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to expand your horizons. Education 2018–2019 ANNUAL REPORTSome people close their eyes to the horizons; some people sit and watch the horizons; some people visit the horizons; and some incredible people go beyond the horizons! –Mehmet Murat Ildan A beautiful sunrise in our 195-acre Natural Area 24 4 12 26 28 16 POINTS OF PRIDE NOTABLE ALUMNI COMMUNITY NCMC LEADERSHIP STATS & FINANCIALS DONORS & PRESIDENTIAL SCHOLARS Alumni and Friends, Expanding horizons is invigorating and at times uncomfortable. It means learning or experiencing something new. There is discovery in being open to new ideas, opinions or perspectives. Throughout our lives, we should strive such for personal enrichment. North Central Michigan College provides knowledge and experiences that are an important component of this journey. For first-generation college students like me, North Central provides exceptional, accessible and relevant higher education that opens the door of opportunity, making visible new horizons. Our environment offers personal attention and wraparound services allowing individuals to identify and pursue their passions. For returning adults, North Central provides continuing education courses to help learners thrive in evolving workplaces. For lifelong learners, North Central provides cultural and recreational experiences that enrich lives, adding to the vibrancy of life in Northern Michigan. For all who seek what lies just beyond the horizon, North Central is here to help you reach your potential. Thank you for your interest in and support of North Central Michigan College. Together, we make what matters happen . Sincerely, David Roland Finley, Ph.D. PresidentN orth Central held its 59 th commencement exercises on May 10, an evening of noteworthy firsts. Dr. David Roland Finley, North Central’s fourth president, presided over his first commencement. For the first time, family members and friends who could not attend the ceremony were able to watch via livestream as their graduates crossed the stage. Commencement 2019 also featured the debut of the North Central mace, designed by NCMC employee Leon Nash and carried by senior faculty member Professor Larry Cummings to herald the beginning of the academic procession. A symbol of authority and unity, the North Central mace (see photo at right) is fashioned from the wood of indigenous oak and ash trees, the metal accent pieces manufactured in our CNC lab. Most notably, more than a quarter of graduates reported being the first in their family to earn a degree or certificate, all the more reason to celebrate their outstanding achievement. What’s more, nearly 84% of our graduates reported having worked part or full time while attending college. A ceremony of firsts Commencement 2019 notable for several reasons, but students shine brightest 4As Randel Richner, our 2019 commencement speaker, said in her remarks, “balancing work, school and snow” is what sets apart a North Central graduate. We couldn’t agree more. n I n 2019, North Central adopted the long-established academic practice of recognizing, through the granting of an honorary degree, an individual who has realized significant professional achievement or made substantial contributions to the work of the college or the betterment of our community. Paul C. Keiswetter, president and CEO of Petoskey Plastics, received North Central’s inaugural honorary degree, a recognition of his extraordinary commitment to environmental sustainability and his efforts to enhance the prosperity of our community. 5N orth Central Michigan College’s English department received national recognition for its Accelerated Learning Program (ALP), which was selected as the exemplary program in the category of Composition Programs and Writing Students. English Professor Dr. Mark Blaauw-Hara and Vice President of Academic Affairs and Student Success Dr. Pete Olson accepted the 2019 Diana Hacker Outstanding Program in English Award from the Two-Year College English Organization, a subsidiary of the National Council of Teachers of English. North Central was one of only two awardees. “ALP is a new way of working with writers who need a little extra help to succeed in our regular college writing classes,” Blaauw-Hara said. “In addition to taking the usual writing course, they take an additional support course with the same instructor. That second course is entirely designed around supporting their success in college writing: We preview and review material for the college-level course and provide extra practice and focused feedback.” Prior to ALP’s implementation in 2011, students would place into a developmental course sequence that would add one or two semesters onto the time it would take them to graduate. From the students’ perspective, a major advantage is that the ALP delivery model allows them to start right off with college writing rather than taking a sequence of developmental courses—it just gives targeted support to those students who need it. The data support the ALP model. Using double-blind writing assessments and random sampling, we found that our ALP program resulted in a 6% increase in pass rates for our first semester course and a 3% increase for our second semester course. Students who took the first semester pairing of ENG 095 and ENG 111 progressed to our second semester course at a much higher rate than their peers in just ENG 111. Furthermore, students in the ALP program took approximately 12-18% more credits in subsequent semesters. “We are thrilled that the Two-Year College Association awards committee agreed that we had made a major difference in our students’ educational journeys,” Blaauw-Hara said. “It was a great honor to receive a national award, which was presented in front of teachers and scholars from across the U.S.” n To learn more about our ALP instructional model, contact Dean of Liberal Arts Sara Glasgow, Ph.D. 231-348-6604 • sglasgow@ncmich.edu Fast-tracking student success English department receives national recognition for its Accelerated Learning Program “Students are happier, they learn to write well, and they are on their path to graduation and a career that much faster.” –Professor Mark Blaauw-Hara, Ph.D., on the ALP model of instruction 6N orth Central produces amazing nurses whose impact is felt globally. Take, for example, 2008 alumna Kelly Suter, who travels the world providing disaster relief (see page 15), or 1978 alumna Randel Richner, who is leading health care policy change (see page 12). Yet our region is experiencing a shortage of nurses, and nationwide job growth for nurses is expected to surpass that of most other professions. Rural hospitals experience the greatest need. At any given time, more than 100 RN jobs are posted online in our region. To meet this demand, North Central has increased capacity in its nursing cohort from 46 to 64 students effective with the Fall 2019 semester, the first increase since 2006. North Central’s nurses are qualified, compassionate professionals, and our students typically find full-time employment within six months of graduation. Our nursing program graduates notched a 97% first-time pass rate–100% overall–on the 2019 National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX–RN). North Central’s annual nurse pinning ceremony, pictured above, celebrates our students’ successful completion of the nursing program. We can’t wait to see how they will positively affect our world! n Lighting the way North Central increases nursing program capacity 5 2 0 1 9 DID YOU KNOW? The candle used during the nurse pinning ceremony is a nod to nurse Florence Nightingale, who tended to sick and injured soldiers by the light of an oil lamp during the Crimean War in the mid-1800s. Nightingale was known as the “Lady with the Lamp.” TOP R N P r o g r a m s i n M i c h i g a n * * Rank based on the percentage of graduates passing the NCLEX–RN examination. 7T he plastic human skeleton in Professor Ben Crockett’s anatomy classroom hangs its head a bit lower now, having made way for a decidedly more high-tech option. A fully interactive, 3-D virtual dissection table has changed the way North Central students learn about human anatomy. Spanning 86” in length, the Anatomage table is roughly the size of an operating table, which is fitting, since it contains digital images of four real human cadavers, more than 20 high- resolution regional anatomy cases, and more than 1,000 pathological examples, including animal cases. The images contained in the table were captured during the actual dissection of a body sectioned at 0.2 mm intervals, then digitally photographed to produce 8,510 images per cadaver. The result is a stunningly clear representation of the human body, as vibrant as any textbook image, but able to be rotated, enlarged and manipulated. Students operate the table in much the same manner as they would an iPhone or a tablet. One touch can isolate the muscular system, while a second touch can highlight the circulatory system. Students can make an incision with a flick of the wrist, exposing underlying tissue and muscle, then undo the action with the press of a button. “The Anatomage table provides our students with a digital experience that is intuitive, immersive and memorable,” Crockett said. “It offers many of the educational benefits of a traditional cadaver lab without the ongoing expenses and ethical issues that come with body donation programs.” A gift from the Borra Family Foundation, the table is also used in Jim Cousino’s allied health courses to provide students with a deeper understanding of complex concepts in anatomy and physiology. Used by many of the nation’s top medical schools, North Central is proud to have one of only nine Anatomage tables in the state. The addition of this piece of equipment ensures our students receive state-of-the-art instruction, so that North Central can continue to produce qualified health care professionals for Northern Michigan and beyond. n Do you believe in the transformative potential of technology in the classroom? Let’s brainstorm. Chelsea Platte Executive Director, NCMC Foundation 231-348-6621 • cplatte1@ncmich.edu Anatomy + image = Anatomage High-tech device changes nursing and allied health education 8Expanding horizons means harnessing the transformative potential of technology.Next >