This week’s Hotline! includes the following articles:

• President’s Column: Sharing the VCSU story with the legislature
• Legislative Session update
• New honor roll added
• Aus, Dutton testify at SBHE meeting
• Fenster’s comments featured in retirement article
• Clark attends psychology conference
• Club Tennis wins Bemidji Invitational
• Viking sports update
• What’s happening at VCSU and around Valley City…

The VCSU Hotline! online newsletter is published every Monday during the academic year. Deadline to submit articles (photos encouraged) is 4 p.m. the Friday before publication.

President’s Column

Sharing the VCSU story with the legislature

On Tuesday, January 17, I had the distinct honor to share the powerful story of VCSU with the North Dakota Senate Appropriations Committee at the Capitol. And just like two years ago, I stood not alone, but surrounded by students, faculty, staff, and community members. The faith of this community in our university is both special and potent. A special thank you goes out to Jennifer Feist, Erik Gilbertson, Josh Johnson, Mary Lee Nielson, and Phil Mueller for making the trip to Bismarck to join the VCSU delegation.

The most difficult part of the presentation was to choose which of our many successes to highlight. I organized my comments around three characteristics of Valley City State University—distinction, innovation, and collaboration.

Distinction

• Recognition as U.S. News and World Report’s No. 1 Public Regional College in the Midwest and 19 years as a U.S. News “Best College”
  
• Record enrollment of 1,452 students this fall
  
• A steadily rising retention rate (an increase of more than 17 percent over the past five years)
  
• An amazing growth in scholarship support with a fall 2016 allocation of more than $1.3 million
  
• Two North Dakota higher education challenge grants helping us yield more than $6.5 million in support for student scholarships and the Gaukler Family
  Wellness Center
  
• Our excellent academic quality resulting in the reaccreditation of our teacher education program, initial accreditation of our athletic training program, and more than 13 other rankings and recognitions earned—all during the past two years!

Innovation

• 20 years as a laptop university (guaranteeing that all students, regardless of their financial means, have the same access to hardware, software, and learning)
  
• A faculty commitment to the use of Open Educational Resources (OER), saving students over $460,000 in textbook costs and enhancing the learning environment
  
• Creating pathways for three-year degrees (11 students graduated with three-year degrees this December, with more than 25 students on pace now for early completion)
  
• A long, successful history in serving the state’s need for teachers, with more than 1,200 alumni in over 150 North Dakota communities serving as teachers and school administrators (and more than 530 undergraduates currently enrolled in teacher education)
  
• Innovative programs such as our new teacher support coordinator (supporting VCSU’s new teachers in the field for three years after graduation), a fully online elementary education program, and a new Master of Arts in Teaching (approved this fall and serving more than 20 enrolled students)

Collaboration

• More than 900 registrants for our Great Plains STEM Education Center’s professional development workshops for K–12 teachers and $670,000 in grant funding
  
• Our Don Mugan Career and Technical Education Leadership Center serving more than 300 teachers in the past five years, with graduates enjoying a 100 percent pass rate on the national content area exam
  
• More than 2,500 people making use of the programming of the Prairie Waters Education and Research Center this past year (and thus far during the 2015–17 biennium, the science faculty receiving more than $1 million in grants and contract work)
  
• More than 30 academic articulation agreements across the system
  
• A long history of firsts in the North Dakota University System—especially when it comes to using technology to promote student success!

After walking the appropriations committee through these and more VCSU success stories from the biennium, a budget overview was presented, and the committee was assured that even through these very difficult times that the state is facing, VCSU will remain strong, viable, and vital to the citizens of North Dakota.

My testimony was followed by that of Jennifer Feist, director of development for the Valley City–Barnes County Development Corporation, who emphasized our strong working relationship with business and industry and highlighted the partnership with VCSU in building our technology base (and specifically how that relationship allowed for Eagle Creek Software Services’ Valley City expansion).

Jordan Bushaw, Student Senate president, testified that she will be a May 2017 three-year graduate and has already accepted a job based on an outstanding internship provided through VCSU. She described how VCSU is not simply a school but a home. Jordan shared how students come for an education but stay because the culture is one that not only promotes individual growth and success, but also the growth of the community as well.

Julee Russell, Ph.D., professor of language and literature and coordinator of the Open Education Resources (OER) initiative, thanked the committee for their support of our OER program, indicating that it has made a clear and significant impact on students. She mentioned how much we have saved the students thus far, how willing our faculty have been to participate in the initiative, and how it has significantly enriched teaching and learning. Julee also echoed Jordan’s comment about VCSU being “home” and noted that VCSU has a highly motivated and flexible faculty who can respond to needs— student needs and state needs. Finally, she thanked them for their support and said that we could not do our work without their support (and that’s true).

Yes, a magnificent day all due to a great story to tell about our talented students and the dedicated faculty and staff at VCSU—along with community support that is unparalleled. These are some of the many reasons it is a great day to be a Viking!

Legislative Session update

SB2196, authorizing VCSU to pursue bond financing for the carbon plant addition to the heat plant, unanimously passed the Senate Appropriations Committee Friday morning, Jan. 27. The next legislative step will be a vote by the full Senate.

The carbon plant would provide faculty/student research opportunities and positive environmental benefits; it also has great potential as a revenue stream. Even while the initial construction costs ($22.5 million) are being paid off during the first 10 years of operation, anticipated revenues are $2.5 million per year, with the figure rising to $4.3 million annually thereafter.

More information about integrating the activated carbon plant with the new heat plant can be found at www.vcsu.edu/president/vp.htm?p=3771.

NDUS staff continue to monitor a host of legislation affecting students, faculty, the universities and the system.

Of prime interest is SB2003, the Senate appropriations bill for higher education, which has been relegated to a subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee. That subcommittee will consider both former Governor Dalrymple’s and Governor Burgum’s budget proposals; we will know more about details when the final Senate bill comes out of the committee prior to crossover—when bills cross over from the Senate to the House (and vice versa)—which is scheduled for Feb. 24.

The legislative tracking can be found on the NDUS intranet at inside.ndus.edu/legislative (log in with your NDUS account information to access the information).

New honor roll added

VCSU’s fall semester 2016 honor rolls can be found online at www.vcsu.edu/news/news.htm?id=10546.

In addition to the traditional President’s Honor Roll and the Dean’s Honor Roll, the university has now instituted the Honor Roll, which recognizes students who completed 6 to 11 semester hours of VCSU classes for which grade points are earned with a grade point average of at least 3.50.

Aus, Dutton testify at SBHE meeting

At the State Board of Higher Education (SBHE) meeting on Thursday, Jan. 26, Joan Oigawa Aus, Ed.D., assistant professor of education, and Tony Dutton, Ph.D., associate professor of social science, testified regarding the revision of SBHE policy 605.3, which would reduce the required notice for termination of tenured faculty during a declared financial exigency from 12 months to 90 days. Faculty representatives from all NDUS campuses voiced opposition to the revision.

The SBHE approved the first reading of the revision contingent on the formation of a representative committee of board members, NDUS staff and faculty members to review issues raised during the SBHE meeting for possible incorporation into the policy recommendation prior. That committee will be convened in mid-February.

“These are challenging times for higher education in North Dakota,” said President Mason, “and I want to thank professors Aus and Dutton for presenting the VCSU faculty position on 605.3 policy revision. Their participation in the process, including their work prior to the board meeting and their thoughtful presentations, contributed much to the important dialogue on this issue.”

Fenster’s comments featured in retirement article

Emily Fenster, assistant professor of social science, is featured in the “Ask the Experts” section of an online article, “2017’s Best & Worst States to Retire.”

Fenster is one of four academics asked about retirement issues; the article and her comments can be found at wallethub.com/edu/best-and-worst-states-to-retire/18592/#emily-a-s-fenster.

Clark attends psychology conference

Travis Clark, Ph.D., assistant professor of social science, presented research at the Society for Personality and Social Psychology annual meeting in San Antonio, Texas, Jan. 19-21.

Clark attended sessions on scientific ethics, morality, and the scientific study of religiosity. He also attended the Society for Teaching Psychology preconference, exchanging teaching tips, learning about new apps and software to use in the classroom, and encountering research on multiple-choice testing.

After meeting with other faculty interested in Open Educational Resources (OER), Clark plans to implement OER or low-cost materials in every psychology course he will offer next academic year.

Club Tennis wins Bemidji Invitational

The VCSU Viking Club Tennis team traveled to Bemidji, Minn., the weekend of Jan. 20 to compete in the Beavers Tennis-On-Campus Invitational tournament. The Vikings faced off with the NDSU Bison in the first round and pulled out a 23-21 victory in overtime. VCSU cruised through the next three rounds without dropping a single set over 15 matches, losing a total of only 15 games.

The win moved the Vikings into second place overall in the USTA Northern Section Tennis-On-Campus standings with 245 total points, just 65 behind first-place NDSU. The Vikings will play in their final tournament, the University of Minnesota Gopher Winter Tournament, Feb. 11–12 and then move on to the sectional championship Feb. 25–26 in Lakeville, Minn. According to coach/advisor Erik Kringlie, “With two seats to the national tournament in Orlando, Fla., on the line at sectionals, the Vikings are playing their best tennis just at the right time!”

Pictured in the photo are team members (front, l to r) Clarissa Olson, Paige Fettig, Brandon Miller, (back) Dustin Miller, Alex Conlon, Melissa Pedersen, Strella Navalta and Dalton Ondracek.

Viking sports update

Men’s Basketball
Friday: VCSU 70, Mayville State 56
Saturday: VCSU 65, Waldorf University 59
The VCSU men’s basketball team earned two conference victories at home this weekend and is now fourth in the NSAA standings. The Vikings improve to 14-11 overall and 6-5 in the conference.

Women’s Basketball
Friday: VCSU 77, Mayville State 72
Saturday: VCSU 99, Waldorf University 51
Valley City State’s women’s basketball team rolled to a pair of victories this weekend against Mayville State and Waldorf. VCSU remains in third in the NSAA standings with a 17-7 overall record and an 8-3 mark in conference play.

Track & Field
The Valley City State track & field teams recorded 17 Top 12 finishes and 10 personal bests during the Cobber Duals on Saturday, hosted by Concordia College in Moorhead. The Vikings placed eight events among the Top 8 at the meet. View complete results at http://www.vcsuvikings.com/article/2520.php.

Upcoming Events
Feb. 3–4: Track & Field @ NDSU Bison Open (Fargo, N.D.)
Feb. 3: WBB/MBB @ Viterbo University, 5:30/7:30 p.m. (La Crosse, Wis.)

What’s happening at VCSU and around Valley City…

Monday, January 30

Tuesday, January 31
Payday
noon Rotary Club meeting, VFW

Wednesday, February 1
noon Kiwanis meeting, VCSU Student Center Skoal Room

Thursday, February 2
Groundhog Day
7 a.m. Optimist Club meeting, Vickie’s Viking Room
noon Toastmasters meeting, VCSU Norway Room
6–7 p.m. Community Mixer at the Gaukler Family Wellness Center

Friday, February 3
Women’s and men’s track and field @ Bison Open, Fargo, N.D.
5:30 and 7:30 p.m. VCSU women’s and men’s basketball @ Viterbo University, La Crosse, Wis.

Saturday, February 4
Women’s and men’s track and field @ Bison Open, Fargo, N.D.

Sunday, February 5

Monday, February 6

Tuesday, February 7
noon Rotary Club meeting, VFW

Wednesday, February 8
noon Kiwanis meeting, VCSU Student Center Skoal Room

Thursday, February 9
7 a.m. Optimist Club meeting, Vickie’s Viking Room
noon Toastmasters meeting, VCSU Norway Room

Friday, February 10
Men’s and Women’s Indoor Track at SDSU Indoor Classic, Brookings, S.D.
5:30/7:30 p.m. Women’s and Men’s Basketball at Bellevue University, Bellevue, Neb.

Saturday, February 11
Men’s and Women’s Indoor Track at SDSU Indoor Classic, Brookings, S.D.
3/5 p.m. Women’s and Men’s Basketball at Dakota State University, Madison, S.D.
Softball at Presentation College Dome Tournament (Aberdeen, S.D.)
- 4 p.m. vs. University of Minnesota Crookston
- 6 p.m. vs. Southwest Minnesota State

Sunday, February 12
Men’s and Women’s Indoor Track at NSAA Multi-Event Championships
Softball at Presentation College Dome Tournament (Aberdeen, S.D.)
- 4 p.m. vs. Presentation College
- 6 p.m. vs. Northern State University