Planning Memo 24-25 Budget Updates

Dear Colleagues:  

We had a lot to celebrate this year!  Working together across the College, we have continued to make progress particularly through demonstrating more effective alignment of resources and planning per our accreditation standards

This year’s cycle of planning was based on  

This memo provides updates for the following parts of budget development for Fiscal Year 2024-2025 (July 1, 2024-June 30, 2025). 

  • Innovation Grant Funding 
  • Resource Prioritization- One-time Requests (Over $2000) 
  • Resource Prioritization- Ongoing requests 
  • Position Prioritization list (for new positions) 

Innovation Grant Funding  

This year, through our annual planning process, the College asked its members to request one-time, non-recurring needs which could be fulfilled through Innovation Grant dollars. These Innovation Grants help us better serve our students and the community and are intended to bring innovative ideas to the College.  

All Innovation Grant requests are reviewed/vetted by Area Directors and Deans and prioritized at the department/division level before being reviewed for approval at the institutional level by the Executive Team. Please note there were no Innovation Grant requests that aligned with Strategic Plan Goals D and F this time. 

$98,392 worth of Innovation Grant requests were received, out of which the College had funding to approve up to $100,000.  These requests were reviewed by the Executive Team and were deemed to fit Innovation Grant criteria.  Since the requests were less than $100,000 total and all requests could meet strategic plan objectives, we were able to fund all requests. 

Additionally, the Equity-Speaker series request will be institutionalized going forward and costs will be split by the DEIA division and the Foundation.  This is a great collaboration between the two areas! 

Innovation Grants 
Item Amount  Supports Strategic Plan Goal 
Bachelor of Applied Science in Business viability study $3,600 A: Student Success and Academic Excellence 
Campus Wide Speaker Series in Ethnic Studies, Building on previous success $26,600*  E: Community Connections, Partnerships & Collaboration 
Faculty audio/video recording space development in 4000 building $9,994 A: Student Success and Academic Excellence 
PTE for 3 hours on Regular and Substantive Interaction $43,697 A: Student Success and Academic Excellence 
OER “Petting Zoo”- Open Educational Resource Printing- print OERs used at Shoreline for display and usage in the library. $2,500 A: Student Success and Academic Excellence 
DEI Training for Counseling Center Team  $2,000 C: Organizational Development, Systems & Processes 
Size-inclusive counseling chairs $10,000 B: Student Support Services 

*Funded by SCC Foundation. 

Resource Prioritization: “One-time Requests” 

As part of our planning process this year, there were several requests that were made that did not fit as neatly into Innovation Grant requests, but instead were more operational in nature.  

The College was able to allocate an additional $100,000 toward these one-time requests due to the International Education program exceeding revenue targets from this past year’s budget. (Thank you, IE!)  This is how those one-time requests break out in terms of supporting Strategic Plan goals. 

In addition to the one-time requests listed below, we also received requests (budget adjustments, software licenses, minor travel, dues, etc.) in amounts that were $2,000 or less–all those requests were approved. 

One-Time Requests 
Item Amount  Supports Strategic Plan Goals 
NW Met Conference in Boise 2025 $2,000 A: Student Success and Academic Excellence 
Additional one-time funds for library counter upgrades at entrance, & thermal transfer label printer for book labels  $10,000 D: Facilities & Technology 
Funding to send new staff to Summer Institute/Intensive FA 101 Training $4,500 B: Student Support Services 
Redundant External Campus Internet Fiber Optic Connection (Green Lake)- Helps with back-up internet connection in case of local outages $60,000 D: Facilities & Technology 
SBCTC/Other Conference Attendance for Business/Administrative Services $7,833 F: Enrollment Management & Fiscal Stability 

Budget Adjustments: “Ongoing Needs” 

Through the planning (Area Review) and Budget Development process, areas requested $3.03 million for ongoing needs.  These requests were prioritized by Area Deans/Directors and then Vice Presidents/ Area leads to identify top requests totaling $1.6 million.  Our Budget Office determined that we could utilize approximately $1.4 million to fund ongoing requests for either positions or items needed to move the College forward per our Equity-Based Strategic Plan, and this is how the funding requests break down by goal. 

The following budget adjustments will be made for the 2024-2025 year: 

Budget Adjustments: Ongoing Needs 
Item Amount  Supports Strategic Plan Goals 
Post-Ransomware Cybersecurity Enhancements: XDR Security Service: A.I. / Machine Learning Hardware Appliance and Software License. $85,000 D: Facilities & Technology 
Increase Book Loan Program for Running Start Students $14,839 B: Student Support Services 
Two-way texting/Chatbot technology $60,000 B: Student Support Services 
Planning/Institutional Effectiveness software for better tracking of Area Reviews & Strategic Plan Goals to meet accreditation standards. $50,000 C: Organizational Development, Systems & Processes 
Professional Development for Automotive to Support Advisory Board and Partnership Requirements $7,000 A: Student Success and Academic Excellence 
Professional Development for Dr. Kahn: Community Colleges for International Development Board Meeting/Conferences/Training $5,000 E: Community Connections, Partnerships & Collaboration 
Professional Development for eLearning $9,969 A: Student Success and Academic Excellence 
Executive Team Retreat Facilitation $2,500 F: Enrollment Management & Fiscal Stability 
Equipment Request for Manufacturing / Mechatronics  $24,412 A: Student Success and Academic Excellence 
Clean Energy Program- Goods and Services Increase $10,000 A: Student Success and Academic Excellence 
Stormwinds IT training platform $9,000 D: Facilities & Technology 
APPROVED PERSONNEL REQUESTS 
Item Strategic Plan Goals 
Reclassification and Resource Allocation for Running Start Program Specialist B: Student Support Services 
Additional Part Time Counseling Hours B: Student Support Services 
Additional Part Time Audio-Visual Support  D: Facilities & Technology 
Financial Aid Overtime to Process 24/25 Aid B: Student Support Services 
“New Faculty Institute” Coordinator Support A: Student Success and Academic Excellence 
Sustainability Coordinator Position to support State Required Clean Buildings Act  D: Facilities & Technology 
Grounds and Nursery Services Specialist 2 Position D: Facilities & Technology 
Instructional Classroom Support / Tech  D: Facilities & Technology 
Post-Baccalaureate Outreach Part-Time Position  A: Student Success and Academic Excellence 
Increased role/salary for temporary (2nd) Research Analyst to permanent Senior Research Analyst  A: Student Success and Academic Excellence 
Maintenance Mechanic 2 Position D: Facilities & Technology 
Maintenance Mechanic 5 Position D: Facilities & Technology 
Custodial 2 Position  D: Facilities & Technology 
Pathway Navigator – Business  B: Student Support Services 
Grounds Supervisor (Grounds & Nursery Services Specialist 5)  D: Facilities & Technology 
Advising Center Program Coordinator Position  B: Student Support Services 
Athletics, Intramurals & Physical Education – Rec. Specialist II Position B: Student Support Services 
Accounting and Reconciliation Consultant   F: Enrollment Management & Fiscal Stability 
Assessment & Testing Center Program Coordinator B: Student Support Services 

Contract Education Planning for Next Year: International Education 

International Education as a self-supporting (contract) program will be moving forward with two new positions for next year. 

1. Associate Director, Global Engagement: This position is needed for supporting the global impact component of our mission and strategic plan, namely increasing student participation in study abroad programs. They will work closely with Faculty to develop Faculty-led programs that are more affordable. They will also lead the new global learning advisory group composed of campus stakeholders to meet the global awareness outcome of our transfer programs. Furthermore, 25% of this position will be allocated to recruitment of international students.  

2. Program Specialist, Activities and Programs: This position will organize student activities, lead short-term revenue-generating programs, host partner visits, and provide off-campus housing coordination needed to support international students. It is needed to achieve our strategic plan goals of supporting robust international student enrollment and strengthening global partner relationships. 

In addition, their travel budget will increase to support recruitment and global engagement in-line with the strategic plan. 

Next steps 

All requests approved for Innovation Grants will be notified by the Budget Office with directions on how to access funding soon after the completion of the 2024-25 fiscal year budget upload by mid-August 2024. 

Those items that are not funded for now will be sent back to Area Managers for review with their teams to determine if alternative funding can be found to accommodate departmental needs.  All requests for technology or items that affect overall infrastructure will also be reviewed by the appropriate committee/council to ensure feasibility.   

Priority Position List (For new positions) 

Finally, the following positions have been reviewed by the Vice Presidents/ Division leaders for consideration to hire this year if conditions allow:  Painter, Electrician, Program Specialist 2 (to be discussed through Guided Pathways funding), Part-Time Classified Staff (Library).  The Executive Team will review position attrition and our financial position at each quarter to determine the possibility of adding any new positions. 

Conclusion 

Thank you to each and every one of you for your participation in this process and I look forward to the year ahead. 

Best, 

Jack 

Message from the President: 2023 Planning Memo

Introduction

Dear Colleagues:

It has been quite a year. With statewide constraints due to hiring, ransomware, and other items, revamping our planning cycle has been a monumental task.  Working together across the College, we have made tremendous progress this year and will continue to do so as we look to improve our processes, and better align resources with the President’s Goals and our Strategic Plan (to be finalized in December/ January). 

As a reminder, our budget planning is based on two primary sets of guiding frameworks:

Innovation Funding: One-Time Requests

This year, the College invited applications from the campus community to request one-time needs which are fulfilled through Innovation Grant dollars. These Innovation grants help us better serve our students and the community. All Innovation requests are reviewed/vetted by Area Directors and Deans and prioritized at the department/division level before being reviewed for approval at the institutional level by the Executive Team.

  • A total of $430,371 worth of Innovation Grant requests were received, out of which the College had funding to approve $100,000. The Foundation Office also provided an additional $51,500 for a total of $151,500K available dollars. 
  • Those requests approved for Innovation Grants will be notified by the Budget Office with directions on how to access funding following the September 2023 Board meeting.

The Executive Team recommended the following list of funding approvals based on our resources, and I have subsequently approved the list as well. (See below)

Those requests that are unfunded at this time will be sent to area managers to discuss, and brainstorm alternate ways to fund if possible and plan for the following year (see below).

 Innovation Requests – Funded 
ItemAmountPresident’s Goals
Theatre Equipment Training $2,000Infrastructure
Faculty Retreat (focus on the coordination of departmental DEIA assessment process)$4,000DEIA
Ethnic Studies Speaker Series  $13,500DEIA
Marketing Camera Gear (photography/filmmaking needs)$13,000Infrastructure
Virtual Campus Tour$40,000Enrollment
Advising Center Furniture Replacement $17,500Infrastructure
CECO Student Success Course and Math/English Cohort Project$5,000DEIA
Athletic Academic Center Design/Development$35,000Infrastructure
Antiracist/Equity best practices with Corresponding Curriculum $12,200DEIA
NEOGOV Employee Onboarding/New Hire Module $5,000Training
Loaner Library $1,000Infrastructure
IPADS for Intake Activities $1,000Infrastructure
Size-Inclusive Furniture for Counseling Sessions$2,300Infrastructure
Innovation Requests-Not Funded
Item
Remodeling of the 1400 Bldg. common space 
Increased funding for Retention/Enrollment with Cross-Training 
Revamping the OER institute and outcomes to support a wider type of participation
Mobile Meeting Technology (Co-op Spaces) OWL and Mobile Projector
Peer-Tutoring Funding
Security Intruder Device
Folder Inserter BAS

Hiring Criteria & Prioritization for 2023-24 Position Requests

Approximately $1.3 million in position funding requests were received through the 2023-24 budget request process. While Shoreline has begun to experience increased student enrollment (including in Fall 2023!), it is important to remember that the College finished the 2022-23 fiscal year in a deficit with expenditures exceeding overall revenue amounts. This means that the College will need to carefully consider requests for positions (including the funding of both ongoing and new positions) as we enter the 2023-24 fiscal year.  

To that end, with the goal of collaboratively determining areas of need and opportunities for increased efficiencies, the Executive Team made the following decisions regarding new position funding requests for 2023-24 year:

Position Requests – Funded
Position TitlePosition TypeDepartmentPresident’s GoalPriority #
Student Ambassadors/Peer MentorsStudentsInternational EducationEnrollment1
Increasing Senior Graphic Designer to 100% FTEClassified StaffMarketing & CommunicationsInfrastructure2
Funding Staff Reclassification (CSS2 to PS2) Classified StaffFinancial AidInfrastructure3
Additional Campus Security OfficerClassified StaffSafety & SecurityInfrastructure4
Position Requests – On Hold for Further Review
Additional Research Analyst t Admin/ExemptPlanning & Inst EffectivenessInfrastructure5
Program CoordinatorClassified StaffTesting – Student Supp Svcs.Infrastructure 6
Customer Services Specialist 2Classified StaffRunning Start- & Access & Advsg.Infrastructure7
Grounds SupervisorClassified StaffFacilitiesInfrastructure8
Additional Custodian 2Classified StaffFacilitiesInfrastructure9
DEIA Project LiaisonAdmin/ExemptDEIADEIA10
Program Specialist Classified StaffInternational EducationEnrollment11
Maintenance Specialist 5Classified StaffFacilitiesInfrastructure12
Recreation & Athletics Specialist 2Classified StaffAthleticsInfrastructure13
Grounds & Nursery Specialist 2Classified Staff FacilitiesInfrastructure14
IT Network/Telecom Journey Classified StaffTSSInfrastructure15
Maintenance Mechanic 2Classified StaffFacilitiesInfrastructure16
ElectricianClassified StaffFacilitiesInfrastructure17
Increasing Truck Driver 2- Shuttle Bus to 12 mo.Classified StaffSafety & SecurityInfrastructure18
Program Specialist 2Classified StaffGuided PathwaysInfrastructure19

Please also be aware that the Executive Team will be developing and utilizing a published set of hiring criteria with regard to determining position and recruitment approvals moving forward. The criteria will focus on positions required for legal or regulatory compliance, and those positions which align with objectives identified under the President’s Goals as priorities. Position supervisors will have the opportunity to submit information relative to these priorities when requesting approval to recruit. 

More information will be shared out to campus shortly…. stay tuned!

Resource Prioritization

As part of our process this year, there were several requests that were made that did not fit as neatly into Innovation grant requests, but instead were more operational in nature. The College was able to allocate $257K to the items listed below out of approximately $6.1M dollars’ worth of requests.  Those items that are not funded for now will be sent back to area managers for review with their teams to determine if alternative funding can be found to accommodate departmental needs.  All requests for technology or items that affect overall infrastructure will also be reviewed by the appropriate committee/council to ensure feasibility.  Those specifically in Business and Administrative Services will also be reviewed by the new Vice President of Business and Administrative Services.  In addition, categorizing these was challenging as many items could also be placed into other categories as well.

 FUNDED 
ItemAmountPresident’s Goal
Security Training     $14,000Training
Marketing Costs for Advertising$75,000Enrollment
Ad Hoc Mid-Cycle Visit for Accreditation$39,939Infrastructure
Slate CRM$30,000Enrollment
Overseas Travel & Recruitment (IE)$30,000Enrollment 
Student ID Cards$2,000DEIA
Statewide DECA Competition$4,000Infrastructure
Commencement$5,000DEIA
Photographer for marketing and ad campaigns$30,000Infrastructure
NEOGOV-Onboarding$13,000Infrastructure
Telehealth Platform for Counseling$3,000Infrastructure
NABITA Membership/Pro-D$1,200Training 
ctcLink Training & Travel$2,000Training
Mental Health First Aid Training$2,000Training
General Foundation and Advancement$6,000Infrastructure

Conclusion

Thank you to all who attended our presentations on this information during Opening Week.  We will be looking at ways to improve for next year’s process (which begins right away!) with the goal of continuous improvement focusing on progress not perfection. Plan, take action, and improve!

Stay tuned for an additional memo which will highlight more information on overall ongoing budget modifications and processes in place to track planning from area reviews.

Thank you to each and every one of you for your participation in this process.  

Be well all!

Jack