The Instructional Innovation Division is growing from its start date, July 1, 2020 and has acted quickly to serve the needs of the NPC Community. The division houses support from the Libraries, Instructional Technology and Curriculum Support, Perkins Grants, Early College, and Office of Accessibility and Inclusion. We serve our students, faculty, staff, and community partners.

Innovation Connections is a monthly newsletter that features division updates and college-wide innovation and collaboration. Contact Shannon Motter if you wish to contribute to the content.

Grants play a critical role in our effort to support innovations and improve sustainability and resiliency at the college. The Title III grant-funded EAGLE and TALON projects led to the current iteration of NPC’s Connected Learning environment, and the CARES/HEERF grant helped us mitigate the negative impact of the pandemic. Here is an update on some of the grant-funded projects we have been working on. Those projects, led by cross-functional teams, are collaborative efforts to support teaching and learning (Open Textbook Pilot, HyFlex pilot, Tech Hubs, LinkedIn Learning), accessibility and inclusion (ALLY, SIP-C, META), and scheduling and enrollment management (Ad Astra, DualEnroll)...

As we approach the close of Fall 2021 registration, the Early College Programs department is excited to move forward and support our new Early College Opportunities to Advance Degree Attainment (ECOADA) grant project!

ECOADA will help to strengthen our Early College framework by providing opportunities to automate processes with critical software implementation, prepare our Early College students through robust and expanded student readiness presession courses, and support Early College instruction by increasing our faculty team and providing additional training opportunities for concurrent enrollment instructors.

One of our key priorities is to fill open positions in the Early College Programs world! We encourage those interested to apply:

·         Early College Office Assistant (part-time)

·         Early College Facilitator (full-time, grant-funded)

·         ECOADA Grant Project Director (full-time, grant-funded)

Upcoming important dates:

• October 6 - 8 --- Instructor Midterm Grade Entry

• October 18 - 20 --- No NPC Classes! Fall Break

• November 1 --- NAVIT SP22 Registration Begins

Have you heard the buzz about HyFlex? It gives the greatest flexibility for students taking courses at NPC. Do your students have issues with Accessibility? Not sure? Check out Ally, a tool to help all students get the most out of their Moodle course. See the training schedule for this resources and so much more in the ITCS Newsletter below:

Who's running the Tech Hubs? What are they? Find out in the Library Newsletter. Know a tech savvy student? We know a great part-time job. . . .

Fall Events are in full swing. The Data Nerds Book Club is reading Small Teaching and Small Teaching Online this fall. Don't want to read what we're reading? Join the Readers and Writers' Book Club and read whatever you want. Come listen to very short talks on library resources and search techniques, or to longer ones on bigger topics. Discovery Nest is back at SCC campus this month. And we read great short stories every Friday at noon for Adult Storytime.

Check out the October Newsletter below to find out about these and so much more. 

Want to go right to the Library Events Page? Then click below (all event links are listed):

Subject Guides

Need resources for your class? Check out the Subject Guides link below to access guides on every program at NPC and many topics. 

Recently, Rene Garciaguirre from NAU’s Institute for Human Development visited NPC locations hoping to speak with students about the benefits to them by being involved with the SIP-C grant.  Below is Rene’s explanation of SIP-C and direction on where to send interested students.

Supporting Inclusive Practices in Colleges (SIP-C) is a five-year, federally funded program sponsored by the US Department of Education’s Transition Programs for Students with Intellectual Disabilities (TPSID) initiative. As a postsecondary transition program, the core goals of the SIP-C program are to provide comprehensive services and supports to students between the ages of 18-26 living in Northern Arizona who wish to attend college. Students are recruited and referred from a variety of sources, but SIP-C primarily focuses on identifying potential students who are seniors in high school. The program model is structured using ten core strategy areas all of which are student focused. For example, the “Setting the Bar High” and “Front Door First” strategies encourage students to self-advocate and utilize all campus resources that would be available to their non-disabled peers. Person-Centered Planning is a model that supports SIP-C’s adaptive educational coaches as they work with students to identify their educational and career goals, as well as improve their social and independent living skills. As one of our partnered communities, Northland Pioneer College demonstrates an ongoing dedication to inclusivity and accessibility and will be working closely with Campus Coordinator, Rene Garciaguirre, to implement the program model at all NPC campuses and centers. SIP-C is grateful for the efforts of NPC’s Sandy Manor, Office of Accessibility and Inclusion Coordinator, and Wei Ma, Dean of Instructional Innovation for their willingness to collaborate to ensure all students feel empowered and succeed at NPC.

If you would like to refer an individual to our program, please help them fill out our interest form on our website: 

Throughout September the Instructional Innovation Division asked a variety of fall related questions in the Random channel in NPC Slack. Did you participate? We learned the best places for fall corn/maize, great pumpkin and sweet potato pie recipes, and where to go for great fall events.

Interested? Check out Xander's Punkin' Pie and all of the photos from people's gardens!

You can also check out the Sweet Potato Souffle Pie Recipe from Sandy Manor: