February 2021 Volume 4 Issue 7

Greetings,

Nashville State, we can now add a snow and ice storm to our collection!  I want to thank our security staff and others who made it to campus during the week our physical campuses closed.   There are so many people, often unseen, who work hard to keep our campuses running smoothly.  I am very thankful for their commitment to our mission and our college.

While there is literally no “I” in team, it does take individual effort to help our college Move Forward!  I am constantly amazed by the talent of our faculty and staff.  It is important for us to recognize individuals and areas that are doing an exceptional job. Please remember to make a submission of our difference makers at Nashville State so we can Celebrate the Good!

Below are a few updates from the Office of the President:

President Cabinet –

During the Committee on Committee review process, the membership for President’s Cabinet was revised.  Cabinet now includes the Vice Presidents, Faculty Senate Chair, Administrative Assembly Chair, Staff Assembly Chair, SGA President, AVP Institutional Planning and Research, and Director of Human Resources.  As a reminder, President’s Cabinet agendas and minutes are available on SharePoint by following this Link.  

Enrollment –

Preliminary CENSUS data for the spring semester compared to last year, shows a decrease in headcount of 14.4% and decrease of 12% in FTE.   The TBR average is a decrease of 13.6% headcount and decrease of 14.7% FTE. 

Budget –

As previously reported, we budgeted for a 13% decrease in Spring FTE.  Therefore, no additional cuts are planned for this fiscal year. The Vice Presidents are now working with budget managers to begin preparations for July 1^st budget.   

Vice President of Business and Finance –

Two candidates had on-campus visits the week of February 8^th. A recorded video of a general session was shared with the college and a feedback form provided.  I appreciate each person who took the time to provide critical feedback on the candidates.  A special thank you to the search committee, Security, Facilities, TSD, Evelyn Hadley and Evon Woods for making the on-campus visits run smoothly.

Celebrating the Good!

This is your monthly reminder to us this form to recognize an individual (faculty, staff, or student), department, program, or group that has had a significant accomplishment or made a difference.

While we are still in the midst of uncharted waters and challenges, I am excited about the transformative changes taking place at Nashville State. It is true the pandemic required quick sprints and accelerated change.  However, we must always remember that real systemic and sustainable change takes time.  We are still preparing for the marathon of becoming a Student Ready College!  Together, we can do it.  Together, we are Nashville State Strong!

The Clarksville Campus is now offering food assistance, via the Campus Cupboard, for students in need.

The Campus Cupboard is the college’s on-campus food pantry program that provides free groceries and personal care items to students. The Cupboard now offers online ordering so students can safely shop from home and schedule appointments to pick up their groceries on campus.

“The Campus Cupboard is one of the many student support programs that Nashville State has available… We are very excited to offer students the ability to shop and order food and personal items online.”

Carol Hines, Campus Cupboard Coordinator for the Clarksville Campus.

Items are donated to the Campus Cupboard through a partnership with and the generous support of Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee and Kroger.

For more information about the Campus Cupboard program, please visit https://www.nsccf.org/campus-cupboard/

Hey Nash State, here is our second month’s installment as we celebrate 50 years of success!

January’s Winners are: Tammy Smith, Nicole Hubbs, and Malcolm Johnson!

They won: A lot of NSCC swag including a lanyard, business card holder, and notebook!

For this month we have two photos:

The Challenge Rules:

1. Send your guesses to: Robin.Jones@nscc.edu
2. First person to answer both questions correctly (by email date and time stamp) wins the prizes.
3. Prizes this month are: NSCC notebook, NSCC lanyard, NSCC business card holder, and a mini legal pad from Staples. Winner takes all!

In my NSCC 1010 First Year Experience virtual classes this term, I asked my students to compare the picture on the left representing equality to the picture on the right representing equity. I asked them to pick out the differences like you would in a Spot the Difference game in a kids’ magazine. Of course, students notice the boxes.

However, this term a student noticed that in the equity image on the right, the yellow kid seems to want to hold hands with the red kid. I had never noticed that. It was a profound moment for me, that equity can also support our personal relationships. Perhaps, that shift from isolation in the equality image to connection in the equity image is more important than seeing over the fence.

That said, I wrote an online discussion prompt with a focus on seeing over the fence.

Students complete the online discussion board post after our virtual discussion. Here is a sampling of answers from this term.

• A box represents more confidence. I am a perfectionist and striving for that perfection can really bring my confidence down. Not getting that 100 on an assignment or test really frustrates me. I need to learn to understand I do not have to make 100 on everything.
• A box represents my health. I would like to make sure I stay as healthy as possible to be able to accomplish my goals. Also, I would like to work in my field for several years to come, not just alive, but feeling good.

• A box represents momentum. Week one I felt as if I could run a marathon. As time went on, my momentum has dropped to a 5k. I know as time goes on, I am going to lose interest more and more, but I have to keep my eye on the degree to keep my stamina up and ready for the next semester. 

• A box represents a clear academic plan. I think a laid-out plan would help me to work efficiently towards finishing my degree requirements and it would relieve me of unnecessary uncertainty about my future. 
• A box represents time management skills. I struggle with completing all of my assignments, helping my daughter with her daily schoolwork, having a job, and still finding time to keep our house tidy and cook meals for us. I have started trying to keep a loose schedule, and it’s already getting easier, but I have to be very mindful of what I am doing at all times, which makes it hard for me to ever relax. I need to be more disciplined with getting my work finished on time, and make sure I have time set aside for myself. 
• A box represents making sure I can financially afford to live and attend school. Nashville is an expensive city, and I haven’t lived with Mom and Dad for a long, long time. It’s important to be able to do both.
• A box represents me not questioning myself. I will be almost 40 when I graduate, and I have to stop myself from thinking it’s too late for me to better myself. Sometimes I feel like I’ve wasted so much of my life, and I feel embarrassed for not being more successful at my age. Just in the short time I’ve been taking classes, I’ve already been in contact with so many students in similar situations to mine, so it’s really encouraging for me to know I’m not alone. 
• A box represents communication with my teachers. My class projects are often due on Sunday, and we cannot contact the teacher until Monday at one specific time. So, if we have questions they get answered after the due date. If I get stuck on something there’s always a large turnaround time to get answers, and then I’m either missing a deadline or my mind has moved on.

What an amazing experience!! This was my first opportunity to attend the Achieve the Dream conference and before the meetings began, I was so excited! When I learned I would be attending, I built all this expectation within myself about how amazing it was going to be; and I tried to throttle it in the days leading to the conference. I mean, who wants to set the bar too high and fall in disappointment?

The conference did not disappoint!!

We all know the struggle of pivoting to the online environment; but the creators of ATD did an amazing job with this! We had a daily plenary for all attendees covering a multitude of topics related to equity of every kind for the community college setting. And, in the afternoons, we had fantastic opportunities to hear the stories of multiple community colleges across the country who have successfully increased equity in their schools. Not only did they paint for us the picture of challenge they originally faced, but they also provided the data to demonstrate the outcomes of the changes they made.

For me, the biggest message I received from my experience was twofold:

First, a very common thread was presented throughout all of the sessions and that was the importance of building relationships with students through providing them space to use their own voice to share their story. Stories connect us. Our personal stories provide an avenue for us to more deeply understand the context of one another’s experience and perspective of the world. In knowing our students’ stories, we can find the places that resonate with our own. We can find that common ground and remember what it was like to be in their shoes – or we can learn something about the world we may have never experienced. Understanding the multiplicities of life helps us respond to students in ways that honor the wholeness of who they are. We can meet them where they are, better understand their needs, and become more creative in the ways we scaffold their learning to ensure they have all they need to be successful.

Second, in addition to building and establishing strong relationships with students through understanding their story, there was also a common thread about reexamining our metrics. Many institutions within the ATD structure realized that while their quantitative data definitely provided information, it was missing crucial bits of information necessary to better understand the full picture of the student experience. They began to incorporate qualitative pieces of data as well which helped remove some blinders they had to the realities within their institutions. They began reimagining solutions because of the inclusion of qualitative data; and their vision was expanded to better address the equity gaps they faced. It helped them develop more robust programs, explore more deeply out-of-the-box thinking, and become better partners collaborating within their local communities to become more a more embedded civic partner in future planning.

My mind is still spinning through processing all the wonderful information I absorbed! I have so many thoughts and ideas still bouncing around – and I look forward to the supplemental materials we will be provided soon as guides to help me process, debrief, and contribute to the creative imagining of the ways we move forward specifically within the two extended campuses I serve. It’s an exciting time to be #NashvilleStateStrong!!

I’m grateful to Dr. Jackson, VP Kim Silverman, and Directors Matt McClean and Kim Zills for allowing me this opportunity to attend. I promise to share all I’ve learned!

We finished out 2020 with the following major projects and PPE oversight for the NSCC campuses. 

As we move into 2021, we continue with the major efforts as we define our KPI’s for the new year.

NSCC Major Projects for 2021 include:  

• LED Replacement Lighting Project  
• Welcome Center  
• Recycling Program   
• North Davidson Campus  

2021 (KPI) KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS:

1. CAMPUSES WIDE – DEPARTMENT TECHNICAL SUPPORT:  

• PPE Support on all NSCC Campuses for ongoing health – safety 
• Work with all Campuses to offer technical support for their issues  
• Review the NSCC facilities contracts, make recommendations 
• Increase Johnson Controls support of the NSCC Campuses HVAC Systems  

2. DEPARTMENT – TEAM COORDINATION:  

• Lead to Practice Day to Day leadership, focus on projects campuses wide 
• Crew to work on their own work orders, support each other work orders  
• Further develop Maintenance Lead to manage the Department Techs   
• Use techs to route PPE supplies to all campuses  

3. WORK ORDERS SYSTEM – BUDGET RECOMENDATIONS:  

• New requests generate a work order on the Maintenance website  
• Actively support Evelyn Hadley, Director, Special Events with W/O’s in the system 
• Reinforce the team for inputting of the work orders  
• Preventative maintenance tasks implemented into W/O system   

Moving forward into 2021, to achieve any of these results, we could not do it without the support of the NSCC family.