Interview with President Arvelo - Great Bay Community College

Recently, I met with the President of Great Bay Community College to inquire about some of the recent changes and possible new changes to our school. Here is how it went:

Erica: Why did the school separate from the state?
President Arvelo: In 2005, the Community College System made the decision to separate. The states personnel policies within the school structure were set up exactly like that of the administration of the Department of State. Internally, the system was not designed for higher education and made decision making a bit complicated. So in 2007 that separation began. The college system will still be connected in some ways but will be self governed which allows for more flexibility.

Erica: What does this mean financially for the school in regards to funding?
President Arvelo: This will not affect the funds given to the schools.

Erica: How much does Great Bay receive from the state?
President Arvelo: This past year Great Bay received just under $4 million dollars in state funds and that covers about half of the operating funds for the school.

Erica Rahn: I was under the impression that 2 year colleges in the State were not permitted to offer Bachelor degrees, but with the split is there the possibility that Great Bay could offer Bachelors degrees in the future?
President Arvelo: Offering Bachelor degrees draws away from the mission of the school. The possibility is there but has not been considered yet.

Erica: Lets talk about the parking problem, will a parking garage be built?
President Arvelo: The College is on a contained lot about 13 acres. As the school grows, and new offices and facilities need to be added, the parking issue would need to be solved. Currently there are about 550-600 cars a week at the school and we project that we will need to accommodate 800 cars in the future. There are other other option that have been discussed; encouraging car-pooling, public transportation, off-site parking, and parking garage.

Erica: Is the parking garage a definite go?
President Arvelo: Nothing has been decided as of yet. We are working with the Pease Development Authority at the moment.

Erica: I heard that there will also be a new entrance way? Is this true?
President Arvelo: Yes, the will be a new entrance way. In the original construction of this building, it was designed and was on the blue prints. Due to some financial and time issues the rennovation was put off.

Erica: When will it get done?
President Arvelo: We are hoping to start work either in the spring of 2010 or Summer. But it should be finished by Fall of 2010.

Erica: What is going on with the Stratham Building?
President Arvelo: The continuing care retirement community CCRC, based in Rye, is in the process of purchasing the building. The building will be a multi-service facility, for profit/non-profit, for the town and community. They are moving forward with the purchase over the next year and at the moment CCRC needs more funding, and things are looking promising. In the meantime, we have to maintain the building.

Erica: If the sale doesn't go through, how will that cost impact us and tuition?
President Arvelo: The sale of the building will not impact tuition. All tuition raises are made by the Board of Trustees. This board is chosen by the Governor, and the group makes a tuition hike decisions collaboratively. Tuition raises are are all system wide and under 4%. The main reason for these hikes are loss of funding just like all other public schools.

Erica: Does CCSNH have the highest tuition in the country for community colleges?

President Arvelo: CCSNH has the lowest tuition in NH in both private and public schools. If you look directly at tuition costs, NH is one of the highest "tuition" community colleges, BUT if you look at the costs of other schools in the nation, they seem to hide the costs in other FEES. The act of hiding fees can be misleading when comparing tuition costs only. CCSNH doesn't practice this type of billing.

Local Business Doing It Right

In the market for a new CD, DVD, or video game? Buying local is always nice but usually isn't cost effective. Those big stores like Best Buy can usually get away with a lesser price because they can buy in larger quantities. Well, Bull Moose Music is a local store that will usually always beat the prices of larger competitors.

They have eight stores in Maine and two in New Hampshire. Although they are not as frequent as the larger stores, they usually beat their prices in a lot of different medias. More often than not, new release CDs are sold at under $10, new release DVDs at around $15, and video games are $5 less than anyone else is selling them.

Bull Moose not only sells new CDs, DVDs, and video games, but they buy back your old ones and sells used. Everything they are doing is saving customers money. In my experiences, all employees have been very down to earth people who just want to help you find the music or video you're looking for. I've never thought that I was bothering anyone by asking questions and they have all been very knowledged.

Buy local. Be happy.

Bull Moose Music

You Got Steez??

Steez Magazine is a free, East Coast, Snowboard, Ski and Skate Magazine.
Originated from a small project for a college class, it has gone from a dream to a reality for creator and Director, Andy Bablo. He took his business knowledge along with his art and graphic design skills, and added a whole bunch of marketing to turn this school assignment into a small business with a following. With a crew of friends with a similar passion to ride the East Coast, to “rep” the Steez style, the magazine and the gear - the Steez sensation is spreading.
Starting in the summer of 2006, the Steez crew has produced the magazine, compiling and publishing between 4 and 6 issues a year. They cover Snowboard, Ski and Skate events including a great verity of photos and stories submitted by lots of different contributors throughout the East Coast. The magazine advertises local mountains, shops, apparel and events and competitions that are scheduled throughout the winter. The Steez Union will be there, at all the winter events – giving out things for FREE!

FREE is what it is all about. FREE magazines, FREE stickers, FREE articles, FREE T-shirts, FREE interviews, FREE promotions about upcoming events and more.

Magazines can be found at local snowboard, ski, and skates shops, at the mountains and ski resorts, at the Steez booth at most all events and on college campuses. Here at GBCC - Mags and stickers can be found in the Green Bean Café and on the Student Life bulletin boards in the halls.

As all of us snow enthusiasts wait impatiently for the snow to fall and the mountains to pump into action – occupy your mind and Check it out on the Web!

http://www.steezminimag.com/

Young Adults and Their Credit

Do you know your credit score? Every day you see those crazy commercials with some guy that kinda looks like me dancing and singing songs about it. “Free credit report dot com, blah ya blah something, like an atom bomb.” You might not know all the words, but you know the commercial. I know that when you are young you don’t think that credit reports and things like that are important or even really matter to you. Well, one of the easiest things to overlook as a young’n is your future. Do you know that bills from some old apartment you never got around to paying are on there? If you are even a couple days late on a credit card payment it’s gonna show up there too. There are a million ways for you to kill your credit score and it can be devastating to your future. In this world your credit score can make or break you. Hey, guess what? You want a new apartment? Well, they’re gonna check your credit. Want to buy a new car? Better have plenty of good credit. You can’t even get a cell phone without good credit. And, possibly the worst one, did you know that prospective employers can even check your credit and make decisions on hiring you based on it?

I have some advice to all of you out there that read this article. Go to www.AnnualCreditReport.com where you are allowed to check your credit report for free—no strings attached—once every 12 months. This service is made available by the three nationwide credit reporting companies in accordance with the Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act (FACT Act). This site won’t make you pay anything like all the other sites with singing guys and crazy commercials. It is incredibly easy to trash your credit and it can take up to ten years to get it back in check. I know that most of you aren’t thinking about buying a new house or some sporty car right now, but after you get your degree and a good job those plans might change.

All you have to do to keep your score up is be conscious of your bills. I know it’s not easy because I have had to battle back from my bad credit for years. If you have a credit card set up automatic payments for at least the minimum through your checking account. When you have more money just send an extra payment. This will make sure that you can’t forget to send it in. Other bills set up with automatic payments will help you too. After you check your credit score look at what negative information is on your report. You can set up ways to make payments to the creditors and put your account back in good standing. Don’t overlook the importance of your score even if you don’t think it applies to you at this point. It can take much longer than you think to get it back up to a respectable level. Good luck to you all and stay sharp—your future depends on it.

A Great Dedication

On Friday, October 9, 2009 in the big white tent in front of the school (in the pouring rain) I mingled with the students and staff of Great Bay Community College. As I munched on crackers, cheese, and roasted veggies I looked around and saw proud faces of those around me. That evening was very inspiring as a student and I could feel the pride radiating off of the staff.

I flipped through the program for the night and learned about the schools history. Did you know that our school was created in 1945? President Arvelo welcomed us all, greeted all of the school supporters including our Governor, state legislators, the schools Board of Trustees, and the new building's Architects. Each and every one of these people made it possible for the move to Portsmouth.

Governor Lynch spoke and called Great Bay Community College a "Jewel". He explained that community colleges help local communities and the state as a whole by providing customers, products, and workers with skills and qualifications that assist in economic development. Gov. Lynch has recently granted $19,000,000 to the CCSNH system. He also commended on GBCC's nursing program and the Running Start program.
Paul Halloway, the Chair of the Board of Trustees for GBCC, Emily Zoulias, our own Student Senate President, and Richard A. Gustafson, the Chancellor all spoke. In tough economic times, education will make us all competitive. The message that I heard repeatedly was "pride" and "real sense of purpose" of our students. The Chancellor made a critical point that will stick with me and that was that our school is in a "position to serve" and put us in a "position to succeed." When the students succeed the school succeeds.

After the speeches, the president and Governor cut the ribbon and tours of the college began. I walked through the school and the staff (and caterer's) were walking the halls and giving demo's in their class rooms. I decided to venture over to the Science department and this is what I found

Overall, it was a nice evening and I learned a lot about the college. The staff was so proud and I could feel that as I passed through the halls. Each department was showcased from admissions, to CAPS. I was honored and humbled to be a part of this great night.