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My Journey with COVID
After two and a half years of caution, vaccines, diligence, and some lucky dodging, COVID-19 finally wormed its way into my system recently, wreaking havoc. I traveled for business, encountering more overly crowded airports than my usual travels and two days later I was laid out with what felt(feels) like a cold and flu combined. That day was confusing because we experienced an extreme windstorm, blowing around major allergens. However, the next day I felt worse, and I tested positive. Although I’ve taken many of these tests as a precaution in the past, it was a shock to see that second line appear on the test kit. What remains a total frustration is that although I have cleared the virus, I am still dealing with extreme fatigue, aches, and pains that ebb and flow, not disappearing in any linear fashion.
I share this because you deserve to know why I have been visibly absent lately. This is a hectic and eventful time of the semester and I have missed many important things. I am dedicating myself to rest and self-care to return and fully serve you and Academic Affairs. I gratefully appreciate your patience.
Budget Process in Full Swing
Budget initiative writing season is in full swing. Although the overall budget outlook is highly unclear at this point in the year, the timeline has begun to prepare all portions of the budget proposals, including new initiatives.
Secondary to personnel requests, the Provost’s Office will be submitting the following initiatives for consideration:
- Increase in pay rate for Independent Study
- Increase in pay rate for summer/overload pay
- Any budget increase that may result from the task force examining Nursing contact vs credit hours for clinicals
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I made a strategic and experimental decision to scale back my time in meetings by 20% this semester. It has not been a rousing success, insofar as I have missed the mark by about 40% the past two weeks (for a strapping error rate of 60%). Alas, you know what they say – if at first you don’t succeed . . . try to complain about it in a newsletter update.
What about the actual work, you say? Here it is, rapid-fire style:
The Mid-Cycle Evaluation Visit
Our much ballyhooed mid-cycle accreditation visit took place on Oct. 24-25. I’ll provide a full synopsis when we receive the final report from the Northwest Commission, but for now I can say that the two evaluators provided both encouraging praise and helpful, constructive feedback. My voluminous thanks to Gwen, Sita, and the many campus stakeholders who were asked to contribute to this evaluation.
Education Philosophy
I’ve been engaged in a few conversations with faculty senate committees about a draft version of our Education Philosophy, and this week I’ll be presenting it to the full Faculty Senate. The aim of this document is to describe how we fulfill our mission, and in doing so how we distinguish Nevada State as a first-choice destination for future students.
Scorpion Path
Gregory Robinson and I continue to meet with small groups of faculty and staff to have initial conversations about the “Scorpion Path,” which is our effort to define the major things we should be doing as an institution to promote the success of our students (where “success” is defined in terms of both a transformative learning experience and the attainment of a degree).
AASCU Project
We recently we had our first campus team meeting for the AASCU Student Success Equity Intensive, a multi-year project that aims to reduce equity gaps in student success. The next step will be for a variety of faculty and staff to complete an institutional self-assessment survey called the Institutional Transformation Assessment (ITA).
Open House
Finally, earlier in October we orchestrated our annual Open House event, which is primarily aimed at the recruitment of prospective first-year students. A total of 522 guests visited our campus and got a first-hand look at what makes us special, from our modern facilities to the wonderful faculty and staff who deliver our educational experience. I want to offer up a huge “thank you” to our hard-working Admissions & Recruitment team, as well as the many members of the campus community who contributed to the event.
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Grants
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Katie Dockweiler (SOE) submitted a Department of Education mental health grant. It would provide $1.2 million over 5 years to address significant shortages in the number of school psychologists, specifically those who represent diverse communities and provide mental health services to students.
- Elizabeth Gunn (LASB Dean) led the submission of a National Endowment for the Humanities grant to support initial research on the feasibility of an MFA in Creative Writing program. It would provide $60,000 over two years for faculty stipends and other expenses.
Policy Libraries
In addition to the main library of College-level policies, there is now an online library of frequently-used policies and instructions for units that fall under the Finance and Business Office.
Regional Powwows
There are two area powwows coming up that might be of interest; both are open to the public. The Southern Paiute Veterans Pow Wow is November 5-6 in Moapa Valley. The Pahrump Social Powwow is November 18-20 in Pahrump. Both are great opportunities to experience local Indigenous culture and eat fry bread.
NSSE Data
The NSSE 2022 Snapshot report provides a quick overview of how our students' experience compares to other Far West Public institutions. Our first-year students are more likely to report engaging in a high-impact practice. Both first-year and senior students spend slightly less time preparing for class and read and write slightly less for those classes. More of our students rate their overall experience as "good" or "excellent."
CTLE Invitation to Reflect on Your Teaching Goals
Each full-time instructor should have received a special invitation from the CTLE to connect either face-to-face or virtually for a 15-minute conversation to reflect on and share your individual teaching goals for improvement (e.g., those that you declared in your last annual review). The CTLE may be able to provide resources, assistance, and support to help you meet those goals. If you have any questions, or if you’re a part-time instructor and would like to schedule a reflective session about your teaching goals, please contact chris.garrett@nsc.edu.
Congratulations to Nevada State Faculty for Achieving Fellowship Awards
Five faculty from Nevada State successfully applied for fellowship awards from the Higher Education Academy (HEA), an international, non-profit organization that promotes teaching excellence. Fellowships are earned through written reflection and interaction with an HEA Mentor to demonstrate how one’s teaching/supporting learning practices fulfill the dimensions of the Professional Standards Framework. The following faculty earned HEA Fellowships: Patricia Nill (HEA Fellow) and Vu Duong, Vanessa Mari, Aaron Wong, and Chris Garrett (HEA Senior Fellows).
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Congrats Nepantla!
If you didn't make it to our Día de los Muertos celebration this year, you missed all the amazing ofrendas, a great Mariachi band, tacos from Tacos El Rey, readings from our students, and more. Congratulations to Samantha González, Leilani Carreño, and Team Nepantla for hosting this event.
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Writing Center Updates
Is Canada unbearably cold? I'm not sure, but five students from our Writing Center will find out. They are headed to the International Writing Centers Conference (IWCA) in Vancouver, Canada, where they will present their independent research projects in writing studies. The students will be presenting alongside faculty and graduate students worldwide. IWCA is a competitive conference, and being accepted as an undergraduate researcher is a real honor.
Also, the Writing Center is hiring! Please spread the word to your classes and the students you support.
Finally, the Long Night Against Procrastination will be held on Friday, Nov. 18th from 5pm to midnight. Resources and events will be available for in-person and remote participants. Please consider offering extra credit for students who take part and get involved.
Yoodle
We've started our formal conversations with Yoodle, the company that will help redesign the NS website. So far, these have been broad conversations, mainly focused on what works and what doesn't work (I'm looking at you, search bar!) on the current site. If you are curious about other projects they've completed, take a look at Fort Hayes State University's site.
Always Finding Ways to Improve
I've been part of two long-term projects this semester that are making steady progress. The first is the Student Success Equity Initiative, which Tony mentioned in his update. The program's primary objective is "provide specific and customized support so that you can make data-informed decisions to close equity gaps and achieve student success goals for Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and low-income students." The early steps in this project will be contributing to the Postsecondary Data Partnership (a shared data dashboard) and deploying the Institutional Transformation Assessment (a survey about student success in different areas on campus).
The second long-term project is First & Fierce, highlighting our work with first-generation students. So far, we've confirmed our group, created a website, worked on a shared definition of "first-generation," and discussed ways we can promote the many activities during First-Generation Week, including a First-Gen Mix and Mingle followed by a panel on November 7th, lead by the Nepantla Program.
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November 18: Long Night Against Procrastination | |
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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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