For NMC Audio Technology students, Picnic at the Opera House is anything but.
Under the direction of instructor Jonah Powell (right, foreground), 20-some students are responsible for all set-up and tear-down, changing the stage between each of the seven acts and mixing audio for both live and television audiences.
“Audio is one of the more critical parts. It’s got to work on TV and it’s got to work in the house,” said Matt Cowall, communications director at the UpNorth Media Center, which broadcasts the free, live show that started its sixth season run today.
That pressure means Picnic, performed each Wednesday in February, offers an ideal experiential learning, or EL, setting. With spring semester now in full swing, audio technology students are among many at NMC gaining from EL, defined as experiences where learning is deepened and enhanced through direct application of knowledge, both in and out of the classroom.
Leaders of a project to expand EL at NMC estimate at least half of students have one experiential class, and are striving to increase that.
It’s a natural fit for classes like Audio Tech.
“We have to make an effort to make it like a classroom,” Powell joked of the program.
Picnic’s four-week run also fulfills the EL requirement of reflection on the experience in order to improve it the next time.
“It allows students the opportunity to tweak something and try it again the next week,” said Kristi Dockter, marketing director at the Opera House.
Classes traditionally taught via lecture and textbook are also working to incorporate EL in order to capitalize on research showing it deepens learning, student engagement, and persistence toward educational goals.
Check out NMC students’ talents as Picnic continues Feb. 14, 21 and 28, from noon–1 p.m. at the City Opera House. Cowall added that the students have enhanced the live side of the event in particular.
“It’s a different beast in the performance space. It’s something we on the TV side aren’t that well versed in,” he said of the house sound. “Having (NMC’s) expertise at the table really makes this thing go.”
NMC faculty and staff are invited to request funding support from the 2018 NMC Barbecue for an NMC special project. Funding proposals are due by Wednesday, February 28.
A subcommittee of the Barbecue Board will review proposals and make recommendations to the full Barbecue Board for final selection based on the guidelines listed in the proposal form. Funds for awarded projects will be available following the May 20, 2018 NMC Barbecue.
Honor an outstanding NMC employee or team through the annual Foundation Excellence Awards program.
The Foundation Excellence Awards promote exemplary service to students and clients and recognize the dedication to and demonstration of NMC values. Tell us about how you or someone you know has demonstrated innovation and thoughtful risk taking in their work or has demonstrated exceptional stewardship of resources entrusted to us or is exceeding expectations and exhibiting foresight by helping to prepare learners for the future.
Remember, multiple awards may be granted annually, and the recipients are announced at the Retirement and Recognition Reception in April. All college employees are eligible for this award: regular and adjunct faculty, as well as full-time, part-time and supplemental staff.
Any member of the faculty, staff, community, or student body may nominate a person or group for the award by completing a nomination form and submitting it to Human Resources (hr@nmc.edu) by Friday, March 2.
KUDOS – (praise or respect that you get because of something you have done or achieved) defined by Merriam-Webster.com
Submit a Kudos here.
Kudos to two surgical technology students who took their National Board of Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting Certification Exam last week and passed! This is a difficult exam for certification that requires a great deal of work and dedication to pass. We are extremely proud of these students!
Kudos to Dan Wasson: Dan spent a considerable amount of time with me, in my office and classroom, strategizing with regard to my various ADA needs. He and I individually have both worked at NMC for nearly 30 years. That history and his knowledge of equipment/systems was crucial in making some timely, much needed changes to my work environment. Anyone who knows Dan, knows he is one of the best human beings you’ll ever meet.
The following employees are celebrating an anniversary soon. Please join us in congratulating them!
The library has purchased many new books so far this year. You can view a handful here along with partial descriptions or go here to see the full listing. These books are on display in the library’s lobby.
Read about what our Training Services team is up to including upcoming classes that you may be able to take for free using the tuition reimbursement benefit: http://mailchi.mp/nmc/nmc-training-services-february-2018-newsletter
This month’s topics include lifelong leadership, the Grand Traverse Area Manufacturing Summit, TentCraft staking its future on reinvestment, Cone Drive; A World Leader, upcoming workshops, and more!
TRAVERSE CITY — Longtime Dennos Museum Center supporters Dr. Edward and Sharon Rutkowski were named the 2018 recipients of Northwestern Michigan College’s highest honor, the NMC Fellow award, by the college’s Board of Trustees this month.
The Traverse City residents are founding donors to the Dennos Museum Center, making a planned gift commitment for the Thomas A. Rutkowski Discovery Gallery (named in memory of their late son) in 1992. Sharon was instrumental in helping the Discovery Gallery come into being as a member of the Grand Traverse, Leelanau, Benzie County Medical Society Auxiliary, which helped fund the initial gallery concept. It has been a popular part of the museum since the beginning, especially for families.
Concurrent with the new expansion of the Dennos, the Rutkowskis again made a significant contribution to upgrade the exhibits of the Discovery Gallery, which are now being implemented, assuring that it will be an ongoing part of the Dennos for many more years to come.
“We are pleased to help give children a fun introduction to the Dennos Museum and hope to expand their appreciation of the arts and their community,” the couple said.
Beyond the Dennos, the Rutkowskis have supported the college since 1984, and have given consecutively for the last 27 years. They are also loyal attendees of the annual Lobdell’s Scholarship dinner, supporters of Munson Medical Center, where Dr. Rutkowski was a trustee for 25 years and a general surgeon now retired, and the Leelanau Conservancy. Sharon was the French teacher and a trustee at The Pathfinder School and co-founded the Young People’s Theater Series in 1976. She currently continues to help bring affordable live theater to Grand Traverse area children.
The Fellow is Northwestern Michigan College’s highest honor, awarded annually since 1964. Fellows may be nominated because they have demonstrated influential networking on behalf of the College, have demonstrated a pattern of outstanding financial or personal time contributions to NMC, or as a retiree of the College continue to contribute back to their academic or professional fields as volunteers, mentors or advisors. Exceptional contributions in one or more of these areas may justify nomination.
See a list of past recipients.
NMC President’s Office
(231) 995-1010
Calendar appointments coming soon for the following date/times/locations!
Join Chris Barr, BCBSM Wellness Coordinator for a 15 minute exercise break:
Monday, February 5, 2018
All scheduled ORS meetings to learn about the steps for MPSERS retirement can be found on their website.
Specific TRAVERSE CITY location details for April 26, 2018 held at West Middle School can be found here.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan has changed coverage for some outpatient hospital infusions. If you are impacted you should have received notice directly from Blue Cross. Beginning January 1, 2018, members receiving infusion therapy for certain drugs must have prior authorization to receive their infusions at an outpatient hospital facility. They are encouraging members to instead receive therapy at home from a home infusion therapy provider, at a doctor’s office or at a freestanding infusion center.
Please contact Blue Cross at bcbsm.com, or at 877-671-2583 for more information.
Are you looking for career opportunities? Find them here! jobs.nmc.edu. Current openings include:
The following employees are celebrating an anniversary soon. Please join us in congratulating them!
TRAVERSE CITY — Great Lakes Maritime Academy instructor Capt. John Biolchini and Talent Development Coordinator Lori Hodek have been named NMC’s recipients of annual excellence awards. Both are also NMC alumni.
Biolchini, an instructor since 2007, is the 2018 recipient of the NISOD award for teaching excellence. Affiliated with the University of Texas at Austin, NISOD is committed to promoting and celebrating excellence in teaching, learning, and leadership at community and technical colleges. Criteria include professionalism, relationships with students and colleagues, and commitment to learning. Among other accomplishments, Biolchini was cited for spearheading submission of the Academy’s Military Veteran program, to award credit for military service, and his collaboration with the Northwest Regional Fire Training Center, to create a local course that would fulfill U.S. Coast Guard firefighting requirements for Maritime cadets. Biolchini graduated from GLMA in 1982,
Hodek is the recipient of a 2017 John and Suanne Roueche Excellence Award from the League for Innovation in the Community College. The award celebrates outstanding contributions and leadership by community college faculty and staff. Among other accomplishments, she was recognized for her leadership in the creation of consecutive college-wide professional development events. Hodek was first employed at NMC as a student employee in 2001. She graduated from NMC in 2003 and joined the staff as a regular employee in 2004.
Diana Fairbanks
Executive Director of Public Relations, Marketing and Communications
dfairbanks@nmc.edu
(231) 995-1019
Thank you all for everything you do in pursuit of “Keeping Learning at the Center.”
This section recognizes the good work being done and linkages to the Strategic Directions (SD) and Institutional Effectiveness Criteria (IE) are provided where possible. (more…)
NMC success coach Leeann Fountain and student Taylor ByersWhen Taylor Byers returned to NMC last fall, four years after she last attended, she knew she had to be a different kind of student.
But she didn’t seek help from an academic adviser, or a tutor, or even an instructor. Instead, Byers beelined for a student success coach.
Success coaching is booming at NMC. Already this year, coaching visits to the Student Success Center are double the 2016-17 total. Rather than being subject matter experts in math or English or science, like instructors or tutors, coaches guide students to academic success by providing tools to improve study habits, time management and task prioritization.
“It’s going so much better,” said Byers, 22, who is studying visual communications. “It helps you stay accountable. They teach you how to organize your life.”
Not just on campus, either. Byers’ coach, Leeann Fountain, had her fill in a 24-hour time chart, breaking the entire day into half-hour increments. Something stood out right away.
“Taylor wasn’t going to bed,” Fountain recalls. Without a standing bedtime, she was tired and couldn’t focus on studying. She napped erratically, which threw her time management off further.
But Fountain didn’t tell Byers what her bedtime should be, or even to set one. Rather, after Byers filled out the whole, 24-hour chart, Fountain said, “I asked her, ‘what would you change first?’ “
It was Byers who decided that first thing was to establish a bedtime, picked 10 p.m., and now sticks to it. Between her four days of classes, her job as a manager at the Arby’s in Kalkaska, where she also lives, and her commute time, that now leaves her evenings to study, alert and focused.
Posing the question for Byers to answer herself is a fundamental concept of the empowerment coaching style that NMC employs.
“So many of us have experienced education as something that’s being shoved into us,” said Steve Rice, an accounting instructor at NMC and the author of an innovation grant that allowed a seven-member team to be trained in the style in 2015. The goal is to empower students to solve their own problems, as Byers did.
Even with this year’s jump, only a small fraction of students receive coaching — 280 so far this year.
“It’s very much in the germinal stage,” Rice said.
Ashley Darga, NMC’s coordinator for Student Success and one of the team trained back in 2015, wants to accelerate it. In addition to the face-to-face coaching that Byers received, her office is piloting required phone coaching in three online classes: Rice’s accounting, a math class, and a history class. While there are variables in the data, results so far are encouraging: Across all three classes, students who got coaching received failing grades 8 percent less often and passing grades (defined as a 2.0 or higher) almost 11 percent more. Withdrawal rates for coached students were 5 percent lower as well.
“It’s giving us a really preliminary look at is this worth pursuing, and so far we feel encouraged,” Darga said. “I’m maxing out my personnel budget for (coaches).”
Coaching also establishes the kind of personal relationship that research has found is critical for students to complete their degree.
“This is designed in that spirit, hooking a student up with a person so they are engaged on campus and feel committed to NMC,” Darga said.
“Without persistence we’re not using our time wisely,” Rice said.
NMC success coach Leeann Fountain and student Taylor ByersWhen Taylor Byers returned to NMC last fall, four years after she last attended, she knew she had to be a different kind of student.
But she didn’t seek help from an academic adviser, or a tutor, or even an instructor. Instead, Byers beelined for a student success coach.
Success coaching is booming at NMC. Already this year, coaching visits to the Student Success Center are double the 2016-17 total. Rather than being subject matter experts in math or English or science, like instructors or tutors, coaches guide students to academic success by providing tools to improve study habits, time management and task prioritization.
“It’s going so much better,” said Byers, 22, who is studying visual communications. “It helps you stay accountable. They teach you how to organize your life.”
Not just on campus, either. Byers’ coach, Leeann Fountain, had her fill in a 24-hour time chart, breaking the entire day into half-hour increments. Something stood out right away.
“Taylor wasn’t going to bed,” Fountain recalls. Without a standing bedtime, she was tired and couldn’t focus on studying. She napped erratically, which threw her time management off further.
But Fountain didn’t tell Byers what her bedtime should be, or even to set one. Rather, after Byers filled out the whole, 24-hour chart, Fountain said, “I asked her, ‘what would you change first?’ “
It was Byers who decided that first thing was to establish a bedtime, picked 10 p.m., and now sticks to it. Between her four days of classes, her job as a manager at the Arby’s in Kalkaska, where she also lives, and her commute time, that now leaves her evenings to study, alert and focused.
Posing the question for Byers to answer herself is a fundamental concept of the empowerment coaching style that NMC employs.
“So many of us have experienced education as something that’s being shoved into us,” said Steve Rice, an accounting instructor at NMC and the author of an innovation grant that allowed a seven-member team to be trained in the style in 2015. The goal is to empower students to solve their own problems, as Byers did.
Even with this year’s jump, only a small fraction of students receive coaching — 280 so far this year.
“It’s very much in the germinal stage,” Rice said.
Ashley Darga, NMC’s coordinator for Student Success and one of the team trained back in 2015, wants to accelerate it. In addition to the face-to-face coaching that Byers received, her office is piloting required phone coaching in three online classes: Rice’s accounting, a math class, and a history class. While there are variables in the data, results so far are encouraging: Across all three classes, students who got coaching received failing grades 8 percent less often and passing grades (defined as a 2.0 or higher) almost 11 percent more. Withdrawal rates for coached students were 5 percent lower as well.
“It’s giving us a really preliminary look at is this worth pursuing, and so far we feel encouraged,” Darga said. “I’m maxing out my personnel budget for (coaches).”
Coaching also establishes the kind of personal relationship that research has found is critical for students to complete their degree.
“This is designed in that spirit, hooking a student up with a person so they are engaged on campus and feel committed to NMC,” Darga said.
“Without persistence we’re not using our time wisely,” Rice said.
KUDOS – (praise or respect that you get because of something you have done or achieved) defined by Merriam-Webster.com
Submit a Kudos here.
Kudos to Lisa Thomas, Paul Kolak, Leanne Baumeler, and Lisa Blackford: They played a key role in planning and executing the NMC Winter Conference professional development program on January 8. Their suggestions and insights helped make the day a success!
Kudos to Ryan Bernstein: Ryan lent his branding and design genius to the NMC Winter Conference this January. His vision for the day and his work on the visual details helped make the day more engaging and effective.