Big Bend president gives state of the college

MOSES LAKE - Big Bend Community College President Bill Bonaudi discussed the college's past, present and future Tuesday during the 14th annual State of the College Address.

"Meet Big Bend Community College" was the theme for the evening.

"Recall … that our first classes started in the fall of 1962 in the classrooms of Moses Lake High School," he said. "Tonight I want you to meet this living, breathing creation of our own residents. Meet Big Bend Community College."

Bonaudi recognized members of the Board of Trustees at the event, as well as representatives from the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges and Japanese Agricultural Exchange Council.

Trustees approved an operating budget of more than $23 million, he said. Half of the money comes from the state and the rest comes from grants and contracts.

Bonaudi discussed the opening of the new Fine Arts Building, planned for fall.

"In this building we'll gain new classrooms and studios and laboratories," he said. "In this building we will explore the world of graphic arts and create another facility equipped to utilize the technology we currently have and adopt the new technology as it happens in the future."

He spoke about the Bend Dome project, which currently "is little more than a vision with a function."

"The current proposal is for a structure large enough to accommodate a full-size soccer field indoors," he said.

The size of the structure would be 126,000 square feet, and the tentative cost would be $11 million, Bonaudi said.

"It's three times the size of the (Grant County Fairgrounds') Ardell Pavilion, and if you take ATEC and the library and double it, that's the size of the Bend Dome," he said.

Community interest and support is growing for the facility, he said. The college may be able to attract necessary private financing because the facility is multipurpose, and because the Washington State Potato Conference is moving to the Tri-Cities due to lack of appropriate facilities.

The Professional Technical Education Facility is another building the college is hoping to construct, Bonaudi said. The building would replace four older buildings that house several programs, including automotive technology, industrial electrical technology, maintenance mechanics technology, Commercial Drivers License and welding.

The college was unsuccessful in obtaining funding consideration from the state.

"We know that PTEC is needed and we will continue to advocate for it," Bonaudi said.

Bonaudi discussed a new scholarship introduced last year, called an intervention scholarship. Weinstein Beverage Company started the scholarship last year with $10,000. Money is used for emergency situations so students can start, continue and finish their programs.

He spoke about an Othello housewife who was widowed and raising two children, and hoped to return to school to train in health care. She needed childcare assistance and gas money, and the scholarship assisted her with those needs for 11 weeks.

A student from Soap Lake ran out of money last spring, when he was due to graduate in fall. Through the fund, he received help for spring quarter. He saved money during summer so he could finish fall quarter and completed his program.

Bonaudi provided other such examples of how the fund has benefited students.

"These are events in life that often can't be anticipated or predicted," Bonaudi said. "They can often happen suddenly, without warning. So as you can see, the success of the Weinstein Intervention Fund is two key elements - timing and flexibility."

Other donors have added to the fund as well, and so has the college foundation, Bonaudi said. Money has been used for books, tuition, fees, daycare and gas money.

Bonaudi touched on the impact of high gas prices for Big Bend. Most of the college's deliveries are made with diesel-powered vehicles. Most of the college's students and staff use private transportation.

"The challenge for many of our students - and I don't need to remind you of the typical fiscal plight of the residents of Grant and Adams counties - is going to be a choice between transportation to and from work, and transportation to and from school," Bonaudi said.

During the past two years the college missed enrollment targets mandated by the state, he said. If the college continues missing its target it will miss out on growth money and might have to give back some current dollars, he said.

The college devoted more energy this year to recruiting and retaining students and is one percent or closer to its target, Bonaudi said.

Bonaudi said the interactive television classrooms may be one key to building college enrollment. The college added new classrooms in Warden and Mattawa. The college also expanded online instruction, offering courses offered completely online.

Another investment the college made is in a technology called Media Site. The technology enables the college to record a class live and send it to another site, so students can watch it again at home or work, or view it if they missed a class.

"Out trustees used this Media Site for their last board meeting and will continue to use it in the future, enabling residents throughout our college district to attend a board meeting without driving to Moses Lake," Bonaudi said.

He said the college has been focusing on recruiting and marketing for under-enrolled programs. "We've seen a just-in-time boost in enrollment in the Industrial Electrical and Maintenance Mechanics Programs," he said.

Employers are finding it a challenge to attract an educated, skilled workforce due to the region's rapid economic success, he said. The college convened the Operations Task Force to help coordinate recruitment and training efforts.

"This effort has forged a close partnership between Big Bend and our area employers," Bonaudi said.

The success of the college is measured by the success of students, he said. Last year, the college joined Achieving the Dream, Community Colleges Count!, a national effort to improve retention rates and the success of students. The focus was initially on students who were enrolled in developmental mathematics.

"More than 90 percent of the students who take our placement tests find themselves placed in one or more remedial mathematics classes, so you see there are really two problems here," Bonaudi said.

The first problem, lack of preparation in taking college-level math, is being addressed with initiatives to correlate math preparation in public school with expectations for college math. The second issue, success and persistence in developmental math courses, is being addressed through Achieving the Dream, he said. The college is working to provide advising in a timely manner, additional tutors, an online tutoring service and additional sections of developmental math.