Greetings! We are entering the final stretch of spring semester and there are a number of important dates ahead related to commencement, which I encourage you to attend.
- April 29 – Clinical Laboratory Sciences Pinning Ceremony, 10 a.m., Charleston Campus, Rm. K101
- April 29 – Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Commencement Celebration, 4 p.m., North Las Vegas Campus, Telecommunications Auditorium
- May 4 — Outstanding Student Awards, 5:30 p.m., North Las Vegas Campus, Telecommunications Auditorium
- May 5 – Latino Commencement Celebration, 6 p.m., North Las Vegas Campus, Nicholas J. Horn Theatre
- May 6 – African American Commencement Celebration, 6 p.m., North Las Vegas Campus, June Whitley Student Lounge
- May 12 – Associate Degree in Nursing Pinning Ceremony, 5 p.m., Cashman Center
- May 12 – Cardiorespiratory Sciences Pinning Ceremony, 5:30 p.m., Charleston Campus, Rm. K101
- May 12 – Radiation Therapy Pinning Ceremony, 1 p.m., Charleston Campus, Rm. K101
- May 13 – Health Information Technology Pinning Ceremony, 10 a.m., Charleston Campus, Rm. K101
- May 13 – Emergency Medical Services/Paramedic Pinning Ceremony, 4 p.m., Charleston Campus, Room to be determined
- May 13 – Practical Nursing Pinning Ceremony, 12 p.m., Charleston Campus, K101
- May 13 – Vet Tech Pinning Ceremony, 3 p.m., Charleston Campus, D101
- May 15 – Dental Hygiene Pinning Ceremony, 10 a.m., North Las Vegas Campus, Nicholas J. Horn Theatre
- May 15 – CSN’s Annual Commencement Ceremony, 6 p.m., UNLV Thomas & Mack
- May 17 – Certified Nursing Assistant Pinning Ceremony, 7 p.m., North Las Vegas Campus, Nicholas J. Horn Theater
*Note: The Native American Alliance will partner with UNLV and NSC to host a collaborative Pow Wow. Date/Location TBD.
Accreditation
The Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) is CSN’s regional accrediting agency. NWCCU has warned CSN that it was not meeting one of the 24 eligibility standards. The commission has requested remedial steps be taken and reported to them on April 25th. CSN changed Accreditation Liaison Officers in 2016. Patty Charlton now has that assignment, and she is working with NWCCU staff on a report for the commission to show the steps we have taken to comply. Part of that report will include past programmatic changes at the College. Once the commission receives the report, it is our expectation that the commission will remove the warning. Accreditation is paramount at any quality higher education institution. Therefore, we are addressing this with fervor to ensure we maintain our tradition of excellent standing.
Unrelated to the letter, CSN has its regularly scheduled follow up visit on April 25-26 from two representatives of NWCCU who will validate CSN’s implementation of strategies to address recommendations from the Year 7 report regarding assessment. (See the faculty question below for more information.)
Women’s History Month
CSN Professor Erica Vital-Lazare, CSN Student Alexis Parsha, CSN Professor DeAnna Beachley (left to right), as they attend the closing event of A Room of One’s Own at the Left of Center Art Gallery on Saturday, March 25
I would like to express a special thanks to the CSN Women’s Alliance and the Office of Diversity for hosting so many enriching events this month. The Wikipedia Hack-a-Thon, Status of Women Conference, Suffrage Readings and much more provided a diverse array of engaging and informative opportunities for our community to gather and discuss women’s challenges and the history and future of women’s rights. These are critical touch points at this moment in time and I hope every one of our faculty and staff had an opportunity to engage in this month’s events.
Internal Website Update
The internal CSN website is coming soon! The website has been designed with current faculty, staff, and students in mind. It has a responsive design that is accessible from all devices so that you can find the things you need quicker, easier, and from anywhere. There is a document directory for easy, searchable access to the most up to date PDFs and forms, quick links to frequently accessed pages, and much more. We expect to launch this internal website at the end of April. More information will be shared as we get closer to launch date.
Legislative Update
The legislative session is in full swing. Three budget hearings have been held, and CSN is responding rapidly to requests for information. I want to thank our faculty and staff who have been involved in engaging legislators and those who are planning to attend CSN Day in Carson City on April 19.
At the March budget hearing, legislators asked a number of great questions about the funding formula and NSHE’s request for $21 million over the biennium to support community college career and technical education. We have heard from many legislators who are supportive of our college and students.
Last week, the Senate Education Committee heard our request for the expansion of our bonding capacity from the currently approved amount of $45 million to $81 million. The expansion will enable CSN to proceed with the construction of the three student unions to be located on each campus, as approved by the Board of Regents last month. The passage of SB 496 is critical to our ability to proceed with this project.
There are several bills related to higher education governance reform, including Assemblyman Ira Hansen’s bill, AB331, which will be heard in Assembly Education on Monday afternoon, which we are watching.
A proposal to create a CSN prison education pilot program for 100 inmates is expected to be heard Tuesday in the Senate Judiciary Committee at 1:30 p.m. Later that afternoon, the Senate Education Committee will hear legislation to amend the Silver State Opportunity Grant and to create a Nevada Promise Scholarship for recent Nevada high school graduates that would cover any mandatory fees not covered through federal or state financial aid to attend community colleges.
Sen. Mo Denis, who authored the Promise Scholarship legislation, will hold a meeting to discuss the legislation with community leaders on Saturday, April 1 at the Latin Chamber, where he is seeking support for this bill.
If you are interested in testifying or writing letters of support for any of these items (or others), I encourage you to contact our government affairs director, Michael Flores, so that he can assist you.
Grants
One of CSN’s current aviation simulators (2012)
Congratulations to the CSN School of Advanced & Applied Technology and the Ralph & Betty Engelstad School of Health Sciences for winning grant awards from the Nevada Office of Science, Innovation and Technology (OSIT) in this year’s STEM Challenge Grant competition. CSN received approximately $37,000 for the college’s aviation training simulation laboratory on the Henderson Campus, which will allow us to expand this program with eight new state-of-the-art simulators. In addition, CSN and UMC received a $148,000 grant to allow participating nurse residents to gain nationally recognized, specialty-specific credentials, such as Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP) or Electronic Maternal-Fetal certifications, leading to improved marketability for the new nurse and a more highly-skilled healthcare workforce. Nevada’s acute care hospitals have difficulty finding registered nurses with necessary certifications and hands-on experience needed for specialized care. The pilot program will train 30 nursing residents per year.
Phi Theta Kappa
CSN’s chapter of Phi Theta Kappa had a successful 2016 calendar year. The officer team, along with the student members, embarked on their year-long scholarly research project called Honors-in-Action. The topic, as provided by headquarters, was Global Perspectives: How the World Works. The officers chose the theme Natural and Engineered, and they focused their research on how factory farming affects ground, ocean, and rain water. For the action phase of the project, they designed an awareness campaign, involving a presentation by an instructor of Environmental Science to Phi Theta Kappans. The officers put on classroom presentations to CSN students; and an officer presented her research at a CSN poster fair.
At the Nevada/California Spring Regional Conference held in San Francisco in March, the chapter was recognized with the following awards:
- 5-Star Chapter Award (the highest level)
- Honors-in-Action, Natural and Engineered, 3rd place
- Website Award, 3rd place
- Distinguished Chapter Officer Award, Ashley Allison, 3rd place
Way to go PTK! We are incredibly proud of you.
CSN Dean Recognized for Contributions to Health Care
Dr. Josh Hamilton
Congratulations to CSN Ralph & Betty Engelstad School of Health Sciences Dean Josh Hamilton! The American Association of Nurse Practitioners selected Dr. Hamilton in March as one of its 2017 fellows, in recognition of his contributions to advanced nursing, translational research and education. The association recognizes nurse practitioner leaders who have made outstanding contributions to health care through clinical practice, research, education or policy.
Faculty & Staff Questions
“What can you tell us about the April accreditation visit?”
Accreditation operates on a seven-year cycle. We concluded our first seven-year cycle with a report and visit in fall 2015, in which we received seven commendations and four recommendations. We issued a report on our progress on those recommendations and the April visit will include two representatives from a NWCCU evaluator who will follow up on CSN’s progress, specifically in the areas of assessment, student learning outcomes, and planning and resource allocation.
Have a great month!
Best,
Mike