By L. Parsons Colleges around the country closed their doors and moved their instruction to online only in March this year due to COVID-19 and Northland Pioneer College was no exception. Most courses were easily transitioned to the online format. However, according to Vice President of Learning and Student Services Dr. Jessica Clark, some programs require hands-on clinical instruction that is not possible in a technology based instructional model. In the Navajo County Community College District Governing Board meeting last week, she said, “We launched two new programs last year in our allied health department. Those were our massage therapy and surgical technician courses. Instead of moving online, those programs were cancelled in the spring. All students in these programs have been refunded their tuition and their course fees.” Clark explained that the future of these programs is unknown. “We do not have plans to open either of these programs in the fall semester of 2020. We do anticipate that after COVID, these will be strong programs but right now we are stuck in limbo on these.” Clark also told the governing board that in the current school year, only four housing scholarships had been awarded to NPC students. “Every application that has come in has received the award, but it’s just not being utilized as it was five years ago. So, what we are doing to meet the needs of our students is reallocate about $12,000 in order to create a technology scholarship. We will be able to purchase 24 laptops and serve up to 20 more students. The housing scholarship will still be available to support three or four students as that is what we have seen in the last few years.” She continued, “We are also going to be doing a much more comprehensive analysis on how all of our scholarships are being utilized in order to make sure we are maximizing the use of that money and that we are serving our students where they are and what they need.” Northland Pioneer College Friends and Family Director Betsyann Wilson added to the scholarship conversation and said, “We have a little more than $12,000 in new money for fall scholarships available, including four $1,000 scholarships for our nursing program.” To find information on available scholarships and application deadlines, the NPC website is www.npc.edu. Regarding finances, the college remains in good standing, according to Vice President of Administrative Services Maderia Ellison. “We are starting to see an uptick in tuition revenues, which is normal. We will continue to see that as we close out our final quarter.” The governing board, in the absence of members Daniel Peaches and Derek Leslie, approved a change of schedule for NPC students and faculty. Clark explained, “Our dual enrollment partners, namely county high schools have both the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and President’s Day off. We need to align with those schedules to makes sure all of our students are getting the same instructional time. To make sure we align, we are going to add two days to our winter break. We will not lose any instructional time that way.” In other business, the governing board: * Approved an annual Support and Maintenance package from Jenzabar to support resource planning software in the amount of $256,680. * Approved an annual contract in the amount of $75,000 to Strategic Security Corporation for districtwide uniformed security services. * Approved an intergovernmental agreement between Navajo County Community College District and Dishchiibikoh Community School District for TALON (technology to advance learning outcomes at Northland) services. * Approved an intergovernmental agreement between NPC and the Navajo County Emergency Management Department for emergency notifications. * Approved the call for election to fill three governing board seats on the Nov. 3 ballot. Positions available for election include districts one, two and four. Those board members represent Kayenta, Winslow and Show Low respectively. * Approved the designation of Ellison as Chief Financial Officer in a routine annual procedure. * Approved a partnership with AchieveAZ60. The group’s pursuit of an American Community Grant Foundation requires matching funds, which this partnership supports. The Northland commitment is $500 annually for the next three years. * Approved an intergovernmental agreement between the governing board and the Snowflake Unified School District for dual enrollment services. * Approved an update to Policy 1102 clarifying language for compliance with regulations on investigations into harassment and discrimination allegations. * Heard a report from Disability Resource and Access Coordinator Sandy Manor, in which it was presented that the department has set goals to reach out to high school special education departments in the next school year to provide more comprehensive referrals. * Heard an update on the Higher Learning Commission financial ratios. Those ratios are compiled to better realized how resources are being used at NPC. The report concluded, “NPC’s score is well above the threshold and has been for years.” The next meeting of the Navajo County Community College District Governing Board will be at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 18. The location is to be determined.
