April 7, 2021
Vickie Shields
Working the Plan
I hope Spring Break gave everyone a bit of a refresher. For me, it is a good reminder that the energy we have to push through a long list of tasks is finite, making the time we devote to rest and recovery that much more critical.

As I continue working through all of our spring tasks, I’m excited to present our Year One Report, which summarizes our progress on the 2020-2025 strategic plan. The report is a testament to our resilience in 2020 and evidence that we’re delivering on the promises we made. One of these promises was to our accrediting body (NWCCU), who specifically stated during their last visit that progressing according to our strategic plan needs to be a priority. The full report is available here, and I’ll provide a few of the metrics we’re featuring:
  • 6% more total graduates than we anticipated; 
  • A 40% jump in overall enrollment; 
  • A substantial reduction in the equity gap, a measure that compares the achievement of students from different backgrounds and income levels. 

The fact that we could show such positive signs during a year-long crisis speaks volumes about who we are as a culture and a mission-driven organization. Thank you all for staying strong and working toward our shared goals.

The Arts Offsite and Livestream Poetry News from Executive Director Angela M. Brommel on behalf of the Office of Arts & Culture

Poets at the Plaza
The Office of Arts & Culture and the Blue Sage Writer's Guild invite you to join us for a night of Poets at the Plaza. At this event, eight of Nevada's most accomplished poets will share their work on the Water Street Plaza. You're also invited to participate in a discussion about the future of #HendersonArts. Join us for a great night of listening with special performances by Henderson Youth Artists. Scorpion poets include Angela M. Brommel, Aimee McAffee, Charlie Johnson, and Heather Lang-Cassera. Reserve your seat now!

There are also several other poetry events this month - learn more here.
Tony Scinta
Thrilling Updates
This week we have a couple of updates from AccreditationLand, the secret Disney park that never got past the initial planning stages.

I recently participated in an open forum hosted by the president of our accrediting body (the NWCCU), where he explored what the commission can do to support each institution’s efforts to fulfill their missions. The biggest, for us, is that it feels like we lost a big chunk of time on accreditation activities, such as improved outcomes assessment, as a consequence of the pandemic. Whether the NWCCU can do anything to help us in this regard is an open question, but if we remain on our current timeline, it looks like this:
  • Fall 2022 Mid-Cycle Review: A virtual review focusing on how we are responding to the two recommendations from our Fall 2019 Mission Fulfillment Evaluation. Those recommendations are:
  • Develop meaningful objectives and indicators of mission fulfillment that align with the institution’s mission and goals (2020 Standards: 1.B.2). 
  • Create a comprehensive system of assessment that builds on existing program assessment efforts and supports future institution-level planning and resource allocation (2020 Standards: 1.B.1, 1.C.7). 
  • Fall 2025 Policies, Regulations, and Financial Review report: In the past, this information was included in the final Mission Fulfillment report. However, the NWCCU is now breaking it out into a separate report a year before the final evaluation.
  • Fall 2026 Evaluation of Institutional Effectiveness: This is the big report that includes a campus visit by a team of peer evaluators. You may recall our most recent big visit in fall 2019.

This timetable, as well as our 2019 Evaluation report and the letter affirming our accreditation status, can be found on our accreditation website.

Panel on Democracy & Assessment
I was invited by our accreditation liaison to be a panelist for a webinar on Democratic Learning, which essentially asked the question, “What is good citizenship and what is the role of higher education to help get us there?” A number of considerations were shared, including the increasing importance of information literacy in the face of an exponential increase in the amount of information presented to us (often of questionable authenticity), as well as the need to produce assessment data that permit an examination of equity gaps in the achievement of learning outcomes (something, admittedly, that we cannot easily do with our current program of assessment).
Gwen Sharp
Submit a Seed Award Application
I'm now accepting applications for Seed Awards of up to $2,000 to support scholarly, creative, or other professional activities by full-time academic and administrative faculty (part-time faculty are eligible if part of a team with a full-time faculty member). If approved, your funds will be available after July 1, 2021, giving you until May 15th, 2022, to spend your funding.
 
The Seed Award application provides details. Applications are due Friday, April 16th.

Undergraduate Research & Creative Works Conference
Our annual (and 2nd virtual!) URCW Conference is scheduled for Friday, April 23rd. I realize this conflicts with the NSHE training that was recently announced for the same day; unfortunately, it's too late for us to change the date of our conference.

If you're able, join us for Dr. Julia Lee's keynote address (9:15-10 a.m.). Her talk focuses on race in the TV show The Little Rascals.

Undergraduate Research Week
The Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) is the biggest national body promoting research by undergrads. This year, their annual Undergraduate Research Week is April 19-23. I submitted our conference to them for inclusion in their list of activities that week. If you have activities or experiences to share, post them on social media that week with #URW2021 and tag @CURinAction and @NevadaStateCollege to include them in CUR's social media campaign that week. Faculty, staff, and students can post your own experiences: current research involving undergrads, your own experience with research as an undergrad, a faculty mentor who made a difference in your life, or anything else related to undergrad research.

Applying for Grants
If you find a grant opportunity and intend to submit a proposal, complete the Grant Funding Review Form to notify us. We require a minimum of 30 days notice prior to a proposal deadline, and recommend notifying us eight weeks or more in advance for assistance. Once you notify us of an opportunity, our Grants Specialist, Christine González, will review application requirements and will meet with the Principal Investigator or Project Director to develop a proposal submission plan. Depending on the timing, we may be able to use Hanover, an external research firm, to provide project management help.

Grants, Presentations, and Awards
  • Shartriya Collier (Associate Dean of Education) received word that her Great Teaching and Leading Fund grant has been funded. The grant, from the NV Department of Education, will provide $60,000 for the Sankofa Obodo program support to Black students majoring in education.
  • Heidi Batiste (Business) and Business major Briana Saldivar presented their research, "Beyond the Mask and Behind the Screen: Managing Interpersonal Relationships in the COVID-Era Workplace," at the 2021 Society for Advancement of Management (SAM) International Management Conference.
  • Two NS Business students, Briana Saldivar and Dustin Callen, won first place in the Collegiate Business Case Competition at the SAM International Management Conference! This year's case was Carnival Corporation. Our students competed against teams of graduate and undergraduate students from 14 colleges and universities. This is an amazing achievement! Congrats to faculty advisor Dr. Heidi Batiste, to Dr. Michelle Region-Sebest, who also provided assistance, and to the entire Business program! The students' recommendations will be forwarded to Carnival Corporation.
  • Jamie Palmer (Sociology) assisted one of her students, Brittany Churchill, to put together an application package for a scholarship to the AAUW's annual National Conference for College Women Student Leaders (NCCWSL), and they heard this week that Brittany was awarded a scholarship! She will attend the virtual NCCWSL in May.

Change to Upper-Division Residency Requirement Is Retroactive
As I mentioned in our last newsletter, the Regents approved our request to reduce our upper-division requirements for residency; students will only have to complete 30 credits (instead of the current 32 for most programs).

This will be put into effect for the new catalog, and will also be retroactive for any students on older catalogs as long as their degree requires fewer than 128 credits total. The Academic Advising Center has sent a message to all students letting them know. The only students who will be held to the current 32 upper-division credit requirement for residency are those on old catalogs where their degree required 128 credits to complete.

The Office of the Registrar will oversee implementation and will update students' degree audits in PeopleSoft accordingly. I will work with the academic deans to ensure faculty are aware of the change as well.

Solar Panel Discussion on NSC's Slack Account
Laura Naumann created the #solarpanel_qs channel within the NSC Slack site to provide a place where faculty and staff interested in solar panels can ask questions, and those of us who have them can share our experiences, things to keep in mind when purchasing vs. leasing, etc.
Gregory Robinson
Don't Have a Copy of the Common Read? No Problem.
Tales of Two Planets: Stories of Climate Change and Inequality in a Divided World is available to borrow from the library, including ebook and audiobook formats. You can view all of the library’s holdings for Tales of Two Planets here, or use the direct links below. All book formats may be checked out for 3 weeks, with renewals subject to availability. Ebooks and audiobooks are available, as well as multiple copies of the physical book at the library service desk on the 2nd floor of the RSC building.

Nepantla Applications are Open
Do you know a first-generation student graduating from high school who might be interested in the Nepantla Program? Please encourage them to apply. This successful program provides students with a summer bridge, scholarships, community engagement opportunities, and extra advising. Go #TeamNepantla!
Long Night Against Procrastination is Back!
On April 16th, we will be hosting LNAP - a night devoted to helping students succeed. We had over 100 participants at the Fall 2020 LNAP, and we are excited to have many of our campus partners joining us again.

Core Curriculum Workshops this Summer
The Core Curriculum speaks directly to who we are and what we value. To further our efforts to revitalize it, we need your help this summer refining our new Essential Learning Outcomes (ELOs) and creating rubrics for them.  
 
Faculty participants will engage in a working group that will focus on a particular Essential Learning Outcome. You can apply to participate in one or both sessions: 
 
Session One: May 17, 19, 24, 26 (Mon/Wed 9:00 AM to Noon)
Session Two: June 7, 9, 14, 16 (Mon/Wed 9:00 AM to Noon)
 
Stefanie Coleman
Health and Fitness Month at Nevada State
The Office of Student Life is proud to support Health and Fitness Month. During this time, most people immediately think of physical health, but mental health is equally as important. Carlos Navarro, Student Life Coordinator, and the Health and Fitness Committee will be hosting several events that cover both physical and mental health: nutrition workshops; at-home workouts; health and medication workshops; and fun challenges. Starting this week, Student Life will be giving out Health and Fitness swag bags that include a drawstring bag, stress ball, first aid kit, and a gaiter mask (view our launch event recording and go to 17:35 timestamp for a visual). To learn more:

If you have any questions, contact Student Life.

Join Us! Team Nevada State Sting Out Stigma 
The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) is sponsoring a safe walk-a-thon this month while raising funds to bring the issue of suicide out of the darkness. We’d love to you have you join our team. If you would like to donate or be a part of the team, visit this link for information on how to support this wonderful initiative. You can also reach out to our team caption, Lauren Porter, NSSA Sergeant at Arms.

Celebrating Our First-Year Students 
The second annual First-Year Students Achievement Ceremony was held virtually on March 24. The ceremony recognized first-year full-time students who earned a 3.0. or higher GPA in their first semester. Over 300 students were invited to the ceremony, where they received congratulatory messages from NS leadership and CEP/ALS instructors. They also learned about exciting, upcoming engagement opportunities at Nevada State.

RISE Peer Mentor Recommendations 
Do you know an outstanding Scorpion looking for a paid leadership opportunity on campus? We are accepting applications for the RISE Peer Mentor program. Send student recommendations for the position to Alicia LaMotte.

Congratulations Jesse Poole! 
Jesse Poole, Coordinator of Academic Advising and Student Success Initiatives, has been elected to serve as the Chair of the Global Awards Committee for the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA). The Global Awards Committee coordinates the distribution of information, solicitation of nominations, selection of recipients, and the presentation of all Global Awards, including Pacesetter, Virginia Gordon, Service to NACADA, Leading Light, Outstanding Advising, Outstanding New Advisor, Outstanding Programs, Advising Technology Innovations, various event Scholarships and NACADA Scholarships, Student Research, and Retiree Recognition. Jesse's term is from 2021-23. Congratulations, Jesse!
Danette Barber
Institutional Research has been working with individual departments to systemically collect data about the many ways students interact with their offices. These data will allow Nevada State to get a more holistic view of our students and how they use the college's supports and services. For example, among first-time, full-time students in all high school GPA ranges who started in Fall 2018 at Nevada State, those who used advising at least once had higher one-year retention rates than those who did not use advising. 

If you are interested in contributing your student engagement data, please contact Danette Barber.
Key Dates
NSC Office of the Provost | 702-992-2663 | http://nsc.edu/provost
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