October 3, 2019
Vickie Shields
Keeping Up with the Golden Knights
The LVGEA (Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance) thinks that Nevada State College is almost as innovative as the Golden Knights! Nevada State College was nominated for LVGEA’s 2019 Innovation Award. The award recognizes an organization whose breakthrough achievements in product and service development, technology and infrastructure, research and development, or public policy have positively impacted the economy of Southern Nevada. At an awards ceremony at the Aria on September 26th, Bart and I shared a table that included fellow nominees for the honor, Three Square President and CEO Brian Burton and the Golden Knights President, Kerry Bubolz. The LVGEA produced a lovely video clip that featured interviews by Bart and Glenn Christenson as well as beautiful aerial shots of the campus.
 
We may not have won, but we were sure in prestigious company!
 
Hard at Work on Biennium Budget plans
On October 8th, NSHE Chancellor Thom Reilly and NSHE staff will be visiting campus to hear a presentation from College Leadership about large budget requests that might be funded in the 2021 legislative session, called “legislative budget enhancement requests,” also called “Capacity Building requests.” The budget proposals need to fall into narrow parameters that are either workforce responsive or capital requests. These requests have no guarantee of being funded in whole or in part, but Nevada State has been quite successful in the last two rounds of enhancements, primarily because we have focused on significant gaps in education/training in critical (or projected to be critical) fields. Although we continue our efforts in Education and Nursing to fill these gaps, I am also extremely excited to be looking toward the data, technology and design fields in this regard as well. These requests are closely tied to the strategic plan, but they also reflect big ideas that may extend well beyond 2025 in planning and in scope.
Tony Scinta
Last Friday we held our annual all-day assessment workshop to examine critical evidence that is tied to student success. The workshop alternates between an evaluation of student learning outcomes (even years) and an examination of other aspects of a program or division (odd years). This year we investigated institutional research data, with a particular focus on two factors that will hopefully contribute to improved retention and graduation rates:
 
  • Courses with inordinately high DFWI rates (it varies, but often above 20-25%)
  • Potential “bottleneck” courses (e.g., “senior” level courses that have only been taken by 30% of seniors in the major)

We selected these areas of analysis because prior evidence suggests that they are among the foremost obstacles to improved graduation rates, and because they align with existing commitments to external stakeholders (e.g., the Chancellor’s office; Complete College America). Teams of faculty from virtually every area of campus explored data made available through a nifty new dashboard (pictured) developed by Sandip Thanki (Director of Institutional Research), and they are already unearthing findings that can yield increases to student success metrics.
I want to offer a giant, data-driven “thank you” to the many faculty who participated in the workshop, as well as both Gwen Sharp and Sandip Thanki, who put in the hard – and smart – work to make this event a reality.
Gwen Sharp
IRB Tip
When you've finished a study that has IRB approval, you need to submit a Study Closure Form (available on the IRB website) to officially document that the research is done. Then the IRB can close the file and stop monitoring the project.

Recruiting Diverse Faculty Webinar
Over the past two weeks, several faculty and staff across campus have participated in a four-part webinar titled "Hiring Diverse Faculty," offered by USC's Race & Equity Center. The webinar covered issues such as how to write engaging job ads, issues with language choice, implicit bias in the hiring process, and designing the interview process to highlight race consciousness. We're hoping that what we learned will help us improve our recruiting process.

Our Accreditation Evaluation Team
Several people have asked about who will be on the evaluation team sent by the NWCCU for our mission fulfillment accreditation visit next week. A total of 9 people will visit campus:

  • Dr. Lori Stinson, Committee Chair. Provost at Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston, ID. Background in nursing.
  • Dr. Perry Brown. Provost Emeritus, University of Montana-Missoula. Background in social psych and forestry.
  • Dr. Debra Bryant. Associate Prof of Business & Accreditation Liaison, Dixie State University, St. George, UT.
  • Dr. Eric Amsel. Associate Provost for Academic Programs and Assessment, Weber State University, Ogden, UT. Background in psychology.
  • Dr. Erin Baumgartner. Interim Associate Provost for Academic Programs and Effectiveness, Western Oregon University. Background in biology.
  • Dr. Michaelann Jundt. Associate Dean of Undergrad Academic Affairs, University of Washington, Seattle.
  • Mr. Steve Rollins. Dean of Consortium Library, University of Alaska-Anchorage.
  • Ms. Debra Gerber. University Business Officer, Idaho State.
  • Dr. Mac Powell, NWCCU Liaison/non-voting member. Senior VP at NWCCU. Background in clinical psych and sociology.
Gregory Robinson
A Passport to Adventure
In 2017, NSHE asked all Nevada institutions to give an update on their progress toward joining the WICHE Passport program, which helps students transfer between institutions (particularly between states). NSC, like the other institutions, replied that we were making excellent progress, then proceeded to make very slow progress over the last couple of years. This semester, I’m committed to giving the Passport program another shot. Doing so will require NSC to determine a list of transferable courses in nine categories (each with an established set of outcomes): 
  • Written Communication
  • Quantitative Literacy
  • Oral Communication
  • Natural Sciences
  • Human Cultures
  • Human Society and the Individual
  • Creative Expression
  • Critical Thinking
  • Teamwork and Value Systems

You might be thinking to yourself: Hey! That looks a lot like our Core Curriculum. And you are right. Most of the Passport categories map to our Core quite swimmingly. However, a few categories will require some additional discussion, such as Critical Thinking. I’ll be working with faculty throughout the semester to clarify the Passport program, select classes, and help guide the process of becoming a partnering institution. My hope is that this project will be a good way for us to begin conversations about revising the Core Curriculum, an effort that will be lead by Dr. Garrett. 

Leadership Minor
This fall, we started our Leadership Minor and took our first shot at offering LDE 201 – Introduction to Leadership. We designed this minor to explore the idea of leadership broadly – it can help students interested in management or organizations, but will also be useful for students who want to learn how to bring people together to support a cause. If you have questions about the minor, please contact Heidi Batiste.

Common Read
The Common Read committee had its first meeting last week, and we’re all excited to be supporting Educated by Tara Westover. I am particularly interested in stories from NSC’s faculty and staff who overcame challenges to get to college. For example, many of our faculty and staff were the first in their families to attend, and others struggled with social, medical, and financial challenges. If this sounds like you and you’d be willing to share your story, send me a note! 

Have a Great Online Class?
As I noted in my last update, we're gearing up for our Online Quality Assurance Program. In this program, you can submit your online course for peer review and receive helpful feedback.  The review is based on this rubric. If you are interested in submitting your class or participating in a review team, please  email Chris Garrett for more information. Our goal is to review ten classes this fall. Have more questions?  Take a look at these FAQs.
Stefanie Coleman
CARE Team
The CARE team will host a mental health first-aid training for the NSC community on Monday, October 7th from 10:00 am-11:00 am in Ballroom A, and Tuesday, October 8th, from 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm in LAS 123. Counselors from All About You Counseling will be presenting and available to answer questions regarding how to assist students who are having a mental crisis. The same material will be covered in both sessions.  

Student Life
Representatives from 1800 Telemedicine Health Insurance presented to the Executive Board of NSSA. It has been a personal passion of NSSA President Nicola Opfer for students at NSC students to have health insurance. No decision has been made at this time regarding this option.

Residential Life
Housing is coming soon! The construction is making steady progress; completion is still scheduled for early July. The subcommittees are meeting regularly to discuss marketing, financial aid, judicial affairs, and residential life. Last month, members of the committee had an opportunity to see the furniture selected for each unit, and there was a housing table at Scorpions Calling. If you are interested in learning more about residential life, keep an eye out for more NSSA Town Hall meetings.

One October 
The second anniversary of One October has arrived. I did not live in Nevada when this tragic event occurred but I do know the residents of Illinois shared your pain on that day. Wishing my new Nevada family peace and comfort.
Sandip Thanki
The National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement, conducted by Tufts University, provides information on voting rates in federal elections among students at over 1,000 colleges and institutions. How do Nevada State College's students fare?

  • In 2018, 45.3% of our students voted in federal elections. This is up significantly from the 17.8% who voted in 2014, and higher than the overall rate of 39.1% for all institutions in the study and 38.7% for public baccalaureate institutions.
  • If we look only at students who registered to vote, 62.2% of those voted in the 2018 election.
  • The major with the highest voting rate was Environmental & Resource Sciences, at 63.3%.
  • Students who identify as White, Black, or Hispanic had the highest voting rates:
Key Dates
  • Oct 8: Faculty Intel Symposium, lead by Dr. Christine Beaudry, Dr. Lori Navarrete, and Dr. Shantal Marshall. 4:00 pm, RSC Ballroom, Salon A.
  • Oct 9-11: NWCCU accreditation visit
  • Oct 11: Preferred consideration deadline for Online Quality Assurance Program participant (email Chris Garrett)
  • Oct 22: Provost Lecture, Dr. Pete La Chapelle. 4 pm, NSE auditorium.
  • Oct 25: Campus closed for Nevada Day
  • Nov 5: Marylin Rae. 11 am, NSE Auditorium
NSC Office of the Provost | 702-992-2663 | http://nsc.edu/provost
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