Thank you all for everything you do in pursuit of “Keeping Learning at the Center.”
Notable Accomplishments provided by Faculty and Staff
This section recognizes the good work being done and linkages to the Strategic Directions (SD) and Institutional Effectiveness Criteria (IE) are provided where possible.
- Sheila Rupp, NMC Registrar, has successfully completed the training requirements to become a Veterans Administration School Certifying Official (SCO) for NMC. There are now two staff members in Records and Registration who can provide enrollment certifications to the VA. This allows the department to better manage transitions and time-sensitive responsibilities during peak times or when there is an unexpected absence or vacancy. (IE3)
- The NMC Library and Educational Media Technologies led a workshop for 18 faculty members about trading commercial textbooks for open educational resources (OER). Faculty identified high-quality, copyright-free textbooks and other educational materials available in their fields of study and explored how they could save students money and improve course outcomes using OER. There are currently 25 NMC faculty teaching with free online textbooks and several others planning to adopt one next semester. (IE1, IE2, IE3, IE5)
- Disability Support Services Specialist Leanne Baumeler worked with Educational Media Technologies and Information Technology on a project, funded through an NMC Foundation Innovation Grant, which allows all NMC students to now have the option to hear text read aloud through ReadSpeaker for Moodle and a more comprehensive TextAid program. Details about each program can be found at ReadSpeaker.com. (IE1, IE3, IE4)
Activities of Note: Tim
- Nancy and I met the TS State of Michigan at the Sault Ste. Marie Coast Guard Base for a training cruise on July 21. We were able to experience the ship going through the Soo Locks and observe our GLMA crew and cadets in action. We were very impressed and were able to get better acquainted with many of the cadets and hear of their interesting life experiences that led them to our GLMA. I’d like to commend their expertise and wonderful hospitality.
- Trustees Kennard Weaver, Chris Bott, Ross Childs, and Doug Bishop, along with Holly Gorton and I, attended the MCCA Summer Institute on Mackinac Island last week. There were special sessions for presidents, trustees and general sessions for all attendees. The event was well planned with informative sessions and social events that provide a great opportunity to interact with other community college trustees and leadership.
- A team from NMC visited Denver, Colorado, for the CQIN Summer Institute. For over a decade, NMC has been participating in the annual Summer Institute hosted by the Continuous Quality Improvement Network (CQIN), a president’s organization in which Baldrige Award recipients and private sector leaders join community college teams in shared learning experiences related to quality improvement. This year, the Institute theme, “Producing Future Success: Demonstrating Value Through Results,” brought together Elevations Credit Union (2014 Baldrige Recipient), Intermark Group, National Higher Education Benchmarking Institute, U.S. Golf Association, and Civitas Learning to share their experiences in the use of data analytics and its relationship to organizational culture, student attraction and retention, and, ultimately, learner success. The NMC team included Joy Evans, Executive Dir. of Research, Planning & Effectiveness, Todd Neibauer, V.P. for Student Services & Technologies, Marguerite Cotto, V.P. for Lifelong & Professional Learning, and in project consulting roles, Gabe Schneider and Dan Wolf.
Sessions on predictive analytics as applied to understanding conditions for student success were very effective, as were the major presentations related to organizational culture, marketing & recruitment strategies. Themes were well connected giving us an opportunity for thoughtful discussions during the entire time. Our next step is to convene a larger group to share information and explore resources that may serve us well over the next few years. Next year’s session, an expansion of the 2016 theme, will be held in Chicago, IL.
As a member of the CQIN Executive Team, I also attended meetings with that group while there.
- I’d like to thank all those who participated and organized another great NMC Scholarship Open that took place on August 4 at the Grand Traverse Resort. More than 250 golfers teed off to support honors, academic area, Presidential, and Founders scholarships for NMC students. The event has raised more than $100,000 per year for each of the past three years thanks to tremendous work by the staff, a dedicated volunteer committee (approximately 20 members), and the support of generous sponsors and golfers. Trustee Chris Bott and I spent the day traversing the two courses to welcome and thank golfers for coming out on a hot, but beautiful day to contribute to student scholarships. Thanks to all who were involved! Special thanks to the Scholarship Open Committee and their chair Mike Lipp.
Legislative Issues
- We received an update from Senator Stabenow’s office on the inquiry her office initiated on behalf of NMC and the GLMA regarding the disposal of equipment from the Great Lakes Fire Training Center. Senator Stabenow’s office contacted the Maritime Administration (MARAD) and was told that MARAD was moving in a positive direction to transfer the equipment however they do not have anything definitive yet on where the equipment will be going. They are still working through the process to determine what is available to transfer and what paperwork needs to be completed to make a transfer occur. MARAD also stated that they would be sending a more complete and formal response to the senator’s office soon. Senator Stabenow’s office informed us that they would let us know when they received the formal response from MARAD.
- This week, Chris Stewart, Senior Legislative Assistant to Congressman Dan Benishek, will be touring the GLMA and meeting with Admiral Achenbach.
Miscellaneous
- The ceremonial groundbreaking to expand the Dennos Museum Center will take place Monday, August 15, at 11:00 am. Please join us for this exciting celebration of the Dennos’ 25th Anniversary and upcoming expansion.