Category: Student success

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.

SC4 students, community to benefit from McLaren Port Huron equipment donation

St. Clair County Community College’s radiologic technology program recently received a General Electric Mobile Radiographic Unit from McLaren Port Huron.

The donated unit will be utilized by radiology students in the college’s interdisciplinary Simulation Lab. It will allow students to practice positioning skills specific to mobile radiography, especially for work with trauma patients.

According to SC4 Dean of Health Sciences Jenny Giles-Voss, the unit will add unique training and preparation opportunities for students and strengthen the program’s commitment to student preparation and success.

“Though our health sciences programs already have excellent reputations for preparing high-quality, capable graduates, we are always looking for ways to improve upon their student experience,” says Giles-Voss. “Partnerships with local health care facilities like McLaren Port Huron are essential to the success of the college and our students. We are so grateful for their continued support and advocacy.”

“McLaren Port Huron is a proud supporter of the health sciences curriculum at St. Clair County Community College. Whenever possible, we donate equipment to the college when new units are purchased for the hospital,” says Jennifer Montgomery, RN, MSN, FACHE, president and CEO of McLaren Port Huron. “We believe this partnership provides students with the most advanced training on real-world equipment used in hospital settings.”

SC4’s accredited radiologic technology program prepares students to become radiologic technologists by combining imaging technology with patient care skills to create quality radiography images. It has a five-year, 100 percent first-time passage rate on the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT) Exam, a national registry exam that grants certification in radiologic technology.

SC4 radiologic technology graduates go on to work at Beaumont hospitals, Children’s Hospital of Michigan, DMC Detroit Receiving Hospital, McKenzie Health System, McLaren Port Huron, Lake Huron Medical Center, Concentra clinics, Henry Ford Macomb Health Center, Orthopedic Associates, Advanced Orthopedics and Ascension Crittenton Hospital, among others.

Blue Water Middle College Academy gives students head start on higher education

Eighteen-year-old Capac resident Anna Dalessandro is on track to graduate with more than her high school diploma this year. In May, she also will earn an associate degree in general education, associate in business and associate in art thanks to the partnership between the Blue Water Middle College (BWMCA), St. Clair County Community College and St. Clair County Regional Educational Service Agency (RESA).

The partnership — which provides free college tuition for students — has allowed Dalessandro to attend high school for three hours a day, take college courses, continue to participate in extracurricular activities and work at a part-time job.

Read more about the Blue Water Middle College Academy from The Keel.