THE MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

The Joint Committee on

Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review

Report # 494

A Limited Management Review of the Greenville Higher Education Center

Executive Summary

Introduction

The Greenville Higher Education Center is a cooperative development of Mississippi Valley State University, Delta State University, Mississippi Delta Community College and the Greenville area’s business, industry, economic development and government entities. The Greenville Higher Education Center officially opened its doors in January 2001.

The center’s mission is to:

• act as a higher education center for lifelong learning by providing undergraduate and graduate academic courses, continuing education, and professional development programs and workshops;
• serve as a resource and assistance center for community and economic development;
• be a research and development, service, and public relations sector of the three partner educational institutions; and,
• provide computer technology resources, satellite learning facilities, and available space for public use.

This review was prompted by a legislator’s concern over the maintenance and general upkeep of the Greenville Higher Education Center’s facility.

Conclusions

Due to confusion over responsibility and the lack of a formal written memorandum of understanding specifying each partner institution’s responsibilities, maintenance needs of the Greenville Higher Education Center are not being adequately addressed.

No single institution or individual governs the Greenville Higher Education Center. The center receives a general fund appropriation through the Board of Trustees of Institutions of Higher Learning and Delta State University and revenues generated from the center, as well as in-kind contributions from the three partner institutions. The center and the three partner schools do not have a Memorandum of Understanding or an operating agreement regarding the maintenance and operation of the center.

The building was constructed on property conveyed to the state for the use and benefit of the Greenville Higher Education Center, which makes the center state-owned property held on the inventory of the Department of Finance and Administration. However, the Department of Finance and Administration’s staff does not believe that it is responsible for the building, because it was constructed for educational purposes.

As a result of this fragmented ownership, funding, and governance and the absence of a formal written agreement between the affected parties, there is confusion over responsibility for the maintenance and upkeep of the physical facility. Although the center is state-owned property, no department or institution has claimed ownership of the building.

Further, no entity is responsible for the development of a capital facility budget to plan for the center’s long-term physical facility and maintenance needs. The center is faced with numerous short-term and long-term maintenance and repair needs. Significant needs, such as repairs of the center’s air conditioning units, have gone unmet.

Other higher education centers in Mississippi (and in surrounding states) meet their maintenance needs by assigning primary responsibility for operation and maintenance of the center to one entity and clearly delineating responsibilities through a formal, written agreement. Such agreements, the major points of which are included in the report, are options to consider for establishing a Memorandum of Understanding between the Greenville Higher Education Center and its three partner schools.

Recommendations

1. To address the problems associated with the Greenville Higher Education Center’s property being held on the inventory of the Department of Finance and Administration, thus complicating the issue of care and custody of the center’s building and grounds, responsibility for the property should be clearly vested with one of the three collaborating institutions, as should responsibility for fiscal management of any appropriated funds.
   
   At their January 2007 meetings, the three partner institutions should produce a clear proposal, approved by the Board of Trustees of Institutions of Higher Learning and the Board of Trustees of Mississippi Delta Community College, seeking either the conveyance or leasing of the Greenville Higher Education Center’s property and grounds from the Department of Finance and Administration to one of the two collaborating state institutions of higher learning or asking the Legislature to consider the conveyance or leasing of all of the center’s property to Mississippi Delta Community College. The parties involved should submit the resulting proposal to the Department of Finance and Administration and the Public Property committees of the House and Senate at the beginning of the 2007 legislative session, along with a copy of this report and recommendations for action, if needed.
2. In order to eliminate confusion over responsibility and planning for operation and maintenance of the Greenville Higher Education Center, the three partner institutions (Delta State University, Mississippi Delta Community College, and Mississippi Valley State University) should develop a detailed Memorandum of Understanding specifying each partner institution’s responsibilities in the areas of finance, operations, maintenance, and staffing. The partner institutions should make a draft of the Memorandum of Understanding available for public inspection and comment by April 30, 2007, and determine a projected date for final adoption.
   
   For the purpose of allowing the Legislature to monitor progress in resolving this issue, the draft memorandum should be submitted to the Universities and Colleges committees of the House and Senate, along with a copy of this report. Copies should also be provided to the Board of Trustees of Institutions of Higher Learning and the Board of Trustees of Mississippi Delta Community College for comment or action. The partnering institutions should receive input from the House and Senate University and Colleges committees, the Board of Trustees of Institutions of Higher Learning, and the Board of Trustees of Mississippi Delta Community College prior to finalizing the Memorandum of Understanding.

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