Eleanor MacKinney: Candidate Profile

Note: Answers provided have not been edited for grammar, misspellings or typos. In some instances, candidate claims that could not be immediately verified have been omitted. Jump to:BioKey IssuesQA Bio City: HampshireWebsite: http://www.ellie4ecc.comOffice sought: Elgin Community CollegeAge: Candidate did not respond.Family: See www.ellie4ecc.com for full details.Occupation: Retired teacher and school administrator, U-46. Small business owner.Education: Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS)See www.ellie4ecc.com for full details.Civic involvement: See www.ellie4ecc.com for full details.Elected offices held: ECC trustee since 1999.Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: No.Candidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 Fiscal responsibility. Being a fiscally responsible community college is challenging, especially in this era of unstable and decreased state funding. The State of Illinois promised monthly payments this year, but we have not seen any money since August 2010. The combination of unpredictability and funding decreases makes financial management very difficult. Despite these challenges, we have a history of conservative fiscal management. As a result, ECC may be one of the only units of government that is not laying off workers, forcing sabbaticals, cutting programs or taking other drastic measures. I am committed to being accountable to the community in the area of fiscal responsibility.Key Issue 2 Student Success. I am very proud of what ECC has done in the recent past regarding student success, and we still have a lot of work to be done. We have seen a 27% increase in awarding degrees and certificates over the past four years, and yet some students are still not reaching their goals. ECC has been working hard with districts 300, 303, 301 and U-46 since 2005 through the Alliance for College Readiness partnership to ensure that high school students are prepared for college. Despite our progress, much more work needs to be done. Key Issue 3 Planning and Preparing for the Future. Over the past five semesters, ECC#146;s enrollment has grown 35%. In spring 2008, we had just over 9,000 credit students; today we have more than 12,200. It is critical that ECC continues to look forward in preparing for the future and find creative, responsible ways to advance college goals so students can experience more success in achieving their academic and career goals. It is about giving more people more opportunities and getting them into good jobs. Questions Answers What prompted you to run for ECC board? If you're a newcomer, how will you make a difference? If you're an incumbent, how have you made a difference?As an incumbent, my goal is to continue the work of helping the community#146;s college provide the best, most cost-effective educational opportunities for all members of our community. ECC has so much to offer, so many programs and services available for the benefit of all. During my twelve years on the board, I have worked successfully with my fellow trustees to support the positive direction of ECC. Recent successes include: offering affordable tuition ($91/credit hour for four academic years); receiving community support for our $178 million capital referendum so we can expand our facilities to meet programs needs; and increasing the number of degrees/certificates awarded to students.With fewer than a third of students in some feeder districts deemed college ready, what can ECC do to better prepare students for college-level coursework?College ready means a student is prepared with skills needed to be successful in college-level courses. ECC has taken a state leadership role to address the issue by creating the Alliance for College Readiness, received state funding for it and national recognition from The Higher Learning Commission, our accrediting body. Recent data from the Alliance indicates that 31.8 percent of students arrived at ECC completely ready for college as of fall 2010, compared with 23.6 percent when the Alliance first measured readiness in 2006. We are pleased with this progress, and it shows that we still have much work to do. The challenge of becoming college ready is slowly becoming a reality for our community.Tuition has remained steady for the past four years. With demand growing for community colleges, do you foresee having to raise tuition in the near future, or do you think it is important to keep tuition low in light of continuing economic struggles?Yes, we must raise tuition now, and yes, it is critical to keep tuition costs affordable. The board voted to increase tuition by $8 per credit hour in order to fund the cost of operations for new construction. As promised to the voters when we proposed $178 million in capital bonds to finance construction, students--through tuition increases--would bear the cost of operation. We kept the tuition as low as possible for as long as possible, and raised it only when absolutely necessary. The fact that ECC has already awarded more than $23 million in financial aid to students this fiscal year (almost double from FY09) and many still need to take out loans reinforces the reality that we must do everything we can to keep tuition as low as possible while providing quality education in quality facilities.Did you agree with the need for $178 million in bonds to finance the expansion of the college? Why or why not? How will you ensure the voter-approved bond proceeds are spent responsibly and that the projects in ECC's master plan do not go over budget?I had the opportunity to be the board#146;s representative and serve on the ENCORE committee, a committee of community leaders commissioned to study the issues and make recommendations to the board. I am totally convinced that their recommendation to the board was spot on, and the board made the right decision to follow their recommendation for the referendum. It is because of the forward thinking of the ENCORE committee that we soon will have the facilities needed for our record enrollment.ECC has many safeguards in place to assure financial accountability and responsibility to manage the budget. On-site construction management limits spending without board approval and provides monthly construction updates to the board. As a trustee I seek to ensure the board keeps these procedures in place. As of December, we are $13.5 million under budget on current projects. ECC has a solid track record of keeping construction projects on time and under budget. I value the trust our district 509 community members have placed in me and I will work to keep it. Because we share the same values of commitment and service to the community, I am running as a slate with John Duffy and John Dalton.Community colleges provide many services to a diverse population. Is there a service your college should be providing that it is not, or reaching a segment of the population that it is not?ECC is aware of the need to do a better job of reaching underrepresented groups (i.e. first-generation college students, minorities) and that is why ECC applied to become an Achieving the Dream college. ECC is one of only five colleges in Illinois selected to participate in the nationally recognized Achieving the Dream initiative. Achieving the Dream colleges commit to reducing barriers to success, resulting in more students earning degrees and/or certificates.