Vol. 3, Issue No. 15                                                                                                                                                
September 8, 2015   
From the Hawk's Nest is distributed twice a month, and we need your input!  Please send your ideas for stories on upcoming events, reports on attendance at conferences, awards and honors received, photos or information on outstanding employees or students to Elizabeth Belcher, ebelcher@newriver.edu or Kelly Taber, ktaber@newriver.edu. The deadline for the next issue is 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 16. 
Pictures From the First Week of Fall 2015
 
Thanks to Candice Stadler for submitting these fun pictures from the first week of classes taken with a smartphone selfie stick. Best wishes for a great fall semester!
Instructor Connie Rhodes and her medical terminology class with Director of Career Services Candice Stadler (right).
President L. Marshall Washington with his speech class at the Raleigh County Campus.

 
Lynda.com Free Courses for Faculty and Staff

Students have started their new semester of courses . . . if you are looking for new knowledge, skills, and professional development, don't forget about the free subscription to Lynda.com that is available to all faculty, staff, and students.

From the MyNewRiver portal, click on the Lynda icon in the Launchpad to take you directly to content.

There are video tutorials and trainings on topics related to business, leadership, management, software tools, and more! Take advantage of this resource and search for a topic that may interest you and further your work at the College.

Ralph Payne, Director of the Center for Teaching Excellence, sends out suggested topics worth viewing on Lynda.com to faculty during the school year. If you have any questions, contact rpayne@newriver.edu or ext. 0279.

Implementation of wvOASIS Update

The implementation of HR and Payroll (Phase D) of wvOASIS is fast approaching! Payroll will be calculating time and leave in Kronos and you will be assigned a timekeeper (your supervisor or second level supervisor) to confirm your time and leave approvals in the system.

Timekeeper training is currently being scheduled and is available in seat in Charleston as well as in online modules. You will be contacted by a training coordinator to arrange your training, if required. Timekeeper entry and approval of time and leave into Kronos is currently underway. This is to allow for the identification of errors and glitches in the system so there is plenty of time to make corrections before payroll is generated live out of the system beginning November 14, 2015.

According to the latest information, beginning October 3, all full time regular employees (with the exception of 9- and 11-month faculty) will have the opportunity to become familiar with the system and begin entering their own time and leave. This allows for approximately 5 weeks of practice prior to go-live on November 14.

Due to the changes to how we submit and approve time and leave, a new non-exempt time card has been created and Payroll expects our full time regular non-exempt employees to begin using it immediately. It will need to be submitted to Timesheet@newriver.edu on a bi-weekly basis rather than the current monthly basis.

Don't panic! Training will be provided. Look for more information regarding dates and times for End User Training via email and the Hawk's Nest.

September Community Fairs Scheduled  

Community Fairs have been scheduled for all campuses. These events are an opportunity for local businesses and organizations to target students and for students to find out more about resources in the community.

September 21 : Nicholas County Campus
Last year's Mercer County Campus Community Fair.
September 22: Raleigh County Campus
September 23 : Greenbrier Valley Campus
September 24: Mercer County Camp us

Time: 11:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. (Set-up begins at 9:00 a.m.)

For more info, contact: Wanda Johnson, Coordinator of Student Activities , wjohnson@newriver.edu or ext. 6710.




President's Forums on All Campuses 

President Washington will be on all campuses discussing topics of interest and answering questions from students, faculty, and staff during the Community Forums.

More information will be forthcoming about the forums scheduled at 12:15 until 1 p.m. on the following dates and locations:

September 21: Nicholas County Campus, 12:15-1 pm Room 107
September 22: Raleigh County Campus, 12:15-1 pm Room 131
September 23: Greenbrier Valley Campus, 12:15-1 pm Holloway Auditorium
September 24: Mercer County Campus, 12:15-1 pm Room 119

Stop by to talk with Dr. Washington!

Upcoming Career Services Events  

The Office of Career Services is planning a busy fall semester! We would like your support to encourage students to participant in one or more of the events.

Also, Career Services is available to conduct in-class presentation on resume writing, interviewing skills/mock interviews, social media professionalism, and more. Contact Candice Stadler at 304-929-5020 or cstadler@newriver.edu to schedule a classroom presentation.

College Central Resume Upload Giveaways

The first 50 students that register in College Central and upload a resume during the month of September will receive a free goodie bag from Career Services.

Career Café

The Career Café is an informal opportunity for students to meet staff and learn about the various services offered by the Office of Career Services. Free refreshments are provided.
*    September 15 - Advanced Technology Center
*    September 16 - Raleigh County Campus, Main Street location
*    September 21 - Nicholas County Campus*
*    September 22 - Raleigh County Campus*
*    September 23 - Greenbrier Valley Campus*
*    September 24 - Mercer County Campus*
*    October 1 - Nicholas County Campus, Allied Health Center
*in conjunction with the Community Fairs

Career Expo

The inaugural Career Expo will be held at the Erma Byrd Higher Education Center in Beaver, WV. The Career Expo is a partnership between the Erma Byrd Higher Education Center,  Bluefield State College, Concord University, Marshall University, and New River Community and Technical College and will be held on Friday, October 2 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. 
Participating employers include: WV Public Broadcasting, National Park Service, Kelly Services, Federal Bureau of Prisons (Alderson and Beckley), Princeton Community Hospital, Hospice, Advanced Patient Advocacy, Home Base, Inc., WV Radio Corporation, Raleigh General Hospital, Greenbrier Valley Medical Center, Beckley Police Department, State of West Virginia Division of Personnel, Northwestern Mutual, City National Bank, AEP, Appalachian Power and more!

Resumania

Resumania is an opportunity for students to have their resume reviewed quickly without an appointment.

*    October 13 - Nicholas County Campus
*    October 14 - Mercer County Campus
*    October 20 - Raleigh County Campus
*    October 22 - Greenbrier Valley Campus
HLC Persistence and Completion Work Continues
A team of five from the College attended the Higher Learning Commission Persistence and Completion Academy Roundtable meeting in June in St. Charles, Illinois. The team participated in planning sessions focused on the following topics: understanding data, exploring why students leave, determining data needs, data development in the context of institutional realities, and devising strategies to implement a data development plan.  

These sessions helped the team focus on our next steps relating to developing our data collection, analysis, and reporting capabilities leading to the implementation of student persistence and completion strategies.

This fall, the team will be working with College committees including Persistence and Completion and Institutional Research to establish timelines and further refine projects in this area.

One of the most important tasks of the committee in the near future is developing and implementing an early alert system for students who are at risk of dropping out of their courses.


The New River CTC team in Illinois (from left to right) Allen Withers, Vice President of Student Services; Sandra Lilly, Instructor of Developmental Education; James Fedders, Interim Director of Institutional Research; Gloria Rogers, HLC Senior Scholar; Joseph Hazelwood, Interim Dean of Workforce and Technical Education; and David Ayersman, Vice President of Technology Services.

White board brainstorming notes from HLC Academy.

Save the Date! Appalachian Poetry Slam Oct. 23

Celebrating our Appalachian Heritage poetry slam is now being planned. Transportation from all campuses will be provided to Local Mo' Joe Cafe in Princeton, a newly-opened coffee shop and restaurant just a few blocks from the Mercer County Campus.   

Save the date for 5 to 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 23. The event will be an open mic format with participants given five minutes to present their poems, songs, and stories about Appalachia. Original work is preferred.

Calling all poets, musicians, and storytellers who want to celebrate Appalachian heritage -- mark your calendars for Oct. 23. The event will be free and open to the public. The planning committee includes members from faculty, academic affairs, student services, as well as leaders with the Princeton Renaissance Project. 

New Hires


Nedra B. Allen, Visiting Instructional Specialist of Cosmetology at Greenbrier Valley Campus, has a Cosmetology license and an Instructor of Cosmetology license. She has been a cosmetologist for 10 years and has owned her own salon for the past four years.

Gary D. Holland, Instructional Specialist of Welding at Greenbrier Valley Campus, uses his middle name, Dave. His journey in welding started at New River CTC. He has a degree in welding and worked in the field as a welder and a machinist.

Welcome Nedra and Dave!