Sandburg Plants Seeds Toward New Agriculture Certificate

  Aaron Frey
  Friday, November 30, 2018 1:49 PM
  Campus News

Galesburg, IL

Carl Sandburg College is close to adding a program in a field that involves fields.

The College’s Board of Trustees at its meeting Thursday evening approved the framework of a new agriculture certificate program designed to ready students for employment or further education in the agriculture field.

The 16-credit hour program, which could be completed in as little as two semesters, must still be approved by the Illinois Community College Board before it would first be available as early as the 2019 fall semester. The proposed program includes six classes and covers subjects in agriculture such as science; cultivation; welding; machinery and technology; and computer applications.

Employment of agricultural and food scientists is projected to grow 7 percent nationally and 8 percent locally from 2016-26, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as research of agricultural production methods and techniques continues. Agriculture boasts the highest employment concentration of any industry in the West Central Economic Development Region, which includes Sandburg’s district.

Also at Thursday’s meeting, Kylie Price, assistant dean of assessment and composition, gave an informational presentation on the Outcomes & Assessment Committee’s annual report. Among the committee’s findings was that students who transfer from Sandburg to four-year colleges or universities tend to perform better than native university students (students who have not attended another higher education institution).

The Board also approved the 2018 property tax levy that was first brought to the Board at its October meeting. Equalized assessed valuations (EAVs) have been increasing in the College’s district for several years, and a 5 percent increase is anticipated for levy year 2018. The Board passed an operating tax levy of 47.41 cents per $100 of EAV, a 0.43-cent decrease in tax rate from the previous year. This is consistent with the College’s intention of maintaining a high-quality educational experience without significantly changing the tax rate for many years.

The Board passed resolutions honoring two students who recently received statewide awards. Carrie Pritchett was one of six recipients of the 2018 Illinois Community College Faculty Association scholarship, and Zana Danner was named a 2018 Lincoln Academy of Illinois Student Laureate. Danner is the first student in the College’s history to receive the award and was selected as the lone representative of the 48 institutions in the Illinois Community College System.

In other business, the Board approved the following:

• Employment of Rebecca Eaton as coordinator of library services.
• Employment of Cynthia Rescinito as benefits manager.
• Employment of Christopher Barber as full-time criminal justice instructor.
• Employment of Michelle Erickson as coordinator of veterans and military services/financial aid specialist.

The Board’s next scheduled meeting is 7 p.m. Dec. 20 on the Main Campus in Galesburg.