2025-2026 MELA Minutes

just means there would be additional documentation and approval required. She mentioned that she would reach out after the meeting and began negotiations, but note that this is the current quote we’re working from. Buffy Matthews, MGCCC, mentioned that her only concern raised was about the November expiration, particularly for UDOIT, since we are still increasing DOJ compliance and will need to run spring courses through the system to meet required accessibility percentages by the April deadline. She mentioned that if they won’t negotiate on price, could we negotiate a shorter extension instead for a short period of time. To ensure our courses are where they should be by the April deadline. Dr. Krista LeBrun, MCCB, stated, " Absolutely. " She mentioned if that is what the group wants, she could amend the contract rather than execute a full three-year renewal. Once we agree on preferred dates, she could work on an amendment to extend through the full academic year, for example, through May 31, 2027 (this is a random date), just to get us through spring while we evaluate other options. Dr. LeBrun mentioned that three years is our standard, but amendments are possible. We could extend for six to nine months if needed Denise Gillespie, ICC, said that it is worth considering that the value of these products may be time-limited. They’re extremely valuable right now due to DOJ regulations and accessibility compliance efforts. But once we reach compliance benchmarks, Canvas has built-in accessibility tools for new content, and other solutions exist moving forward. So, this may become a prioritization issue; our funds may not stretch across multiple long-term commitments at this price point. Dr. Krista LeBrun, MCCB, stated that it depends on the vendor. Every vendor is different. She said she hasn’t historically needed to negotiate heavily with CityLab, so she doesn ’ t yet know how responsive they’ll be. But she’ll begin those conversations immediately and keep the group informed. She mentioned that based on the limited interaction she has had with Jen regarding the quote, she doesn’t feel overly confident about where it’s going to land. Dr. LeBrun said she provides a standardized justification explaining why we’re asking them to meet us at 3% rather than whatever increase they’ve proposed. She said she Angel Payne, NWCC, asked how long negotiations take.