LAKELAND COLLEGE

8
Operational Overview
Board of Governors
(as of June 30, 2008)
Doug Elliott
- chairman of the board
Bob Mottram
- vice-chairman, public member
Dr. Lee Arthur - faculty member
Glenn Charlesworth
- president & chief executive officer
Stan Fisher - public member
Terry Gunderson - public member
Mary Holtby
- public member for Saskatchewan
Sean Kingston
- non-academic member
Susan Long - public member
Cody Renz - student member
Craig Solberg - public member
Brian Wittmack - public member
Opportunities
In its 2007-11 Business Plan, Lakeland
forecasted a modest surplus of
$641,503 for the 2007-08 year. Thanks
to emphasis on controlling costs and
increasing revenue streams, Lakeland
recorded a budget surplus of $4.4
million and started modernization
of two Vermilion campus residence
buildings rather than one as originally
planned. In previous business plans
Lakeland indicated the nine residence
buildings built in 1983 at the Vermilion
campus need renovations. Students
are quick to agree. In the 2007-08
student satisfaction survey, students
said they are not satisfied with
residence buildings.
In the business plan Lakeland also
recommended replacing The Shack
(the current student centre) and the
Mead Building at the Vermilion campus
by adding two floors to the Bentley
Building. Plans changed and thanks
to the generosity of current and past
students, Lakeland now intends to
build a student centre where The Shack
is located. The Vermilion Students’
Association (SA) and Lakeland
signed a letter of understanding that
will see the SA contribute $400,000
towards a new student centre. The
money will come from The Future
Fund, an account established in the
1970s to hold a portion of student
fees designated for a student centre.
During the spring SA election, students
were asked if they wanted the money
contributed to a student centre. The
answer was a resounding yes with
94 per cent of voters in favour of the
project.
Challenges
With rising building costs throughout
Alberta, Lakeland’s construction cost
for the Bill Kondro Wing and Cattle
and Sheep Facility were higher than
originally estimated. The Government
of Alberta provided additional capital
funding for the projects, ensuring
Lakeland didn’t have to cover the
costs from reserves which would have
crippled facilities, capital equipment
and technology budgets for the
remainder of the decade.
On a related note, Lakeland had
difficulty recruiting faculty to teach
the increased number of students
in apprenticeship programs. Alberta
enjoyed a vibrant economy during
2007-08 and few people working in
trades were interested in leaving the
often lucrative private sector.
Lakeland officials set a goal for the
campuses to be wireless by June 30.
The availability of contractors and
issues related to servers and network
security delayed the project and as a
result the deadline was not met.
Advanced Education and Technology
released the new Roles and Mandates
Policy Framework which classified
institutions into six different sectors.
Lakeland is a Comprehensive
Community Institution (CCI). Each CCI
is responsible for a defined geographic
region but Lakeland’s boundary
to the west and north are not yet
finalized. Discussions to resolve this
are ongoing. Lakeland is attempting
to develop a strategy to best serve
the regional area in a cost effective
manner. It is known that additional
costs will be incurred to meet the
requirements of the new mandate.
The Strathcona County Learning
Centre was closed at the end of the
2007-08 year. Lakeland will focus its
programming in east central Alberta
to complement Alberta’s collaborative
post-secondary system rather than
compete with other colleges and
institutions in the capital region.
ANNUAL REPORT 2007-08
LAKELAND COLLEGE