Board of trustees discusses campus security

Glory Reitz 

Editor-in-Chief 

On March 30, Crowder’s board of trustees met to approve last month’s minutes, recognize new employees and assess new business. The key discussion centered around campus maintenance and the concern about whether Crowder is lacking in security at its campuses outside of Neosho. 

Crowder pays for Neosho Police Department to be present at the main campus 12 hours a day, seven days a week. Paid security professionals patrol the campus and help with various needs in the parking lot. But other campuses do not have the same level of provision. They work with various levels of security: a highway patrol office at the Cassville campus, a “pseudo-security” maintenance man in Nevada, and part-time security in Webb City. 

The board expressed concern over the lack of security at other campuses, and considered presenting a plan at a future meeting. 

Other business presented at the March meeting included: 

• College president Glenn Coltharp announced that he will retire at the end of the year, but will be available to help train his successor during the spring semester of 2022. When he retires, Dr. Coltharp will have served as an educator for 40 years, at levels ranging from Kindergarten to Crowder College. 

• The board approved a small increase of tuition rates, a reduction of online and Flex course fees, and the addition of a $10 technology fee for all students. The technology fee is intended to more evenly distribute the cost of campus technology, as Flex and online students are not the only ones who use it. 
• The board recognized that enrollment at campuses outside Neosho is down 3.1% since last year, but there was a jump in 2^nd 8-week class enrollment. The college’s retention of students actually increased by 2% during the coronavirus pandemic. 
• During a Career and Transfer Services presentation, college president Glenn Coltharp reported that transfer representatives from four-year universities liked the format of virtual transfer fairs because they allayed costs. He also acknowledged that, though the universities may wish to continue creating virtual transfer events, in-person fairs are more useful for reaching students who are less sure of which colleges they’re interested in. 
• International Club president Sofiia Kregul presented to the board, outlining her club’s goals and progress over the past semester and a half. The International Club has weekly game nights, occasional outings, and has been selling t-shirts as a fundraiser.