Oakland Community College

CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS: My concern with regard to capital improvements has to do with the process. I believe that any good functioning board has in place what I call self-regulating policies and procedures. The best example of this is capital improvements. A plan should be laid out which is transparent, involves the board, the administration, the college’s consultants, the students and professors, and certainly the public. Capital improvements should be openly discussed and prioritized. The plan should be in place and in writing and a commitment from the board to stick to the plan. Without such a plan, projects are brought to the board in a willy-nilly fashion or based upon a particular board member or board group of members who have a particular pet peeve project. This is unacceptable for an entity with a $165 million annual operating budget. If a good process is put in place, we are likely to obtain good decisions. Oakland Community College
=KNOWLEDGE-BASED ECONOMY: In my view, one of the most important functions of a community college is to keep people with higher education. Whether it is the young student who needs to save some money to attend a four-year college or the older student who needs to be retrained to become employable, this is the primary function of a community college. We are not there to compete with four-year universities. As such, we should focus our two-year degrees in areas which will produce real results and make our students more employable immediately. As to the students who wish to ultimately attend a four-year university, we must focus on the basics so that credit hours are not lost or wasted. I am very concerned when politicians dictate what the Michigan economy needs to be in the future. My experience tells me that politicians do not generally. Oakland Community College.
know what is best for the economy. Oakland Community College
OAKLAND 2 OAKLAND: The Oakland 2 Oakland Program is an excellent idea and one that I support. I am sensitive to the issue of community colleges competing with four-year universities. Both entities are primarily supported by tax dollars and it does not benefit Oakland County residents to have two tax supported institutions competing with one another. The Oakland 2 Oakland partnership is an excellent way to alleviate the pressure to compete. The goal of both entities should be to provide the best service and education to Oakland County residents and the students. As such, I support the joint enrollment program, and while it may be too early to judge, I will give my best effort to make it successful.