All contractual relationships are reviewed and approved or rejected by Hillsborough Community College’s District Board of Trustees (BOT). One of the central roles of the BOT is to ensure that all activities in which the college engages, including entering into and continuing contractual relationships, are aligned well to HCC’s mission as a comprehensive institution of higher education.  Consequently, HCC regularly conducts reviews of contractual relationships with its non-credit apprenticeship programs and non-credit certificate programs such as Advanced Water Treatment.

For each contractual relationship, the review process begins with a negotiation between HCC and the partner organization.  During the negotiation process, terms of agreement are established, including the relationship of the program to HCC’s mission and objectives, the budgetary impact, and the ability of HCC to provide appropriate services.  Again, a key incentive to establishing these relationships is HCC’s intent to fulfill its mission as a comprehensive institution that provides high-skills, high-wage educational opportunities as part of its career workforce and economic development goals. 

Following the negotiation process, formal agreements or contracts were established for the following programs: Apprenticeship Training Program Agreement IEC; Apprenticeship Training Program Agreement: ABC; Apprenticeship Training Program Agreement: LU123, Apprenticeship Training Program Agreement: LU821, and Advanced Water Treatment Program. 

• The IEC Agreement provides for student training in the electrical field.  The HCC District Board of Trustees approved the initial three-year agreement in August 2000.  The BOT approved an amendment to the agreement in August 2001, to include an additional program.  The BOT approved a new one-year contract in August 2003.  The BOT approved a new three-year contract on August 18, 2004.  (IEC Agreement August 2000; IEC Amendment August 2001;IEC Contract 2003; IEC Agreement 2004).
• The ABC Agreement provides for student training in the building construction field.  The BOT approved the initial three-year contract in July 2001.  The BOT approved an amendment to the agreement in November 2003.  The BOT approved a new three-year contract in July 2004.  (ABC Agreement 2001; ABC Amendment 2003; ABC Agreement 2004).
• The LU123 Agreement provides for student training in the plumbing, pipe fitting, and heating/ ventilation/ air conditioning fields.  The BOT approved the initial three-year contract in August 2000.  The BOT approved a new three-year contract in July 2003. (LU123 2000 Contract; Plumbers/Pipe Fitters LU123 2003)
• The LU821 Agreement provides for student training in sprinkler fitting.  The BOT approved the initial three-year contract in August 2001.  The BOT approved a new three-year contract in August 2003.  (LU821 2001; LU821 2003 )
• The Advanced Water Treatment Program Contract provides for student training in the advanced water treatment field.  The contract was approved in April 2002.  (Advanced Water Treatment Program Contract).

These documents contained requirements for the industry partner, such as providing guidance for training directors and teaching schedules, assisting in recruiting instructors, and assigning placement of all student work.  Requirements for HCC included providing dedicated lab space, appropriate classrooms, a program liaison, and credential review of faculty. 

Annual review is a requirement of each agreement and contract.  The IEC Agreement and the ABC Agreement are affiliated with HCC Dale Mabry. At this campus, the dean also maintains communication with program representatives through the year to discuss program status and requirements.  The April 2001 and March 2002 correspondence from the IEC Director to HCC’s Dean affirms the satisfaction that IEC had with HCC in providing outstanding support and classroom resources.  The May 2003 correspondence from the HCC Dean to the ABC President affirms the Dean’s intent to review the College resources and new program requests.  The June 2003 correspondence from the Dale Mabry Campus President to the IEC Director reflects the negotiation process involved in developing the new contract.  The June 2004 correspondence from the IEC Executive Director to HCC’s Dean expresses the desire to continue the partnership and cited the success of the joint partnership with the college, the community, and the industry.  The August 2004 email cites a program recommendation for changes to the apprenticeship curriculum that the Dean acted upon.  As background for a BOT presentation, the October 2004 email from the IEC Director provides statistics on graduates and placement. The February 2006 email from the Dean to the Campus President provides a synopsis of apprenticeship-related events, including orientations, graduation ceremonies, and competitions. Most recently, as an outcome of a review by IEC, the organization awarded the 2006 Mark of Excellence Award for Best Training Program in North America to HCC's IEC apprenticeship program (BOT Agenda 2006- Mark of Excellence).

The LU123 and LU821 Agreements and the Advanced Water Treatment Contract are affiliated with the Plant City Campus.  At this campus, reviews take place during the summer term after financial accounts have been reconciled.  The dean meets with program representatives on numerous occasions throughout the year to discuss program status and requirements.  For example, meetings this academic year took place on July 1, 2005, July 8, 2005, August 30, 2005, September 1, 2005, and June 19, 2006. 

Outcomes of the meetings may result in changes to program operations, curriculum, or format.  For example, as an outcome of the LU123 meetings, an agreement was developed that HCC would host apprenticeship classes at the Environmental Studies Center at the Cockroach Bay site.  This agreement will be formalized in the new contract.  As another example, an outcome of the dean and advisory committee meetings regarding the Advanced Water Treatment program was the expansion of the program from non-credit to include a credit Associate in Applied Science degree option to increase access to students (Academic Affairs item – Advanced Water Treatment). 

Annual review also takes place as part of 1) the College campus strategic planning process and through 2) program review reports to the Board of Trustees. 

1) As part of the College’s strategic planning process, each contractual relationship is part of a unit plan (Unit Plan for Apprenticeship Programs and Unit Plan for Dean of Environmental Science and Technical Programs).  These plans contain unit goals and provisions for annual review.  As documented in the Unit Plan for Apprenticeship Programs, each apprenticeship training program had met established enrollment goals, providing support to maintain the contractual relationships.  As documented in the Unit Plan for Dean of Environmental Science and Technical Programs, the goal was met of implementing the new non-credit certificate program in Advanced Water Technology. 

2) As part of a program review report to the Board of Trustees, the Hillsborough Community College Reports on 2002-03 Initiatives provided documentation of the review process.  In this report, the programs’ purposes and accomplishments were cited, including the fact that the program goals had been met.  This report helped provide support to continue the contractual relationships.

The 2005 Apprentice Programs Summary is another example of a program review document for HCC’s Board of Trustees.  In this document, the background of Florida apprenticeship programs was provided, including the statewide need for apprenticeships programs in light of construction being at a two-decade high and the widespread destruction in Fall 2004 caused by Hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne.  The background and status of each contractual relationship was also provided, including the contact hours, cost, training provided, and the student placement process.  The document also cited the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA) statewide program review of apprenticeship programs (http://www.oppaga.state.fl.us/monitor/reports/pdf/0236rpt.pdf).  This program review supported the need to sustain and improve existing apprenticeship programs.  A December 2004 report from the Council for Education Policy, Research and Improvement (CEPRI) further supported the need for program expansion (http://www.cepri.state.fl.us/pdf/Complete%20CEPRI-AWI.pdf).  Findings indicated that apprenticeship and certificate program completers experienced considerable increases in average quarterly earnings. 

As additional supporting review documentation, the College provided a May 2005 Apprenticeship Programs at HCC presentation to the Board of Trustees.  This presentation provided background, status, and strategic issues to the Board.  A key focus was the return on investment that the programs provided to the community.  The companion Apprenticeship Program Economic Impact further detailed the salary range of program completers – a $37,440 annual salary per apprenticeship program completer.

The June HCC Budget Workshop FY 2005-06 p.7 is an additional program review support document.  This document provided a status report of the Apprenticeship Training Independent Electrical Contractors and the Apprenticeship Training Associated Builders and Contractors programs and affirmed that the enrollment objectives of these initiatives had been met, supporting the intent to sustain the contractual relationships.

Hillsborough Community College’s Board of Trustees signified its approval of the programs and subsequent continuation of the contractual relationships as documented through the Board minutes noted earlier. The sample Recommendation to HCC Board of Trustees further affirms the annual review process that these programs undergo.

In summary, HCC does conduct regular reviews of its apprenticeship programs and its Advanced Water Treatment program to ensure that they align with the College’s comprehensive mission and institutional objectives.  The documentation supports the fact that students are well-served by these programs and that the College is fulfilling a local and statewide need in providing these programs.