Getting Ready For The Fall

August 2021

As we begin the new semester, Instructional Innovation Division is busy working on getting things ready for the fall:

The Instructional Technology and Curriculum Support (ITCS) Department will be working with faculty, TAS, and Enrollment/Student Services on getting the HyFlex pilot ready for the spring of 2022. ITCS Chair LaTonya Motley, Business Professor Rachel Townsend and I attended EDUCAUSE HyFlex Learning Lab in July. We will share what we learned with the college this fall. On the faculty training and orientation side, the new faculty mentoring has been scheduled for August 11 & 12 while the dual enrollment instructor training is set for August 9 & 11. If everything goes smoothly, we will see about 10 new faculty and 30 dual instructors in those sessions.

Our librarians have been busy removing outdated and damaged materials and adding new titles at all campus locations this summer. The Fall library hours will be finalized based on FOG recommendations and staff availability. Library Director Shannon Motter is also following up with the State Open Textbook Consortium on the Open Texbook Pilot Grant.

The Office of Accessibility and Inclusion (OAI) is monitoring student applications, getting student planners out to high school seniors with disabilities, and preparing faculty training content. OAI Coordinator Sandy Manor will also work with Marketing and Student Services to fully roll out the META Teletherapy for our students this fall.

Our Perkins Coordinator Ann Hilliard has completed the Comprehensive Local Need Assessment (CLNA) and the GY22 Grant Application, and is working on the Fall 2021 report. These are collaborative efforts that involve many individuals across various departments within and outside our division. With $414,545 grant budget allocated for GY22, Perkins will continue to play a critical role in supporting Career and Technical Education, Nursing and Allied Health, and Education programs.

Our Early College team is already going full speed as Fall enrollment and NAVIT and TALON presessions began on August 2. I would like to congratulate April Horne on her new position as Interim Director of Early College Programs. We believe this new role will empower the Early College team to further strengthen our high school partnerships and align our Early College Programs with the overall mission and vision of NPC.

Last but not least, thanks to the hard work of several cross-functional teams and the support from the Executive Team, we are making progress on several initiatives such as the course scheduling software, dual enrollment software, ALLY accessibility tool, LinkedIn Learning, Tech Hubs, and more. Updates on those projects are forthcoming.

Wei Ma, PhD
Dean of Instructional Innovation