The designation recognizes the college’s chapter for its progress in meeting student engagement and community service goals. CSN will also receive a Five Star [...]]]> Congratulations to CSN’s Phi Theta Kappa chapter! I am proud to announce the nation’s largest community college honor society has designated CSN’s organization a Five Star Chapter, the highest level of distinction. 

The designation recognizes the college’s chapter for its progress in meeting student engagement and community service goals. CSN will also receive a Five Star Chapter Development Plan, which will serve as a blue print to improve student engagement on campus and further strength the college’s chapter. 

Only 13 out of 98 college chapters in the Nevada-California regional district have attained Five Star status. 

This is a remarkable testament to the hard work and dedication of our Phi Theta Kappa students and CSN English Professor Bruno Rhodes, who has served as one of the finest chapter advisers in the nation. Together they have put in countless hours to improve our community and attain academic excellence. This chapter is a great asset to our community and CSN students. 

CSN’s Phi Theta Kappa chapter is one of the largest in the nation with over 700 members, who provide hundreds of hours of community service each year to Southern Nevada. Phi Theta Kappa membership is available to all students that have a cumulative GPA of 3.5 and completed a minimum of 12 college-level units at CSN.  Members have access to scholarships, along with leadership, fellowship and service opportunities. For more information about membership benefits visit www.ptk.org.

Again, congratulations to our PTK students and to Professor Rhodes!

This June Chronicle wraps up the academic year with information, particularly on the close of the 77th Regular Session of the Nevada Legislature.     

Graduation

On Monday, May 20, CSN’s commencement ceremony was held at the Thomas & Mack Center for a record 2,735 students, according to preliminary numbers. Nearly 1,000 attended and received [...]]]>  

This June Chronicle wraps up the academic year with information, particularly on the close of the 77^th Regular Session of the Nevada Legislature.     

Graduation

On Monday, May 20, CSN’s commencement ceremony was held at the Thomas & Mack Center for a record 2,735 students, according to preliminary numbers. Nearly 1,000 attended and received their certificates or degrees. 

Gala

The CSN Foundation sponsored its annual Legacy of Achievement Gala at the Rio Hotel on April 28.    More than $300,000 (net) was raised for student scholarships. I would like to thank the Foundation Board of Trustees, Jacque Matthews, Mary Thomas, the Foundation staff, and all of the volunteers for another successful evening — the best event of its kind in Las Vegas!    

Reflections of Success and other events

It has become our habit — and a great habit it is — to end each academic year with expressions of gratitude for our CSN faculty and staff. You work throughout the year to help students,

CSN English Professor Linda Gannon received the Excellence in Service Award at the 2013 Reflection of Success Awards Ceremony.

and before long, years of service become decades of dedication to CSN. This year, Reflections of Success gave us an opportunity to say “Thank you!” to dozens of outstanding faculty and staff.

Our annual Retirement Luncheon expressed appreciation to 21 colleagues retiring this year.  Our new event, “Final Stretch Fairs” gave us an opportunity to share information and to celebrate student success.  Indeed, spring semester ended with a flurry of wonderful activities organized by remarkable people like Michelle Word, Suzan Workman, Annette Lord, the academic deans, Dan Gouker, Michelle Fogg, and the Internal Recognitions Committee, chaired by Jodie Mandel, and many, many others who worked so hard on these events.  THANK YOU TO ALL!

 Legislative Report
** Final approval is contingent upon adequate state revenues and gubernatorial approval**

Today marks the end of the 77^th Regular Session of the Legislature, during which lawmakers enacted transformational higher education legislation. They eliminated the 2.5 percent salary cuts, continued six days of furlough for each year of the biennium and provided the opportunity for merit pay in FY 2014-2015. Additional details are described below, but again, please note that the governor has yet to approve the funding formula and future changes may still occur.

• Under the formula that legislators approved for funding colleges and universities, CSN will receive about $7 million of new money for the biennium.

Under the new formula, state funding for higher education will now be based on actual course completions rather than enrollments. Lawmakers also approved a performance pool. Beginning in the second year of the biennium, 5 percent of our general fund will be based on meeting certificate and degree goals specific to Nevada’s community colleges. That 5 percent will increase by 5 percent each year and will be capped in FY 2017-2018, when 20 percent of our general fund dollars will be dependent on meeting the state’s degree and certificate targets.

It is important to note that CSN will still be the lowest funded institution per student in the state. Although the college received the largest boost of any NSHE institution under the new formula, which the governor must still approve, the new money is extremely needed. 

• As you are aware, the college’s enrollment has recently declined. This has resulted in an expected registration and tuition fee shortfall of approximately $4.5 million. We have planned to absorb this deficit in the coming biennium as we continue to make strides to strengthen retention. Community colleges across the nation experienced unprecedented increases in enrollments during the height of the recession that are now stabilizing. In addition, at CSN, we have been implementing significant initiatives to advance student success that have and will likely continue to impact enrollments further as our student culture adapts. The new funding will be important to support our efforts to maintain access to higher education for the community and help our students thrive at CSN.
• If the formula is approved by the governor, the remaining balance of the new funding will support:
  • Academic and student affairs intervention strategies
  • Enrollment management implementation to help us protect access and stabilize enrollment
     
• Some restricted funds “pass through” to support employee compensation, specifically insurance rate increases that are the responsibility of the college. 

Implications:

• We will continue to honor our commitment to address salary inequities and compression problems. We have completed an Request for Qualification (RFQ) to identify potential vendors to perform a salary analysis. The Request for Proposal (RFP) is being finalized and we will shortly complete the vendor selection process. This third-party vendor will help analyze the problem and provide recommendations for solutions. Faculty leaders are part of the committee to select the vendor.
• We will continue our Achieving the Dream and other student success initiatives as CSN transitions from access and enrollment growth to completions and student success as the new funding formula and performance metrics require. 
• We will continue to improve the physical environment of our campuses to create a welcoming place for students and visitors.
• We will continue to strengthen operations and infrastructure to support student success, from the point of admissions, through advisement to transfer or graduation.

Questions from Faculty and Staff Members: 

“What legislative goals were achieved this year?”

We approached the 2013 session with four goals that paralleled those of the Board of Regents:  1) restore salaries, 2) eliminate furloughs, 3) adopt a new funding formula, and 4) improve PEBP.  As mentioned above, lawmakers restored 2.5 percent of the salary reductions that state employees received during the recession. The six furlough days for each fiscal year will continue.  The new funding formula was approved and funded by legislators. PEBP will operate the same for the next two years. Please note that all of this is subject to gubernatorial approval and may change further. 

“What happened to the legislation that would have removed community colleges from the Board of Regents and placed them under the state Department of Education?”

Senate Bill 391 was amended to create an interim legislative committee to study community college governance and funding.  The bill was approved by the Assembly and Senate but has yet to receive the governor’s signature. It would require the committee to create two subcommittees, including one on governance and funding and another on academic and workforce alignment. Although the legislation does not specifically mandate community college membership, there are a variety of stakeholders who would be appointed to serve, including representatives from the Legislature, the Board of Regents, K-12, local governments at the county and city level, the Office of Economic Development and the Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation.

Their task would be to review the mission of each community college in the state and whether it is advisable to transfer the administration from the Board of Regents to another government entity.

Supporters of the legislation cited that fact that Nevada is one of few states in the nation where control is vested at the state level. Again, this is contingent upon gubernatorial approval. We are watching this closely and will provide more information on the study as it becomes available. 

“What is the status of the work climate findings and the committee making recommendations on the survey results?

The results of the work climate survey are with the Work Climate Committee.  The committee met twice before school ended and will meet again next week. They will then resume their work in the fall. I anticipate they will provide a comprehensive report on the survey during fall convocation. 

“Are we through with site closures and budget cuts?”

We anticipate no closures this year. We are carefully developing and monitoring the budget for the next biennium, as enrollment fluctuates and we acclimate to the new revenue structure based on course completion.  At the same time, salary issues mentioned above have high priority. We are setting aside base funding to address these issues, in a phased approach, including our salary equity and compression problem.    

Have a great summer!

 –Mike Richards

Greetings and welcome to the CSN Chronicle for April 2013. Spring semester this year is unusually busy and the Legislature continues its deliberations!

Town Halls

My intent, as the academic year closes, was to share information on various topics of interest.  Three town hall meetings were held on each campus. K.C. [...]]]>  

Greetings and welcome to the CSN Chronicle for April 2013. Spring semester this year is unusually busy and the Legislature continues its deliberations!

Town Halls

My intent, as the academic year closes, was to share information on various topics of interest.  Three town hall meetings were held on each campus. K.C. Brekken has summarized the meetings and topics, which are posted here for your review.

We discussed salaries and benefits, student success, the new funding formula, work climate and distance education.  Attendees also asked many questions.  The questions and answers are also summarized.

Communication at CSN continues to challenge all of us, and town halls, chronicles and round table discussions help keep the dialogue open.  Starting next fall, I will be holding two open town hall discussions each semester to help. My door is open, as they say, so please feel free to contact me in the meantime, should you have questions or concerns.

Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society

The Nevada/California region of Phi Theta Kappa held its annual Regional Conference in San Jose, Calif., on April 5-6. Alpha Xi Beta, CSN’s chapter, advised so ably by Professor Bruno Rhodes, worked diligently last year to achieve the goals as set forth by Phi Theta Kappa, the largest honor society in American higher education. Our officers and members’ efforts paid off Saturday night when they were presented with the following awards:

1.  Five Star Award for Chapter Development

2.     Honors in Action Project/Theme 6 – 3^rd Place

3.     2012 Yearbook Award – 2^nd Place

4.     Chapter Participation in Regional Events – 1^st Place

5.     Award for Regional Project 2 – Make a Difference Day

6.     Award for Regional Project 4 – Scholarly Hallmarks

7.     Award for Regional Project 5 – Unity of Diversity

8.     Award for Excellence in Fellowship
Congratulations Alpha Xi Beta!  You cannot do better than five stars!

Budget Outlook

•  The Economic Forum established a flat revenue budget for the 2013-15 biennium;

•  The budget priorities of CSN and the Board of Regents remain:  restore salaries, eliminate furloughs and approve the funding formula;�
Regental budget priorities will be difficult to achieve with the latest revenue forecast;

•  CSN has experienced a decline in enrollment and concurrently a decline in revenues.  This means that for the next biennium, a backfill will be needed on budgeted revenues from any new appropriations CSN might receive.  Discussed further in our town hall notes described above, the decline in enrollment is largely due to nationwide post-Recession trends.

CSN Executive Leadership Institute (ELI) Program Accepting Applications

I cannot tout our Executive Leadership Institute enough. This program has been a wonderful success in terms of professional development. Applications are being solicited for the 2013/2014 CSN Executive Leadership Institute. Throughout the monthly sessions, scholars will enhance their leadership knowledge and apply transferrable skills as they prepare for potential high-level advancement. I encourage all those who aspire for more within the career field of higher education to apply.

ELI Application instructions
http://www.csn.edu/pages/3923.asp
ELI Application form
http://www.csn.edu/pages/3925.asp

Please direct questions to the ELI Application Committee Chair Gillian Silver-Rodis at Gillian.Silver-Rodis@csn.edu. Thank you.

Questions from Faculty and Staff Members (Many questions are posted in the town hall notes referenced above):

What improvements if any can be expected with our health care benefits?

The Board of Regents met this month and discussed the system’s efforts to improve the state’s benefits package. The Board ultimately supported a resolution to empower PEBP to explore other options available this fall to see if we might bring better and/or more options to our people. It was also discussed that if NSHE pulled out of PEBP it would negatively impact other state workers’ healthcare.  In the meantime, as discussed in the town hall notes, PEBP voted in December to continue the current HMO and PPO for another two years. I cannot emphasize enough the need to educate yourself and your families about these plans and prepare appropriately.  Take good care of yourselves.  

     –Mike Richards

Salary & Benefits

Nearly half of survey respondents wanted information on salaries and benefits in the [...]]]> Prior to the town halls, CSN issued an open-ended survey question to college employees to solicit questions they would like addressed during the upcoming town hall. CSN President Michael Richards opened each town hall responding to the majority of these inquiries.

Salary & Benefits

Nearly half of survey respondents wanted information on salaries and benefits in the context of the current legislative session. Dr. Richards emphasized that CSN and the Board of Regents’ top legislative priorities are to restore salaries and eliminate furloughs.

The Board of Regents approved in March a new salary schedule for community colleges and Senior Vice President of Finance and Administration Patty Charlton summarized what this will mean for CSN. Many CSN employees have been involved in this effort, which will improve Nevada community colleges’ ability to recruit and retain employees. Those employees currently at the base of their salary schedule will receive a boost to the new minimum levels established by the new NSHE community college salary schedule.

An RFQ has been issued to solicit a firm to conduct a review of each academic and administrative faculty member position to help us align with the new schedule and eliminate salary compression which has occurred over the last few years as salaries have been frozen and new employees brought on board. This will have to be done in phases but we hope to have the vendor’s first set of recommendations by the end of the calendar year.

Dr. Richards clarified that this will not impact classified personnel because they are not under the Board of Regents.

The governor announced this month that he aspires to eliminate furloughs on July 1, 2014. Dr. Richards expressed his position that he hoped this would transpire a year earlier on July 1, 2013.

He noted we are all eagerly awaiting the Economic Forum  on May 3, when new revenue projections will be available. Lawmakers will use those projections to build the next biennium’s budget.

Dr. Richards expressed concerns that health benefits were unlikely to improve. The state makes many decisions in which NSHE presidents have little power or input. In December, the PEBP Board decided to keep the two polarizing plans (HMO and high deductible PPO) in place for the next two years.

Funding Formula:

Getting the new funding formula approved is also the Board of Regents’ top priority. Lawmakers have provided positive feedback. Dr. Richards expressed his opinion that this is the only tool on the horizon to address CSN’s longstanding funding inequity.

Remaining issues that need to be addressed are the ‘F’ grade. He expressed his hope that lawmakers would support their interim Committee to Study Higher Education Funding’s recommendation from this summer to fund the “earned” ‘F.’  An earned ‘F’ is one earned by a student that attended the majority of the course but ultimately failed. ‘F’s for non-attendance will not be funded.

The formula stresses course and degree completion and is a complete re-orientation for CSN. We are adapting to this with a number of initiatives in student success, Dr. Richards said.

He noted the media coverage of the north-south rivalry of funds. For the first time ever, there is a southern caucus that has organized itself to address issues cohesively, such as the funding of higher education.

Community college governance:

Dr. Richards described S.B. 391, which was authored by several senators and is supported by the Las Vegas Metro Chamber to move community colleges from the Board of Regents to the Department of Education, which currently governs K-12. This bill has been altered to require a legislative study of community college funding and governance, which will be conducted over the next year, if passed.

Student Success:

Dr. Richards invited CSN’s Vice President of Student Affairs Dr. Santos Martinez to summarize advancements in student success initiatives.

Dr. Martinez emphasized that all of CSN will need to make fundamental changes in the way we currently do retention and recruitment. This is critical not only for the new funding formula but to facilitate a number of national and state initiatives that CSN, Nevada and the Nevada System of Higher Education are involved in.

CSN has a new program underway called CSN College Connections in which CSN staff are taking the admissions, financial aid, career counseling and other services to the high school. CSN piloted this program at Western High School recently with 500 seniors – 300 of which were processed by CSN. The more we can expand this kind of a program, the more we are likely to enroll better prepared students, who can then readily start classes when the semester begins.

Dr. Martinez described upcoming changes to CSN’s advising and counseling system that will move the college toward an intrusive advising case management process.
There is also a new policy on Satisfactory Academic Progress in financial aid that will mean new deadlines for students to get used to for applications and disbursements. CSN is also embarking on a systematic enrollment management process that will begin next year.

Achieving the Dream (ATD):

President Richards updated faculty and staff on our Achieving the Dream process, noting that it is our primary tool for concentrating on student success. Approximately  60 percent of CSN’s ATD team consists of faculty and CSN is very proud of the large number of employees involved in this effort.

Work Climate:

CSN recently completed a new work climate study, the results of which will be discussed at convocation. Dr. Richards underscored that the 2011 work climate study led to many changes, which he outlined in the February Chronicle, and how important this survey is to him and the college in terms of improving our workplace.

E-Learning:

CSN is moving to a new learning management system called Canvas in the fall. Several departments piloted the new system in online and hybrid classes this spring and have reported favorable reviews. Training is already underway.

Dr. Richards discussed the Richard Katz report that was reviewed recently by the Board of Regents and emphasized the majority of recommendations required additional funding. He added that no virtual college will be established. Instead, regents recommended that the chancellor put together a committee to determine which recommendations are feasible. We have nominated several CSN employees for that committee and have yet to hear back.

Diversity:

Dr. Richards stressed that CSN is the most diverse higher education in the state in terms of students, staff and faculty. He emphasized that the college’s commitment to diversity and added that the annual affirmative action report is a critical tool to help us address where we have shortcomings. That 300-plus page report is available on the college’s website. The report is used and discussed at the first meeting of every search committee.

He noted that CSN is an emerging Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) and that the college has a committee underway to help us achieve HSI status, which would allow us to apply in a competitive process for federal Title V grants that would benefit all students.

Q & A (In order of campus)

Cheyenne Q & A:

Explain the changes to the salary schedule and how that will roll out.

Senior Vice President of Finance & Administration Patty Charlton responded that we are in the process of completing the request for vendors to submit proposals to help us select a firm that can guide us through this process. We have a lot of academic faculty and staff to review. It will be done position, by position. I will be looking at a phased in approach. Please look for more information to come out on this in the near future.

Dr. Richards stated that the college is well aware of the compression and other inequities that have arisen during the last six years of budget cuts.

The study will be completed by 2013 then?

By the end of 2013 and Dr. Richards will look at making any adjustments that we can retro-active to July 1. It will be addressed in phases.

Please tell us more about the senate bill that would move us under the Department of Education.

Dr. Richards stated that the primary emphasis behind the bill is a group of Republican senators. He added that we are endorsing the idea of a study on community college governance and funding.

What’s being done to ease the transfer of CSN students to UNLV?

Dr. Richards stated that we have made positive strides this year. UNLV President Smatresk allocated two UNLV transfer counselors  and two admission counselors to reside at CSN to smooth the way. They are working with our faculty and staff to update articulation sheets.

What direction are we moving for custodial and grounds in regards to outsourcing?

Patty responded that the college has relied on some external vendors to provide services. We need to have our facilities look to the standards that our college has set. We have had challenges filling some positions and ensuring that people show up to work. Our students have expressed that it is important to them that their campuses are clean and welcoming.

Dr. Richards stressed that we know how important it is for our students to have clean and welcoming facilities and expressed appreciation to the staff that work night and day to make that happen. He emphasized that we do not have enough people to make that happen. He said that the college has explored outsourcing some facilities maintenance functions. Sherri Payne, CSN’s AVP of Facilities, has a backlog of more than $100 million in deferred maintenance projects. The parking lots need to be refinished, painting needs to be done. Realizing that CSN will not get more money from the state to fund these projects, we need to come up with creative ways to complete them.

When the project goes out to bid, are we required to ensure that the vendor reflects our community?

Sherri Payne responded that when projects go to bid, the college prioritizes using local vendors.

Patty Charlton added that we are working with NSHE to attract more local companies and more minority owned businesses to partner with us as vendors.

Does the college have any additional plans for new bachelor’s degrees?

Dr. Richards responded that we have two in special niche areas and a third underway which will start this fall in cardiorespiratory sciences. The college has not seen sustained community interest for an additional four-year programs.

What is the status of the Northwest campus?

There is a bill in Congress to allow us a land patent for those 40 acres. We’ve been waiting for congressional action on this bill for some time.

There are phones in the classrooms now, but what kinds of safety measures are you discussing for staff that work with the public?

Patty Charlton responded that CSN is looking at obtaining panic buttons, which are already in place in certain areas of the college. CSN will work with departments over the summer on this.

How will you coordinate the implementation of late registration with financial aid?

Dr. Santos Martinez responded that there are plans in place to move up financial aid deadlines and to require students to file by a certain point. If we want students to succeed, we have to get them to plan better. This is going to put responsibility on a lot of faculty and staff. We are going to have to start documenting when students are in class and when they are not. At this point, we’re trying to figure out how to do that.

Charleston Q & A

How do we pay for these student success initiatives?

Dr. Richards responded that many of the items on our student success agenda, such as the new admissions policy implemented last year, do not aid our access mission and also do not have a cost associated with them. There are other policy items, such as getting our recruitment staff out at more locations that do have fiscal challenges.

How can we get our Legislature to understand their behavior impacts our students?

Dr. Richards noted our advocacy efforts and responded that there are many new legislators this year, many  of whom are very supportive of the college’s mission.

Is there anyone that classified council can talk to have our salary schedule revised?

Dr. Richards stated that we have expressed the difficulty of hiring and retaining employees at all levels due to the salary and benefit reductions and we have not heard anything about a salary schedule revision at the state level.

Who is making the push to put community colleges under the purview of the Department of Education?

Dr. Richards stated that there was a group of Republican senators who supported the measure in concert with the Las Vegas Metro Chamber.

Will enrollment continue to decrease given that fees aren’t going down anytime soon?

Dr. Richards referred to work conducted by the Institutional Research Department at CSN that has shown a major bubble in enrollment during the Great Recession as many people came back to college to learn new skills. This happened across the nation. If our enrollments had continued on the same slope before the recession, and the bubble had never occurred, we would be about where we are now and we will probably go down even a bit more.  Institutional Research Director John Bearce discussed cost-benefits and emphasized the importance that the benefits of obtaining the degree/certificate outweigh the costs of obtaining it.

Can we expand recruitment using students?

Dr. Martinez responded that we’re growing a cadre of students, outstanding students, to assist with recruitment and developing peer-to-peer relationships.

Can you tell us about the savings from PrintWise?

Patty Charlton responded that PrintWise, CSN’s printing program designed to reduce the amount of printing done at the college, has been very successful and cut the cost of paper by almost 60%.

Are there any plans to provide positive education about the new high deductible plan, which has been successful throughout private industry at reducing healthcare costs?

A representative from Human Resources spoke and said there is currently no plan to provide such a seminar but that HR does conduct seminars to explain the benefits.

Dr. Richards emphasized the importance of staying well and making sure to educate yourself about how the PPO and HMO operate.

Can we increase the number of Bio 189 courses offered at the college?

Dr. Richards responded that this has been a problem for many years and not just for the nursing program. There are not enough labs to meet the demand for this course and it has become a bottle neck, particularly for nursing students. When CSN redid the labs at Cheyenne, the college used temporary modules to house labs and kept the modules open after the renovations were complete to increase the amount of lab classes offered. But he noted this is still not enough. Our biggest challenge is space and capacity.

CSN Math & Sciences Dean Sally Johnston added that CSN is currently putting up as many class sections as we can. While enrollment in many areas of the college has decreased, it has increased in biology and that we have maximized our lab space. She noted the backlog of students waiting to get into Bio 189 is smaller than it used to be.

She added that she has been at CSN a long, long time and that she too has been aggravated by furloughs and cuts, but she is joined by many in saying that CSN is our home and we are going to stick with it.

Dr. Richards responded that their support is gratifying.

What are your thoughts on the legislation to add a student regent?

Dr. Richards responded that it would require a change in the state constitution. He noted that prior to Board of Regents’ meetings, meetings are held with student leaders and that students have a lot of input into the system.

Henderson Q & A:

Decisions have been made without talking to faculty that impact the classroom environment and impacting our ability to teach.

Dr. Richards asked if the individual could elaborate.

A couple of years ago, the college redesigned smart classroom podiums and placed them in rooms. In some cases, they blocked the boards or did not work well. These podiums are tall and block students’ view of the board. They require faculty to stand behind them as if we are giving a speech. IT refuses to move the podium.

Patty Charlton, Senior Vice President of Finance and Administration, invited anyone with such complaints to contact her office directly to take care of it if they were unable to obtain a successful response. We cannot block the screens and this needs to be addressed.

In the math department, there are a lot of faculty with really great ideas, but we are being told we cannot present them to you. Can I just email you directly or do I have to go through the chain of command?

Dr. Richards invited the faculty member to email him directly anytime and noted that he must also respect the chain of command and shared governance.

How do we better educate students about scholarship opportunities and make them understand it is worth it to apply?

Dr. Richards stressed it is worth their time and emphasized that we must work to better market scholarships at CSN and in the community.

An individual commented on the need for extended hours of food service at Henderson and improvement of the quality of food. He suggested that the culinary department might be able to provide the service at Henderson.

Another individual added that many of the HVAC students come to the campus to take night classes after a day of work and would appreciate a cup of coffee, which could help with persistence outcomes.

A third individual asked Dr. Richards to expand on S.B. 391 and why lawmakers would want to put community colleges under the Department of Education. Most models consist of community college districts that are self-contained with their own authorities and tax bodies.

Dr. Richards responded that there has been a lot of discussion about this at the Legislature and that the legislation will likely be transformed to a study of community college governance and funding. The Las Vegas Metro Chamber has advocated for this and they have gathered support from lawmakers in the north and south. We hope a discussion comes out of this about national best practices.

Can you tell us about changes in counseling?

Associate Vice President of Academic Services Dr. Hyla Winters explained that in the last year, we have been working to embed the counselors into CSN’s six academic schools. Those counselors will work with declared majors in that school so they can reach out to students and keep them on track. In addition, they will work with select faculty to become department faculty advisors to students. These counselors will be physically located with the school and will begin meeting with their deans in July.

There is another cadre of advisors who will help with general ed students. They will do a circuit and help with general education advisement. Then we have transfer advisors who will help us with transfer. So we have three elements that are being targeted. This is going to take some time to shake out.

How does the ‘W’ get funded or not funded in the new formula?

Dr. Richards responded that he believed the ‘W’ grade, which does not get funded, will eventually be phased out. The new formula focuses on completions. We know there will be instances where an ‘I’ (Incomplete) will be necessary. He emphasized the importance of lawmakers funding the earned ‘F’ grade.

Will faculty need to take attendance then?

Dr. Richards responded that the new formula will likely take us to a place where attendance taking will be required. There are a lot of faculty that already take attendance. He emphasized that there are some lawmakers who do not want to fund ‘F’s at all.

Will the earned ‘F’ be based on completing a certain percentage of classes?

John Bearce replied that lawmakers are looking at financial aid as a model, which uses the 60% threshold.

Dr. Richards added it would be a good idea for faculty to begin taking attendance in the fall if they are not already doing so.

Is CSN doing anything to encourage retired individuals to take courses? It adds much diversity to the classroom experience.

Dr. Richards agreed and noted that at the height of the recession and budget cuts, the Board of Regents withdrew the policy of allowing people over age 65 to enroll at a reduced cost. We are hearing from the state that they want us to educate people who will then use that education to enter the workforce and help diversify/build our economy.

With no more questions, Dr. Richards thanked everyone for taking the time to attend.

The current system is broken to the detriment of many of this college’s core constituents and their families.

Recently the federal deferred action program has helped a number [...]]]> Today I am proud to join the Partnership for a New American Economy and dozens of college and university presidents around the nation in calling for comprehensive immigration reform.

The current system is broken to the detriment of many of this college’s core constituents and their families.

Recently the federal deferred action program has helped a number of our young neighbors and friends step out of the shadows of undocumented citizenship. But this short-term fix does not protect families, encourage stable homes for our youth or support our nation and state’s economic goals.

Carla Hernandez, Alan Aleman and Astrid Silva are just a few of the brave Nevadans who have come out publically and spoken about their lives as undocumented citizens growing up in Las Vegas. They all chose CSN as a place to obtain a postsecondary education.

This is their college and I hope in the coming weeks that Congress will enact an immigration policy that allows us to support them and others who aspire to contribute openly to our community.

I encourage those who agree to sign the “Scholars United For Immigration Reform” letter campaign by clicking on the link provided.

Sincerely,

Michael D. Richards, Ph.D.
President, College of Southern Nevada

The CSN Chronicle

 Greetings to all!  There is much activity on many fronts that I’d like you to know about.     

 Black History Month

Last week, as has been our custom this academic year with heritage months, CSN hosted a President’s forum on student success, this time focusing on African-American persistence and completion. We appreciated the participation [...]]]>  

The CSN Chronicle

 Greetings to all!  There is much activity on many fronts that I’d like you to know about.     

 Black History Month

Last week, as has been our custom this academic year with heritage months, CSN hosted a President’s forum on student success, this time focusing on African-American persistence and completion. We appreciated the participation of Congressman Steven Horsford and the address by Dr. Harriet Barlow.  These forums included a data review and analysis of our students as well as remarks from a student and guest speaker on how CSN can better serve its minority populations.

On Tuesday, the Black History Month Committee will host the annual scholarship reception with keynote speaker CSN Professor Karen Laing-Urbana. I encourage you to come if your schedule permits from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. in K101 at the Charleston campus.

 There have been many other great events taking place at CSN, DRI and UNLV during this month.  A full calendar is available online at www.csn.edu/blackhistory.

 Work Climate Survey

Many faculty and staff participated in the recent work climate survey. I understand that the results will be available by April. The work climate committee will review the findings and seek input from the community on the challenges identified so they can develop recommendations. Typically, these kinds of surveys reveal positive observations and areas for improvement. Areas targeted for improvement in 2011 included campus communications, policies and training. We’ll see what changes occurred in these areas. Again this year, we intend to take the recommendations seriously. The aggregate survey data will be posted on the IR website.

Legislative Advocacy

ASCSN Student Body President Travis Brown, Vice President Antonio Guerrero, Secretary Charles Winters, Senator Michelle Tewes and dental hygiene student Michelle Fasbinder at the Grant Sawyer Building on Friday

NSHE and its institutions have now had four hearings during the early days of the 77^thRegular Session of the Nevada Legislature. The hearings have covered NSHE’s budget request and the new funding formula recommended by the Interim Committee of the Legislature on Higher Education Funding. On Friday, a group of our students, including ASCSN Student Body President Travis Brown, Vice President Antonio Guerrero, Secretary Charles Winters, Senator Michelle Tewes and dental hygiene student Michelle Fasbinder were present for the joint meeting of the Assembly Committee on Ways and Means and the Senate Committee on Finance. The committee met to review the impact of the economic recession and subsequent budget cuts to NSHE and K-12. Due to time constraints, only a few students from NSHE institutions were able to testify. They did a wonderful job and represented all Nevada students well. In addition, CSN Classified Council President Rob Telles provided comprehensive and heartfelt testimony about the impact of pay and benefit cuts to CSN employees. We appreciate all of their efforts to support the college and higher education this legislative session. We now need faculty, staff and students to engage in regular contact with legislators to advocate the budget request of the Board of Regents and to tell legislators we need the new funding formula. 

CSN’s legislative priorities include supporting the proposed funding formula, as approved by the interim Legislative Committee on Higher Education Funding and the Board of Regents, and salary restoration for employees. This link provides suggestions on contacting legislators. 

On its website, the CSN Foundation has set up a legislative information page with links to individual legislators, bills and committees. This site may also be helpful to you.

 As the legislative session proceeds, we will provide updates and more information. 

Student Affairs also has a new blog. Check it regularly for content related to our student support services. As discussed in the last Chronicle, there are a lot of changes occurring in this area of the college as we focus more on student success and retention.

Bradley Honious

I would also like to welcome the new assistant vice president of College Access Services, Bradley Honious. His experience includes service as associate vice president of Enrollment Management for Onondaga Community College; managing director of Financial Aid and Veteran’s Affairs for Valencia College District; director of Student Financial Assistance for Gateway Community College, part of the Maricopa Community College System; acting district director of Student Affairs for the Maricopa Community College District; and program coordinator of Financial Aid Information Services and Counseling at Arizona State University. Honious was selected after a national search and will oversee Student Financial Services and Veterans’ Affairs. 

Questions from Faculty and Staff Members:�

 “How many students are enrolled spring semester?”

Our spring enrollment is still not finalized, but we are down by about 4 percent over last spring. While declining enrollment at community colleges is currently a national phenomena, research also suggests that one of the best ways to improve institutional enrollment is to focus on retention. This fits in with much of the student success work underway at the college that many of you are involved in. We are also evaluating our outreach and enrollment processes for improvements. 

“What is your position on the E-Learning report?”

As many of you know, CSN is a major provider of online instruction. I frequently tell people that CSN is Nevada’s Virtual College. This year nearly 5,000 FTE students or about 14,000 total students are enrolled in our online campus. CSN offers 28 complete programs and certificates online in addition to hundreds of class sections taught by innovative faculty.  Dr. Richard Katz, retained by NSHE as a distance education consultant, was aware of our efforts but did not summarize the scope of distance education operations on any campus in his recent report to the Board of Regents. 

The report will prompt much discussion, which is good. I am hopeful it may also lead to improvements long advocated by CSN faculty and staff.  But of the 16 recommendations in the report, 13 require major infusions of new funding that NSHE and its institutions do not have. The lack of resources will certainly constrain the impact of the report and be an issue going forward. 

“What good does a Work Climate Survey do? What kinds of changes, if any, can we expect from another survey?”

This is a great question. I can’t tell you what to expect from the results of the most recent survey as we have not received them or analyzed the responses. Below are the results from the previous survey and if they are any indication, I think you can surmise that the surveys produce meaningful results at CSN. 

Consistent policies and procedures

Human Resources

• HR website reorganized for easier access to information and forms.
• Faculty and staff handbooks with live links to current policies developed and posted on HR website.
• Employee resources section of HR site for common topics and questions by new and continuing employees
• Short video tutorials and thematic FAQ page created for common HR questions.

Evaluations

• New part-time faculty members must be evaluated their first semester and continuing part-time faculty members must be evaluated at a minimum every three years.
• An online evaluation system was deployed and is now the required tool for evaluating full-time faculty and professional staff.
• An online evaluation system for classified employees is under development.

Faculty Senate and Curriculum

• Faculty Senate updated its by-laws which eliminated internal inconsistencies and created two voting seats for contingent faculty.
• Curriculum Committee is moving to a completely electronic curriculum system with electronic approvals which will allow for a yearly curriculum-to-catalog cycle rather than the current three-year cycle.

Communication/Communication of values
Administration

• Members of the administration are working more visible to employees every day and at Ketch-up type events for employees.
• The President’s Monthly Chronicle, cabinet minutes and the President’s Blog communicate CSN news, provide answers to employees’ questions.
• More frequent updates are provided to all employees by email and on the CSN home page.

Departments

• Integrated communication between and within departments, and through social media and MyCSN, have improved.
• Budget Services published annual overview of CSN budget and will post quarterly updates with current budgets and year-to-date activity on updated website in 2012.
• Department chairs have been encouraged to increase communication with part-time faculty.

Campus Events

• CSN events and information are disseminated via ICS video screens, weekly CSN Events newsletter and the master events calendar on the website. 

Training and access to it

Relevant and Convenient Training

• CAPE offered hundreds of training workshops throughout the year on all main campuses and online. These included NEATS/supervisory training, FERPA and MyCSN training, leadership training, policy training, customized trainings by request.
• CAPE developed additional online training options, relevant resources and an improved online registration and evaluation system that can record participation.
• Diversity-related workshops, including anti-discrimination training and adaptive technology/disability awareness events, have been developed by CAPE and DRC.

Administration Support

• Convocations and Classified Staff In-Service Development Days were redesigned to be more relevant to workplace needs. Supervisors were specifically encouraged to arrange for their employees to attend.
• Support for sabbaticals, travel, grant-in-aid and professional development was protected during budget cuts.

Faculty Development

• Annual part-time faculty conference (Adjunct Impact) was developed and offered successfully. Opportunities for training for part-time faculty have increased.
• Professional development is considered in full-time and part-time faculty evaluations.
• CAPE developed a Virtual Faculty Orientation website 

Customer Service and Relationships

Human Resources

• HR now holds regular office hours on all three main campuses.

Student Affairs

• A “mystery shopper” study was conducted in 2010, resulting in equipment upgrades, procedural changes, and new broad-based customer service training for front-line employees.
• The MyCSN call center was created to assist Student Affairs departments and OTS in supporting students; making correct referrals using consistent information is emphasized.

Academic Affairs

• Counseling was moved to Academic Affairs and to a school-based model to allow more focused advising and support for academic programs. Faculty-driven advising is being advanced in departments.

Recognition

• Recognition awards program for faculty has been instituted; outstanding faculty achievements promoted on website and ICS screens.
• Process for nominating colleagues for recognition opportunities has been promoted and managed by Internal Recognition Committee.
• End-of-year Reflections of Success event and Retirees’ Luncheon created for recognition and service awards. 

Other Areas

Campus Spaces

• At all main campuses, directional and building signage have been installed.
• Public spaces, classrooms and offices have been renovated at Cheyenne (CY) campus.
• Obsolete air conditioning and heating systems have been replaced at CY and high-tech centers.
• Task seating has been replaced across Henderson campus.

Safety and Security

• Safety and Security Committee has been formed and has had its first meeting.
• Emergency phones and towers have been installed.
• The emergency alert system has been upgraded.
• The Emergency Operations Plan has been created and disseminated.

Best regards to all. 

–Mike Richards

Sandy Hook Tragedy and CSN

As the fall semester ended, the tragedy at Sandy Hook School occurred in Newtown, Conn. The horror of this event shocked the nation, stunned us [...]]]> Happy New Year to all of you! Welcome back to another year and to spring semester. There is considerable information to share with you. 

Sandy Hook Tragedy and CSN

As the fall semester ended, the tragedy at Sandy Hook School occurred in Newtown, Conn. The horror of this event shocked the nation, stunned us with grief and prompted every one of us to ask, how could this happen? Some of us, myself included, thought when and where will it happen next? 

Rather than let fear and anger paralyze us, we must let these motivate us to be prepared. Over the last few months, I’ve reported on steps CSN has taken to address student and employee safety and campus preparedness for emergency situations. I want to remind you of what resources CSN has in place to help address emergency incidents and keep our campus safe. 

We are fortunate to have consummate professionals, who are trained to handle emergency incidents, leading our CSN Police Department and our Office of Emergency Management. Although we depend on their expertise, we are not relieved of our personal obligations to be alert and aware of what’s going on around us. 

Every one of us has a responsibility to review the college’s Emergency Preparedness Guidelines so that we know what to do in an emergency at CSN. This report, which we rolled out last fall and promoted at convocation, includes emergency telephone numbers and instructions on how to respond in a variety of manmade and natural disasters, including an active shooter situation. They will also provide you with a greater understanding of how first-responders will act in accordance with each situation. Please make sure your colleagues and direct reports have read these guidelines. Be ready. 

I am pleased to report that since the beginning of the fall 2012 semester, a total of 931 employees have attended the Emergency Management Overview sessions and 78 of your colleagues have attended the Floor Warden training and made the commitment to act in that role in the event of an emergency. 

CSN police officers maintain continuous patrols on our campuses and at our centers. Our officers work closely with community law enforcement agencies to share information and CSN recently joined the Southern Nevada Area Communication Council, which fosters relationships between police agencies and the interoperability of enhanced communication equipment that is vitally important to first responders. 

New “Blue Light” Emergency call boxes have been installed at strategic locations throughout CSN’s three main campuses. When you push the “information” or “emergency” button (depending on the model), you are immediately linked to the CSN Police Department personnel who will quickly respond to your call and dispatch aid. In addition, the tower units act as an emergency notification system from which campus public safety personnel can broadcast critical incident information across campuses.

We are in the process of enhancing our Emergency Notification System and I urge you to sign up now at www.csn.edu/alert to receive email, text and/or phone calls during and after campus emergencies that will provide you with the latest information. In addition, our Intercampus Communication System (ICS) screens provide updates on breaking situations as we receive them.

Additional information

• Visit the CSN website for our more information on our policies and public safety.
• Know that incidences and all threats are investigated by trained professionals.
• If you have information pertaining to threats of any kind at CSN or to our students, it is imperative to report these to the CSN police.
• Our campuses utilize sophisticated camera systems to monitor activity at all CSN locations.
• CSN police officers perform around-the-clock random checks of our campuses. 

Finally, CSN hosts many children each day on our campuses.  They enrich our lives and the learning experiences we offer.  Let us be mindful of their safety and security as well as our own. 

Changes to CSN Diversity Function

Diversity is one of three pillars supporting CSN’s mission alongside quality and access. This means that CSN must represent the diverse community we serve and provide a welcoming environment, where all have the opportunity thrive. There are many ways to accomplish these goals, some which include education and celebration and others that require us to build, strengthen or transform relationships within our community, and we have limited resources.

To lead us in these endeavors, I have reorganized our diversity function.  While some institutions can afford 8 to 10 FTEs in diversity, CSN has to be more prudent.  We have had a search underway for several months – a fact that caused much frustration this fall as faculty and staff have come to depend on institutional leadership and guidance in this area for a multitude of activities and issues. I believe this speaks to how valued the diversity function is at CSN, a function I have split:  establishing a line position for internal diversity efforts, and a staff position for outreach.

Please welcome Kimiko Walton in her new role as CSN’s diversity coordinator, effective immediately, as an outcome of our national search. As the former head of recruitment, she has demonstrated leadership in outreach and has a unique understanding of whom we serve. She will provide educational programs and resources, including support to heritage month committees and consultation to faculty and administrators in strengthening diversity. She will provide educational and social activities that serve to celebrate diversity and eliminate discrimination. She will also support student clubs and organizations as they endeavor to do the same.

To lead our outreach and community relations, I have appointed Maria Marinch to fulfill this role, effective Feb. 1.  Maria has more than 20 years of experience in community outreach. She has designed and implemented award-winning campaigns for government agencies and private businesses. Maria served the college this fall in her capacity as president of Language Sources, a multicultural media firm, to strengthen the college’s outreach efforts and help us in our goal to become a federally designated Hispanic Serving Institution. She has developed strong relationships with our faculty, staff and community partners. She will hit the ground running to bring CSN closer to the many diverse groups that call Southern Nevada home and want this institution to be their community’s college.

Please welcome Maria to CSN.

Questions from Faculty and Staff Members: 

“How many students are enrolled at CSN?”

Our final numbers for fall 2012 were 37,696 students for headcount and 19,531.4 FTE.

“Why are we doing all of this construction now and how are we paying for it?”

There are a lot of projects underway that represent years of preparation by our Facilities Management Department. A great deal of planning, and pre-construction (or destruction) work is done in advance of the winter and summer breaks to ensure minimal disruption to students. 

A variety of revenue sources are funding these projects, including standard maintenance budgets, deferred maintenance or state funding and capital improvement fees. 

Initially, we requested funds from the Legislature for all of the major projects, such as the Henderson campus A Building mechanical retrofit, the Charleston A Building mechanical retrofit and the Charleston A Building renovation. However, these projects were not funded. The A Building Mechanical work at Henderson was approved by the Board of Regents last March and is being funded through the capital improvement fee. The A Building renovation for the Charleston campus is being accomplished through the proceeds of a bank loan that was approved by the Board of Regents at the November 2012 meeting. The funds to repay that loan will be from capital improvement fees. 

“Is CSN hiring more Student Affairs support staff and why?”

The entire institution is aware of the need for more frontline staff.  While we are striving to fill vacant frontline positions in the admissions and financial aid offices, we also have needs in advising, recruiting, retention and student life.  But even as these are filled, we are also working to add positions. For example, the financial aid office is in the process of adding a total of six new positions in client services, processing, and programming. This is an initial step. However, the plan for student affairs is much bigger than adding a few staff positions.

“How and why is Student Affairs reorganizing?”

Higher education is changing with a much greater emphasis on completion and student success. While community colleges will continue to provide access, the emphasis must expand to include support services that lead to student success. 

CSN Student Affairs is re-orienting, more than reorganizing, to adapt and the envisioned organization being developed includes re-purposing of positions since the “what we do” and the “how we work” shape the “type of positions” that are needed.   

The re-orienting includes the development of CSN Central. This is a “one-stop center” which will serve a triage function, addressing student issues and responding to questions concerning admissions, cashier, financial aid and registration issues. This approach will be functional by summer and will be available at all three sites. CSN Central will reshape the initial student experience at CSN.  

There are parallel functions which have been and are being developed to complement CSN Central.  The CSN Call Center, 651-5555, which has been in operation for one year, captures calls, provides information to all callers and returns calls as needed. The institution has added 20 part-time staff to answer calls and provide information. These part-time positions will be converted to full time as the range of services provided by the Call Center expand. In addition, technology solutions are underway to create a virtual presence, which will increase accessibility, allow students to better engage with CSN services and provide timely information. 

Student Affairs is piloting CSN College Connections, a targeted recruitment model for expansion of outreach services. This is a comprehensive recruiting initiative designed to help high school seniors navigate every step of the admissions and financial aid application processes and to connect them to what we are now calling Student Success Coaches. 

The expansion of the advisor role toward a proactive and intrusive case management model eliminates some of the silos in the operation by reshaping the functions of recruiters, retention specialists and advisors. A new title, Success Coach, reflects the expanded role. More importantly, the goal is to connect students with appropriate educational pathways, resources for success, and hence promote successful college attainment as reflected in increases in participation, completion and graduation. The spring semester will allow time for piloting with full implementation for the fall semester. 

The immediate focus is on the final stages of development of these transformational initiatives and initial implementation. Although this vision relies heavily on an effective and cohesive student affairs leadership team, the reality is a successful student experience is totally dependent on each of us.  

I will report on this as more information becomes available.

Best regards to all.

–Mike Richards

Photos from the 2012 CSN Hungry Games are now available at http://sites.csn.edu/csnweekly/Hungry%20Games/index.html