The Office of the Provost puts out this newsletter once every two weeks. It's mostly informal and lets everyone know what is keeping us busy. We also hope it inspires communication and conversations, so if you see something and have a question, feel free to contact us at any time. |
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The Covid-19 Vaccine Micropod we planned to hold on August 25 is canceled. However, we will work with students to determine their interest in future vaccination opportunities.
Special thanks to Dr. Leila Pazargadi, who moderated a Covid-19 Vaccination Information Session on Tuesday. The session featured several NSC experts, including Dr. Hon-Vu Duong, Dr. Kebret Kebede, and Dr. Michael Johnson. Dr. Chad Kingsley from the Southern Nevada Health District also participated.
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I would say that Friday, July 30th was National “Send mandatory reports to people” Day, but unfortunately, about 25 other days also would be vying for that honor (as folks like Sandip know all too well). Still, this past Friday was a doozy, with two significant reports on the docket:
Northwest Commission on Colleges & Universities Annual Report – we file this one every year and it’s a fairly by-the-book update with updates regarding key institutional metrics such as enrollment, budget, and student success (e.g., retention, graduation rates). However, two narrative elements might be of greater interest to our readership, if you’ll excuse my unfounded faith in the appeal of NWCCU reporting:
- Reflection on institutional circumstances – this section of the report gave us an opportunity to better (and briefly) explain our idiosyncratic goals, challenges, and accomplishments. We seized this opportunity to discuss the privilege and challenge of trying to promote the success of a historically under-served student population while simultaneously growing in enrollment at a historic rate. The challenge has been compounded by our financial fortunes, which have waxed and waned over the years, and even persists in the face of our enrollment growth and much improved funding because the state appropriations arrive two years after our enrollment is counted. However, we noted that, despite all of this, the campus has united to marshal significant improvements in student outcomes, including a graduation rate that has nearly doubled in recent years.
- Progress on meeting recommendations – Our foremost recommendation from our Year 7 Mission Evaluation asked us to improve our program of assessment, and virtually nothing has gone as planned since that finding was handed down in January 2020. The pandemic delayed our pursuit of an assessment coordinator for more than a year and dealing with the resulting crisis diverted resources away from assessment improvements. However, the clouds are finally beginning to part as we get set to conduct a search for an assessment expert and draw up plans to enhance our work in this area.
NSHE Workforce Development Inventory – this one is less of a “report” and more a “suite of documents” furnished for the NSHE Chancellor’s office. The request asked us to complete a general questionnaire about workforce development efforts at the college, as well as a series of program inventories for an array of programs and their workforce implications. One key question asked us how we define “workforce development,” and we provided both a “traditional” and a “flexible” construal of the term. In traditional terms, we referred to the certificates and stackable credentials that are often associated with an effort to meet specific workforce needs; in the more flexible sense, we discussed how “workforce development” can be applied to any effort to imbue our academic programs with knowledge, skills, and perspectives that can facilitate the success of our graduates in the workforce.
This statewide conversation about our role in workforce development will undoubtedly continue in the near future, and we expect to be a part of it. For now, I want to offer my thanks to the faculty and staff who buckled down and helped us complete the program inventories under a tight deadline.
Finally, I would like to applaud Dean Elizabeth Gunn, her team of faculty and staff, and everyone else who helped us finalize an innovative new fast-track program with Roseman University that will allow our students to earn both a Bachelor of Science in Biology and Doctor of Pharmacy degree in as little as 6 years (compared to the 8 years typical required for this accomplishment). This is a great opportunity for our students and an excellent example of how we can forge mutually beneficial partnerships with neighboring institutions.
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Strategic Plan Update
As part of the 2020-2025 strategic plan, we set goals for research grant funding, and we exceeded our 2020-21 goal. We aimed for $1.23 million in research grant funding, and actually received $1.27 million! Congratulations to all the faculty and staff who worked on research grant proposals and oversaw activities. And thank you to Christine Gonzalez, our Grants Specialist, and to the Post-Award Office for their help securing and managing grants.
You can track how we're doing with all of our strategic plan goals on this dashboard.
Publications
CTLE Website
In addition to their Canvas page, the CTLE now has a website. |
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Core Curriculum Development
The July Core Curriculum Working Group finished its final meeting on July 26th. Over the course of a month, this group developed applications to add new Essential Learning Outcomes (ELOs) to 16 classes that are already part of the Core Curriculum. Many of those applications are now finished, while others are still being developed and discussed with stakeholders.
Moving into the fall, I'm asking the college to support five recommendations:
1. Replace our existing Core Curriculum Outcomes (Communication, Critical Thinking, Citizenship) with the12 new Essential Learning Outcomes.
2. Use a rubric for each ELO to guide our assessment of the Core Curriculum. Faculty committees will update these rubrics once a year. They should remain unchanged until the following year to ensure consistency.
3. Begin a process of gradually adding ELOs to existing Core classes for the next two years. Each Core class should have two ELOs. One ELO will be from the Critical Thinking or Communication Category. The Second ELO will be from the Community Engagement category.
4. Use the same ELOs for each section of a class. Each section will contain key assessments that address the two ELOs. The best way to make assessment effective is to use shared key assessments in each section, but where that is impossible, equivalent key assessments are acceptable.
5. Add ELOs to existing Core classes using a new application form. This application has an expedited review process that acknowledges the importance of formally approving the addition of ELOs to existing Core classes but does not require the lengthy process required for more significant curricular changes, such as adding a new class or changing a degree.
Most of these recommendations are the result of lengthy debates and conversations by faculty committees. Affirming our commitment to all five will provide a strong foundation that will allow us to move on to the next phase of Core Curriculum development. I’d like to ask Faculty Senate to vote “support” or “do not support” on each proposal. I'll then forward the recommendations to the Provost for final approval or denial. I’ve placed detailed explanations of each recommendation into this Google Doc. Please review it and add comments if you’d like.
As we continue to move forward with this initiative, we also need the help of faculty willing to serve on a new Faculty Senate Committee. The Ad Hoc Core Curriculum Committee will play an important role in this process by reviewing course proposals and offering feedback. If you are interested in serving on this committee, please contact Chris Garrett.
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Welcome Annise Prewitt, MSW, LCSW, CCTP
I am pleased to introduce Annise Prewitt as our new Licensed Counselor. Annise will be providing short-term counseling to our students, working with staff and faculty to help them manage student behavioral concerns, and helping students find necessary resources and support.
Annise is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with a Master's in Social Work from the University of Washington, Seattle. She has over 25 years of experience working with adults, adolescents, and children in a variety of settings, including inpatient and outpatient psychiatric and medical hospitals, child and family community agencies, specialty clinics, crisis intervention, and private practice. She is a certified clinical trauma specialist and specializes in treating victims of sexual abuse as well as other types of trauma. Her clinical experience includes work with individuals and groups with the following mental health issues:
- depression
- anxiety
- bipolar disorder
- anger
- work and school stress
- acute stress reaction
- post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- sexual abuse
- complicated grief
- suicidality,
- non-suicidal self-harm
- family, couple, and relationship issues
- chronic medical conditions
- ADHD
- autism spectrum and other learning differences
- self-image and self-esteem
- obsessive-compulsive disorder
- body dysmorphia
- eating disorders.
Annise is trained in evidence-based treatment modalities, including cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), as well as crisis intervention, psycho-education, mindfulness, play therapy, parent empowerment, and breathing and relaxation techniques. Annise’s approach to working with patients begins with a belief that therapy is a partnership, which must include respecting the patient’s expressed cultural identity and sense of self. She works to understand her patients’ desire for change, and then helps them define their goals, with integrated steps to move toward a place of healing, growth, and success.
Annise held positions at the University of Washington Speech and Hearing Graduate Practicum Clinic in Seattle before relocating to Nevada. Her office will be located in the Dawson building. Please join me in welcoming her to our community.
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Climbing Graduation Rates
Our six-year graduation rates for first-time, full-time students have been lower than the national average of 32.5% for open admissions public institutions, but they are getting closer each year. With our increasing one-year retention numbers, which positively co-vary with the use of support services (e.g. tutoring, advising), we expect these rates to exceed the national average in the near future.
The chart below shows how our six-year graduation rates have been climbing steadily. The Fall 2015 cohort rate (26.9%) won't be complete until summer graduation, so we expect it to be higher.
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8/11 & 8/12: New Faculty Orientation via Zoom (organized by CTLE)
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8/16: Welcome to Campus and Updates from President Pollard, 10-11 a.m.; Zoom
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8/19: Canvas shells released to students, 5 p.m.
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8/23: Fall classes start
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NSC Office of the Provost | 702-992-2663 | http://nsc.edu/provost
Be Bold | Be Great | Be State
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