Morgan Community College received formal notification August 3 from the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission that their Associate Degree in Nursing program had been awarded national accreditation.

The official letter received by MCC President Dr. Kerry Hart stated, “The National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission, and its predecessor, the National League for Nursing, have stood for standards of excellence for all types of nursing education for over 50 years. By choosing to be accredited by NLNAC, you and your faculty have demonstrated your commitment to the highest standards of nursing education. Your successful accreditation shows that your school does indeed meet these high standards.”

MCC Nursing Program Director Kathy Frisbie described the accreditation process as a two-year project that included an intensive self-study, a detailed written report, and a site visit in mid-February. The three-day site visit included a thorough examination of the program; interviews with faculty, administration and students; and a public meeting that allowed community members to share their interest and confidence in the program and the quality of its graduates.
 
Specifically, the visiting team heard from graduates Marcie Givens and Deb Eurich, who acknowledged the valuable clinical experiences they had at MCC. Compared to many other new nurses they met on the job, they discovered they had practiced many procedures that nurses from other programs had not had the opportunity to do.

MCC nursing program advisory board member Pamela Stoeckel told the site visiting team that the members of the board were very active and always were listened to for their suggestions. She said the well planned advisory board meetings could boast very good attendance; a testament to the importance of the board.

Ray Larson spoke from the perspective of an MCC Advisory Council member and a former employer at Eben Ezer Lutheran Care Center. According to Larson, MCC nurses were always the best prepared and were valued as employees who were invested in the community because they lived in the area. He also emphasized how critical the MCC nursing program is for sustaining quality health care in rural Colorado.

Ross Benham, now a recent Fort Morgan High School graduate, shared his long-held dream of becoming a registered nurse. He completed all of his prerequisites for the nursing program while he was in high school. He expressed his optimism in terms of job prospects when he graduates with an Associate of Applied Science in nursing from MCC.  He was in the health science technology (formerly med prep) program for two years and spoke highly of the experiences and opportunities close to home. He said there are definite financial advantages of having a good local nursing school. Benham’s parents, both nurses employed in Morgan County, agreed heartily with their son on that issue.

The visitation team made a strong recommendation for accreditation at the exit visit with college personnel, although the recommendation had to pass through two more boards for approval before an official accreditation announcement was made. The team applauded the MCC nursing department on their excellent preparation for the accreditation evaluation and noted the many strengths of the nursing faculty and support staff. The team also cited satisfaction expressed by the students as an important factor of the recommendation.

The Board of Commissioners granted the associate nursing program initial accreditation and scheduled the next evaluation visit for spring 2014. The Board noted a distinguishing resource strength for the MCC nursing program as the student success advisor Gwen Steffen’s availability to and success with nursing students.

MCC is the first Colorado community college to seek and achieve NLNAC accreditation since the standard was set by the State Board of Nursing. MCC shares the standard of excellence with long-standing programs at Pueblo Community College and Otero Junior College.

The national accreditation distinction accelerates the excitement of the imminent construction project of a new health science addition on the MCC Fort Morgan campus. The bond-funded remodel and expansion broke ground at the end of August and is expected to be completed in time for the Fall 2010 semester. Nursing faculty member Joy Bryant aptly commented, “This dynamic and modern facility will allow our health occupations students to have a learning environment that is as sophisticated as their needs.”

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A rural healthcare outreach effort between the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs and Lamar Community College will support close-to-home baccalaureate and graduate nurse education for residents of southeast Colorado.

Funded by a $100,000 grant from Denver-based Helen K. and Arthur E. Johnson Foundation, the nursing programs at Lamar Community College and UCCS will create a streamlined enrollment of students from Lamar to the Beth-El College of Nursing and Health Sciences at UCCS.

The program will allow Lamar students to continue past associate degrees to earn bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, certification in clinical specialties, or a doctorate of nursing practice degree. The courses will be offered using a variety of distance-learning tools including Web-based courses.

"We are deeply appreciative of the Helen K. and Arthur E. Johnson Foundation's funding of this unique effort to address the shortage of nursing professionals in southern Colorado," UCCS Chancellor Pam Shockley-Zalabak said. "Partnerships between colleges and universities in southern Colorado help improve the quality of life and opportunities for our stakeholders."

Lamar Community College President John Marrin explained, "A partnership with the Beth-El College of Nursing and Health Sciences will allow Lamar Community College to initiate a model to 'grow our own' supply of area advanced degree nurses who may choose to pursue careers in nursing education, thus assisting our local healthcare facilities and perpetuating future generations of nursing students through education."

Of concern to rural Colorado are challenges faced by an aging population and challenges in recruiting health care professionals.The supply-and-demand issue is additionally challenged by nursing education accreditation standards that require nursing faculty to hold master's degrees. The new partnership addresses both issues by allowing potential Lamar Community College faculty to earn advanced degrees while also allowing students to earn an associate degree in nursing at Lamar and seamlessly transfer to the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program and, later, to other degree programs.

The program is considered a pilot effort for what could be a state and national solution to nursing shortages.

During the spring 2009 semester, 30 students in the LCC associate degree program received information about continuing their education at UCCS. Those who graduated from Lamar were then eligible to attend bachelor's degree courses offered through UCCS for the summer and fall 2009 semesters.

At the same time, practicing nurses in the area may also consider enrolling in UCCS advanced degree offerings.

The program will be evaluated carefully to ensure the needs of students, and the high standards set by faculty are met, according to Nancy Smith, dean, Beth-El College of Nursing, and Sandy Summers, nursing director, Lamar Community College. If successful, state and federal funding will be sought after 2010 and the intent is to replicate the program with other community colleges in the state.

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NJC President Dr. Lance Bolton (left),
joins Kent Wright, NJC Director of Transportation and Energy Training Programs (center) and Neil Browne,
who was recently hired to run their
new wind energy technician program (right) to officially announce the
opening of the new associate’s
degree program.

Louis Toenjes (left), Peetz and Logan
Site Manager with GE Infra Energy,
visits with NJC’s Kent Wright (right),
NJC's Department Chair for Transportation and Energy programs,
regarding a tower blade that was delivered to the college’s north
campus in preparation for the Wind Technician training program that began this semester. GE is one of several companies who have offered to
provide training tools for the
new program.

During the first half of the year, Kent Wright fielded a half dozen calls a week into his office at NJC from students and others inquiring about the college’s new wind technology training program rumored to be opening sometime soon.

“When will it open?,” “How soon can I be trained?,”  “Will I be guaranteed a job when I finish the classes?,” prospective students asked.

Wright, who also oversees the transportation and energy training programs at NJC, tried to answer the questions as best he could—taking down the names of students who wanted to be contacted if and when the program opened.

Wright and others are proud to announce that after nearly 18 months of preparation, it’s not just a bunch of hot air. A Wind Energy Technician training program launched last month at NJC. It is the first program of its kind to open in Colorado.

“Logan County is now home to one of the biggest wind tower farms in the country,” notes NJC President Dr. Lance Bolton, referring to the spread of towers that reach out all directions from Peetz. That field is now nine miles deep and 44 miles wide and represents an investment of more than a billion dollars. A second large farm will be put in near Fleming in the next few years.

“Several of these wind energy companies have invested hugely in Logan County and they have told us that they need trained technicians. They want trained, local technicians. It’s much more efficient for them and it’s just good business,” Bolton said, giving emphasis to the word local.

For the last two years, as several new wind turbine towers began popping up in the north part of the county on a weekly basis, it became very clear to the administration at NJC that there was significant opportunity for the college to expand its career and technical education division by opening a Wind Tower Technician training program.

During that time, representatives from the wind industry stepped up and asked for a local training program, and even offered to help fund it. Between private industry contributions and a grant from the Department of Local Affairs, nearly $900,000 has been raised to help pay for the opening of this new program.

A number of wind energy company officials are serving on an advisory board for the NJC program and they have been very instrumental in setting up the curriculum. 

Bolton said that the new program is a two-year degree program, not just an accelerated training situation. “The companies who have invested here have made it very clear that they would like NJC’s training to be of the caliber that will create the kind of individuals who have potential to move into management and supervisory positions, employees who will be successful with these companies on a long term basis.”

Based on this, students will be getting the technical expertise they need to work on the towers, but they will also be taking degree level classes that will make them well-rounded individuals who know how to write well, speak well and work with numbers among other skills. 

Bolton is quick to clarify that the wind technology training center that is being created by NJC will also have some flexibility. “If, for example, we would have a group of trained military veterans come here, we could possibly run an accelerated training program and have these students be able to move into wind tower technician jobs within a few months.” 

NJC does offer a variety of ways for a student to move through this program more quickly than usual. Credit for degree level classes already taken at NJC for another area of study can most likely be applied to this degree and credit for prior learning can be evaluated.

For example, someone who has worked for several years as an electrician or a lineman might be able to substitute real life experience for classroom credits.

The training program is operating from the college’s north campus facility located on Pioneer Road. Neil Browne, a former Sterling High School teacher who specialized in industrial technology, who has spent the last year as a lead technician for GE, doing warranty service repair on the 1.5 megawatt turbines, owned by NextERA (formerly Florida Power and Light) has been hired to run the local program.

The program took 20 students initially. Area companies, who have farms located in the region, have also offered to provide: training tools; field locations for students to get hands-on skills; guest presenters and internships.

The two year program covers numerous technical electronics courses as well as training in programmable logic controllers, basic fluid power, airfoils and composites, power distribution and control systems, and maintenance welding and power mechanics. The two-year Associate of Applied Science degree requires completion of 60 credits. “We will make sure these students are out on a tower very early in the training, up in the air, able to know what the work conditions will be and to be able to determine whether or not they think they will be able to be in the height environment on an ongoing basis,” Bolton said.

The American Wind Energy Association says that wind turbine towers have been popping up on the U.S. landscape at a rate of almost 10 per day.  The need for people to maintain and repair them is reaching the critical point. Last year, 3,200 new wind turbines were installed across the nation as power companies responded to the push for more green energy. It brought the total number of towers with wind-catching blades to more than 25,000, the association said. In 2008 wind provided only 1.2 percent of the electrical needs in this country—enough to power about 1.5 million homes. However, because wind is the cheapest renewable resource available, it is the fastest-growing market in the world right now.

NextERA, which has invested heavily in Logan County by putting in several hundred towers in the Peetz area, has more than 7,600 wind towers in 16 states. Its field staff numbers about 500, and the majority of them are technicians. The tower structures vary in size and energy output, but as a general rule, a two-person operation and maintenance team is needed for every 10 turbines.

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Dr. Kay Uchiyama.

Karen Cooley is
Regis University's
chair of Undergraduate
Licensure

Arapahoe Community College and Regis University’s College for Professional Studies (CPS) recently partnered to launch a bachelor’s degree and teacher licensure in Secondary Mathematics Education.

Students in the new program can take classes for three years at ACC to earn an Associate of Science Degree with an additional plan of study in secondary math education. Then they can transfer to Regis University and complete the final 51 hours to earn a bachelor’s degree and licensure to teach mathematics in secondary schools.

Colorado has a shortage of math teachers, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The need for math teachers is second only to the need for special education teachers. Further, a study just released by the Carnegie Foundation reports that math education must be improved dramatically throughout the nation if the United States hopes to compete in the 21st Century.

Dr. Kay Uchiyama, ACC Education Department coordinator, and Karen Cooley, chair of Undergraduate Licensure at Regis University, are coordinating the program.

“I’m a reformed mathphobic and have discovered that everyone can learn math," remarks Uchiyama. "Today, there is a huge need for all of us in the United States to become quantitatively literate and we need good math teachers for that to happen," she continues. "Because of the need for math teachers statewide and nationwide, students completing the secondary mathematics education pathway should have no trouble finding a job,” she surmises.

“Regis University CPS Teacher Education programs are so pleased to be working with ACC in the high-need area of mathematics,” said Cooley. “Secondary schools across Colorado soon will benefit from this partnership as we prepare knowledgeable, caring math teachers.”

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Over the next 10 months, SunGard’s DegreeWorks system will be launching at colleges across the system. DegreeWorks provides a comprehensive set of web-based academic advising, degree audit, and transfer articulation tools to help students and their advisors to negotiate degree/certificate curriculum requirements.

According to SunGard:
DegreeWorks helps students spend less time deciphering degree requirements and more time pursuing their academic goals. Robust academic planning tools and real-time counseling capabilities help advisors provide consistent and meaningful direction to students. For students, DegreeWorks: provides real-time advice and counsel (e.g., helps them adjust their course planning if they switch programs); provides intuitive web access to self-service capabilities; streamlines the graduation process; allows direct access to multiple related services and advice through hyperlinks to catalog information, class schedules, transcripts, help desk services, and FAQs. For advisors, DegreeWorks:   supports real-time delivery of academic advice through intuitive web interfaces; minimizes errors through consistent degree plans; supports more timely degree certification; reduces paperwork and manual program check sheets; supports and monitors unique program changes; and, supports uniformity and accountability among academic advisors

According to Interim Vice President of Academic and Student Services Geri Anderson, “Coupled with the incremental launch of the portal at the colleges, DegreeWorks will significantly increase the power of the Banner system to assist students, faculty and administrators in their daily work.” She adds that DegreeWorks will also greatly reduce the workload generated by the labor-intensive manual processes of evaluating transcripts and verifying that degree/certificate requirements have been satisfied for graduation.

Additionally, Anderson postulates, “Suppose a student wants to switch from a plumbing program to an HVAC program in midstream? DegreeWorks will automatically calculate which of the courses they have already completed will count toward their new plans and it will tell them what requirements they now need to fulfill.”

“Advisors and students are going to really appreciate how DegreeWorks generates individualized reports of academic progress, freeing advising time for other meaningful purposes,” she adds.
 
On August 27, Community College of Aurora began piloting the system. Later this fall it will be deployed at MCC, RRCC, PPCC and ACC. In 2010, it will come to the remaining eight colleges in two phases of four colleges at a time.

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Chevron USA recently donated $36,000 to Colorado Northwestern Community College (CNCC) for support of its energy programs.

In the above photo, presenting the check to Dr. John Boyd, CNCC president, center, are Andy Walla, Chevron USA senior engineer, left, and Gary Dahl, plant operations supervisor. The funds will be used for lab equipment in the upcoming W.C. Striegel Engineering Center.

The W.C. Striegel Engineering Center will house CNCC’s Rangely engineering programs to include their associate of applied science degree in civil engineering technology, as well as certificates in surveying, computer aided drafting, and construction management. The facility will contain classrooms along with a renewable energy lab and a soils lab.

Construction of the center, which includes the retrofitting and expansion onto an existing building, began August 3rd. The first phase of the construction process consists of three areas of demolition, including the interior walls, the electrical wiring, and the plumbing. Demolition is expected to be complete by the end of August, with the second phase of construction to follow, which will include excavation for building additions and mechanical systems. The anticipated completion of the center for occupancy is early spring of 2010.

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The Residential Spa design team won the People's Choice and Judges' Innovation Awards at PPCC’s Design for Hope fundraiser/competition: from left, Irma Christie, Rose Smart, Dreama Christie-Ramirez and Holly Minary. To see the winning entries, click here.

Interior Design students, from Pikes Peak Community College in Colorado Springs, went
head-to-head in a competition to create the most innovative room designs while
focusing on sustainability through the use of environmentally friendly finishes and
furnishings.

The "Design for Hope" project, inspired by HGTV’s popular "Design Star" show, was
conceived by Tara Gray, Director of PPCC’s Interior Design Program.

Gray partnered with Matt Locke a finalist from the third season of "Design Star" to
bring this unique project to the Colorado Springs community.

Design students were divided into ten teams; each team was given identical rooms
(similar to Design Star's "White Wall Challenge") consisting of three walls and a floor
platform, which served as blank canvases. Donations of furniture, lighting, finishes,
accent pieces, and artwork (all with a focus on sustainability, energy efficiency and
environmental-friendly content) were featured.

The students worked on their designs for two months and the projected concluded on
June 19 with a gala event at Colorado Springs’ Promenade Shops.

Nearly 400 people attended the gala which included entertainment and libations, touring
each team's room, green vendors show casing their products and a silent auction
featuring design items, spa and dining packages, and a two-hour design consultation
with Matt Locke.

More than 200 more visitors toured the venue the following weekend at the public tours.

In an effort to involve the larger community in the project and teach the class about
giving back, Gray donated all proceeds from ticket sales and the silent auction--totaling
an impressive $36,000--to CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) of the Pikes Peak
Region, a local advocacy group for abused and neglected children.

"Our goal was to foster innovative interior design, as well as environmental conservation
and philanthropy," explained Gray about the event. Design for Hope 2010 is in
the works.

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The National Science Foundation's (NSF) Advanced Technological Education Program has awarded a grant to Red Rocks Community College in response to a proposal the institution submitted entitled, "Sustaining a Green Collar Workforce: An Interdisciplinary Approach." The award was approved as a continuing grant for a period of three years. It totals $850,000.

The grant project has two primary objectives. First, it aims to expand the preparation of the workforce for careers in renewable energy. And, second, it seeks to develop a sustainability curriculum that will be integrated throughout career and general education courses.

RRCC will work closely with multiple industry and education partners to expand industry-aligned curriculum that prepares students for career opportunities in energy and environmental technology. Partners include: the Colorado School of Mines, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Jefferson County Schools, Jefferson County Workforce Center, and Advanced Technology Environmental and Energy Center, which was established in 1994 as an NSF Advanced Technology Education Center of Excellence.

As energy utilization, energy sustainability, and environmental impact are priority issues in every industry sector, the grant project will provide opportunities for teachers of grades 9-12 and the freshman and sophomore years of college, to develop energy and environmental sustainability teaching strategies known as Interdisciplinary Lively Application Projects.

New "ERG" laboratory exhibits will promote student engagement with renewable energy technologies. Community events are planned to promote a broad understanding of renewable energy production and environmental sustainability to include the "ERG" laboratory exhibits.

Colleen Jorgensen, RRCC's vice president of instruction, will act as the Principal Investigator, with Dr. Joe Beach, assistant research professor, Colorado School of Mines, and Rick Reeves, RRCC's instructional dean, acting as Co-Principal Investigators.

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