Tag Archives: education

NDSCS Wins Addy Award

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Wahpeton, N.D. — (March 6, 2012) — North Dakota State College of Science was the recipient of an advertising award presented at the annual ADDY Awards banquet sponsored by the American Advertising Federation of North Dakota (AAF-ND) on Feb. 24. The Silver ADDY Award represents the College’s best work for the past year.

NDSCS was awarded a Silver ADDY for The Science of Success: Digital Career Shorts mixed/multiple media campaign. The campaign featured multiple ads spread over several media including: an interactive micro site, digital outdoor boards, newspaper specialty advertisements and email marketing. The campaign elements were designed and executed by the NDSCS College Relations and Marketing staff, with web programming by Odney and photography by John Borge Studios.

The AAF-ND chapter is one of 210 Advertising Federation clubs in 14 districts nationwide and a member of District 8, which is comprised of North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin. The AAF’s annual ADDY Awards program honors excellence in advertising and cultivates the highest creative standards. Gold ADDY winners will proceed to the 8th District competition, and Gold winners there go on to the national finals.

Local choirs join for Spring Choral Festival

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The North Dakota State College of Science Choral Festival will be held in the Harry Stern and Ella Stern Cultural Center on the Wahpeton campus on Monday, February 27, 2012.

Choirs featured will be the Wahpeton High School Concert Choir, the Breckenridge High School Concert Choir and the NDSCS Concert Choir. In addition to presenting two selections individually on the evening’s program, the choirs will combine for four selections.

Dr. Michael Weber, Associate Director of Choral Activities at North Dakota State University in Fargo, N.D., will be the guest conductor for the Massed Choir. The Massed Choir will present four selections on the evening program: Shenandoah, Glory to God, from the Oratorio Susanna by George Frideric Handel, The Gift to be Simple and Stand By Me.

The Festival Concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. Admission is $2.00 for adults. NDSCS students with proper identification will get in free.

Students finish No. 6 in National Residential Construction Management competition

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Five students from North Dakota State College of Science recently traveled to Orlando, Fla., to compete in the Residential Construction Management Competition hosted by the National Association of Home Builders. The team finished in sixth place out of twelve teams.

Students completed a management project/proposal and submitted it to a group of construction company executives for judging. At the convention, students were able to defend their proposals to the judges in front of an audience.

“When we arrived for the competition, most of our work had been completed. The only thing left was our presentation to the judges,” said Kyle Nelson, an Architectural Drafting and Estimating Technology student from Casselton, N.D. “This competition provides experiences that are difficult to grasp in the classroom. One of the best parts was seeing struggles and success other schools had and comparing it to those of our own,” said Nelson.

Joining Nelson in Orlando were Casey Johnson, an Architectural Drafting and Estimating Technology and Construction Management Technology student from Grafton, N.D., Bailey Tennant an Architectural Drafting and Estimating Technology student from Glendive, Mont., Ron Rudser, a Building Construction Technology student from Minot, N.D., and Tiffany Ahmann, an Architectural Drafting and Estimating Technology student from Mahnomen, Minn.

Also, Alex Palmer, an Architectural Drafting and Estimating Technology student from Glendive, Mont., and Adam Schneider, an Architectural Drafting and Estimating Technology student from Dickinson, N.D., assisted the team with preparation work before the competition.

This marks the fourth time NDSCS students have competed in the Residential Construction Management Competition.  NDSCS was the only two-year college from North Dakota in the competition. Other schools competing were: Brigham Young University (Idaho), Cincinnati State (Ohio), Delgado Community College (Louisiana), Dunwoody College of Technology (Minnesota), Jefferson State Community College (Alabama), Linn State Technical College (Missouri), Montgomery College (Maryland), Northcentral Technical College (Wisconsin), Pennsylvania College of Technology, Santa Fe College (Florida) and Tarrant County College Southeast (Texas).

NDSCS becomes a NASA Aerospace Education Services Project member

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North Dakota State College of Science has been admitted to the NASA Aerospace Education Services Project (AESP) Professional Development Network, a select group of high-quality professional development providers invited to collaborate with NASA Education. NDSCS will work to design and deliver ongoing professional development activities that will improve both teaching and learning in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

NDSCS will be given the highest priority for adding NASA resources to their professional development courses. For example, NDSCS will be able to have a NASA educational specialist available to provide hands-on sessions in the annual summer teaching academy.

NDSCS Applied Science and Technologies has been given this designation because of excellent past collaborations with NASA Education, including:

  • NDSCS faculty presentation at nanoscience technology workshop sponsored by the NASA Space Foundation
  • NASA Space Foundation training at NDSCS Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems, or MEMS, (miniaturized mechanical and electro-mechanical elements) workshop
  • A partnership with the National Science Foundation on a grant written to enhance GUESS (girls understanding and exploring STEM science) program
  • NDSCS faculty presentation at Space Exploration Educators Conference

As a network member, NDSCS will help identify STEM professional development needs for teachers in the area, work with an AESP Education Specialist to develop workshops that align with local STEM needs, recruit teachers who match the professional development event’s targeted audience and provide workshop facilities that are conducive to teacher learning, with adequate classroom space and functioning educational technologies.

Each state is allowed three entities to become part of the professional development network. To date, NDSCS is the only North Dakota member.

Spring enrollment shows continuing pattern of growth at NDSCS

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North Dakota State College of Science today announced a 6.5 percent increase in spring enrollment from 2011.  As of Monday, February 6, the twentieth instruction day of the semester, NDSCS has 2,811 registered students, an increase of 172 students, compared to one year ago when 2,639 students were enrolled.

In the past four years, NDSCS spring enrollment has increased 23.7 percent from 2,272 students in 2009 to 2,811 in 2012.

“We are encouraged that more students, parents and high school counselors are hearing the message and understanding that two-year college certificates and degrees can lead to high-paying careers,” said John Richman, NDSCS president.

The spring 2012 student body includes:

  • 57 percent full-time students, 43 percent part-time students
  • 1,374 students living on the Wahpeton campus
  • 70 percent of students are from North Dakota
  • Students from 51 of the 53 North Dakota counties
  • 29 students from 13 foreign countries, including Canada
  • 1,703 first-year students, 1,108 second-year students

Several factors have contributed to the surge in enrollment, including the demand for highly-trained workers in western North Dakota, the impact of the national economy and greater awareness of job placement for graduates of two-year colleges.  NDSCS’ 2011 graduate placement rate was 99 percent, meaning the graduates are employed or continuing their education.  Seventy percent of the students found employment in North Dakota or transferred on to a North Dakota four-year university.  For full details of the NDSCS Placement Report, go to www.ndscs.edu/placement.

“NDSCS has made a concerted effort to reach out to a greater number of traditional and non-traditional students through the expansion of the NDSCS-Fargo campus,” said Richman.  “Our efforts to offer a variety of flexible class schedules and options will continue to expand as we make the NDSCS classes more available to a wider range of students in the future.”

Otto Bremer Foundation Awards $120,000 to NDSCS Foundation

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Funds will be used to upgrade College’s dental clinic technology in Wahpeton

The Otto Bremer Foundation, majority owner of Bremer Bank, recently donated $120,000 to the North Dakota State College of Science Alumni Foundation. The funds will be used to update the technology and facilities in the NDSCS Allied Dental Education Clinic in Wahpeton, N.D.

“Bremer’s generosity will provide a substantial amount of technology to our dental clinic,” said NDSCS President John Richman. “Donations such as these offer our students hands-on training with the most relevant technologies and also assist the college in adding great value to the classroom experience and ultimately, the state’s workforce.”

Through the combination of donation, grant and fundraising dollars, the NDSCS dental department will be able to upgrade dental chairs and technology, reach more of the community to provide general services and help an increased number of underserved children at the annual Give Kids a Smile event.

“The Otto Bremer Foundation and Bremer Bank are committed to building healthy communities in Breckenridge and Wahpeton,” said Jana Berndt, president of Bremer Bank in Breckenridge, Minn. “It’s gratifying that our owner and partner, the Otto Bremer Foundation, has offered its backing to this great organization, which provides critical services to support the overall health of our communities. These dollars would not be available without the support of our Bremer Bank clients. When clients bank with Bremer, we generate profits, a portion of which we deliver to the Foundation, which then uses those funds to make grants in communities like Wahpeton and Breckenridge.”

See the full article.

NDSCS students to compete in National Residential Construction Management competition

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Seven students from North Dakota State College of Science will travel to Orlando, Fla., to compete in the Residential Construction Management Competition hosted by the National Association of Home Builders.

The competition will be held on Thursday, Feb. 9 during the International Builders’ show.  Students have the opportunity to apply skills learned in the classroom to a real construction company by completing a management project/proposal. Proposals are submitted to a group of construction company executives who act as judges. During the convention, students defend their proposals to the judges in front of an audience. The NDSCS team will have ten minutes of prep time, ten minutes to present and ten minutes to answer questions.

“This competition is a great real-world opportunity for our students to showcase the skills they have acquired at NDSCS. It also gives the students a chance to meet and network with industry members, and possibly to find a job offer,” said Shannon Mehrer, building construction technology program coordinator. “These students have shown great dedication to this project. The work is done outside of the classroom on their own time.”

Students who were interested in participating were interviewed and went through a faculty selection process. The follow students were selected to compete: Casey Johnson, an Architectural Drafting and Estimating Technology and Construction Management Technology student from Grafton, N.D., Bailey Tennant an Architectural Drafting and Estimating Technology student from Glendive, Mont., Ron Rudser, a Building Construction Technology student from Minot, N.D., Kyle Nelson, an Architectural Drafting and Estimating Technology student from Casselton, N.D., and Tiffany Ahmann, an Architectural Drafting and Estimating Technology student from Mahnomen, Minn.

Also, Alex Palmer, a Architectural Drafting and Estimating Technology student from Glendive, Mont., and Adam Schneider, an Architectural Drafting and Estimating Technology student from Dickinson, N.D., have been assisting the team.

The group has done some fundraising to off-set trip costs, such as a 50/50 raffle through the local Home Builders Association Club on campus. The North Dakota Home Builder’s Association of Bismarck donated $750 and the group received a $1,400 travel scholarship from the National Housing Endowment. The cost is approximately $550 per student.

This is the fourth time NDSCS students have competed in the Residential Construction Management Competition.  NDSCS is the only two-year college from North Dakota in the competition.

For more information about the competition, go to www.nahb.com/rcmc or contact Shannon Mehrer at 701-671-2229 or shannon.mehrer@ndscs.edu.

NDSCS Theater presents Doc, Doc… Goose!

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Performances held in Wahpeton, N.D., February 9-10 at 7 p.m., February 11 at 2 p.m.

North Dakota State College of Science theater presents “Doc, Doc… Goose!” written by Patrick Rainville Dorn. The production is directed by Jacqueline Kaler, and produced by special arrangement with Pioneer Drama Service, Inc., in Englewood, Co.

The play depicts Mother Goose, a doctor who went to medical school and opened up a clinic in Nurseryland. The poor nursery rhyme characters are plagued with freak accidents.  A typical morning in Dr. Goose’s clinic includes a cow with a sore calf from moon-jumping, a daredevil who burns his seat jumping over candlesticks and a blonde juvenile delinquent who breaks into bears’ houses. This imaginative weaving of nursery rhymes with modern twists offers something audiences of all ages will enjoy!

Catch the play in action on February 9 and 10 with performances at 7 p.m and a matinee performance at 2 p.m. on Saturday, February 11 in the Harry Stern and Ella Stern Cultural Center. Ticket prices are $2; bring a sixth-grade child or younger and get in free of charge.

For more information, please contact Jacqueline Kaler at 701-671-2591 or jaci.kaler@ndscs.edu.

Education Executive: NDSCS – Applied Learning

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John Richman tells us how innovative programs at his college are preparing students to meet workforce needs in the fall 2011 edition of Education Executive.

Read the digital edition.

Applied Learning
Today’s college grads have a lot to live up to.  No matter the major, students are expected to have a firm grasp of 21st century skills, which include public speaking, problem solving and more.  North Dakota State College of Science understands the demand placed on students, which is why it’s using industry partnerships and innovative programs to prepare students for the working world.

NDSCS is the second oldest public two-year college in the country, and it will be celebrating its 109th year as an institution the fall. It’s a two-year comprehensive college, offering students 38 academic programs centered primarily on technical fields. It is a state institution, as opposed to a community college, and is governed by the state board of higher education. NDSCS is also part of an eleven-college system in the state of North Dakota.

The college serves approximately 2,800 students, 70 percent of which hail from North Dakota. The remaining 30 percent of students come to NDSCS mainly from Minnesota, Montana and South Dakota. Dr. John Richman has been in his role as president for the past four years, but his involvement with the college stems back to his days as a student. In fact, Richman hasn’t only served as the president of his alma mater – he’s held an array of positions at NDSCS, ranging from coach to faculty member to administrator and more.

“I brought a unique perspective to each of those positions, and now, I bring those experiences to my role as president,” he said. “I can speak as a student, an executive, and even a parent. I’ve been in every corner of NDSCS, and it helps me make decisions when looking at our current operations and into the future of the institution.”

And the future holds some exciting things for staff and students, according to Richman. During the past few years, he and his team have focused on making NDSCS more accessible and convenient for students. Technology has played a role in this transition, but Richman said the need to create more convenience stems from the demands of today’s working world.

“Most people would agree that public education, in the traditional sense, is showing up at a building, sitting in one big classroom and listening to a professor lecture for an hour,” he said. “That method has to change for us to become more efficient and effective when educating today’s college student. Our business and industry partners want entry-level workers who can problem solve and work in a team environment; that doesn’t occur often in a typical college setting.”

Keep reading…

NDSCS DECA members travel to New York for leadership academy

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Three members of the North Dakota State College of Science Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA) recently traveled to New York with business instructor Gregory Anderson to attend the Collegiate Leadership Academy.

Carman Hoffman of Browns Valley, Minn., participated in an advertising track, Donovan Stegall of Inkster, Mich., was a participant in the sports and entertainment track and Andrey Mikaylov of Moscow, Russia chose the finance track.

During the competition, each student attended an initial briefing for their event before attending a one-day seminar where they visited locations relevant to their respective career tracks in New York City to be exposed to the business and its marketing functions. Then, competitive teams were formed and each was given a “true-to-life” case problem.

NDSCS had one winner, Carman Hoffman. Hoffman’s group placed first in the Madison Avenue Advertising Track for their campaign to promote travel to the United States. Through her experience, Hoffman was able to tour John Walter Thompson, one of the world’s largest advertising agencies, and had the opportunity to work with MediaCom and Brand Union. Hoffman worked primary on the creative for her team’s campaign: the television commercial, mock website, magazine ads, QR codes and billboards, while her teammates worked on the budget, identified the target market and worked on the overall presentation.

“The trip to New York was a great opportunity and I couldn’t have done it without NDSCS. I never would have imagined traveling to New York, working with the world’s largest advertising agencies and getting internship opportunities because of it. DECA made that possible for me,” said Hoffman.

Twenty-eight groups competed in the Madison Avenue Advertising Track. Collegiate DECA is a student-centered organization whose program of leadership and personal development is designed specifically for students enrolled in business administration and management related programs. (Learn more about NDSCS DECA.)

The Collegiate Leadership Academy is held every fall in New York and is attended by DECA members, members of other college organizations and any college student who are looking to enhance their leadership skills.