March 23 UpdateS

March 2023

As recent winter storms dropped heavy snow in Northeastern Arizona, class cancellations and campus closures presented challenges to teaching, learning and other campus operations. At NPC, although we have developed some solid infrastructure for distance and flexible learning over the past decade, factors such as pandemic and inclement weather continue to test our readiness for emergency response and instructional support and innovation. As a division that provides and facilitates support, innovation and partnerships, we continue to work with faculty and staff in response to the needs of the academic community.

The Fall 2022 HyFlex (NPCFlex) pilot survey returned mixed results. The majority of respondents said they liked the flexibility of participation modes. Approximately 92% of respondents indicated they understand the flexibility of NPCFlex, 80% would recommend other classes to offer the NPCFlex format, 65% thought they could achieve the same learning outcome regardless of participation mode, and 71% indicated they have reliable Internet. However, the data also show areas for improvement including student readiness, academic support and withdrawal and completion rate. Dean Niesen also shared the report from an NPCFlex pilot faculty, which provided some insights into the NPCFlex course design and delivery from the instructor’s perspective. In addition, a few anecdotal evidence shared by faculty and deans provided support for offering the flex approach. The data helped to inform more meaningful experiments of the modality, as various departments continue to work together to make the pilot successful. Our ITCS Department will facilitate some conversations among faculty and staff, and hopefully offer another NPCFlex Summer Institute as needed.

The inclement weather prompted increased need for makeup testing this spring. The current library testing guidelines and procedures were sent to faculty and staff. While we understand the testing service is limited by resources and structure at this point, a Testing Task Force is working diligently on developing a long-term, collegewide solution to an equitable testing environment. Working with the Task Force, I plan to bring some updates and recommendations to several campus groups for input in April. If you have any comments or suggestions, please let us know.

The weather also affected Early College’s high school partners event. We ended up canceling the March HS Partners’ Convocation Day and moving it to April. The Early College team and our FIPSE Grant team are also busy working on high school visits, software demos, student readiness modules, college immersion year, and a potential partnership with AAECHS. 

As digital disruption in higher education continues, more in-depth discussions regarding digital accessibility are taking place between OAI, ITCS and other stakeholders. OAI recently purchased Guide to Digital Accessibility Policies, Practices, and Professional Development, a book recommended by the EDUCAUSE IT Accessibility Community. We hope to use it as a tool to foster continuous improvement and enrichment for equitable and inclusive education.

Last but not least, please join me in welcoming our new Administrative Assistant Brian De La Cruz (AJ), who is featured in Meet Our Staff of our March newsletter. AJ is a very talented person and speaks five languages including English, Spanish, Italian, Japanese and ASL. We had a lively chat about Japanese culture and language at our first meeting!

Wei Ma, PhD
Dean of Instructional Innovation
Read other Messages from the Dean