Fall 2021 will be a “transitional semester,” serving as a bridge between our current model and the predominantly in-person model we want to return to for spring semester 2022. While I understand the frustration of those anxious to get back to full classes and events without our current safety precautions, I’m also very optimistic that we are moving in a positive direction, pragmatically and gradually shifting back to the models of instruction and student support that have served us so well throughout our history.

Our transitional semester will include:

Our goal is to provide our students with engaging in-person options without sacrificing our commitment to safety and accessibility.

It is difficult to predict how much progress the nation will have made by Fall 2021 in its efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19. That said, it is reasonable to assume that we will still have heightened safety concerns for our students. Therefore, we are planning to continue the existing practice of reducing the number of students allowed in the classroom (i.e. physical capacity) by 50% to ensure social distancing. If circumstances allow us to increase capacity safely beyond 50%, we may do that in the interest of ensuring that there are a sufficient number of available seats for our students. We may also consider opening the ballrooms up to use as classrooms for Fall 2021 only, allowing for more students in the class, while retaining room capacity at 50%.

Guided by data collected from the Office of Institutional Research, I may reduce class caps for courses where data suggest that doing so will have a positive impact on our incoming students. For example, we may reduce the class caps on ALS/CEP courses, allowing them to run in-person, since these are crucial for engaging our new students.

We respect our faculty’s ability to design classes in ways that permit in-person participation without violating established safety guidelines. As long as a course meets these criteria, it satisfies our guiding principles:

We will continue to follow guidelines from the Governor’s Office, the Southern Nevada Health District, and NSHE regarding on-campus work. Generally, we expect faculty and staff to have more campus presence during the fall, although it may not be at pre-COVID levels. Employees at elevated risk (unvaccinated and over 70, unvaccinated and suffering from other conditions, etc.) will still be able to teach online or work remotely.

Dr. Batiste (Business) was recently appointed to the Clark County Business Development Advisory Council. A major initiative of this body is to promote small businesses and provide equal opportunity to women- and minority-owned businesses in southern Nevada. It will be a great opportunity to promote our programs while aligning our curriculum and instructional strategies with the needs of the local business community.

The American Association of University Women (AAUW) Nevada chapter is offering scholarships to allow female college students (first-year through juniors) to attend this year's virtual National Conference for College Women Student Leaders in late May. 

Applications are due March 26th. This flyer explains the application requirements and process. 

Carol Lee (Psychology) co-authored "Personal Value, Self-Efficacy, and Social Acceptability of a Social Behavior as Correlates of Behavioral Action in Social Anxiety," which is being published in Trends in Psychiatry and Psychotherapy. Her co-author, Christina Yeghiazarian, is one of our psych undergrads.

Kebret Kebede (Biology) submitted an INBRE Pilot Grant proposal focused on extreme heat events and the health of workers.

The Heard Museum, located in Phoenix, focuses on Native American art and culture. This year, its annual hoop dance competition will be virtual, streamed live on YouTube on Saturday, February 13th. This is a great opportunity to see a really spectacular cultural event that isn't usually easily available.

We had our first Advisory Committee meeting for the NSC President search last Friday. The search will be guided by three primary bodies:

Chair Carvalho explained that the role of the Advisory Committee was formed in accordance with BoR policy; our primary role is to help the Regents Committee make the best decision possible.

While much of this initial meeting was taken up with formalities, there was extensive discussion about how to make the leadership profile reflective of NSC’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. The timeline for this search is ambitious. Chancellor Rose stated that her intent is to complete the search on the following schedule:

There is still time to put in a request for this year's Common Read: Tales of Two Planets: Stories of Climate Change and Inequality in a Divided World. Get your free copy now!

I met with the Directors in our Student Success units (ASC, Nepantla, Writing Center, and TRiO-SSS) this week to have a short discussion about the book Radical Candor by Kim Scott. If you have a role on campus where you work with a team, I highly recommend it. One of the guiding ideas of the book is that the best feedback you can give is a mix of caring personally and challenging directly. It is easy to say, but hard to do! Most feedback, Scott argues, falls into other categories, where an unwillingness to confront someone directly keeps them from getting the feedback they need.

Black History IS American History, and for the next 28 days, we highlight Black Americans who have made, and are still making, contributions to our country. Black history is a journey, and some of that journey is painful, ugly, and involves other people. Some of the journey involves celebrating the beauty and triumphs that emerged from the pain and ugliness in the face of adversity. Black history celebrates the good, acknowledges the bad, and remembers the champions.

Please plan to attend the virtual Harambee: Celebrating Our Journey event during Black History Month. With a roster of esteemed scholars and artists, you'll learn about the rich history and culture of Black Nevadans and Americans. Let's pull together and celebrate! The event is Thursday, February 11, 2021, 12:00 - 3:30 pm, and is hosted by Dr. Kimberly Florence and CEDI.

We encourage you to register in advance. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

CCSD made nationwide news last week because of a high number of suicides among students in the district. It's not a far reach to assume many of our students have siblings in CCSD who may be struggling with unfortunate effects of COVID: isolation and loneliness. We have resources to help our students if they are feeling powerless or confused during these challenging times.

Student Emergency Funds: Students in need are encouraged to apply for emergency funds or connect directly with Case Manager Laura Hinojosa at 702.992.2514.

Mental Health Screenings: Anyone who takes a screening is given an extensive list of on-campus, local, and national mental health resources.

All About You Counseling: AAU is working with students 3 days a week to meet the high demand for mental health services. Students should call 702.754.0807 and identify as an NSC student to sign up for free services. For community mental health services, students should email Laura Hinojosa or call 702.992.2514.

Congratulations to Jesse Poole and Nicola Opfer for their work using the Scorpion Success Network (Starfish). Preliminary numbers related to flags/e-alerts showed promising results. Students who ‘met’ with Jesse or Nicola to have their e-alert addressed had a 17.9% higher retention rate from fall 2020 to spring 2021 than students who did not respond to the intervention requests.

Other significant milestones include;

If anyone is interested in learning more about the Scorpion Success Network, email Jesse Poole. Nice work, Jesse and Nicola!

Here is a question that kept many of us (especially Tony) up at night: how did students do in our (nearly) all-remote format last fall? Below are two comparisons between Fall 2019 and Fall 2020 that can help us examine this. (We have excluded our dual-credit students from this data.)

Fall 2019 and 2020 semester GPAs are comparable. In Fall 2019, our average semester GPA was 3.06; it was 3.07 for Fall 2020. The percentage of students receiving at least one D, F, W, or I grade was 23% in Fall 2019 and 20% in Fall 2020. The percent of students on Good Academic Standing was 83% in both years. Retention into the following Spring was 82% for Fall 2019 and 81% for Fall 2020. The slight drop in retention could be related to a 15% increase in the number of students graduating in the fall.

This table shows the percentage of D, F, W, or I grades assigned in courses with enrollments of more than 100 (in all sections) sorted by Fall 2020 enrollment in courses that generally have in-person sections. In Fall 2020, these courses were offered remotely. The table also shows the courses broken down by instruction modes. For the majority of courses, the differences are minor.