New College Institute committee adopts revised report on partnerships and board structure, forwards it to full board

The New College Institute committee on Monday adopted staff-recommended edits to a draft report examining enrollment trends, partnership options with Patrick & Henry Community College and possible changes to NCI’s board composition, then voted to forward the revised report to the full board for consideration.

The committee’s discussion centered on data cited in the draft (from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, or SHEV, and a JLARC review of community colleges), whether outside organizations had provided formal letters of support and whether background language in the draft overstated outside endorsement. "SHEV is the official, source and the source of truth for all higher education, data and statistics in Virginia," Chair Ashley Lockhart said during the review, stressing reliance on state data sources.

Staff officer Olivia presented the draft’s findings, which note that Patrick & Henry Community College’s overall enrollment has been stagnant or declining in recent years, even as participation in the Fast Forward workforce credential grant program has increased. Olivia summarized staff recommendations that include revising NCI’s board composition to bring statewide partners to the table, seeking an increase in the institute’s general appropriation during the upcoming legislative session and working with the office of the attorney general to address outstanding legal matters involving the Martinsville Henry County Academic Foundation (MHCAF).

Board members debated several specifics. Dr. Mark Crabtree challenged wording that implied JLARC "supported" structural change, saying the JLARC report only mentioned the issue and did not endorse a reorganization; the committee agreed to amend the draft language to reflect that distinction. Crabtree also objected to how some local stakeholder input was characterized, saying he had circulated letters and text-message confirmations of support and that removing litigation-related discussion was appropriate; he called the outside-foundation element "a big nothing burger" while urging the committee to strike or reword background passages he viewed as misleading.

Executive Director Joe Sumner described ongoing but informal coordination with Patrick & Henry and said a general memorandum of understanding exists; he encouraged formal MOUs to support program development. He also discussed preliminary estimates for a proposed teaching kitchen conversion, noting contractor quotes for commercial vent hoods ranged "anywhere from $20,000 to $40,000" and that a full conversion would likely be "under $100,000," subject to gathering additional bids.

On governance, members compared NCI’s board structure with the other four Virginia higher education centers and whether adding specified statewide representatives — university officials or CHEV and VCCS designees — would make it easier to recruit partners and support degree pathways. "Your first step should just be standing in front of your board and say, who wants to offer a bachelor's degree here?" Sumner said, arguing that having university partners on the board eases program development.

Vice chair Ashley Lockhart moved to adopt the edits discussed during the meeting and forward the report to the full board; the motion was seconded and carried with one recorded no vote from Dr. Mark Crabtree. Senator Srinivasan and Kevin Lane vocalized their support during the roll call on the motion; remaining members’ individual votes were not all verbally recorded in the transcript. Olivia said staff would send an email summarizing the meeting outcome so the item can be added to the full board agenda for the Jan. 15 meeting.

Next steps in the report outlined by staff include pursuing legislative appropriation increases, revising board composition language to align with other centers, formalizing partnerships where appropriate and working with the office of the attorney general to resolve the outstanding MHCAF legal matter. Committee members asked staff to clarify and document partner support letters before the full board consideration and to remove or reword any language that could be read as asserting formal endorsements that do not exist.