Contact information: 413/775-1420
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Contact: Robert Pura
Phone: 413/775-1410
E-mail:

Media contact: Liz Carroll
Marketing & Publications
413/775-1420 | carroll@gcc.mass.edu

Release date: December 13, 2004

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

GCC trustees get "unqualified " report from auditor

At their December 13th meeting, KPMG auditor John Moriarty presented GCC trustees with the findings of the independent auditors' report. "The bottom line,” said Moriarty, "is that GCC has the right fiscal policies and procedures in place, and all of the opinions are ‘unqualified.'” An "unqualified” opinion indicates the highest confidence in the financial integrity of the institution. Following the auditor's presentation, President Robert L. Pura pointed out to trustees the fact that student fees did not dramatically increase despite significant reductions in state revenues for the College.

The GCC Board of Trustees voted to accept the results of the audit, which will be forwarded to the Commonwealth Board of Higher Education on Wednesday.

In other finance committee business, the Board authorized the GCC Foundation to accept $66,000 from the Public Higher Education Endowment Incentive Program, an award based on the Foundation's successful fundraising campaign of last spring. The money will augment the Foundation's endowment account.

In his President's Report, President Pura said that he expects to name a Dean of Student affairs by the end of this semester, and he thanked Interim Dean of Student Affairs Larry Dean for "elevating the definition of leadership for all us by” through his commitment to students.

Finally, President Pura shared the results of a draft report on how Greenfield Community College measures up to the performance standards by which the Board of Higher Education judges accountability. GCC was lauded for "programs of distinction” such as the current collaboration with the Franklin Regional Council of Governments to create a local medical volunteer corps to assist with large scale medical or other emergencies. Another performance highlight was the successful completion by 30 out of 31 GCC nursing students who took the state nursing exam for the first time and passed, adding 30 new nurses to the predominantly rural region. GCC's persistence rate was rated among the best in the Commonwealth.

Other performance standards that GCC is meeting include access, affordability, and enrollment goals.

The independent audit, the performance standards measured by the Board of Higher Education, and the College's internal commitment to academic assessment all add up to "a very strong statement about the College's commitment to being accountable to students, ourselves and to the county,” said President Pura.

For more information, please call President Robert L. Pura, 413-775-1410.