The Galveston College Community College District Board of Regents on March 10 heard a report from Associate Degree Nursing instructor Jeff Eubank on the Nursing program’s involvement in the Galveston County COVID-19 mass vaccination clinic at Walter Hall Park in League City.

Eubank said Nursing students are receiving required clinical experience at the vaccination hub, which is inoculating up to 3,000 individuals a day using mostly volunteer labor.

The Galveston County Office of Emergency Management, Office of Galveston County Judge Mark Henry, the Galveston County Health District and the University of Texas Medical Branch have partnered to coordinate the effort.

“Our students love it,” Eubank said. “They are receiving a lot of great experience working with the patients and the professionals from UTMB the health district and other organizations. It’s been a wonderful opportunity.”

Eubank said the Galveston County vaccination effort is outpacing efforts in many other regions in the state. The waiting list for COVID-19 vaccinations in Galveston County is now open to all people, regardless of their age or health status.

Dr. Myles Shelton, Galveston College president, expressed appreciation to UTMB, the health district and the county for their efforts to provide vaccinations in Galveston County and to provide educators with access to vaccines.

“We appreciate UTMB including our faculty and staff along with teachers and others who work in our local schools,” Dr. Shelton said. “We just have to get more people vaccinated now.”

In other business, regents heard a student success report from Carmen Allen, director of institutional effectiveness and research, on the Ruffalo Noel Levitz Student Satisfaction Inventory (SSI).

Galveston College periodically administers the SSI and uses the results to target areas most in need of improvement to retain students and help them be successful. The data collected are analyzed in terms of strengths and challenges that can be used for action planning, 12 composite scales that provide an overview of what matters most to the college’s students, and more than 70 individual items that provide insight on specific student experiences.

The fall 2020 survey administration revealed that Galveston College students’ satisfaction levels on composite scales have increased over time; recent scores exceed 2015 scores on each scale by anywhere from 4 percent to 12 percent.

“While the college is on par with national peers for scores on individual items, there were discrepancies between what our students expect and their levels of satisfaction in some areas,” Allen said. “However, in spite of those discrepancies, Galveston College students indicated a slightly greater likelihood of re-enrollment if they had to do it all over again compared to the previous administration of the survey in 2017 – a pattern that aligns with recent research suggesting the substantial impact of COVID-19 on the student experience in 2020 and beyond.”

In board action, the regents accepted the board nominating committee’s decision not to recommend a candidate to fill the unexpired term of Regent Carl Kelly, who died unexpectedly July 31. There will be an election for position 8 in May 2022.

In other board action, the regents:

  • accepted the retirement of Hubert D. Callahan, Radiation Therapy program director, effective Aug. 20.
  • approved student housing room and board fees for 2021-2022, including $1,500 per semester room fees for the Abe and Annie Seibel Foundation Student Residences, Whitecaps Apartments and a house at 3815 Ave. Q1/2; $1,350 per semester room fees for houses and garage apartments at 2223 41st St. and 3802 Ave. R.; and $1,812 per semester for the board fee, which includes 14 meals and snacks.
  • approved six changes to academic course fees for 2021-2022, including new course fees for professional assessment and/or preparation in Surgical Technology, Radiography and Nuclear Medicine Technology.
  • accepted a U.S. Department of Education Higher Education Emergency Education Relief Fund Minority Serving Institutions grant award in the amount of $147,790 for the budget period of June 1, 2020, to May 31, 2021.
  • approved a proposal from American Mechanical Services (AMS) to retrofit the air handler unit in the Mary Moody Northen Center central plant. Cost is $145,080.64.
  • approved a proposal to purchase portable programmable logic controller training equipment and installation services from Technical Laboratory Systems for the Electrical/Electronics Technology program. Cost is $56,485.
  • accepted an audit services engagement letter from Carr, Riggs & Ingram, LLC.
  • heard a Student Government Association update from Benjamin Shelton, vice president.
  • accepted the fiscal year 2020-2021 second-quarter investment report.
  • reviewed the monthly financial reports presented by Jeff Engbrock, chief financial officer/comptroller.

 

Above: Associate Degree Nursing student Carmen Kosinski administers a COVID-19 vaccine at the Galveston County mass vaccination clinic at Walter Hall Park in League City. Jeff Eubank, Nursing instructor, recently visited with the Galveston Community College District Board of Regents about how students in the Nursing program are gaining valuable clinical experience this spring as volunteers at the vaccination hub.