June 2024 Volume 7 Issue 11

Thirteen incarcerated students completed their associate’s degrees from Nashville State this year. Two graduates from the Debra K. Johnson Rehabilitation Center and eleven from the Turney Center Industrial Complex proudly moved their tassels to the left. It is no secret that education provides increased opportunity for economic mobility and societal advancement, but the impact of a college education is perhaps most profound among the people who live behind prison walls. Providing a college education to incarcerated students is a transformative movement that offers immeasurable benefits to them and enhances our society as a whole.

The deeply personal stories these graduates share during their commencement ceremonies demonstrate that they have gained a sense of empowerment and self-worth. Not only do they exude newfound confidence and self-esteem, they speak of hope for their futures and gratefulness for having been given such a life-altering opportunity. Earning a degree while incarcerated is not solely an academic achievement. It is also an indicator that an individual is committed to making a positive change and taking responsibility for improving their circumstances.

Inmates who participate in educational programming are also less likely to recidivate. In addition to supporting their personal and societal growth, a college degree provides them with the knowledge and skills they need to obtain employment, which lessens the likelihood that they will reoffend. By decreasing the probability of recidivism, a college education leads to stronger families and safer and more productive communities.

If the primary goal of the correctional system is to rehabilitate offenders so that they may reintegrate into society, a college education can play a crucial role in that process. The importance of Nashville State’s commitment to educating incarcerated students cannot be overstated. I am grateful for the Nashville State faculty members who are committed to educating these students. A professor’s willingness to go behind prison walls with limited teaching resources, navigate extensive security checks, trek across prison yards, and pass through the many gates that open and close behind them demonstrates an impressive commitment to education and serving others.

Nashville State’s prison education program offers incarcerated people a second chance by giving them an opportunity to rebuild their lives and redefine the impact they have on society.

Laura Moran, Julie Williams, Justina Rogers, and I are fresh back from Slate Summit which was held in Chicago June 19-21. In a sold-out crowd, 4500 of our fellow Slate experts from around the country (and this year the world!) convened to learn about new features slated for release over the next year and to network with one another to see the fantastic and creative ways that others are using Slate tools.

In the opening presentation, we learned just how good of company we are in with Slate as the top 300 universities in the US were flashed up on the screen with only a handful not utilizing Slate as their CRM! Over the course of the event, I ran into several representatives from TN schools such as Vanderbilt, Lipscomb, MTSU, Freed Hardeman, and some of our sister schools within TBR. I was also privileged to be in an affinity group with representatives from the University of Beirut who just a few months ago became the first international University to purchase Slate as their CRM! We’ve come back with stars in our eyes and yet more items to add to my ever-growing list of ideas to implement (I’ll get to them ALL…eventually!).

This year, Alexander Clark (Founder and CEO….our beloved cult leader) demoed things like Reader AI, Deliver Voice AI, AI Queries, AI Dashboards…..starting to see a theme? While none of these features are available just yet, they represent exciting possibilities for the future.

New slate features that are already live are:

Interface Themes

Users now have the option to choose between standard and dark modes. The toggle beta-UI link which was available under the User circle directly to the right of the search box has now been replaced with Set Themes. This new feature contains several options including high contrast! Users who are still using the Legacy UI should make the switch to one of the Modern UI themes soon since most new features will not be available in the Legacy UI. The Modern UI gives users a wider view of the database and allows users to pin more items for quick access than were available in the Legacy UI. It also allows you to use the following:

Quick Launch

Quick launch is a new search feature that allows you to do a comprehensive search of the database, not just for people, but also for specific forms, events, etc. To access Quick Launch, you must set your theme to one of the four Modern UIs. Once your theme is set, ctrl+k (cmd + k on Mac) to access the Quick Launch tool. This is going to be one of my personal new favorite features, and I’m sure it’s going to save everyone a lot of time!

Locale-Aware Time Zones

Previously, Slate has operated exclusively in the Eastern time zone. However, this new feature is one of what I hope will become a trend to be sensitive to the time zone of our users. While most of the database continues to operate in Eastern Time, we can now set Deliver messages to send at a specific time in the recipient’s time zone! This is also slated for release in messages drafted directly on a student’s timeline, but that feature has not been rolled out yet as of the drafting of this article.

Timeline Filtering

The timeline can now be filtered! While previously the timeline displayed a cluttered amalgamation of every touchpoint logged with that individual, we can now narrow that mess by what we’re actually looking for. Looking for a message that’s been sent? Uncheck everything but messages. Looking for a form or event registration? You can filter by that too!

Universal Batch Management (Partially Live-Queries and Forms)

Previously, batch management tools were available but hidden and only users who knew the proper keyboard commands were able to access them. Slate is now rolling out batch management so that the tool will always be present in areas where it can be used. This will take the form of a gear icon next to the search box in the areas where this is available. It will allow for quicker archiving of old items, batch moving items into folders, and very important as we move towards segregating the database into realms (more on that later this year!), the ability to batch assign items to Realms which ensures that queries, forms, etc. specific to your areas will not be visible to users in other realms. This is currently live in Queries and Forms and should eventually be available in Events, Deliver, and Inbox. If you’d like to access this tool in an area where the always on gear is not yet available, hold down ctrl on your keyboard when clicking on any item to magically make the gear icon visible.

The executive summary of all features previewed at Summit can be accessed by current Slate users at https://knowledge.technolutions.net/docs/2024-slate-summit-executive-summary. The slides from the Summit presentations will also be uploaded to the Knowledge Base this week so should be available by the time this article is being read by you.

Internal Slate Stuff in the Works

Our Banner to Slate project with Axiom is making good progress this year. Recently, I have completed the work to import Academic Standing, Cohort Codes, GPA, Holds, and Test Scores. By the time this article releases, I should also have finished the work to bring in Advisors and should be well underway with progress towards bringing in Class Rosters which are the final pieces of the puzzle needed to complete a redesign of Early Alerts. The new Early Alert system should be ready for preview by the redesign committee by mid-July, and it should be ready for faculty access ahead of the fall semester. There will definitely be more information on this soon!

Once the Early Alerts system has been built, I will be changing focus to bring in our financial aid checklist which will allow us to display both admissions and financial aid checklist requirements to prospective students all in one easily accessible portal.

Also in the works, the high school programs applications will soon be split off from our regular admissions application. This will allow us to better tailor the application to the audience and make the cycle maintenance easier for our staff.

TBR has also made us aware of a pot of money available to institutions to work with consultants. We have applied for this money and are working to decide what features we most need consultant help to build.

June was a busy and productive month for our team, with the ongoing construction activities and several events at White Bridge and our extended campuses. Our team remains committed to the goal –students first. The dedication and hard work by the facilities team is instrumental in maintaining our operations at a high standard throughout the month. 

Current activities per Campus: 

• Clarksville:
  • General Contractor Awarded
  • Interior finishes selected
  • Groundbreaking May 29th

• Dickson
  • New Building Programming Phase
  • Project Sign displayed

• North Davidson:
  • HVAC – Tile floor fixed
  • Duct work leak repair in process
  • HOAR Construction underway on repairs

• South East:
  • Refurbishment Project underway
  • Culinary Kitchen Equipment purchases approved

• Waverly:
  • Miscellaneous Repairs
  • Lab hoods have been serviced and now certified

• White Bridge Road:
  • H – K – C – A- Building Project –in process 
  • Central Plant HVAC Project – Phase #1 – Bid Awarded – Phase #2 in Design