A fun academic year for NIC

Your Community College

The expression, “Time flies when you are having fun,” certainly applies to this academic year. I know skeptics may challenge me on this, especially since we are in the midst of significant budget cuts, but we are enjoying a great year despite the financial challenges. Don’t get me wrong though. I’m not talking about thigh-slapping, belly-laughing fun. Rather, we are enjoying the quiet fun and satisfaction of accomplishing our mission of teaching excellence and student success.

Our success in these areas is directly attributable to the quality, dedication, professionalism and commitment of our faculty. Although this column will highlight just one part of the North Idaho College team, let me reaffirm that every member of our team is important and contributes to the success of the college. The board of trustees, the administration, and the staff create and nurture the physical plant, the campus atmosphere, and the entire support structure that allows our faculty and students to succeed. Ultimately though, the success or failure of our educational mission falls upon the shoulders of our faculty. 

Over the next several columns I will be sharing stories about our faculty. I want you to get to know them better professionally, personally and as contributors to our many communities. Today though I will focus on our faculty as a whole, what they do and what is expected of them. I hope that when you finish reading this, you have a more complete appreciation of the great job our faculty does.

First and foremost, faculty members are teachers. They instruct students across a wide spectrum of subjects. At North Idaho College, most of our students are in programs that lead to a two-year degree, but many others are preparing for a certificate or a certification to increase their knowledge or gain job skills. No matter the learning objective, teaching involves creating lesson plans, developing and implementing a variety of instructional modalities, presenting the material to the students, responding to individual student learning needs, and evaluating each student’s progress. Written in one simple sentence it may sound easy, but each of our faculty must have a full array of skills and talents. They prepare lectures, exercises and experiments. They may teach classes of more than 100 as well as work with small groups. Outside the classroom or lab they grade exams and papers. They also advise and work with students individually. An additional challenge is the increasingly varied student demographic made up of part-time, older, and culturally and racially diverse students. For even the most experienced faculty member, these tasks take countless hours outside regular classroom time.

Community college faculty are not normally involved in research as much as their counterparts at four-year institutions, nonetheless, they must keep up with the latest developments in their field of expertise. They do this by reading current literature, exchanging ideas with colleagues, participating in professional conferences and workshops, and continuing their education. For those who do choose research to expand their knowledge, they face hours of performing experiments, collecting and analyzing data, and examining historical and current literature. Staying current in their field of expertise is a lifelong process.

Computer technology is rapidly changing the way faculty deliver course content. Not long ago, simply posting a syllabus online was considered something only the most technologically gifted would do. Now the expectation is for faculty to post course content, class notes and schedules; establish things like chat rooms; and even use the Internet to teach courses to students at remote sites. These courses, which we describe as eLearning, are increasingly popular and require faculty to adapt their existing courses to make them successful online or design new courses that take full advantage of the Internet and the online format.

I don’t want to fail to mention the requirement that faculty members serve on academic or administrative panels and committees. These are important duties that involve faculty with NIC’s policies, departments, budgets and curriculum development. Many faculty members volunteer their time as advisers to various student organizations as well.

Teaching at the college level is more than just a job. Our faculty excel because they have a passion for their fields of study and a burning desire to share their knowledge with our students. Their teaching excellence ensures student success, which is what our mission calls us to do.

Priscilla Bell, Ph.D., is president of North Idaho College. For comments on this column, e-mail her at PresidentsColumn@NIC.EDU.