College Relations and Marketing |
Released: 10/22/2009 - Printer Friendly
WAHPETON, N.D. – (October 22, 2009) – For developing innovative ways to enhance on-campus living, members of the residence life department at the North Dakota State College of Science (NDSCS) were presented with the LIFE Award today. NDSCS President John Richman, Ph.D., announced the award at the college’s annual Recognition Day ceremony at the Harry Stern and Ella Stern Cultural Center on the NDSCS campus.
The LIFE Award is presented to an individual, employee group or committee that "brings LIFE to NDSCS." It is awarded for developing and implementing an action plan to meet the college’s strategic planning and/or Academic Quality Improvement Project (AQIP) goals. "LIFE" is an acronym for the college’s stated values and stands for Learning, Integrity, Flexibility and Excellence.
The residence life staff took a strategic approach to increasing the number of students living on campus at NDSCS and enhancing that experience for them. Residence life held students accountable to follow the campus’s freshmen requirement to live on campus, improved programming in residence halls and apartment complexes, relaunched the residence life Web page and wrote a marketing plan for the department.
The department’s efforts helped stem a trend of decreasing on-campus occupancy and actually increased by 78 the number of students living on campus for the fall 2009 semester.
"The residence life staff does a tremendous job providing our students with a great on-campus residential experience," said Richman. "Campus activities have been reenergized and students have been more engaged since the department’s improvements were initiated."
The improvements were a collaborative effort, as the residence life department consulted with the Campus Activities Board, Diversity Council and other groups to bring in quality programming for the campus. They also improved procedures for students by creating online tools to accomplish common tasks like filling out forms and checking on policies. The group substantially reduced the amount of physical mail students receive by sending more communication pieces electronically.
"These are all tremendous examples of how different elements of the campus can work together to create better experiences for our students," Richman said. "The group’s strategic approach means they evaluated their alternatives and took actions that would be most beneficial to students."
NDSCS is a two-year, comprehensive, residential college with its main campus located in Wahpeton, N.D., and a second site, referred to as the Skills and Technology Training Center, located in Fargo, N.D. NDSCS offers degrees, certificates, and diplomas in over 80 academic options in traditional career and technical studies as well as the liberal arts. The college also offers a variety of Distance Education courses. Approximately 95% of graduates from its technical programs find jobs in their chosen fields.
Unlike most two-year colleges, NDSCS boasts a university atmosphere for its students, complete with residence halls, 35 affiliated clubs and organizations, music groups, theater productions, intercollegiate athletics, intramural athletics, and numerous social activities. For more information, visit www.ndscs.edu.
