Contact: Ralph Derickson

UK President Lee T. Todd Jr. said that if the new academic arrangement is approved by the General Assembly, UK and KCTCS will appoint transition teams to work out the details of the transfer.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 10, 2004) -- In a special meeting today, the University of Kentucky Board of Trustees adopted a resolution recommending the transference of management of Lexington Community College (LCC) to the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS).

If the transfer is approved by the Kentucky General Assembly, KCTCS will assume responsibility for managing the assets, liabilities, revenues, personnel, programs, financial and accounting services, and support services of LCC. KCTCS has managed the other Kentucky community colleges for six years.

UK President Lee T. Todd Jr. said that if the new academic arrangement is approved by the General Assembly, UK and KCTCS will appoint transition teams to work out the details of the transfer.

The UK board approved the recommendation of its Academic Affairs Committee, chaired by board member Alice Sparks of Crescent Springs, Ky.

The committee acted on the recommendation of the administration and a special task force appointed by Todd to consider options for the college after the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), LCC’s accrediting organization, put the community college on probation in June 2003. Of several options, the task force unanimously approved a recommendation to transfer management to KCTCS.

SACS placed LCC on probation because it said the community college failed to satisfy accreditation criteria concerning the issue of sufficient autonomy from UK to justify separate accreditation.

Established in 1965 as Lexington Technical Institute, LCC’s enrollment in the fall of 2003 increased 4.2 percent with a total of 8,639 students, with the majority attending classes on the Cooper Drive location in Lexington. LCC’s Winchester site increased from 167 students to 240. LCC-South campus on Regency Road remained steady with 1,466, compared to 1,463 students last year. Most notably, LCC had an 8 percent growth in students under the age of 19.

At a meeting of the UK Academic Affairs Committee Feb. 9, several issues were discussed and revised.

Concerning the buildings on the LCC campus adjacent to Commonwealth Stadium, the board agreed with the committee’s recommendations that LCC can continue to use the Cooper Drive buildings for a minimum of five years and until LCC can find suitable space in another location.

Noting LCC’s continuing enrollment growth, Todd said, “LCC will be so large, I don’t think it will fit in the current LCC buildings very long.”

At the Monday meeting of the Academic Affairs Committee, the resolution was amended to provide multiple assurances to the LCC faculty and staff about their ability to continue as UK employees. Addressing the concerns of current LCC students, the committee recommended that LCC students enrolled on or before Sept. 1, 2004, will have six years to complete their degree program and receive a diploma from the University of Kentucky. Students enrolled through June 30, 2006, shall have all the responsibilities, services, privileges, and rights granted all UK students, including access to UK facilities and residence halls.