New fees for out-of-state students approved at FRC
Feather River College standard enrollment fees and upper division enrollment fees for residents will stay the same for 2017-2018: $46 and $84 per unit, respectively.
However, nonresident tuition fees will go from $212 per unit this year to $235 per unit next year.
At the Jan. 19 FRC Board of Trustees meeting, Dean of Instruction Dr. Derek Lerch noted that there are about 300 out-of-state students at FRC, making up 15 percent of the student body.
The trustees discussed the financial costs of having out-of-state students on campus and whether the college loses money on out-of-state students.
Jim Scoubes, chief financial officer, said he could not say on the spot how much each out-of-state student costs the college versus in-state students.
Scoubes pointed out that the state gives the college a certain amount of base funding for each in-state student. On the other hand, out-of-state students pay much higher fees than do in-state students.
He stated, “If our out-of-state students went away right now, our overall finances wouldn’t change that much” because in-state base funding and out-of-state higher tuition fees pretty much balance each other out.
Scoubes also reminded the board that FRC needs a certain number of students to exist and out-of-state students contribute to that number. He added, “Without out-of-state students we might not be able to operate.”
Campus safety
Nick Boyd, director of facilities and chief technology officer at FRC, reported to the trustees about campus safety.
There are two safety committees on campus. The Campus-wide Safety Committee meets once a month and looks at safety policy throughout the campus.
The Student Incident Team meets every week and shares information on individuals or campus “hot spots” that might warrant closer attention.
The Student Incident Team includes participants from the college’s housing, athletics, mental health and counseling units, along with representatives from the Plumas County sheriff and district attorney’s offices.
All information on individuals and organizations discussed at these meetings is held in the strictest confidence.
The board also discussed campus-wide, room-by-room tours that are undertaken routinely to ascertain what staff and students in a given location should do in the event of various types of emergencies such as fire, flooding or a potential shooting.
Every other year the entire school takes part in a campus wide fire/disaster drill.
Finally, the board discussed the college’s policy for notifying students about school closings and other time-dependent information.
Since there are so many types of social media now, Boyd stated, “The college’s home page, frc.edu, and a special student mobile application, Feather River College App, will be the two electronic media platforms Feather River College will use to notify students of closures and emergencies.”
Speakers are also found in many rooms on campus that will announce emergency information in the event of an emergency.
Feather River College’s new climbing wall opened last week. The climbing wall is managed by the Outside Recreation Leadership Program at the college and is open at certain times to FRC students and the general public. Image courtesy of Central Plumas Recreation and Park DistrictNew climbing wall
A new climbing wall opened in the old vocational technology building, which also houses art space.
The climbing wall will be open to FRC students on Wednesdays, from 1 to 4 p.m., and on Fridays, from 6 to 9 p.m. The climbing wall will be open to the general public on Tuesdays and Thursdays, from 5 to 8 p.m.
Groups can rent the climbing wall for a fee by contacting Outside Recreation Leadership Program Director Rick Stock at 283-0202, ext. 275, or [email protected]
Certified observers will always be present when the climbing wall is open. New climbers must fill out a form and be introduced to safe use of the wall before they can climb.
There is also a small fee for individuals using the climbing wall.
Spanish Creek crossing
FRC hired Plumas Corporation to help the college construct a crossing between its newly acquired Segura Ranch property and the rest of campus
The current creek crossing consists of simply walking or riding directly through the streambed.
Devin Wilcox-McCombs of Plumas Corporation noted that there is some evidence of bank erosion downstream of the current crossing.
The college wants to build a better crossing in order to protect Spanish Creek and allow for better access from campus.
However, the cost of building a traditional elevated bridge across the creek would be too expensive, as the bridge would have to span over 300 feet.
Plumas Corporation was hired to come up with possible alternative solutions.
One alternative would be to build a road-level concrete crossing with a culvert built into it. The culvert would carry the amount of water flowing in the creek during a low-level flood event, such as an event that might occur, on average, every 10 years or so.
The structure would also have to survive higher flows and not add to the already substantial amounts of sediment moving downstream on Spanish Creek.
Wilcox-McCombs noted, “Spanish Creek is already a highly impacted stream.”
Plumas Corporation’s contract covers only the first phase of the project, exploring options and doing basic structural design.
Riders from Feather River College’s Equine Studies Program cross Spanish Creek. The riders from left to right are Dakota Freeman, Taylor Creeks and Lydia Sample. Photo by Timmi TrowbridgeThe second phase of the project will include finalizing engineering designs and doing the environmental and cultural surveys required to gain the go ahead from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Board — whose jurisdiction includes the Feather River watershed.
The Spanish Creek crossing is located to the south of the main campus and west, and upstream of, Highway 70.
Updated policies
The Board approved new policies involving freedom of speech; hate speech; discrimination in access to education, hiring and programming; new academic standards; annual evaluations of the superintendent-president and shower facilities on campus for homeless students.
New FRC logo
At the Dec. 3 Board of
Trustees meeting, Carlie McCarthy, director of student success and support programs, discussed the work the college was doing to redesign FRC’s logo.
The new logo is now completed and was adopted by the trustees. The new logo displays a mountain scene in green above a gold-colored feather-shaped river below. Green and gold are the Feather River College school colors.
Work on the new design began two years ago in a cooperative partnership between faculty, students, staff and local graphic artist and Feather River College alumni Brad Bodenham of Hambell Graphic Design and Creative Services.
FRC President Dr. Kevin Trutna said, “It was great to work with an FRC graduate who was able to participate in the ownership of the marketing design for his alma mater.”
Trutna noted, “Our marketing efforts have been asking to update the logo and also the look of our promotional materials for a few years. Since the Learning Resource Center opened and programs changed locations, our campus signage needed updating. It was time to combine these efforts to refresh the look that FRC portrays to the public.”
McCarthy predicted that the new logo will be in place by the start of the 2017-2018 school year.
There’s no “Outside Recreation Leadership” it is “OUTDOOR Recreation Leadership”