Author: Mark Rummel

SC4, Port Huron High School to host MHSAA basketball state quarterfinals March 12 and 19

St. Clair County Community College, along with Port Huron High School, will host two Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) basketball state quarterfinals in its Fieldhouse March 12 and March 19.

A Division 3 boys quarterfinal between Detroit Edison Public School Academy and Flint Beecher High School is scheduled for tomorrow, March 12. A Division 2 girls quarterfinal is set for Tuesday, March 19. Both games begin at 7 p.m.
The winning boys team will advance to the semifinals at Michigan State University’s Breslin Center on March 14. The winning girls team will advance to the semifinals beginning March 21, at Calvin College’s Van Noord Arena in Grand Rapids, Mich.

“We’re thrilled to bring MHSAA Basketball Quarterfinals to the SC4 Fieldhouse and provide an opportunity for St. Clair Community College to show off its wonderful new building,” MHSAA spokesperson Geoff Kimmerly said as site locations were announced last year. “Basketball Quarterfinals often are among the most highly-attended events of any tournament season, and SC4 provides a great venue for games of this magnitude. Teams and fans will enjoy playing at SC4 as they continue the championship climb.”

Added Dale Vos, SC4 director of athletics, “We’re excited to host these MHSAA quarterfinals games and delighted to welcome community members from near and far to the SC4 Fieldhouse.”

The public is encouraged to attend the quarterfinal games. Admission is $7 at the door.

SC4 Men’s Basketball Team wins NJCAA Division II District Championship, headed to National Championships

The St. Clair County Community College Men’s Basketball Team was named the NJCAA Division II District X Champion after defeating the Henry Ford Hawks 88-71 in Grand Rapids on March 9. The team will head to Danville, Illinois for the 2019 NJCAA Division II National Championship.

Skippers Jalen Miller, Mark Hill and Omari Duncan made the All-Tournament Team, with Duncan being selected as the tournament MVP.

This marks second trip to the national championship for men’s basketball at SC4. It is also the second trip for Coach Dale Vos in his 28-year career.

Photos from the District X Championship Game are available on Flickr.

Focus on Open Education Resources helps maximize student success, reduce college costs

It is Open Education Week, and St. Clair County Community College remains committed to its open education resources (OER) efforts, which have helped save students nearly $900,000 since 2016.

Started in 2013, Open Education Week is a global event to raise awareness and showcase the impact of open education on teaching and learning worldwide. OER include freely accessible, openly licensed text, media and other digital assets that can increase student learning and success while reducing the cost of higher education.

At SC4, OER advocates have led efforts that focus on providing faculty members the opportunity to utilize alternative textbooks that save students money. Faculty members in biology, business, criminal justice, earth science, English, health education, history, math, philosophy, physics courses and more have utilized the resources.

Additionally, many SC4 faculty members have received pilot awards for their OER innovation, including biology instructor Brandis Hubbard, who was recently recognized for a series of videos she developed for one of her courses.

“Embracing the creation and use of OER gives us the opportunity to encourage collaboration and creativity while also addressing textbook affordability to ensure our students have access to the resources they need to be successful,” said SC4 Dean of Library Services and Academic Technology Kendra Lake. “As the support for OER continues to grow across the state and the nation, being an integral part of the larger OER community will continue to benefit our students.”

Other OER efforts at the college include:

  • Participation in Michigan Colleges Online’s OER Commons hub, an OER discovery and curation tool that’s free for faculty members.
  • An OER team consisting of faculty, librarians and staff which aims to encourage and support open pedagogy across the college.
  • Host to more than 200 open education practitioners and advocates from across the state as part of the second annual Michigan Open Educational Resources (OER) Summit in September 2018.
  • A permanent OER textbook display available to faculty in the college’s library.
  • A custom OER Library Research Guide, featuring a curated list of OER resources by discipline, open access content search with a list of OER repositories, links to open education research and much more.

TRIO Student of the Month: Nicholas Reese

I chose to attend SC4 because it’s close to home, but I mostly chose the college for the reputation of its nursing program.

Working full-time while being in the nursing program can be tough. Working every afternoon takes time away from studying, so I’m usually staying up late to study because that’s when I can find the time. Time management is key to success when it comes to juggling a lot of responsibilities, and there have been many nights with only few hours of sleep just to get by in school. Financial barriers can also be challenging. I have been paying for half of the program costs out of pocket, but I look at the debt as an investment in my future that will pay off soon after graduation.

After I graduated high school I took two years off to manage some personal matters. I was salutatorian in high school, so I knew how to do well academically — my problem was making myself start up again. After talking with a close family friend, she recommended applying to the TRIO program at SC4. The more I learned about it, the more comfortable I felt going back to school again.

When I went to register for classes, I was clueless. I am a first-generation college student, so I had no idea how to register and what to register for. I went to TRIO for follow-up advising, and I left feeling relieved and confident. TRIO helped me complete all my prerequisites one year before applying to the nursing program, keeping me on track and able to focus on what’s important. Support services such as early registration allowed me to get the classes and instructors that I needed, and the TRIO staff has been so helpful. They are hardworking, dedicated individuals who truly advocate for students’ success.

I would strongly recommend TRIO to other students. They have even more support services than I was able to take advantage of for myself. Any person who wants a better learning experience with superior guidance should apply.

I am in my last semester of the nursing program. After graduation, studying and passing state boards are a priority so I can obtain my licensure to practice. Eventually, I would like to return to SC4 to take prerequisites for the B.S.N. program at Eastern Michigan University. When I get my B.S.N., I’ll continue to work until I find an area I want to specialize in — I look forward to figuring all of that out along the way.