Recently, NWCCD moved the online classes taught by Gillette College to Sheridan College and removed the names of the faculty members involved with them, beginning in the fall 2022 semester.
In an emailed statement, NWCCD spokesperson Wendy Smith said the change came as part of a broader focus on growing enrollment and online offerings that began in 2019.
“None of these changes affect who the teacher is or where the teacher is located,” the email read.
Sheridan will track which online students reside in Campbell County and share that information with the new district, according to the statement.
GCCD interim president Janell Oberlander said Friday that the district needs proof the Gillette College faculty and students will be unaffected because there is still concern and uncertainty.
“It can be stated and it can be said, but show us who are teaching those online classes, who are the faculty,” she said.
If the shift in online courses continues as it currently is slated, Oberlander said it would affect the money Gillette College receives.
“Historically, the tuition and fees generated at Gillette College have transferred back to Gillette College,” Oberlander said. “If all of those classes transfer to Sheridan, then that becomes NWCCD revenue.”
While trustees said the district may not have realized the consequences of that decision, they also said it could affect student access and faculty jobs at Gillette College.
Instructors are expected to maintain a certain number of courses. Having online classes taken from their schedules would reduce the course load for some and put them in jeopardy of not meeting the required amounts, putting their jobs potentially at risk.
“If they’re under load, what does that do if we don’t have them all the way transferred by then?” Oberlander said.
She said the fear is that those employees with lightened course loads would lose their jobs if still employed by NWCCD.
Derryberry said at the meeting that some faculty are fearing for their jobs in light of the maneuvering of online classes.
“There’s a lot of fear and we don’t know what’s coming,” she said. “The fear is if we’re going to have jobs come the end of this semester, actually.”
She also said she worries how transferring those classes will impact the student experience.
“My concern is it’s not necessarily going to serve our students best,” Derryberry said.
Palmer said that if those online classes leave Gillette for Sheridan College, the county’s BOCHES funding can’t be used to pay for them.
BOCHES funding contributes to dual enrollment high school students, while concurrent enrollment high school students are funded through an agreement between the college and Campbell County School District.
“As I read the state statutes, I cannot spend Campbell County money outside of this county,” said state Sen. Jeff Wasserburger, R-Gillette, who also is the executive director of BOCHES.
Consequently, the change could limit the opportunity for dual enrollment students, who are students taking college classes for credit while still in high school.
“I’m not sure they have fully understood what the impacts are of moving those online classes over to Sheridan,” Palmer said.
It is unclear how long it will take both sides to reach agreements on transferring employees and facilities. It is also unclear what the details of those transfers will entail. But there is a growing sense of urgency from those in Gillette and concern for how employees could be affected by the transfer.
“We want to hold Northern Wyoming Community College District harmless but we also want to be held harmless in this process,” Palmer said. “Our students and our faculty and our staff, we need to make sure we’re protecting them.”
This story was published on Jan 21, 2022