August 2016 CSN Chronicle

August Chronicle

The fall semester is here and I hope you are ready. I’ve enjoyed welcoming faculty back. I have so much information to share with you and many updates. Please read and share with your colleagues.

Multi-Campus District Study

Before addressing various news and information items, I want to respond to a question I received at Convocation: “What’s the latest on the CSN multi-campus district study?”

The first meeting of the CSN multi-campus district study committee will take place Sept. 1 at 1:30 p.m. in Conference Room A at the North Las Vegas Campus, after which it will meet almost weekly. I will send out information about the meetings regularly and you are welcome to attend if your schedule permits. We will hear from Valencia College President Sandy Shugart in Florida. He will explain his college’s district model and address questions from committee members. I co-chair the committee along with Acting NSHE Chancellor John White.

The committee members include the following:

CSN Faculty Senate Chair-Elect Dr. Jill Acree
City of North Las Vegas Councilman Isaac Barron
CSN Public Affairs Executive Director Dr. K.C. Brekken
Clark County School District Chief Student Achievement Officer Dr. Mike Barton
CSN Institutional Advisory Council Chair Dr. Nancy Brune
CSN Vice President for Student Affairs Juanita Chrysanthou
CSN Past Faculty Senate Chair Dr. Darin Dockstader
CSN Administrative Faculty Assembly Past Chair Tamara Flores-Sahagun
CSN Chair of Dental Science James Godin
CSN Dean of Business, Hospitality and Public Service Dr. Marcus Johnson
CSN Fine Arts Professor Dr. Joan McGee
CSN Institutional Advisory Council Member Shaundell Newsome
CSN Counselor Luis Ortega
City of Las Vegas Mayor Pro Tem Steve Ross
City of Henderson Director of Public Affairs Javier Trujillo
CSN Chair of Chairs Patrick Villa

The general objectives of the study are to better understand the services needed in each part of the CSN service area; survey peer institutions to determine the structure that most effectively and efficiently promotes delivery of those services; consider how a revised structure best fits within the NSHE framework; determine the structure that best serves students, faculty and the local community; and develop a cost analysis and phased approach for implementation.

Again, this study will look at how to phase CSN, which is currently a multi-campus single college, to a multi-campus district college. This means that each campus would have more autonomy and connection to its distinct local communities. Under this proposed structure, they would still be campuses with central support services.

This model requires a comprehensive deployment of curriculum and services to students at CSN’s three main campuses and in the planning for a fourth campus. Student must be able to obtain general education coursework at one of our comprehensive campuses, although students would not be restricted to just one campus. Preliminary indications are that additional faculty and staff may be needed to provide the “comprehensiveness” of services and curriculum. A site-based administrator—provost or president—would also be part of the model, as this person would be the point person for community relationships and community needs.

Aside from the design of the model itself, the committee will consider advantages and disadvantages and, of course, costs.

At each meeting there will be a presentation from a chancellor or president of a multi-campus district or an extended discussion among committee members on what such a model might look like for CSN. Following the initial meeting on September 1, the next meetings will take place Sept. 16, Sept 23 and Sept. 30 at 8:30 a.m. in E 327. I will keep you updated on the process throughout the study.

CSN Safety App

At our Convocation kickoff, we launched CSN’s new safety app for smart phones. This is a great way to enhance our security and safety efforts on campus. It will provide you with important updates about campus safety and community resources. You can also report tips. It provides you with all of the appropriate contact information right at your fingertips. I urge you to download this app via Google Play for Androids or the Apple App Store for iPhones. You never know when you might need it for yourself, a colleague or a student.

I would like to add that you should still ensure you are signed up for CSN’s Emergency Notification system and that your information is up to date. To do so, go to https://www.e2campus.net/my/csn/index.htm.

Enrollment

Late registration will be available again. The last day to register for the 16-week semester will be 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 4.

 

Vice President of Academic Affairs Search

As mentioned last spring, Dr. Hyla Winters has agreed to remain in her capacity as interim vice president of Academic Affairs. She will co-chair the search committee with Vice President of Student Affairs Juanita Chrysanthou.

 

 

 

CSN Athletics

The CSN Coyotes have an exciting year coming up, whether we’re talking about baseball, softball, volleyball or the new men’s and women’s soccer programs. In baseball, the team is expected to compete again for the Scenic West Athletic Conference title, while the softball team is celebrating its new home field on the Henderson campus. As the volleyball team starts its second year, excitement couldn’t be higher. And both new soccer programs are in good shape. It should be an amazing year!

Unearned Fs

As you will recall, the new funding formula does not fund what we call, ‘unearned Fs,’ for those students who stop attending short of the last quarter of the semester. This is an important factor, whereas community colleges serve a larger population of students who are more likely to drop out of courses mid-semester. We are pleased to report that the number of unearned Fs college-wide are down 14 percent from 2014-15 to 2015-16. We attribute this directly to faculty and support staff helping students persist. Thank you for all you are doing!

Reverse Transfer

During the spring semester, CSN instituted a new reverse degree process with UNLV and NSC, whereby their students, who took a certain number of courses at CSN, were notified they may be eligible for a CSN degree, in combination with credits from their four-year institution, prior to receiving their bachelor’s degree. To date, 180 reverse associate degrees have been awarded.

Associate in Facilities Maintenance and Manufacturing

As part of its academic master plan, CSN will bring its new Associate of Applied Science in Facilities Maintenance and Manufacturing Degree before the Board of Regents in September. Initially, this program will be housed at the CCSD South East Career & Technical Academy and begin this fall. As the manufacturing sector in Southern Nevada experiences tremendous growth, this program will fulfill the demand for a highly skilled workforce.

Bachelor of Applied Science in Fire Science Management

In June, the Board of Regents approved CSN’s fourth bachelor’s degree program in fire science management. This program will provide students the opportunity to develop their managerial skills and further develop their technical skills. It is the only four-year program in this field in Nevada. Coursework for the program has begun this fall as a complement to our stellar associate and certificate programs related to fire science and emergency management.

Service Excellence Program

The CAPE office is designing a Service Excellence Program to roll out to the entire college this academic year. The program highlights guiding principles for internal and external Service Excellence. The goal is to create a more welcoming, professional, and service-oriented environment for students and employees, which will help improve engagement and retention across CSN.

 

National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity

Men and women of color are significantly under-represented in career and technical fields throughout the nation. To ameliorate these gaps, Nevada has joined the National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity. CSN interim Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. Shellie Keller will spearhead CSN’s involvement in this partnership to help recruit under-represented students for CTE programs.

Through this effort, we will look at areas of under enrollment by racial and gender groups to determine if targeted interventions for improvement can be applied. Going through this process will allow us opportunities to develop effective strategies that can eventually be applied throughout the college.

At the end of the professional development process facilitated via NAPE, we should have a clear document describing the program improvement process that can be continued into subsequent years. This process will be collaborative with faculty and staff being proactive at identifying gaps and developing targeted, data-based strategies for improvement.

Softball Field Dedication

Please support our Coyotes and join us for the dedication of the new CSN Softball Field at the Henderson Campus on Sept. 13 at 9:30 a.m. at the Lied Sports Complex. The field is beautiful and I firmly believe it will help propel our women’s softball team to the national championship this spring!

New Multi-Cultural Center

We are delighted to announce that our new Multicultural Center will open this fall. Please join us for the celebration of its grand opening on Sept. 14, at 10 a.m., in room N-204 (above the June Whitley Student Center) at the North Las Vegas Campus. This will provide much needed space for our students to help them become more engaged with their college. I look forward to all of the dynamic programming we expect to come out of this center this coming year to help connect our students with college life, academic success and the community.

Pizza & Politics

Later that day – Sept. 14, at 1 p.m., at the Charleston Campus – CSN will start anew its Pizza & Politics event series. U.S. Senate candidate Catherine Cortez Masto is scheduled to attend for an engaging discussion with our campus community about politics, the election and more. We are working to schedule a similar event with U.S. Senate candidate Congressman Dr. Joe Heck this semester as well.

 

CSN President Emeritus Dr. Paul Meacham Book Signing

Also Sept. 14, please join CSN President Emeritus Dr. Paul Meacham from 2-4 p.m. for a discussion of his memoir “Been There, Done That – My Life in the Educational Arena,” followed by a book signing. This will take place, appropriately, in the Paul E. Meacham Student Services Building. We hope to see you there!

 

 

 

No Greater Odds

It has been a year since the debut of the documentary film, “No Greater Odds.” What a year it’s been for the cast and crew! They are all CSN team members and alumni. This summer, the film was screened nationwide, including for policymakers in Washington, D.C., at the Library of Congress and at the Republican and Democratic national conventions. We are so proud of the team’s efforts. I congratulate them for a job well done.

Emmy Awards

You may recall that I mentioned in my last Chronicle that CSN Videography and Film students received several student production Emmy Award nominations this year. The team took home a total of eight Emmy Awards. I am incredibly proud of the students and the program.

Phi Theta Kappa Success

Congratulations to English Professor and Phi Theta Kappa advisor Bruno Rhodes, who was selected as one of the international organization’s 2016 Distinguished Advisors. PTK is the honor society for students at two-year colleges. The Distinguished Advisor Award recognized only 15 advisors worldwide this year. In addition to Rhodes’ honor, fellow chapter advisor, English instructor Travis Koll, received the Paragon Award for New Advisors, and several students were honored as well.

Faculty & Staff Questions

“Is merit for professional employees part of the Board of Regents’ budget request for the 2017 Legislature?”

Yes, it is included. As part of the request, the Board’s highest priority is compensation. It has asked for funding for a 2.5 percent merit increase for professional (non-classified) employees to mirror what the governor’s budget instructions include for classified step increase in FY 2018 and FY 2019.

“How will collective bargaining be implemented?”

The Nevada Faculty Alliance continues to gather information and prepare for the implementation of collective bargaining. I meet with the NFA and Faculty Senate leadership regularly and will share updates as more information becomes available on this topic.

Have a great semester and please let me know if you have any questions!

Best,

Mike