Leaders Share Updates via 'Hot Topics'

We are pleased to launch Hot Topics, a feature to update the Thomas Nelson community about our efforts within each College division. Cabinet members and the president will highlight items they are working on and share other pertinent information.

We hope this will provide one more avenue of communication to ensure that all members of the College community are fully informed. There are many other means of communication available to you such as minutes of meetings of many groups including the Cabinet and the College Board.

It seems we can never communicate enough. I urge you to stay informed and ask questions when you feel the need. Working together is our best hope for a successful future.

I have been continuing getting around the campuses and the communities we serve. I have met a number of the mayors as well as our school superintendents and others. All have expressed nothing but support for what we do at Thomas Nelson. It has been a steep learning curve but I feel I have begun to know some important things about our college. First, just how much you all care about the success of our students and second how willing you are to look ahead to the future. One of my favorite sayings is, "we need to look to our future but always respect and honor our past." I look forward to working with you this coming year.

- Interim President Greg DeCinque

Hot Topics

From the Vice President for Academic Affairs:During this academic year, the College Board has approved 13 career and technical career studies certificates thus expanding our academic offerings to give students greater opportunities for reaching their goals.

The new CSCs - many of which will be offered beginning in the upcoming fall semester - include Photography, Foundations in Criminal Justice, Administration of Criminal Justice, Cybersecurity and Networking Foundations, Dental Assisting I and Dental Assisting II. Others are Clinical Medical Assistant, Certified Medical Administrative Assistant, Emergency Telecommunicator (911 Dispatcher), Healthcare Technician (Nurse Aide), Practical Nursing (LPN), Practical Nursing to Professional Nursing Bridge, and Structural Firefighter.

Among our new offerings several can be part of the Get Skilled, Get a Job, Give Back initiative, or G3, a statewide initiative that provides last dollar financial aid to offer incentives and wrap around services for the students enrolled in select programs. Since G3 focuses on coursework for such vital industries as health care, information technology and computer science, public safety, and skilled trades, it also benefits employers who are struggling to find qualified candidates for many high-demand fields.

From the Vice President for Finance & Administration: The Student Government Association and Local College Board have approved a $0.50 per credit hour increase in the Student Activity Fee for the 2020/2021 school year. The proposed fee increase will now go to the State Board for Virginia Community Colleges for final determination.

• Currently at $1.76 per credit hour, Thomas Nelson's Student Activity Fee is 9th lowest among all VCCS schools and is approximately $0.50 below the average fee.
  No changes are proposed for the Parking and Security Fee.
• During the February Local College Board meeting, the Board was presented with a draft budget for Local Funds. The Board is reviewing the draft and is expected to vote on the budget at its April meeting. Local Funds consist of four separate funds totaling nearly $2.5 million. These funds are under the direct purview of the Local College Board and are separate and distinct from State College funds, which are under the purview of the College President and make up the bulk of the College's operational funds.

From the Vice President for Institutional Advancement: All resources and talent in the Division of Institutional Advancement are mobilizing to assist in increasing the College's enrollment and improving its resource capacity. Here are just some examples:

• Special Events - On Saturday, Feb.15, Special Events Manager Alicia Riley and the Cultural Affairs Committee coordinated a public event in celebration of Black History month at the Williamsburg winery featuring national speakers in multiple areas of design. The registration fees from more than 90 attendees and contributions from generous sponsors made this event possible and provided future resources to support upcoming cultural activities for Thomas Nelson students.
• Dr. Mary T. Christian Auditorium (MTCA) - The President's Cabinet approved a fee increase for rental of the MTCA by outside organizations in July 2019. Theater Manager Jim Worthey, who joined the College in September 2019, has been working with current and prospect organizations to promote the MTCA as an event venue and increase the revenue to the College generated from rental of this unique facility. Jim's experience with two prior community college theaters is a perfect match to align the College's desire to use the MTCA as a revenue source for the institution and as a primary location supporting the College's instructional and performing arts needs.
• Communications and Marketing - The College's digital sign is now operational providing a new method for communications about the College to faculty, staff and students at the Hampton campus and travelers along Interstate 64. Michelle Shonk, manager of Creative Communications Services, is the primary designer of the images developed for the digital sign. If you are interested in having an image developed to promote your program, please submit a work order to Michelle in the same manner as you normally would for any graphic design project. The more we can promote, the better - just remember that the effectiveness of text on a medium of this type is very limited.
  • Naima Ford, Public Relations & Marketing coordinator, is currently serving on a VCCS subcommittee working to develop marketing strategies to promote G3 programs in healthcare, information technology/computer science, manufacturing and skilled trades, early childhood and public safety to prospective students for enrollment in fall 2020. She is also the lead on the College's local effort to launch a digital marketing campaign with local advertisers to correspond with the College's summer and fall enrollment periods. Targeting Peninsula high school students and underemployed adults in our communities, these efforts align with the VCCS statewide marketing initiatives for increasing college enrollment by formerly dual enrolled high school students called "Finish What You Start" and marketing of the last dollar G3 tuition assistance program designed to benefit low and middle income students of any age enrolled a G3 designated career and technical education program.
  • The Cabinet approved moving forward with filling the much needed position to manage web and social media communications for the College. Held vacant since October 2018, the position was previously held by William Berry and titled "Web and Social Media Communications Manager." The search will launch soon to fill the position with the title "Digital Media Communications and Marketing Manager." The position will continue to have primary responsibility for working with all areas of the College to develop and post content on the College's webpage and its social media platforms and will be responsible for working with others in developing digital marketing strategies to promote the College's programs.
• Development and Alumni - Development Director Tracy Ashley is leading efforts to meet the College and Foundation goals of raising more than $1 million in FY 20. In its third year of an ambitious development strategic plan, the Foundation is poised to raise more money in FY 20 than in any prior year in its history. Since the implementation of the strategic plan in 2017, the Foundation has raised more than $1.6 million. As of the end of January, net assets for the College's Foundation are over $10.5 million. By way of context, the Foundation's total assets were just over $4 million in 2006. While fund raising and fund development are increasing, the funds appropriated by the Foundation to support the College and its students is also at an all-time high. In FY 19, the Foundation spent more than $1.2 million to benefit the College. This figures includes more than $227,000 for student scholarships and more than $345,000 for educational support, including equipment purchases, funding for innovator grants and performing arts programs, just to name a few.
  • The Foundation's newest funding raising initiatives are specifically designed to increase enrollment; thereby increasing the College's state budget resources. In 2018, more than 100 new scholarships were made available to first-time, full-time (minimum 15 credit hours) students enrolling at Thomas Nelson. More than 300 students received scholarships in 2019 to attend Thomas Nelson. The College and Foundation are currently reviewing opportunities to benefit even more students in FY 21 with a possible scholarship aligning with the enrollment goal of encouraging dual enrolled students to "Finish What You Start." More information to follow soon on this initiative. Please share with all students: Online Scholarship Applications for Fall semester 2020 will open this month.
  • In June 2019, the Foundation launched its new "Bridge the Gap" program to provide last dollar assistance to students who would otherwise be dropped from classes because their existing financial aid, scholarships, and/or personal resources were insufficient to pay the full cost of enrollment. Data shows that the average financial gap for Thomas Nelson students to fully enroll is approximately $1,100 per semester; but for many, the amount is far less. Launched summer semester, Bridge the Gap has provided the additional "gap" funds needed to fully enroll 32 Thomas Nelson students, preserving 364 credit hours and generating 24.27 FTEs for the College. Gifts to this fund have thus far kept pace with the need, but if you are looking for a way to help the College financially, this is a proven opportunity to benefit students and the College as whole, while making a 100% tax deductible gift. As always, thank you for your support of our students and programs at Thomas Nelson. These are the gifts which are truly giving back.

From the Vice President for Student Affairs: Student Affairs is on the move! We are nearly finished moving 16 staff members to better meet the needs of our students and the College. Once complete, a message will go out.

• Our EAB consultant was on campus February 27 for an on-site session. The Admission and Advising processes were mapped out to ensure Navigate stays current.
• We will launch three Quick Polls this year, one to drive enrollment, one to drive retention, and a third to drive graduation and completion. These are polls that students see when they login to Navigate. The responses will allow specific actions to be taken by staff to assist with registration, assist with retention, or assist with graduation planning.
• We are flipping our advising discussions with students to an assumption that 15 credit hours equals full time enrollment, not 12. We have made measureable progress in this area, except for new students, where we will now aim our efforts.We're not forcing anyone to take on more than they can handle; we're just starting with a different mindset.
• The first of two annual Advising In-Service Sessions happened on February 28 with everyone who performs advising functions at the college, both credit and workforce, and academic affairs out in force to share information.
• A team of 20 Thomas Nelson staff will be off to Roanoke next week for the Advising Institute to learn more about the exciting G3 initiative and other professional development.

From the Director of Institutional Research and Effectiveness: Spring is always a busy time for the Office of Institutional Research and Effectiveness, and this year is no exception. Below are some of the major efforts underway at this time:

• Thomas Nelson's Focus 2020 strategic plan will come to an end this June, and we are actively working to develop a new strategic plan and direction for the College. Our Strategic Planning Core Committee has been working hard on these efforts and is helping to organize an all-College event on March 20 to further advance the planning process. If you have not already done so, please make sure to register for the upcoming March 20 event.
• The seventh annual Thomas Nelson Student Experience Survey will be sent out in mid-March to all Spring 2020 students. As you have opportunities to do so, please encourage students to participate and share with us their experiences at the College.
• Work is now underway on the College's Fifth-Year Interim Report for our regional accreditor, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). The Office of Institutional Research and Effectiveness will be leading those efforts and will soon begin meeting with all areas of the College to gather information and begin writing the needed report.
• Efforts continue to more fully assess the learning of our students. The Office of Institutional Research and Effectiveness, in partnership with several faculty leads, will be working closely with our faculty in the coming months to strengthen assessment for general education and within each of our academic programs.
• The Thomas Nelson College Board is moving forward in its search for the next president of Thomas Nelson. As part of those efforts, the Office of Institutional Research and Effectiveness has been working with the Board on a community stakeholder survey. You, along with other stakeholders in our community, will be receiving that survey later in March. I encourage you to participate and help identify the most important qualities in our next president.
• The College is actively pursuing several major public grant opportunities and is working to enhance processes and support for existing grant programs. If you are interested in learning more about grant opportunities, or have ideas for grants you would like to pursue, please contact our office and we will be happy to help.