Page 12 - 2014 DGB Annual Report

OWNERSHIP LINKAGE:
Connecting with Constituents
The Yavapai College District Governing Board is responsible for governing on behalf of and is accountable to the College’s owners (i.e., county taxpayers and residents). “Ownership linkage” is the Board’s term for its responsibility to maintain open communications with the owners.
The Board achieves ownership linkage in a variety of ways, including holding monthly public meetings in locations throughout the county. During “open call” sessions at these meetings, members of the public can
address Board members directly. During 2014, the number of community members who addressed the Board at these meetings increased significantly. All meetings are videotaped and shown on local cable access channels.
The Board undertook a major
ownership linkage effort in 2014
by conducting a countywide
survey to gauge the level of
support for the Board’s ends.
The results show that a large
majority of county residents
(82%) support the Board’s goals
and agree with the statement, “YC makes Yavapai County a better place to learn, to work, and to live.”
The focus of the survey was the Board’s three “ends” or goals: quality education, cultural enrichment and economic development. The results showed strong support throughout the district for
the Board’s three ends. This holds true
by region, gender, age and length of residency. Though all three are strongly supported, residents are in strongest agreement with the College’s education end, which is supported by more than 90 percent of respondents. By comparison, 76 percent agree with the cultural
enrichment goal and 75 percent of respondents agree with the economic development goal.
More than 1,600 surveys were completed. The number of responses allows the college to accurately generalize the results to the entire population of the county. With a 95% confidence level,
the margin of error is plus or minus 2.5 percent.
Asked what the College could improve, the largest number of responses
mentioned the desire for more programs in the Verde Valley.
Also during 2014, Board members increased their participation in community meetings and public events. Other ownership linkage initiatives launched in 2014 include creation of a Verde Valley Advisory Committee to improve communication with that area
of the county, development of a more comprehensive DGB web page (https://www.yc.edu/dgb) and production of this annual report. These are in addition to Board members’ participation in such College activities as
graduation ceremonies, public meetings and campus celebrations.
12
YC makes Yavapai County a better place to learn, to work, and to live.