September 2, 2005

AACC UPDATE 2: HURRICANE RELIEF EFFORTS

Message from the AACC Board Chair, Michael B. McCall
Yesterday AACC sent out a communication providing an update on our sister colleges in Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi who have been devastated by Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. As Chair, I know you join me and your other AACC colleagues in offering assistance to those who have been affected by this disaster. We are all grief-stricken by the daily news accounts of the destruction, loss of life, and suffering. You are no doubt receiving numerous e-mails and calls from concerned faculty, staff and students seeking ways to help. AACC is working on several support efforts to meet the needs of the affected colleges and I encourage each of you to contribute your talent and expertise to this response. I also would like to commend the many of you who have already joined in local community efforts to provide immediate support to the Gulf Coast area. Our nation's system of community and technical colleges play a vital role in the well-being of America's communities. Thank you for joining together to respond to our sister institutions in their time of need. 

Other News on the Relief Effort
The good news is that community colleges, the larger higher education community, businesses and individuals are responding in an unprecedented ways to the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina. On behalf of our member colleges, we thank all those who have offered help and continue to support community colleges in the affected areas. Following is a summary of what we know at this hour:

AACC Hurricane Relief Fund
Many colleges and others are offering financial assistance to the affected colleges, and AACC is setting up an online channel to receive and distribute these funds. There will be NO administrative charge for this work, and ALL monies received will be sent via state offices in Louisiana and Mississippi to the colleges on a formula that matches dollars with need. The fund should be operational by Tuesday of next week and accessible online at www.aacc.nche.edu. The Association of Canadian Community Colleges (ACCC) has begun a campaign to raise funds for the affected colleges and will be working through AACC. AACC and the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) are seeking support from corporations to match individual contributions to the relief fund. AACC will also have a booth to accept donations at the ACCT Congress in Seattle.

Conditions in Mississippi
Mississippi State Board Director Wayne Stonecypher reports mild to moderate damage to the following colleges: Southwest, Copiah-Lincoln, Hinds, Holmes, East Central, Meridian and East Mississippi. Jones Community College sustained an estimated $5 to $6 million in damages. Pearl River lost its Waveland campus; Poplarville suffered extensive roof and other damage; Hattiesburg had minimal damage. Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College had roof and water damage at all locations. The State Board office was up and running as of Thursday with a skeletal staff. A major and persistent problem for all is loss of electrical power, cell towers and telephone service, which affects the entire southern part of the state and could last two to three weeks or longer.
In the state capital of Jackson, an estimated 97% of essential services were disrupted and gas is in short supply.

Phi Theta Kappa, which is headquartered in Jackson, reports no structural damage but power lines and trees are down and operations are hampered by shortages of gas for staff commutes. They are posting a temporary Web site and will shortly announce relief efforts by their 1,300 student chapters to support relief efforts.

Conditions in Louisiana
Chancellor Walter Bumphus reports that Delgado and Nunez community colleges and four of the technical colleges in the New Orleans area are still under water, preventing an accurate assessment. The colleges will not be operational until November at the earliest and perhaps not for the fall semester. Fortunately, there have been no fatalities on the faculty, staff or board of the Louisiana Community and Technical College System. In the New Orleans area, however, every staff member has lost a home and personal belongings.

The state’s Commissioner of Higher Education and the four postsecondary system presidents today agreed to a number of joint efforts that will include: 1) allowing students to take courses electronically for degree credit through the home campus; 2) allowing students to enroll visiting students at another public institution in the state without paying additional tuition; 3)accommodating students who are recipients of state financial aid; 4) exploring options for offering courses at off-campus locations.

Alabama Relatively Unscathed
Officials in Alabama report minimal damage to community colleges in the state. They ask that all relief efforts be concentrated to help sister colleges in Louisiana and Mississippi.

Support from the Higher Ed Community
Community colleges across the nation are responding to the needs of institutions and students in generous and innovative ways. AACC will post all offers of assistance as received and link to other resources. 

Because of its proximity to the affected areas, Florida is receiving a large influx of evacuees. Education Commissioner John L. Winn announced a toll-free telephone number to provide information on K-12 and postsecondary opportunities available to long-term evacuees temporarily residing in Florida. The number is 1/877-FLCARE1 (1/877-353-2731). David Armstrong, chancellor of the community college system, promises to do “everything we can to accommodate them until they and you are ready for them to return.”

Many other colleges are offering assistance from free temporary enrollment, to housing to reconstruction funds. Dallas County Community College District plans to send facilities experts to assist in efforts to return colleges to operational status, along with financial assistance from their foundation and student financial assistance. The North Carolina System is accepting contributions for relief efforts through its foundation. In addition, the National Association of College Business Officers (NACUBO) will shortly launch an online “bulletin board” to match specific college needs with offers of assistance. Please refer to the AACC Web site for the latest developments and offers of assistance.

The American Council on Education is coordinating a broad array of relief efforts within sectors and with NACUBO and the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC). 

ACE estimates that the hurricane has left more than 30 colleges and universities in the Gulf Coast region severely damaged and up to 100,000 students displaced. In cooperation with NACUBO, ACE is setting up a comprehensive gateway Web site that can be used as an information hub for all campus relief efforts – www.campusrelief.org – that is expected to go “live” next week.