Board Accepts Audit, OKs Lease for North Campus Instructional Site

Pennsylvania College of Technology’s Board of Directors on Thursday accepted the audited financial statements for the fiscal year ending June 30 and approved a lease agreement for the site where noncredit North Campus programming will be offered in 2013.

Suzanne T. Stopper, the college’s vice president for finance/CFO, told the board the college has received an unqualified clean audit opinion from its auditing firm, Larson Kellett & Associates, P.C.

“I think you are all aware it has been a challenging year,” Stopper said of the fiscal period, which was characterized by declining revenues and expenses. She noted the impact of rising health-insurance costs and a decreased return on the college’s investments, but said there were bright spots, too, including $3.6 million in savings realized from bond refinancing and a campus community that responded favorably to the need for budget cuts.

“We had some negatives, but we feel we had a lot of positives, too,” Stopper said, adding that 78 percent of the college’s expenditures are in direct support of students.

In other business, the board ratified a lease agreement with the Wellsboro Area School District to rent space for North Campus training and instruction. The sale of the current North Campus property (to energy company Shell) is pending. Closing is expected Dec. 28, said Penn College President Davie Jane Gilmour.

The president said the lease is for one year, during which the college will continue to assess if it is the best location to deliver North Campus noncredit instruction. The last class in the current facility along Route 6 will be held Dec. 19.

Beginning in January, the Practical Nursing and Medical Assistant programs offered by the North Campus will hold classes at Wellsboro Area High School, while other noncredit programming (including ShaleTEC natural gas-related training) will be offered at the Wellsboro Area School District Administration Building.

Edward A. Henninger, dean of the School of Business and Computer Technologies, offered board members a PowerPoint overview describing the school’s academic programs including accounting, business administration, health information, information technology, legal assistant/paralegal studies, and Web and interactive media.

Gilmour said applications for the Fall 2013 semester are up by 6 percent over 2012. She said the Admissions Office plans to increase the number of welcoming receptions it holds regionally for students who have been accepted for admission.

Additional sessions will be held in State College, Delaware and Long Island, N.Y., bringing the total to 12. The president said 63 percent of students attending last year’s events subsequently enrolled at Penn College.

The next Penn College Board of Directors meeting is scheduled for Feb. 21.