November Updates

November 2022

As we enter the month of November, we have a lot of good news and updates to share.

To start with, Dr. Chris Green joined us as the new Director of Early College Programs. Dr. Green brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the college. We are very pleased to have him aboard. Read “Meet Our Staff” to know more about Chris.

LaTonya Motley, our Faculty in Educational Technology and ITCS Chair, was recognized as an OER Hero by the Arizona Open Textbook Consortium. NPC joined the Consortium last year and received a 3-year federal grant to develop and adopt OERs. For Year 2 and beyond, the Consortium plans to provide more funding and flexibility, and encourage member institutions to add more DEI elements to their OERs. The grant team will continue to work with faculty, department chairs and deans to provide more individualized support. According to the Fall 2022 data provided by Institutional Effectiveness, 62% of NPC students with at least 13 credits spent more than $500 on textbooks. Books and supplies constitute 15% of the total cost of attendance for an in-state, off-campus student with family. We hope the open textbook initiative will significantly reduce or eliminate textbook costs and further promote equitable learning for our students, and we are very grateful for faculty and staff who have participated in and/or supported this project.

Besides the cross-functional teams under FIPSE grant and OER grant, we have two task forces that are currently working on developing strategic plans for LinkedIn Learning and testing services. LinkedIn Learning was introduced to the college as a learning resource for employees and students. A Task Force was formed with members from HR, TAS, Student Services, Marketing, Academic Divisions, Library, and ITCS. Their goal is to provide a tool to build a campus-wide learning community by providing not only just-in-time type of training (how to use Excel, how to use Webex, etc.), but also professional development resources (e.g., employee onboarding, supervisor training, project management, career preparation, etc.) and supplemental instructional resources. Another group is the Testing Task Force, with members represented by the IC Academic Standards Subcommittee, IC Learning Technologies Subcommittee, Student Services, Academic Divisions, Campus/Center Staff, Library, OAI, and ITCS. Their goal is to identify issues, needs and solutions related to equitable testing services across the college. Both projects are expected to help us develop a more robust and inclusive learning community.

IC has approved extending the HyFlex (NPCFlex) pilot to the Fall of 2023. This will allow us to collect and analyze data so the college can make an informed decision on the new modality, with a thorough examination of related factors such as class Interactions and dynamics, balance between flexibility and quality of learning, course design, faculty and student readiness, scheduling, advising, and registration, etc.

Last but not least, kudos to Dr. Michael Broyles, NPC’s Curriculum Coordinator, our “curriculum hero behind the scene.” Since AY2020, we have had an approximate 54% reduction of the blank cells on the Course Equivalency Guide (CEG) Numbers Report. That was quite an accomplishment, thanks to Michael’s hard work!

Please continue to read the November newsletter for updates from our Early College, Instructional Technology and Curriculum Support, Library Service, and Office of Accessibility and Inclusion, including an explanation of the differences between service versus emotional support animals, bookface photos from the Library’s EagleFest booth, and a delicious recipe for Creamy Bacon Chicken!

Wei Ma, PhD
Dean of Instructional Innovation