Greetings! NCC has been named one of the top 150 College contenders for the Aspen Prize of Community College Excellence for 2019. Since the prize’s inception in 2011, NCC has been part of the esteemed group all five times as the list comes out every two years (2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, and now 2019). Two other Iowa community colleges are also on the 2019 list – North Iowa Area Community College and Northeast Iowa Community College. The link to see all the eligible colleges is: http://highered.aspeninstitute.org/aspen-prize/.

We are “in it to win it” in 2019! Everyone on campus contributes to our continued success. Congratulations, TEAM! Weekly Updates:

This week the Iowa Department of Education confirmed that our proposal for the new WEB & GRAPHIC DESIGN program has been approved!

Junior Career Day on Monday, October 9, was FANTASTIC! NCC once again was given the opportunity to host 1,100 students, enjoy their energy, and help them grow in knowledge. We had 57 careers available for students to explore, 21 schools attended, and 64 presenters with 25 of those presenters being NCC Instructors/adjunct. 55 colleges and universities provided information to the high school juniors during the College Fair at the LLRC.

On Monday, October 9, six members of the Adult Education and Literacy (AEL) department attended the biannual Region 3 & 4 Core Partner Joint In-Service, held at the Holiday Inn Express in Sheldon. The in-service brings together staff from the adult education programs at NCC, Iowa Lakes Community College (ILCC) and Iowa Central Community College (ICCC), the Iowa Workforce Development office in Spencer, and the Vocational Rehabilitation offices in Region 3 & 4. NCC’s AEL Coordinator, Sarah Breems-Diekevers, and colleagues from ILCC and IowaWORKS presented on the formal referral process among entities. NCC’s Bilingual Career Pathways Navigator and Academic Specialist, Norma Azpeitia, presented on how to work with people of diverse backgrounds. The afternoon included a presentation from Ryan Groeneweg, the Director of Autism Programming at Village Northwest Unlimited, on autism services and a tour of VNU.

Campus Awareness was held Monday afternoon, October 9. College employees learned about our Diesel Technology, Automotive, Welding, Carpentry, and Computer Science programs as they toured campus. This has become an annual event the afternoon of Junior Career Day which allows all of us to be “ambassadors” to tell the NCC story to others in our communities. See the attached pictures (Campus Awareness.docx).

Rhonda Pennings attended the 2017 National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships (NACEP) national conference in Washington, D.C. on October 9-12, with a Day on the Hill event on Wednesday, October 11. There were over 800 participants from 48 states and 3 countries in attendance. Topics addressed in the conference were strategies for implementing NACEP’s standards and best practices for concurrent enrollment. In addition, participants visited with legislators concerning upcoming bills that have a direct impact on current enrollment programs.

The NCC Foundation Board met for their quarterly meeting Tuesday noon, October 10, in the game room of Osceola Hall. They approved consent items and the location for the 2018 Foundation Golf Classic at Grand Falls Casino and Golf Club in June of 2018. Kristin Kollbaum provided the educational program on "Telling the NCC Story” providing Board members with information they can use in their communities to tell the story.

John Hartog attended the Boyden Community Club meeting on Wednesday,

October 11, during which Cal De Ruyter from Rock Valley presented the Oak Grove State Park proposed building project on behalf of the Sioux County Conservation Foundation.

On Wednesday, October 11, Michael Oldenkamp met with the CITO (Chief Information Technology Officers) group, made up of Iowa’s community college IT directors, hosted at Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC). Five Ellucian (formerly Datatel) representatives were on-site and discussed with the group how to improve customer success with their Colleague product.

Kathi Knobloch, Karna Hofmeyer, Beth S-W, Jessica Williams, Ona Johnson and Michaela Youngers dropped everything they were working on and dug for data to respond to another IACCT data request by noon on Wednesday, October 12. WAY TO GO, TEAM! This is the time of the year many legislative requests for data are made, and colleges must comply in order to provide timely, accurate data. There are a variety of topics being discussed across the state, and this one dealt with a “Last Dollar Scholarship” initiative being promoted through the Governor’s office, Iowa Workforce Development, and Future Ready Iowa. No one knows where this conversation will end up before or during the next legislative session, but the requested data from all fifteen community colleges has been submitted.

Jan Snyder and Alethea Stubbe attended the CASE (Council for Advancement and Support of Education) Conference October 11-14 in Anaheim, CA. Jan presented a concurrent session "Plan? What Plan? How to Develop A Fundraising Plan." with Kathleen Guy and Bill Craft representing Eaton Cummings Group. Alethea attended the first annual CASE Executive Symposium. Jan and Alethea were also able to visit the only living family member of the late John Bilsland who recently left a $2 million legacy to the NCC Foundation.

LLRC Membership Update: September 2017 (September 2016) Total members 1,277 (1,184) Student members 221 (215) Community memberships 572 (567) Student visits 872 (762)

Next week: o Wednesday, October 18 – Bloodmobile will be on campus from 9 a.m. to 4

p.m. Sign up will be available at the front desk in Building A. o Wednesday, October 18 – SGA meeting at noon in A117. Topic is Goal

Setting. We will be providing pizza for students in attendance. o Wednesday, October 18 – Heavy Equipment Workshop o Wednesday, October 18 – All College meeting, 2:30-4:00 p.m. in the

Cafeteria. Our guest speaker will be Aaron Thomas! o Wednesday, October 18 – Iowa Community College Presidents meet at

Kirkwood o Thursday, October 19 – Welding Workshop o Friday, October 20 – Midterm Instructional Workday (No Classes)

Upcoming Events: o Monday, October 23 – NCC Board of Trustees meeting – Organizational

meeting o Wednesday, October 25 – Wellness Fair (see attachment Wellness

Fair.pdf)

Happy Birthday!

o Tuesday, October 17 – Jessica Williams If you have not participated yet, please consider completing the Master Facilities Survey on Monday, October 16. We need your input! Here is the link for faculty and staff: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NCC-Faculty. Students have a separate survey.

Enjoy a pleasant October weekend! It’s hard to believe that next week is Midterm already!

In your service,

Alethea F. Stubbe, Ph.D. Alethea F. Stubbe, Ph.D. President

Campus Awareness October 9

Good Afternoon Everyone, The NCC Wellness Committee will be hosting the annual NCC Wellness Fair on Wednesday, October 25th from 11:00-1:00. We have added the opportunity for NCC faculty & staff members to enjoy 5-minute neck & shoulder massages this year!! There will be a sign-up sheet put out on the counter by my office in Student Services on Monday, October 16th at 8:30 a.m. The slots will be first-come, first serve. Please do not sign up unless you are sure you will be able to make it for your time slot. Please let me know if you have any questions. Hope to see you all at the Wellness Fair this year!!

-- Morgan Granstra, BS – ext. 230 Enrollment Management Specialist