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This is my first newsletter update since stepping into the Interim Provost role on July 1, which is an interesting milestone because we actually founded the newsletter the first time I served in this capacity (way back in 2017, as part of an ambitious effort to better inform the campus about the work of the provost’s office and make people endure my terrible jokes on a regular basis). Even though this is an interim role, my plan is to conduct the work of the Provost’s office as we otherwise would, pursuing important goals, resolving essential issues, and generally capitalizing on opportunities to improve outcomes for our students, faculty, and staff. To that end, I welcome input from the campus community about potential opportunities of this nature, whether it is for me or for whomever serves as our next long-term Provost.
We’re a little short-handed in this office, but I have confidence we can continue to do great work, mainly because I’m surrounded by an incredible team of people. There are too many individuals to name in that illustrious group, but I want to call specific attention to Gwen Sharp and Gregory Robinson, who will be providing extra support in key areas during this interim period, and Sita Sales, who has been consistent – and consistently spectacular – in holding everything together in this office.
I’m excited about the work to come, but in the meantime here are a few notes about recent endeavors.
What’s in a Name?
A lot, actually. Especially if that name is “Nevada State University.” Particularly so if that same name was “Nevada State College” less than two weeks ago. Much of my preoccupation with the naming transition in recent weeks is ensuring that we 1) appropriately define the upsides of this change for prospective students and 2) effectively communicate that information through all of the right channels (e.g., high school presentations, mailings, etc.).
Master of Science in Nursing Leadership
Our MSN proposal was approved by the Board of Regents in June and now we are putting the finishing touches on the proposal that will be submitted to our accrediting body, the Northwest Commission on Colleges & Universities (the final step in the approval process). In the absence of institutional dollars, we’re examining the possibility of securing funds from Senate Bill 375, which specifically aims to expand undergraduate and graduate nursing programs in the Nevada System.
AASCU Student Success Equity Intensive (SSEI)
Gregory, Sandip, and I trekked to Indianapolis to work collaboratively with over 12 fellow institutions on the future directions of this project. We’re still wrapping up the exploratory phase of the multiyear effort, but with the help of the full SSEI team we’ll finalize the projects that we’ll pursue, which may include one that increases our collection and application of qualitative data from students and another that emphasizes degree pathways.
Office of the Arts Update
Angela M. Brommel (Senior Advisor and Executive Director for the Arts) has been conferred the title of Visiting Professor for the Arts within the College of Arts, Humanities and Education at the University of Derby for a period of five years. This fall, Angela will celebrate her 20th anniversary at NS as administrative faculty and affiliate faculty within LASB. University of Derby Senior Leadership faculty Dr. Gemma Marmalade said, "The University of Derby is delighted to deepen our alliance with Angela M. Brommel and the vibrant community of Nevada State University. The value and impact of the arts permeate and underpin all areas of our collective human experience, activating and amplifying the very best of us. Through strategic integration of the arts with learning, teaching, innovation, employability, and civic good, its impact is definitive and measurable. This tenet is joyfully shared between our institutions and embodied by scholar Angela M. Brommel, which resulted in this prestigious conferment to our institution. We thank Nevada State for their ongoing friendship and the mutual respect between our universities."
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Academic Calendar
Printable versions of the 2023-24 academic calendar are available here.
Publications, Honors, & Grants
- Rachel Herzl-Betz (English/Writing Center) is first author on the article "Modeling Accessibility: Perspectives from the Accessibility Task Force," published in WLN: A Journal of Writing Center Scholarship.
- I worked with Irene Cepeda (HSI Director) on a $2.8 million grant proposal for an HSI Strengthening Institutions grant. If funded, it would provide new auditing software and additional support for transfer and dual credit students.
- Jennifer Edmonds (Environmental Sciences) co-authored a letter, "Expanding Cooperative Conservation Science for Central Asian Waterbodies beyond the Aral Sea, in response to a recent publication in Science; it is published online.
- Kayla Bieser (Biology) got word that the NSF-RCN grant she is co-PI on was awarded. It will provide $42,000 for building new curricula that can scaffold off the existing genetics CURE.
- Sandip Thanki (Institutional Effectiveness) and Lori Navarrete (Education) are co-authors on "Unlocking Undergraduate Student Success: A Study of High-Impact Practices in a Comprehensive and Diverse College," published in the Journal of Postsecondary Student Success.
- Kevin Graziano (Education), Shartriya Collier (Education), and Danette Barber (Institutional Effectiveness) co-authored "Teachers Taking It Online: Measuring Teachers' Self-Efficacy to Teach Online after Completing a Training Program on Distance Education," published in the Journal of Digital Learning in Teacher Education.
IRB News
Using Secondary Data
Use of secondary data only requires IRB review if it is, or could be, individually identifiable. If a secondary data set is completely de-identified and couldn't be linked back to subjects, then it isn't research regulated by the IRB. So for instance, anonymous survey results may not require IRB review because there's no way to connect the data to individual subjects. The same goes for NS data collected for other purposes that are de-identified (there may be separate FERPA issues that have to be addressed in that case, however).
"De-identified" can mean more than removing names--depending on the data, other identifying characteristics may have to be removed, or unusual cases may need to be deleted to avoid identifying a specific individual. This is especially true with student records, where various federal laws apply.
It's always best to reach out to me and I can provide guidance on whether you need to apply for IRB approval for your project with secondary data.
Name Change & Form Updates
All IRB forms, as well as the IRB Canvas page, have been updated with our new name. Please download the new forms instead of copying and re-using old forms.
Certification
To be sure I'm staying current on IRB trends, I recently completed the Certificate in the Foundations of Human Subjects Protections from PRIM&R, the main professional organization in this area.
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Welcome Our New Director of Assessment!
I'm thrilled to announce that Dr. Nicole Espinoza joins us as the new Director of Assessment at Nevada State. Nicole has over 20 years of educational and administrative experience in higher education and K-12 education. She has taught science courses at CCSD and UNLV. In the last three years, she has taught pre-nursing biology classes at Nevada State as a part-time instructor. In addition, Nicole has held several administrative positions where she has supported faculty professional development, curriculum design, online project management, and developed program assessment plans.
In the Director of Assessment position, the goal is to incorporate best practices in academic assessment into all campus processes - from helping faculty to incorporate the Essential Learning Outcomes in general education courses to seeing the impact of co-curricular activities on student success to assisting with accreditation efforts in Nevada State’s ever-expanding programs. She looks forward to collaborating with students, faculty, and stakeholders to continue to build the assessment program at Nevada State.
Nicole has a B.S. in Biology, M.Ed. in Secondary Education, and an Ed.S. in Curriculum and Learning from UNLV. For fun, Nicole likes to swim (only lap-swimming – not “splash-swimming”), watch movies (movie theaters, mostly!), and hang out with her family (husband + 9 year old boy + 2 dogs + 2 cats + 10 fish). Her first day on campus is June 26th.
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Provost Search Update
The search for our new Provost is progressing well! The committee is beginning its initial review of candidates this week. In-person presentations will take place in August.
Summer Core Curriculum Efforts
There’s a good chance I talked to you about adding ELOs to a class or two this summer. If you haven’t gotten started yet, now is the time! Overall, we’re making steady progress on this project, but there are still a lot of ELOs to add before our Fall 2024 deadline.
Go Team Nepantla!
This summer, Nepantla is celebrating its largest cohort ever: 42 students. This was a group effort, but Samantha González deserves special recognition for all her work in helping students connect with the program. In addition, Director Carreño and her team proposed a session for the upcoming NASPA regional conference about peer educators and the process of creating a mentorship program for first-generation college students. We should know soon if the proposal was accepted.
Study Abroad
Studying in England and Ecuador were two of the most transformational experiences I had as an undergraduate. Last week, I met with faculty from multiple units on campus to discuss how we could make those kinds of experiences more accessible to our students. Currently, we have two options available. Dr. Chris Harris leads a group of students to Salzburg each year to study media and global change. Students interested in other experiences can work with the USAC, which has more traditional options available.
A few takeaways from this conversation include:
- Study abroad is a complex process that involves multiple campus divisions. If we want a sustainable program, we’ll need at least one person to coordinate all the necessary components. It is not the kind of effort that can be managed by someone in their spare time.
- The group was very supportive of smaller study abroad programs, where NS faculty travel with students on shorter trips to a partnering institution. One advantage of this approach is that students take an NS class at the partnering school instead of transferring classes from an institution outside of the US (which can be complicated).
- The group was less excited about partnering with a third-party (like Arcadia University) to facilitate study abroad opportunities. However, we may be able to provide a few different options for students, allowing them to select either a short-term, faculty-led trip or a longer-term experience managed by another organization.
I'm very grateful for all the insight provided by Eric Leinen, Anthony Morrone, Elizabeth Gunn, Duska Gavrancic, Chris Harris, Molly Appel, Cristina Caputo, Gwen Sharp, Jacqueline Semana, and Adelfa Sullivan. I'm hoping these initial steps will lead to a more robust program.
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8/8 and 8/10: Peer-to-Peer Support Training. All day, RSC Ballrooms
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8/21: Fall Professional Development Day, 9-2, KAB Auditorium (agenda)
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8/22: PEER Project Faculty Semester Kick-off, 11-1 pm, RSC Ballrooms B&C
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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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