College Council Meeting Minutes - February 9, 2026

Monday, February 9 | 1:30 – 3:00 PM

Room 230 UNM-LA and Zoom

Call To Order at 1:34 PM

Acknowledge Quorum

Members in attendance: Anne Jarrett, Yu Song, Lorraine Bowman, Gopinath Subramanian

Meeting Minutes from December 8, 2025 Approved

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Mike Holtzclaw

  • Mike Holtzclaw introduced his new executive administrative assistant, Aubrey Lanham, who started work today. Mike also shared that UNM-LA’s spring enrollment is up 22.14% (3rd highest spring on record); student credit hours are also up 20%).
  • Local UNMLA home-campus students down 9% Decline observed despite overall growth
  • Mike gave a quick update on campus construction projects: the crew working on the front stairs intends to have everything concluded by the end of February, apart from a few signs. Other projects are awaiting funding or are under revision to split them into smaller phases that can be completed as funding allows.

Lori Tepley

  • Lori Tepley shared that UNM-LA’s 2026 Commencement ceremony is May 16 at LA HS. Anyone who would like to be a part of the planning committee should contact Lori.

Brent Pickett

  • Brent Pickett shared progress on the open postings for core faculty and lecturers:
    • The job posting for a lecturer in Welding has been extended through March
    • The hiring committee for a core faculty position in Fine Arts has interviewed 2 candidates and is discussing making an offer.
    • The hiring committee for a core faculty position in Engineering is scheduling interviews with a few potential candidates.
    • The posting for a core faculty position in Business was extended, it had been January.
    • UNM-LA is planning a joint speaker forum series with the Pajarito Environmental Education Center and other Los Alamos community organizations.
    • This summer, UNM-LA is transitioning to use the same online bookstore as UNM-Albuquerque. Stephanie Herrera is the contact for any support needed at UNM-LA.

Beth Rue

  • Beth Rue described the launch of UNM-LA’s new texting service, EdSights, which will regularly communicate with students to check in on their wellbeing and to be a point of contact for them to ask questions and find information. Most text messages will follow the EdSights schedule and program. UNNM-LA may choose to send one or two campaigns per year for important announcements.

Janice Krish

  • Janice Krish announced the grand opening of the new café, The Hideout, on Tuesday, Feb. 17th at 10:30.

Spring Semester 2026 College Council Meetings 1:30 – 3:00 pm

February 9, March 9, April 13, May 11

AGENDA ITEMS – (open to floor to add agenda items)

Complete College America (CCA) updates - Danielle Gonzales provided updates to Anne Jarrett prior to CC meeting

  • The CCA event, Data Days, was attended by five UNM-LA staff and administrators (Danielle Gonzales, Beth Rue, Sascha Guenter-Schlesinger, Anne Jarrett, and Mike Holtzclaw) July 27-29,2026, Denver, CO
  • Oct. 2-3, 2025 Cabinet members participated in “Defining student success accelerator Workshop”
  • Oct. 17, 2025, Two advisors attended the NM Advising Day in Albuquerque
  • November 17-20, 2025 Danielle, Mike, Sascha, Brent attended CCA annual conference in Baltimore, MA – Themes included change-making coalitions, coordinated momentum, data-driven strategies, scalable solutions
  • PowerBI – scheduled to use this platform to start creating dashboards to present and interpret our data more effectively; training was to be scheduled by UNM in January, but CCA trainer no longer available. Unsure of scheduling plans at this time
    • Question from Robin: can this platform be used by anyone, or just CCA team
    • Answer: everyone will be able to run our own searches and requests
  • CCA is offering a free course for advisors about advising adult learners. Advisors can register and participate date TBD
  • February 9, 2026, CCA is starting a12-month initiative (starting today) as part of Pathways Technical Assistance; small team joining Accelerator cohort, joining pathways team – Danielle is at the kickoff meeting now
  • CCA partnered with CCRPL to embed career exploration and counseling from entry to completion to help educate students about labor market and value of their educational choices– CCRLP will guide a cohort of institutions through a virtual monthly community of practice meetings for staff to develop campus implementation plans for
    • establishing vision and foundation for career-connected pathways,
    • implementing career-engaged student supports
    • bridging academic and career pathways

Student Check-In Tool: EdSites

  • Purpose: Conduct targeted check-in campaigns (well-being, resource awareness).
  • Functionality:
    • Text-message service for selected student groups (initially two).
    • Not a continuous communication channel; limited to scheduled campaigns
      (≈ one per year).
  • Current Status: Pilot message to small cohort; contact list being finalized.

DeBray Bailey

Campus Facilities & Services

  • Room Upgrade (Title V Grant): Acoustic improvements, new screen, equipment; intended for diverse meetings.
  • Microphone & Audio Guidance: Speakers reminded to face microphone array for optimal audio capture.
  • Display Screens:
    • Existing screens undergoing network upgrades (awaiting switch configuration by John Bell).
    • Plans to relocate one screen due to construction; static content currently used, with potential integration of website calendar.

Communications & Information Sharing

How and where to post announcements about campus activities and information – suggested solution

  • Following up on concerns about campus communications: Anne made a recommendation to create a place in SharePoint where all of our departments could post information, and all of us could access it to see what events are happening; takes pressure off a single individual to collect and disseminate information
    • Question from Ginny: is this collecting info on a rolling basis, or should there be a weekly deadline for submissions? Example: the library was closed today; several students needed access to it, but none of us knew it was closed
    • Answer from Anne: this idea may require each department to come up with their own process
    • Irina suggested a calendar format; Anne agreed that would be easier to review
    • Ginny asked if this format would also work for announcing building closures, construction restrictions, etc.
    • Anne: possibly two formats—one calendar and one announcement list
    • Ginny: we’d have to go check the Sharepoint all the time
    • Anne: yes, but we’d at least have a central location to access all the needed info
    • Beth: we’ll have a more robust events calendar on the new, public website; not sure what kinds of events will be posted there, for community viewing.
    • New home page will not have much news or changing information (more student-focused than info for community)
    • Robin: what’s the status of the CCTVs to be re-hung around campus
    • DeBray: one in Bldg 2, one in Bldg 6 breezeway, one in ______; there’s an item we need installed before those can work again (has not been highest priority)
    • Beth: updating a static file on the CCTVs might be too cumbersome for every new event
    • DeBray: might be able to find new means of putting content on CCTVs
    • DeBray: suggestion to use Teams to make a group, post things, and set up push-notifications
    • Joan: little pieces of news would also be beneficial to our staff/faculty.
    • Example: have each department encourage staff/faculty to post every week:
    • “So-and-so attended a conference; job posting for faculty position has been extended…” (this would likely require a whole-campus culture change)
    • Ginny: skeptical of people actually posting on the system
    • Anne is willing to work with DeBray to get something started and see how it works. She and anyone else who wants to can contribute to discussion about using Teams vs. Sharepoint vs. other (with DeBray’s guidance)
    • Yu: why don’t we use the Facebook page, since it already serves as a similar platform
    • Anne: we’re trying to find a more internal information hub
    • Mike suggested Anne and DeBray develop collaborative efforts – Anne will schedule a meeting with DeBray and invite others to participate in this process and give update at next College Council meeting
  • Summary of SharePoint/Other Mechanism for Central Hub Idea:
    • Community members submit announcements, events, brief updates.
    • Benefits: distributes workload, provides searchable repository, supports varied information types (e.g., closures, events, personal achievements).
  • Proposed Structure:
    • Urgent Announcements – Top of page for immediate notices (e.g., building closures).
    • Event Calendar – Ongoing schedule of campus activities.
    • Micro-Updates – Short (1-2 sentence) posts about faculty searches, conference attendance, departmental news.

  • Alternative Platforms Discussed:
    • Microsoft Teams – Push notifications for urgent messages; existing chat use could expand.
    • Facebook Page – External social-media option already mature.
    • Smartsheet – Considered for structured tracking.

Key Takeaway: Shifting to a shared, self-service platform aims to alleviate individual reporting burdens and enhance campus-wide transparency.

Technology & Displays

  • Network & Switch Configuration:
    • John Bell handling packet routing for 90 devices; timeline currently undefined.

  • Content Management:
    • Static files presently displayed; exploring dynamic integration with website calendar or SharePoint feed.

  • Teams Integration:
    • Potential to broadcast alerts (e.g., library closures) to staff; feasibility for large student groups still under review.

College Council Feedback form

College Council Feedback form on UNM-LA website includes the following suggestions or questions We’ll look into whether we can post meeting recordings on the website, too.

  • Anne will make sure to review feedback form submissions before every meeting; try to address any concerns before adding to Agenda
  • Anne & DeBray will look into posting old meeting recordings
  • Take down College Council email from the website, since it is not working
  • Items posted so far (from early last year) with available answers
    • Want all CC agendas and minutes posted (on UNM-LA website)
    • Bylaws posted (on UNM-LA website)
    • Bylaws updates – written as part of the November 2025 CC Meeting minutes
      • Amended College Council Bylaws Section 4. Meeting Agendas d The Council chair will present a draft agenda to the Chancellor at least 10 days prior to the meeting for review. e. After the Chancellor’s review, the agenda will be shared with Council members and finalized at least 1 week prior to the meeting.
      • On October 27, 2025, the College Council Members voted to remove Section 4 d and e from the current College Council Bylaws. The updated Bylaws are attached and have been added to the UNM-LA website.
    • Is there a CC meeting on February 9 – yes, information included in the December 2025 CC meeting minutes in 2 places:
      • Listed under Announcements - Spring Semester 2026 CC meetings
      • At the end of the December 2025 CC meeting minutes

  • Current Workflow:
    • Submissions are collected via the form; they are not automatically visible to the entire council.
    • The council chair reviews submissions before each meeting and provides answers either in advance or during the session.

  • Recorded Meeting Access:
    • Queries arose about the availability of meeting recordings.
    • Recordings can be downloaded and, if desired, uploaded to the website under a new “Recordings” tab.

  • Council Email Issue:
    • A generic council email exists but is not actively monitored; it currently forwards to Mike’s inbox with little activity.
    • Recommendation: Remove the email link from the site until a functional point-of-contact is established.

Definition: Feedback Form – An online tool that gathers stakeholder input for review and response by designated officials.

Beth Rue

Mission and Vision Statement Development

  • December 11, 2025 email to faculty and staff asking for volunteers
  • First meeting of structuring (team) two weeks ago
  • First steps were to research and give deeper thought
  • Members: Irina Alvestad, DeBray Bailey, Ginny Grant, Anne Jarrett, Karen Williams
  • Next Steps: team meeting to discuss research and consider options; draft new statement (may extend to a second meeting in later February)
  • New mission and vision statement to propose to College Council in March to receive feedback (though the whole meeting won’t vote, the team members feel that everyone should help in finalizing the decision)
  • Drafts will be shared a week or two before the March 9th College Council meeting
  • Irina: Current catalog does not match our current mission and vision statement; revisions to catalog are due April 21!

Strategic Plan

  • Executive Cabinet is finalizing the desired Outcomes, Measures, and Timelines
  • Then they are going to start putting together working groups for each goal
  • Mission and Vision statement will also need to be finalized before these working groups get moving.

New Website plans

  • Planning to launch the new website over Spring Break!
  • Having some trouble with the imported information (class schedules, Catalog) from UNM website, Banner, etc. – not sure about timeline; working with UNM platform to fix what we import

Joan: What data are we mandated to report?

Mike: grants, partnerships

Karen: What data do we report to the LA County?

Mike Holtzclaw

Reporting & Compliance

  • Annual Reporting:
    • The college submits multiple reports annually to the state, including Student Success Grant updates and HEV capital-spending disclosures.
    • No separate legislature-specific report; reporting is consolidated across state and federal requirements.

  • Budget & Funding:
    • Projects are tied to short-term, fully-funded appropriations; any new funding must align with fiscal schedules (e.g., January 1 start).

Q. Anne: is the courtyard on hold?

Mike: the state only gave us $1M for the $2M+ project. $750,000 of our own bond money put toward it. Asked the state again for the remaining funds; did not make it through legislature this time either. Did approve funding to re-roof Building 4.

$1M from state last year has an expiration date. We’ll have to phase the courtyard to use the state funding while continuing to ask for/find the remaining funds. Working with designers to split the project into manageable phases, and then we have to get contracting bids. We’ll start with Phase 1 in May. Sequencing will depend on available funds, access to campus buildings, etc. We are still seeking delineation of the back parking lot from LAPS (we’ll redo the whole parking lot, but they will reimburse for their portion—with prior approval of the LAPS board). We won’t be able to park in the back lot during the summer. All classes will be offered online. Perhaps we can ask LAPS now if we can use some of Sullivan Field parking lot, just in case. We will still have LANL students working on campus over the summer, too.

Some trees planted too close to Building 2 and 4; had to be removed. Other trees that are boxed in are root-bound and will have to come out. Other trees by Bldg. 6 will stay, and we’ll remove the walls. More trees and landscaping are coming on every side of campus! They are planning to include plants that are more deer-resistant. New windows have gone into LH 230 and 203.

Campus Projects & Facilities Updates

Project Status Key Points
Courtyard Revitalization Mixed (on hold & proceeding) Prior state approval secured; funding pending.
Phased implementation planned to align with budget cycles.
Tree Removal & Landscaping Active Trees too close to building foundations will be removed.
New low-water, zero-maintenance landscaping to replace cleared areas.
Additional signage planting includes low-height plants.
Sidewalk & Winter-Break Work Scheduled Minor sidewalk repairs slated for winter break to avoid class disruption.
Car Storage Facility Clarification needed Ownership split: ~80 % belongs to the school district; the remainder uncertain.
Bright Window Retrofit Completed Replaced fogged windows with brighter panes, improving visibility in conference rooms.
Title V Funding Request Pending Request submitted; awaiting program officer approval.

 

  • Funding Phases: A $7,000 allocation will be divided into multiple phases to maximize impact; exact phase count under review.
  • Summer Staffing Constraints: Limited staff availability may affect project momentum during summer months; contingency plans involve coordinating with external partners.

Definition: Phase Planning – Breaking a larger capital project into manageable segments to align with funding cycles and resource availability.

Adjourn at 2:44 PM

Next CC Meeting: Monday, March 9, 2026, 1:30 - 3:00 pm in person (TBD) and via Zoom

Please share any agenda items for the next Council meeting by February 26 through the Council Feedback Form - UNM-LA.