Board approves consent agenda; committees spotlight audits, fund‑balance plans and employer partnerships

The Board of Regents approved a consent agenda that bundled 14 items discussed in committee reports, including policy approvals, partnership pilots and the proposed extension of an external audit contract.

Audit committee chair Don Williams reported a March 10 meeting that welcomed Brian Green as director of internal audit and recommended a two‑year extension with Grant Thornton; the finance committee later approved placing that contract extension on the consent agenda. Finance chair Richard Balducci summarized nine finance action items on the consent list and invited Dr. Lloyd Blanchard to explain two policies: the use-of-institutional-funds policy (which clarifies allowable expenditures and prohibits certain gifts or social events while permitting sponsorships tied to services) and a software-asset capitalization policy that sets a $5,000 capitalization threshold for software and requires tracking of internal labor for large implementations.

Committees also discussed pilot partnership agreements (including apprenticeship alignments and employer discount pilots) and fund-balance action plans for Eastern and Western campuses. Eastern was aided with an additional $3.1 million in bonds-related capital funds to keep reserves above a 30‑day threshold; Western presented a fiscal resiliency blueprint to address an $18.2 million deficit that relies on personnel and operating controls, financial-aid optimization and administrative restructuring.

Regents asked for standardized rubrics and enrollment analyses before approving future partnership agreements, and asked that outcomes from pilots be reported back to the board. The consent agenda motion was moved and seconded and approved by voice vote; minutes for the previous meeting were also approved earlier in the session.