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The Aspen Institute College Excellence Program today named North Dakota State College of Science as one of 150 community colleges eligible to compete for the $1 million Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence, the nation’s signature recognition of high achievement and performance among America's community colleges. Based on strong and improving student outcomes — including in learning, completion rates, employment rates and earnings, and equity — 15 percent of community colleges nationwide have been invited to apply for the Aspen Prize.

“We are truly honored and humbled to be recognized as an Aspen Prize Top 150 U.S. Community College,” said NDSCS President John Richman. “This is exciting recognition of the strategic decisions we have made — and the outstanding work our employees do every day — to continually improve the services and support we provide to our students.”

The 150 community colleges named today as eligible to compete for the 2021 Aspen Prize were selected from a pool of nearly 1,000 public two-year colleges nationwide using publicly available data on student outcomes. Located in 39 states in urban, rural, and suburban areas, serving as few as 500 students and as many as 75,000 students, these colleges represent the diversity and depth of the community college sector.

Data show that over the last two years, student retention, graduation rates, and degree completion have improved at the top tier of 150 Aspen Prize-eligible colleges.

“Community colleges play a vital role in developing talent and enabling social mobility across the country, and it’s critical for them to get better at what they do,” said Josh Wyner, executive director of the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program. “We’re pleased to see evidence that these institutions are improving, that more are delivering on their promise. We’re also pleased to play a role in honoring outstanding community colleges and sharing what works to ensure great outcomes for students — through graduation and beyond.”

The top ten finalists for the 2021 Aspen Prize will be named in May 2020. The Aspen Institute will then conduct site visits to each of the finalists and collect additional quantitative data, including employment and earnings data. A distinguished jury will make award decisions in spring 2021.

For a full list of the top 150 eligible institutions and to read more on the selection process, visit www.highered.aspeninstitute.org/aspen-prize.

The ApprenticeshipND program at the North Dakota State College of Science will celebrate National Apprenticeship Week with an open house and round table discussion on Wednesday, November 13 at NDSCS-Fargo, located at 1305 19^th Avenue North.

The open house will be held from 1-4 p.m. and will include opportunities to learn about the ApprenticeshipND program and network with other business and industry representatives. At 2 p.m., a round table discussion will be held to share information about the future of apprenticeships and how apprenticeships can help meet business needs. Round table attendees will hear from statewide leaders from certification boards and businesses with established apprenticeship programs. Additional information about the event can be found online at ndscs.edu/naw, or by calling 701-231-6921.

The NDSCS Division for Workforce Affairs operates the ApprenticeshipND program to offer a variety of non-credit correspondence courses for individuals in a vocational field who cannot attend regular college learning activities. Individuals are able to expand and/or update their knowledge through additional courses in their related field of study by enrolling in one or more of the occupational courses available. ApprenticeshipND offers more than 100 courses in areas including carpentry, cement-masonry, roofing, sheet metal and boilers. Additional information is available online at ndscs.edu/ApprenticeshipND.

Upon completion of a qualifying apprenticeship, individuals may be eligible to apply for the NDSCS Technical Studies – Journeyworker Track program, which provides students the opportunity to earn an Associate in Applied Science degree by combining their apprenticeship training with college credit course work. Individuals who are interested in the Journeyworker Track can contact NDSCS Academic and Career Counseling at 1-800-342-4325, ext. 3-2257.

National Apprenticeship Week is a nationwide celebration to showcase the opportunities that apprenticeships offer to develop workplace experience and skills that employers value. The fifth annual National Apprenticeship Week will take place November 11-17, 2019, with events across the country.

In North Dakota, Governor Doug Burgum has proclaimed November 11-17, 2019 Apprenticeship Week in the State of North Dakota and November 2019 as Registered Apprenticeship Awareness Month. The full proclamations are available online at governor.nd.gov/proclamations.

NDSCS Nursing faculty members Barb Diederick and Ruth Gladen have been named recipients of North Dakota Center for Nursing Legendary Nurse Awards.

­­Barb Diederick received a Legendary Nurse Award for Nurse Executive, which is presented for providing exceptional leadership in a top executive role for nursing. Diederick has taught in the NDSCS Nursing Department since 1980, and has served as the Nursing Department Chair since 2005.

Ruth Gladen received a Legendary Nurse Award for Faculty Achievement, which is presented for demonstrating excellence in teaching, engaging students in the love for nursing and supporting student growth. Prior to retiring from NDSCS in June of 2019, Gladen was the Registered Nursing Program Coordinator and primary instructor from 2005-2019.

Both Diederick and Gladen were instrumental in launching the Associate in Science in Nursing Registered Nursing program and the Associate of Applied Science Registered Nursing program. They are also both past recipients of the NDSCS Excellence in Teaching Award.

The North Dakota Center for Nursing Legendary Nurse Awards began in 2015 as a way to honor exemplary nurses across the state of North Dakota.

NDSCS Social and Behavioral Sciences Associate Professor Jeff Hart has been selected as the third place winner of the Economist Educators Best in Class Teaching Award, sponsored by the National Economics Teaching Association (NETA) and Cengage. He presented his winning entry at the Economics Teaching Conference in Kansas City, Mo.

Economist Educators Best in Class Teaching Award Contest entrants submit a description of a lesson they created for an Economics course, along with a video describing the technique. Entries are judged based on originality and creativity, ease of implementation of teaching techniques, and value of successful student outcomes.

Hart’s award-winning lesson uses agriculture news reports and market headlines to teach students about supply and demand, and the corresponding impact on price and quantity in the market. Students also create scenarios that illustrate changes in supply and demand. The lesson is interesting and applicable to Hart’s students, many of whom have farm experience.

The North Dakota State College of Science has surpassed one million consecutive hours without any employee work time lost due to a work-related injury or illness. More than 500 days have passed since the College last had employee hours lost to work-related illness or injury, a streak that began in February 2018.

This significant safety milestone reflects the efforts in place at NDSCS to foster a safe working environment for all of its 700 employees. The College has established safety guidelines and provides annual department-specific training for its employees.

“NDSCS is committed to the safety of our employees,” said NDSCS President John Richman. “This milestone was made possible through not only the guidelines put in place as a College, but also by the work of all of our employees to maintain a safe working environment every day.”