December 15, 2021
Vickie Shields
As the semester comes to a close and holiday cheer is in the air, I wish for all of you the gift of refreshment and renewal. Take deep breaths, long walks, and hug and snuggle those you love, both the two- and four-legged varieties! It’s been a hard year and that is all the more reason for self-care and relaxation. Don’t think of it as an indulgence, but a necessity. When we emerge refreshed, we will be reminded of the truly meaningful and life-changing work we engage in every day in higher education.

The greatest achievement is selflessness.
The greatest worth is self-mastery.
The greatest quality is seeking to serve others.
The greatest precept is continual awareness.
The greatest medicine is the emptiness of everything.
The greatest action is not conforming with the world’s ways.
The greatest magic is transmuting the passions.
The greatest generosity is non-attachment.
The greatest goodness is a peaceful mind.
The greatest patience is humility.
The greatest effort is not concerned with results.
The greatest meditation is a mind that lets go.
The greatest wisdom is seeing through appearances.

- Atisha

May you all be blessed with warmth and love this holiday season!
Tony Scinta
Spring 2022 enrollment has lagged behind our typical pace – with the vaccine mandate acting as the primary inhibitor – but stakeholders from across campus are doing what they can to turn the tide. These efforts include:

Outreach & Retention Campaign
  • Advising is conducting an intensive outreach campaign via email, text, and phone calls to every student who was enrolled in fall 2021 and has not yet registered; many students indicate a plan to return, but many others have not yet responded, and they will continue to receive follow-up contacts in each modality as the semester approaches.

Schedule Management
  • We are working with the deans – primarily in LAS – to monitor the schedule and add new sections as needed so that students who do come back can get the courses they need.
  • For low enrollment sections, we are trying to preserve as many of them as possible; this is a strategic, short-term decision to keep students on track under especially taxing circumstances.

Back & Bold
  • We are rolling out the student-facing element of the Back and Bold campaign, and have updated the main web NSC page again with improved messaging and created a Back & Bold website with information, key links to the actions we want students to take, and videos of students talking about why they are excited to be back.

General Messaging
  • We updated the students’ MyNSC portal with a long-term flyer that reminds them of what they need to do to enroll in the winter/spring; it’s an effort to provide them with standing “need-to-know” information as close to the point of decision/action as possible.

Increasing Capacity 
  • Advising Center: The advisors have been seeing as many students as they can, but our capacity is limiting our progress. We recently increased that capacity with a new hire and will further expand that capacity by the end of next week with some additional training. We also increased our capacity to handle incoming inquiries and conduct outreach by providing extra hours to student workers and by recruiting the help of peer mentors.
  • Registrar’s Office: We expedited our process of reviewing vaccine records by bringing on a 1000-hour employee to assist with the verifications and related student inquiries.
Gwen Sharp
Publications & Accomplishments
  • Chris Garrett (CTLE/SOE) published "Divine Breathings: Devotional Steady Seller and Imitable King of the Resolve Genre" in Bunyan Studies: A Journalof Reformation and Nonconformist Culture.
  • Shirley Cunningham (SOE) was chosen to chair the non-profit Families Mentoring Families' Literacy Center Committee. She will help build literacy programs in Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, and Uganda.
  • Jo Meuris received word that her short animated film "Aurora" is Oscar-qualified. The next step is to see if she makes the shortlist!

Teaching & Learning Journals
Laura Naumann created a spreadsheet of journals focused on the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL). It's a great resource for ideas as well as possible publication outlets. You can add to it if you know of additional journals.

CTLE Newsletter
The CTLE's latest newsletter includes the topics for all of the Spring 2022 Faculty Learning Communities (FLCs), as well as dates and topics of events throughout the semester.
Gregory Robinson
NSC Up North!
I had the chance to watch the final presentations of four NSC students who are pursuing their Visual Media degrees in collaboration with TMCC in northern Nevada. The class was VIS 365 - The Business of Visual Media, which teaches students about branding, contracts, portfolios, ethics, and many of the other skills they'll need to thrive in the workforce as graphic designers. As expected, it was terrific, and I am so happy to see our statewide effort expand. Special thanks go to AnnaSheila Paul, NSC's Lecturer of Visual and Digital Media and Program Coordinator.

Intercultural Competency
Dr. Molly Appel and her team continue working on an Intercultural Competency Certificate. Most efforts this semester focused on defining the goals of the certificate and determining its components. Once completed, this will be an excellent option for students hoping to improve their communication skills, empathy, and overall cultural literacy. If you are interested in learning a little more about intercultural competency, look at Nevada Cultural Competency Training, which is designed specifically for healthcare providers and satisfies the requirements outlined in NRS 449.103.

Core Curriculum Update
If you'd like a quick update about our progress with the Core Curriculum, take a look at this newsletter. If you'd like to receive this newsletter, let me know. I only send it out whenever there are enough updates to share.

Back and Bold
As Tony mentioned in his update, the Back and Bold campaign is in full swing. As part of this effort, we formed a subcommittee to consider how we might encourage students to get excited about this spring. Until the start of classes, you'll be seeing regular updates in our social media accounts, some of which feature videos of our outstanding students (see below). The entire collection is housed on nsc.edu/backandbold. Take a look! Also, Back and Bold shirts are on their way, which we're excited to distribute to faculty and students. I want to thank Phil LaMotte, Amey Evaluna, Nick Claus, and LaNelda Rolley for their efforts on this subcommittee and the larger Back and Bold committee that is focusing on several faculty-related initiatives.
Stefanie Coleman
THANK YOU!
The Student Wellness team gave away 24 food bags with turkeys for the Thanksgiving holidays. This was only possible because of the donations made by NSSA, faculty, staff, and students. Thank you to everyone who made this possible. The number of requests did increase this year, but the team was so happy they could provide support to those who needed assistance.

Arizona State University
I had an opportunity to be a part of an NSHE delegation to visit Arizona State University for what I’m calling a “listen and learn” opportunity. They are doing amazing things around innovation, technology, and student success. I participated in a simulation lab (created with the help of students) that reminded me of a mix of Jumanji, Indiana Jones, and National Treasure. Granted, we don’t have the resources ($$) of ASU, but our students are just as passionate, creative, and imaginative. I’ve been thinking about how we engage with our students outside of the classroom and having some entertaining conversations with a few students regarding what more could we be doing. My walk away from ASU is to allow the students to be the guide as much as possible.

Housing Pulse Survey
Great news! Over 100 residents in housing participated in a Pulse Survey, a popular survey that measures resident satisfaction with almost everything from the temperature in the units to the color of the sky. Almost 90% of our residents are enjoying their housing experience with an important reason being “I’m closer to the campus.” We still have some things to work on though. A consistent response to the question “If you could change one thing at the property what would it be?” was that we need more things to do on campus. A few other changes were mentioned that can be addressed fairly quickly, but overall students are enjoying their on-campus experience.

Happy Holidays!
For many of us, the holiday season is family, food, friends, laughter, and fun. Unfortunately, for some, it is none of those things. If you are having a difficult time during this time of the year, please reach out to our Student Wellness team of Laura Hinojosa, Case Manager, and Annise Prewitt, Counselor, for mental health services on campus or in the community. Stay safe everyone and enjoy the holiday season.
Sandip Thanki
COVID Vaccinations and Enrollment
How are our students doing with COVID vaccinations? We have about 4500 non-dual credit students required to submit one of the following: COVID vaccination records, an approved online-only enrollment request, or an approved medical/religious exemption. As of Dec 14th, 77% have submitted at least one. If we exclude students who are set to graduate this fall, that number jumps to 79%.

As Tony mentioned, the vaccination requirement has impacted our spring enrollment, but the 77% of our students who submitted their records or have an exemption aligns with our fall to spring retention of 74% to 79% over the past five years. Advising is fully booked this week helping students enroll and they expect to see many more after the holidays.

This dashboard, updated daily, shows the total number of students who need to submit their records, the percent and number of students who have submitted their records, and the percent and number of students who have already enrolled. 
Key Dates
12.24 - Winter Holiday. Campus Closed.
12.31 - New Year's Eve. Campus Closed.
1.18 - Spring Classes begin
NSC Office of the Provost | 702-992-2663 | http://nsc.edu/provost
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