friday takeout

The annual employee campaign is off to a great start! Thank you to all employees who have made a gift and submitted their pledge card. Our goal this year is 80 percent employee participation. Currently we are at 31 percent giving, with 115 gifts. Last year at this time we had 125 gifts. Your gift, no matter the size, makes a huge difference.

You can return your pledge card to the Advancement office: Kelli Holthaus in Calmar or Darla Till in Peosta.

We are grateful for the time, talent, commitment and enthusiasm you bring to Northeast Iowa Community College, each day, in all that you do. Pledge cards received by Friday, Oct. 4, will be entered to win one of four, four-hour vacation blocks or a pizza party!

Northeast Iowa Community College Sees Gains in Student Retention

The percent of fall term entering students who return in year two has made a leap forward this past year. The retention report for students who entered in fall of 2018 indicates that 59.3 percent of all first-time, degree-seeking students who entered last fall have returned this term, up 3.4 percent from the retention rate for the fall 2017 cohort, and up 2.9 percent from the fall 2016 rate. The graph above shows the sub-populations experiencing the greatest improvement over the past five years. For example, the retention of part-time students (50.9 percent) is up 8.3 percent from the prior year, and 7.2 percent higher than the five-year average. Part-time students comprise nearly one third of the entering student cohort in fall 2018. A similar gain is shown in the retention rate of students who completed less than 50 percent of their first term credits (nearly one fifth of the entering cohort); 22.1 percent for fall 2018, up 8.6 percent. The gains reflect the many efforts of staff and faculty who have designed initiatives aimed at closing the gaps. A new retention trend report shows retention rates by key indicators for the past five years and can be accessed in Shared Files > Institutional Effectiveness > Institutional Research > Trend Data > Retention by Key Indicators_Fall Cohort Trend.

Eight People, One Van, No Showers, No Sleep and 121.6 miles in just under 21 Hours! This is Ragnar.

A team of College employees, Brent Beyer, Jake Krapfl, Sara Franzen, Randi Burns, Erin Powers Daley and myself (Flannery Cerbin-Bohach), with friends of the college, Matt Daley and Adam Bohach, participated in their first ever Ragnar Relay on Sept. 20 - 21 in Wausau, Wis. This multi-day adventure was certainly a test of sure-footedness, stamina, courage and heart.

The crew decided early on they wanted to do this event to raise awareness for the NICC Student Crisis Fund. Every year the Student Crisis Fund plays a vital role in financially assisting students who have unexpected expenses to stay in the classroom. Last year the fund helped 78 students, and 90 percent of them were able to continue their education at the College with help from the fund. Examples of financial assistance include: rent, utilities, food, transportation and car repairs.

Thanks to your support we raised over $1,700 through online fundraising and the mini-bucket competition! Jake Krapfl and Sara Franzen, in fact, were the lucky winners with the most money raised in their buckets. Both will have to perform an interpretative dance wearing their Ragnar t-shirt, running shorts and a tutu at the upcoming Student Crisis Fundraisers!

Held at Nine Mile Forest, known for its mountain bike and cross country ski trails, teams had seeded start times based on their projected team finish. The NICC crew started in late afternoon on Friday, so it quickly fell dark and runners were left to their headlamps and flashlights to find their way to the transition and base camp.

Each member of the team had to complete three loops. Deemed the Green Loop, Yellow Loop and Red Loop, the legs varied in length from about three miles to about 7.6 miles. The terrain was mostly rugged and included rocks, roots, mud and leaf covered trails. When we weren’t running, we were eating, “sleeping” (aka, laying down in the tent while listening to the music and voices at Ragnar Village), and cheering on our teammates.

We competed against 323 other teams from across the country and finished a surprising 10th place! We were second in the corporate division (aka, work buds) by a mere six minutes, and sixth in our gender division (aka, a team including both men and women).

Check out our adventure here: https://youtu.be/ru6Opeej02M

Be well,

Flannery

If you have input on a upcoming feature, Big Fish, something to celebrate or a suggestion, email us at news@nicc.edu!