Our Mission
South Central College provides an accessible and inclusive learning environment that
cultivates student success and advances regional economic development.
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Dates & Deadlines
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IT Services Used Technology Sale - Happening Now (North Mankato)
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Global Storytelling: Exploring the Alps, March 29
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Deadline to open new purchase orders or purchase items with credit cards, March 31
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Scholarship application deadline, March 31
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Student application deadline for graduation, March 31
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Deadline to submit Outstanding Alumni Nomination Form, March 31
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Budgets due, April 7
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"Teaching Africa" Workshop registration deadline, April 12
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Creative Exchange Market, April 13 (North Mankato)
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In-Service, April 14
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HEDS Diversity & Equity Campus Climate Survey open, March 27 – April 21
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SCC Foundations are set to award Over Half a Million Dollars in Student Scholarships—Please Pass the Word! |
Application Deadline: 1 p.m., Friday, March 31
Current and prospective South Central College students are invited to apply for scholarships from SCC North Mankato and Faribault Campus Foundations. Students who complete one short online application will be considered for all scholarships, which range in value from $500 to full tuition, books and fees. Selection criteria vary and include financial need, program area, academic excellence, community involvement, etc.
Erin Aanenson will be tabling on SCC’s North Mankato Campus to promote scholarships in the coming weeks. Please encourage students to stop by for a treat and a chance to enter a prize drawing.
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FY 2023 Purchasing Dates and Deadlines |
March 31 - Deadline to open new Purchase Orders for FY 2023. Exception requests should be sent to the business office email.
March 31 - Deadline to purchase items with Credit Cards for FY 2023
April 21 - Deadline to close all open Purchase Orders for FY 2023, except those that are yet to be delivered or an ongoing, known monthly expense, etc. Exceptions should be submitted to the business office email.
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New Policies Up for Review |
1B.00.0101 Making Requests for Reasonable Accommodations in Employment
4.0901 Manager and Administrator Tuition Assistance Policy
4.0901.0001 Manager and Administrator Tuition Assistance Procedure
4.0002 Dress Code Policy
4.0000.0001 Telework Procedure
3.32.0101 Faculty Qualifications Procedure
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HEDS Diversity & Equity Campus Climate Survey - Watch Your Inbox |
Equity2030 aims to close the educational equity gaps across race and ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and geographic location by the end of the decade at every Minnesota State college and university. As MinnState works diligently to achieve these goals, the system signed a Master Contract to administer a well-respected campus climate survey.
The HEDS Diversity and Equity Campus Climate Survey will be emailed to students, faculty, staff, and administrators about several aspects. We will use information from this survey to develop a better understanding of the extent to which their campus climate supports diversity and equity and to inform and improve support, policies, and practices at their institution related to diversity and equity, including those to respond to or prevent discrimination and harassment.
The survey usually takes less than 15 minutes to complete, and participants’ responses are anonymous and voluntary. The survey will run from Monday, March 27 – Friday, April 21. Contact John Harper with questions.
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HLC Conference Lends Insight to Open Pathway
Colleagues,
As you read this I am at the Higher Learning Commission conference in Chicago, returning on Tuesday, March 28. A small team of administrators, including our Accreditation Liaison Dr. Narren Brown, new Interim VP of Academic Affairs Laura Attenberger, and VP of Finance and Operations Roxy Traxler attended this year’s event to better acquaint ourselves with the new Open Pathway that South Central College is on. Biology Faculty and MSCF Union Leader Renee Guyer will also be in attendance for Peer Review training on Saturday, March 25.
For many years, including our last review, we were on the AQIP pathway with HLC. In 2021, the AQIP pathway was phased out and, following our reaccreditation in 2020, SCC was given the option of choosing the Standard or Open Pathway. Institutions that have not yet been accredited for 10 years or more and those that meet certain conditions are placed on the Standard Pathway. All other institutions, including SCC are given a choice between the two pathways and most choose the Open Pathway. Both are on a ten-year-cycle and focus on quality assurance and institutional improvement.
While the Standard Pathway has a comprehensive evaluation in year four and ten and oversight throughout, the Open Pathway has an Assurance review in year four, followed by a four-year-long Quality Initiative and then a comprehensive evaluation in year ten. The quality initiative focuses on one major improvement effort that it has taken during the ten-year cycle. Our Quality Assurance Review will take place May 20, 2024 and will be worked on primarily by the Accreditation Committee, which is currently being formed.
Our team is excited to attend the conference and to learn more about the innovative work of our peers. Next year we hope to be able to send additional members of the Accreditation Committee to the conference as they prepare to deliver our reports and keep us on the Open Pathway to success.
Appreciatively,
Dr. Annette Parker
President
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SCC's Culinary Arts program provides food service in the Café on the North Mankato Campus from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., with the daily entree available from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Featured culinary entrée of the day:
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Monday, March 27: Grilled Bratwurst w/ German Potato Salad
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Tuesday, March 28: Sweet & Sour Chicken w/ rice
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Wednesday, March 29: Swedish Meatballs & Buttered Egg Noodles
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Thursday, March 30: Chicken, Bacon, Ranch Sandwich w/ chips
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Friday, March 31: Mexican Street Tacos w/ lime chips & salsa
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April In-Service is Coming! |
Our April In-Service will be held in the North Mankato Conference Center, in person on Friday, April 14. Our focus will be on student success, focusing on Just 1 More, and we will be joined by our Achieving the Dream Coaches. Lunch will be provided, and all faculty and staff are required to attend. If you have questions, please email CTLE. A detailed schedule will be shared in the coming weeks.
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New Hire Mentorship Program Feedback Welcome |
The Human Resources office is looking for your feedback on potentially creating a voluntary mentor program for new employees. All are invited and encouraged to complete a brief survey to share your interest and insights on the program. Thank you for participating in the survey and providing your thoughts for further consideration of this program. Responses will be accepted through April 5.
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Summary and Minutes Available on Sharepoint |
The Summary for the March 6 Cabinet meeting is now available on the Office of the President SharePoint site under the tab Cabinet Summaries. The March 23 AFSCME Meet & Confer Minutes and the February 28 MAPE Minutes are also available. As a reminder, all other College-Wide Committees post their agendas, minutes, and other documents on the SCC Committees page. All faculty and staff are able to access these pages provided they are logged in.
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FY 2024 Budget Tool and Timeline |
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Just a reminder that new Fall 2023 students will be able to set up their New Student Appointment with an Academic Advisor starting in April. New student appointments open Monday, April 3 for Fall 2023 course enrollment. Please direct students to the Next Steps After Admission page. There is an Advising and Registration button to click to set up an Advising appointment. Please continue to encourage current students to enroll in the Summer and Fall 2023 semesters as well as make an appointment to meet with their advisor if they have questions and/or are needing help with enrolling into courses. Thank you for sending students to Advising!
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Creative Exchange - Calling all Artist & Maker Vendors |
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Please join us for Creative Exchange at South Central College on April 13. Graphic Communication and Multimedia Technology students will hold an indoor art fair with local artists. We aim to unite the community and students to raise money for new equipment. This one-of-kind event will be held at our North Mankato Campus - Conference Center Wing. (Door 15)
NO VENDOR FEE! Feel free to donate on the day of the event. Spaces are limited, and vendors will be admitted on a first-come, first-serve basis. Sign up today! Please complete the vendor form to reserve your table at the event. See Facebook Event here. Thank you for your support!
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YWCA Women of Distinction Tickets Available |
The Mankato Area YWCA will hold its Women of Distinction event on April 13 at 5:30 p.m. in the Capitol Room in St. Peter. SCC has a handful of tickets. If you are interested in attending, please contact Susan Jameson no later than Thursday, March 30 at noon. SCC faculty and staff only. Honorees are Dr. Yalda Hamidi, Dr. Sherrise Trusedale More, Jennifer Ek, and Michelle Zehnder Fischer.
Advancing Racial Justice grants will go to Mya Williamson, Lourdes Menjivar, Jennifer Ek, and Sumaya Musse. The Rising Star Award will go to Sumaya Musse, and the Distinctive Business Award will go to Go Therapy.
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Remind Students to Apply for Graduation |
Please remind your students to apply for graduation! To be included in the Commencement program they should apply by March 31. Whether or not they are attending commencement, students must apply for graduation in their final semester. For more information, including the graduation form and important dates, visit the graduation and commencement page on the website. |
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March is Developmental Disability Awareness Month |
Disability Services is proud to share that March is Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month. Developmental disabilities are a group of conditions due to an impairment in physical, learning, language, or behavior areas. These conditions begin during the developmental period, may impact day-to-day functioning, and usually last throughout a person's lifetime. Developmental disabilities include Intellectual Disabilities and Autism.
The following movies are a great way to make you think and connect to people's struggles and resilience. Gather some friends, make some popcorn, and celebrate diversity together tonight.
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Participate in Minnesota State's Credit for Prior Learning (CPL) Campus Roadshows |
Sponsored by Minnesota State’s Credit for Prior Learning Assessment Network (C-PLAN) the goals of the CPL Campus Roadshows are to:
- Expand current crosswalks for military occupations to include course equivalencies for military training, industry certifications, and workforce and community-based training.
- Share principles and practices on applying credit for prior learning to create crosswalks with course equivalencies.
- Bring together faculty teams across programs and campuses in each region to collaborate on the development of CPL crosswalks.
Minnesota State University, Mankato will host the first CPL Campus Roadshow on Friday, April 7, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. Colleges and universities in the region are invited to identify programs, faculty, and other campus CPL stakeholders to participate. Programs to consider include, but are not limited, to business, early childhood education, healthcare, information technology, and communications, as well as general education courses. For more information, please contact CPL.
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Mental Health First Aid Training - Virtual |
On March 30, from 9 am – 3 p.m., Aronn Oakland and Jesse Spencer will be hosting a FREE virtual Mental Health First Aid class. This class is only for staff at this time. Participants who sign up for this class will need to complete 2 hours of pre-work before attending the class. Sign up here.
Mental Health First Aid is an early intervention public education program. It teaches adults how to recognize the signs and symptoms that suggest a protential mental health challenge, how to listen non-judgmentally and give reassurance to a person who may be experiencing a meth health challenge, and how to refer a person to appropriate professional support and services.
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Educational Development Highlights This Week |
Information and registration links for all of the trainings are available on the Faculty Development Calendar on the CTLE webpage or the CTLE SharePoint.
- Assessment Open Office Hour: Tuesday, 3 - 4 p.m.
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Tech Time with Brent: Wednesday, 2 – 3 p.m. and Friday, 9 - 10 a.m.
- Curriculum & Instruction Office Hour: Thursday, 10 - 11 a.m.
FREE Webinars this Week
Upcoming Opportunities (free and online)
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"Teaching Africa" Curriculum Workshop & Luncheon |
Join us in D173 on the North Mankato Campus (or via Zoom) on April 19, 11 a.m. – 1p.m.
Free, please pre-register by April 12 to ensure enough lunch is provided for attendees, lunch can be available for Zoom attendees who attend from the Faribault campus.
All SCC faculty and staff are invited, particularly: faculty who currently teach about Africa or wish to integrate content about Africa in their courses, and/or anyone who wants to hear more about their colleague’s work. Make the internationalization of your courses easier by learning from your peers about the continent of Africa, its 54 countries, and its hundred of ethnicities and languages. Feel free to bring resources and plan to share how you currently (or plan to) use your Africa-focused content. Bring questions, discussion topics, or just your learning mindset. Sponsored by the Global Education Committee, Midwest Institute, and International and Intercultural Education. Questions? Contact Tracy Murphy.
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Global Storytelling: Exploring the Alps |
Join us on Wednesday, March 29, for our Global Storytelling series. CTLE and the Global Education committee is excited to welcome Heidi Newbauer, SCC English Instructor, who will present "Exploring the Alps". Grab your lunch and join us!
When: 12 – 1p.m., Wednesday, March 29
How: Zoom; password: global
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Participants for Online Course Peer Review Wanted! (Stipend Increased) |
The Center for Teaching and Learning and the Online Education Committee would like to invite faculty to participate in the Online Course Peer Review process. We are looking for five faculty members to submit their online or hybrid course for peer review and ten faculty members to participate as peer reviewers.
A few things to know:
- Faculty who would like their course reviewed must have taught that course for at least one year.
- Faculty who would like to review a course must have completed a course/training through Quality Matters.
- A stipend is provided for your participation: Reviewees receive $250 per course and Reviewers receive $380 per course.
- This is an excellent way to learn from your peers and improve upon your course offerings.
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Stipend Increase for Online Course Peer Reviews! |
The Online Education Committee has generously added funding to increase the stipends to faculty who participate in the Online Course Peer Review process. Faculty who volunteer to have their course peer reviewed will receive an additional $150, making it a total of a $250 stipend. Faculty who volunteer to review a course will receive an additional $130, making it a total of $380.
As a reminder, space is limited. We are looking for 5 faculty who interested in having their course reviewed and 10 faculty to act as peer reviewers. To participate as reviewee, you must have taught your online or hybrid course for at least one year. Peer reviewers must be faculty who have completed at least one Quality Matters training or course.
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LinkedIn Learning Spotlight: Learning Brightspace by D2L |
D2L Brightspace is the learning management system (LMS) used throughout the Minnesota State system. In this three-hour LinkedIn Learning course, join instructor Alan Ackmann as he explores essential features and best practices you need to know to teach with Brightspace. Learn how to customize the Brightspace interface, communicate with students, assign and grade student work, and understand how Brightspace functions from the student perspective. Plus, see how to add quizzes, customize the Brightspace experience to improve accessibility for all users, and enhance the community and collaboration in your classroom with tools like discussion boards and feedback. Along the way, Alan shares tips that can help you work more efficiently and effectively with this powerful LMS.
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Contribute to Connections! This eNewsletter goes out weekly to all employees. To share information and news with employees about your program or department, please submit your article by Noon Thursday the week prior, using the Events and News Form. View the submission guidelines to help with writing and formatting your article as well as properly incorporating attachments and links.
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