Illinois Valley Community College is incentivizing students to register early for the spring semester that begins Jan. 9, board members learned Thursday.

Incentives include:

• a $100 gift card for the bookstore, food service or local vendors for students who pay tuition (or make payment arrangements) by Dec. 15
• Students registering for at least 15 hours will have tuition waived for any additional hours.
• HEERF reimbursement checks will be mailed around Nov. 15.

“Releasing [Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds] in mid-November will allow students to use that money for spring enrollment,” said Mark Grzybowski, vice president for student services. (The amount a student receives will depend on several factors.)

“In a time of fierce competition for students, we are rewarding those who have chosen IVCC and urging them to recommit well before spring classes begin,” Grzybowski said.

As of Wednesday, fall enrollment was up 4.2% in credit hours and 3.3% in head count.

In other business, trustees learned that a recent five-year agreement with the La Salle Power Station will result in almost $1.2 million in new revenue for the college.

The influx is the result of La Salle Station’s equalized assessed valuation increasing 15% over the five years, said Matt Seaton, IVCC vice president for business services and finance.

IVCC, one of 11 taxing districts in the agreement, will receive an additional $235,549 each year. La Salle Station is owned by Constellation Generation Co., formerly known as Exelon.

In other business, trustees approved:

• Protection, health and safety projects including campuswide lighting upgrades for $676,698; 16 parking lot cameras for $362,462; and medical assisting lab upgrades for $183,650. Improvements include more LED lighting across campus, security cameras in lot areas not previously covered and moving medical assisting into the area formerly occupied by dental assisting.
• Deferred maintenance projects for 2023 include resealing and recoating lots 7 and 8 and removal of lot 3 for $1.17 million; replacement of all parking lot lights for $520,000; and removal and replacement of the salt shed south of campus for $250,000.
• IVCC President Jerry Corcoran will begin preparing the 2022 tax levy for presentation Nov. 10 and approval Dec. 8.
• College calendars for fall 2023 through summer 2025
• High-deductible health savings account contributions for full-time employees. In January, IVCC will contribute $2,500 for individual coverage and $5,000 for “employee plus one” and family coverage. The group is hiring Lyndsey Beetz as interim dental hygiene instructor, effective Oct. 17. Pending Commission on Dental Accreditation approval, dental hygiene will admit students next fall and begin second-year hygiene courses in fall 2024.
• The proposal of McCoy and Sons LLC to complete phase one of the farm-tiling project for $100,000 or less.
• Student Retention Alert consultation and implementation by Ellucian for $29,456.
• Textbook and online course material management by eCampus.com Higher Ed for a minimum of five years at no cost to the college.
• Reimbursement of $310 to Trustee Jane Goetz for attending the Sept. 9 to 10 ICCTA meeting.
• Elimination of the 10 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. custodial shift, a move formalized through an memorandum of understanding with the Service Employees International Union Local 138. The new third shift from 3 to 11:30 p.m. begins Monday, Oct. 24. “This will improve efficiency and make more employees available during ‘occupied’ hours of operation,” Seaton said.
• Promotion of Gerilynn Schultz to facilities supervisor, effective Sunday, Oct. 23. She was formerly facilities administrative assistant. Her new role will support custodial shift changes and increase supervisor visibility.
• Closed session minutes from Sept. 8.

Trustees learned:

• State Sen. Win Stoller (R-Peoria) toured campus Sept. 28. “It was a great opportunity for Sen. Stoller to get to know us and the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for the college,” Corcoran said in his report.
• Last week, 73 Ottawa High School seniors visited the college. “This was the first time we arranged for bussing students to campus for a half-day of activities,” Corcoran said.
• More than 70 people attended the Sept. 23 Crop Research Field Day. The ag department partnered with University of Illinois Extension on the event. Corcoran noted that ag has grown from two courses in 2016 to 21 today.
• The college learned recently it would receive $3.5 million in U.S. Department of Economic Development Administration funding to construct a new agriculture education facility. The grant will cover 80% of the cost of an ag classroom and lab building south of campus. Corcoran credited Seaton and special assistant to the president Reed Wilson for helping secure the grant.
• The IVCC Foundation will award $420,000 in scholarships to 266 students in 2022-23. In a campus update, Fran Brolley, executive director of community relations and development, said the scholarship reception in September drew a record 441 recipients, donors and parents.
• Trustees were introduced to the college’s new “Brand Identity & Graphic Guidelines,” including core colors and fonts, logos and other college marks by Samantha Manahan, administrative assistant in community relations.
• Student athletic catastrophic insurance renewal through Gerber Life Insurance Co. or $3,250.
• Danielle Jackson has been hired as administrative assistant for the Division of Natural Sciences and Business, Tina Lowande as assessment center specialist and Hunter Elias as staff accountant.
• Network/computer systems specialist Ryan Schenck resigned Oct. 7.