January 22, 2016 | SharkAdmin [image 1]Northwest Vista College President Dr. Ric Baser kicked off the college-wide meeting talking about spring enrollment numbers. So far, numbers are trending higher with potentially record-breaking numbers for student development classes, also known as SDEV. To read more about spring enrollment, go here. Dr. Baser briefly talked about the PACE survey results and that NVC received an overall score of 4, a slight increase from 3.96 the previous year. In this ranking, it means NVC exhibits a collaborative leadership style, such as leaders are seen as having demonstrated confidence and trust in employees. “I'm really pleased (with PACE results) considering everything that is going on outside of NVC,” Dr. Baser said. “I want us to be a collaborative institution and our recent NVC Math Pathways project is a great demonstration of shared leadership. A problem was presented and the solution came from the 'people on the ground.'” [image 2]Dr. Baser announced the new member of the NVC Business Council; and added at all the colleges he's been at, this Business Council is the most active in helping to mentor, advise and provide scholarships to students. “What you don't see is 40,0000 employees beyond these trees,” Dr. Baser said. “We are excited about the things they are able to do, such as offering paid internships.” The Business Council members at the breakfast were: Shelah Simmons, Ph.D, chair and CEO of Genesis Professional Solutions; Jeremy Pancoast, director of Entertainment Services for SeaWorld San Antonio; and Patrick Quilty, store manager at the NVC Bookstore. Recently the Alamo Colleges leaders asked Dr. Baser to review a report from The Aspen Institute's College Excellence Program, which assessed the district. The purpose of the Aspen Prize is to recognize community colleges with outstanding academic and workforce outcomes in both absolute performance and improvements over time. By focusing on student success and lifting up models that work, the Aspen Prize honors excellence, stimulates innovation, and creates benchmarks for measuring progress. Dr. Baser noted some of the highlights from the report were: “Institutions that have seen exceptional outcomes and become national exemplars have followed many paths, but they have one thing in common: their leaders created a sense of urgency around a focused set of objectives. In AlamoADVISE and AlamoINSTITUTES, the Alamo Colleges leadership has identified objectives that are at once visionary and highly actionable. What remains to be done is to build a sense of urgency and focus around these initiatives.” “Based on interviews across the institution, there’s a clear sense of initiative fatigue among Alamo’s faculty and staff. Our feedback reports typically begin with a list of recommendations for senior leaders to prioritize. But in this case, we urge Alamo’s senior leadership to do just the opposite: to zero in on its most important current initiatives and communicate—over a sustained period of time—that singular focus as the institutional priority.” “Leaders of individual colleges must be charged with and held accountable for carrying out the vision in their own college environments.” After reading some of the comments from the Aspen report, Dr. Baser said there will be a final draft completed in the near future, and he hopes to implement a singular focus to help implement Alamo Pathways and AlamoAdvise that best serves our students and fits the NVC culture. Announcements: On Wednesday, Jan 27, Northwest Vista College Women's Basketball team will play against St. Philip's College. Come and cheer on your Wildcats! The next 4DX Summit will be held March 30 at 3pm. On March 23, representatives from NVC Pathways project, along with Dr. Ric Baser, will present Math Pathways at the League for Innovation in the Community College international conference in Chicago. This conference provides a “forum for collaboration among academic experts and leading community college professionals, while granting participants exclusive access to the most inventive and thought-provoking programs from around the world,” according to the conference's website. Laura Metzger, English faculty, will have two research articles published in academic journals: #criticalthinking: Using Social Media and Pecha Kucha in the Community College Classroom (English in Texas Journal); and Reflective Practices in the Composition and Literature Classroom: Strategies to Encourage Imagination and Self-Assessment (Journal of Modern Education Review Under the guidance of Don Lucas, former NVC psychology students, Callie Roberts (now at OLLU), Gerona Nylander (now at Texas A & M) and Melany Higdon (now at UTSA) had their research titled “Do Americans Know Any More About Sex Than They Did 25 Years Ago?” accepted for presentation at the annual meeting of Southwestern Psychological Association. Additionally, under the guidance of Dr. Lucas, current NVC psychology students, Anthony Sanchez, Alex Gurian, Alex Reidel, and Scott Lee; and former NVC psychology student, Zach Hanich (now at Texas A & M) had their research titled, “Is Sex and Gender Best Defined Categorically or Continuously?” accepted for presentation at the annual meeting of the Southwestern Psychological Association. To see video from the meeting, go here. To view the Power Point from the Bragging Breakfast, click here: [file 1]
