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Eyes on Innovation
Innovation is happening all the time on the BSC campus, and you can be the "eyes" that report it! If you see a process, program, or idea that is new and innovative and has been recently implemented on campus, report it to us at Carla.Hixson@bismarckstate.edu or Susan.Hartley@bismarckstate.edu and we'll highlight those items on this page on a regular basis.
Innovation has been happening on campus! New ideas that have been implemented:
Programs Can Now Be Viewed at Allied Health Building!
An observation window has been added in the Surgery Technician program for students and instructors to view as others simulate "sewing up" a patient. The renovated lab is on the second floor of the Allied Health Building located at 500 E. Front Ave. in Bismarck.
Library Gets Beginning of Face Lift!
You may not have noticed, but small fixes are occurring in the library building on campus. The accordion walls, which are a timeless piece of the building, have recently been repaired.
Check This Out - A One-Stop Shop!
Have you found it a bit confusing as to what BSC has for internal training for their employees? Earlier this year HR and CETI met to create one location where BSC employees can go to see what is available for training. Visit the site. As the school year winds down so do some of these training options, but mark this site as one of your favorites and check it periodically for updates. We are very fortunate to have such wonderful opportunities to gain additional knowledge right here on campus. If you have any questions you can always contact either office - HR or CETI.
A faster way of refunding…
Hopefully everyone has heard of the Bismarck State College Beyond Card! BSC has partnered with Higher One (a financial services company) to offer faster delivery of all refunds that students are entitled to from their BSC Student Account in Campus Connection. This has made the process of refunding students so much easier! This is also a great example of incorporating a lean process which is when an old, complicated process is looked at and a more streamlined process is incorporated in its place.
Unique Issue of Mystician
Hopefully everyone had a chance to see the early April issue of the Mystician - it was so cool! Half of the paper was right side up, however, to read the other half of the paper you had to flip it and turn it around. Very unexpected! A lot of times innovation is not about discovering something new but finding a new way to use an old item. This was an excellent example of the Mystician staff thinking outside of the box!
Trip to West Coast a Huge Success!
Most likely you have already heard from those that traveled out west earlier this year to visit Evergreen College and Cascadia Community College. Those who went were Janelle Masters, Bruce Emmil, Bob Arso, Dan Leingang, Jean Rolandelli, Angie Uhlich and Dr. Skogen. One of Cascadia's values is innovation. The team was very enthused when they returned home. It will be exciting to see as some of those innovations are incorporated at BSC!
Don't Forget to Check E-bay! (Posted 5/28/10)
As Conference Planning Associate, Alison Zarr, was ordering supplies for the upcoming Summer Symposium Conference, she was having difficulty in finding a certain size of envelopes that they needed. With the help of Clancy Keller, CETI Associate, they found the perfect size and quantity on e-bay. What could have been a difficult purchase was made much easier with the click of a finger!
Student Records Holds Very First GRAD FEST!
Kene Miller and her team in Student Records held their first GRAD FEST on February 24, and it was a HUGE success! They were set up in the Student Union for the whole day to help upcoming graduates fill out graduation applications, order cap and gowns, meet with advisors, find out about commencement, visit with transfer colleges, learn about finances and loan repayment, and obtain resume and job search help. It was a one-stop shop and will help in eliminate late grad applications as well as increase the number of students that will actually attend the graduation ceremony.
Fun Facts About Employees
Have you ever stopped to think of how little we know about our fellow co-workers? Roxanne Van Zomeren and Aimee Schmit came up with the idea to investigate our new employees and find out some fun facts about them. They will be putting together a slideshow of the new employees who have started between January 2009 through April 2010 and at staff development day (May 19) each new employee will have one fun fact beside their photo on the slide. It will be a great conversation starter and a wonderful way to get to know those that are new to campus.
IRON PROF - The Teaching Stadium - Coming to BSC Soon!
Dr. Janelle Masters and her academic team are trying something innovative and different this year. To showcase the teaching excellence at BSC, two faculty members were chosen to present a lesson to a general audience. The first theme is: 2008-2009 - The winter of our discontent.
Here's how it worked: Faculty from any discipline were invited to prepare a 40 to 50 minute lesson that contributed to the public's understanding of the past harsh winter that was endured. Any discipline could tie the subject matter to the understanding of the ramifications of the winter - whether emotional, scientific, psychological, commercial, etc. Try-outs were held for the IRON PROF-The Teaching Stadium. An $800 honor award was also given to the chosen presenters.
BSC Faculty In-Service Adds a Fun Twist this Fall
This fall in doing some ordinary training, familiarizing and refreshing faculty on computer options, Janelle Masters and Debbie Mantz introduced the student response system, or more commonly known as "clickers." They didn't do it in just any ordinary way - they added a
fun twist! You can view the "BSC Idol" power point they used. The clickers are a fun way to involve an audience or class and receive instant feedback through audience participation.
Helping to Make Others Job Easier
The CETI Conference Management team recently made the NECE operation team's job a lot easier. CETI Conference Management teamed up to design and implement a blueprint-based graphic clearly describing the many accommodations needed for large conferences held at the NECE building. "These events often use many rooms for break-out sessions, meals, and press conferences," said NECE maintenance staff. "A picture is worth a thousand words, and this tool makes the planner's intent for room set-ups much clearer than the old forms, especially on details. A conference agenda is provided so the custodial staff can operate more effectively. To care for participants timing is everything. I think CETI's Conference Management team's innovation shows a wonderful sensitivity to operations."
Lowest Price Guarantee
BSC's Bookstore has done it again! Offering the best deal for our students! Any student who buys a book at the BSC Bookstore has an opportunity to check out other places for a lower price. If they find one, and it meets all of the criteria, they can get the difference back. How cool is that!!!!
Frequent Buyer Program
The BSC Bookstore are ready and set to begin a new program this Fall. The program is designed for when a student spends $750 at the bookstore they will get a $25 gift certificate to be used on anything in the store.
Local Conference Featured Local Event on Upcoming.Yahoo.Com
Karen Selensky, Conference Manager, and Alison Zarr, Conference Associate, from the CETI department recently used a suggestion they had gotten from a Social Networks for Continuing Education webinar and began promoting the Teaching & Technology Conference (TNT), held annually, via upcoming.yahoo.com and on May 27 made the featured local event, giving the event even more exposure. It was a great way to help promote the services that BSC has to offer!
Are You in the "Groove" Yet?
This is the latest and greatest way to work on a project with team members that aren't close at hand. The Groove is collaboration software that allows team members to go to a central location and chat on-line, email, or work on the same document. Recently, Deb Larson, from CETI, and Mike Kubisiak, from Institutional Research, brought their expertise to the Operational Council, promoting the idea of using the Groove to possibly eliminate some unnecessary meetings. Deb Mantz, also from CETI, followed-up at the very next Operational Council meeting with a live demonstration to show how simple and easy it is to use the Groove.
Office Supply Swap Meet
What a great way to think green! A week long campus-wide exchange of unneeded office supply items was set up. The event was hosted in a central location for all to participate. The goal was to save money and reduce waste.
BSC's IT Department Cashes In on Trade-In Program!
Elmer Weigel and Carol Flaa worked with Hewlett Packard to trade in old laptops and received a credit in excess of $23,500. The credit was used toward the purchase of new desktop computers for the campus last summer. (If the HP Trade-In program would not have been used, the laptops would have been taken to Surplus Property and BSC would not have received any money for them.)
BSC Butler (Employee Concierge Service) Almost a Go!
Earlier this year a Wild Endeavor Action Plan was submitted to establish a "concierge service" on campus to assist employees with personal errands. The objective was to free employees from personal tasks during the week to allow them to focus their efforts at work. Even though the Wild Endeavor Implementation Committee gave the project a heads up to pursue, because it involved the hiring of a part-time temporary staff position it was required to go before both the Operations Council and the Executive Council for approval. Regrettably, the project was not given permission to go any further at this time.
Bismarck State College Offers Online Resources.
Innovation continues at Bismarck State College in North Dakota with the launch of the online Industry Resource Connection (IRC), a virtual place for energy companies to have continuing access to selected BSC training materials.
Made available by the college's National Energy Center of Excellence (NECE), the IRC contains multimedia simulations and animations designed for training employees in the electrical transmission industry.
Company supervisors and trainers can access the interactive learning tools for six months through a licensing agreement with BSC. The trial period for these educational products extends through June 30, 2009. Introductory rates are $500 prior to March 31 and $375 after March 31.
"We can classify this as a first step to creating a curriculum resource center where the NECE licenses and customizes training products for industry," said Daniel Schmidt, manager of the Electrical Transmission Systems Technology and Process Plant Technology programs. "These same learning tools are used in our classes, but students wanted ongoing access after the classes ended."
He said BSC developed the Industry Resource Connection at the request of company representatives, who wanted such tools for their internal training programs.
Bismarck State College, a national leader in providing energy technology education, has been training workers for the energy industry since 1976. The college offers programs online and on campus. For more information, visit the newsletter or contact Alicia Uhde at Alicia.Uhde@bismarckstate.edu or 701-224-5764.
Many thanks to Dan Schmidt, Alicia Uhde, Joan Trygg, Zak Allen and Patrick Bjork for their efforts on the IRC. They already received the following quote from a company utilizing the IRC:
"PJM just finished the first training cycle for 2009. During the cycle I presented an AC Theory Review presentation to all of our dispatchers. I am happy to report that your interactive tools were a big hit with our dispatchers. Thank you for making the tools available in a timely manner. I recommend them to all of the trainers at PJM." - Pete Lawrence
The Finance Department has been working diligently on rolling out Purchase Cards to departments across campus. The benefits of this program are:
- Streamlined Process. We have an opportunity to drastically reduce the amount of paper RFP's flowing around campus. RFP's cost the college a great deal if you take into consideration the cost of paper, cost of time for everyone involved, and cost of cutting checks and postage. The college has averaged over 10,000 RFP's per year over the last 3 years and this number can be cut in half if not more!
- Less Burden on Purchasers. Individuals that do departmental purchasing will benefit greatly from purchase cards. They will spend less time filling out RFP's, less time signing RFP's, and less time dealing with vendors.
- Happy Vendors. Our vendors receive payment almost immediately as opposed to waiting up to 30 days to process a check. Immediate payment also allows us to take advantage of early payment discounts with a number of vendors.
Tamara Barber and her finance team were instrumental in putting together a Finance Operations PeakSlow periods worksheet to share with campus. They developed this as an example to encourage assistance across campus and were shared by HR with supervisors. Check out the document.
The Student Affairs department has moved ahead on getting away from the paper trail with Electronic Leave Forms. The process is simply using the form that is already created from HR Payroll, Carla Sivesind. Electronic signatures have been created and with the help of Deb Mantz' instructions they have been able to save and move the book from the excel file. In turn they email their leave sheets over to Carla, thus saving a few trees in the process.
HR, together with Jordis Conrad and Crystal Forster has developed a new color ad that is now being used for job openings on campus. This was one of the actions in the new Recruitment
& Retention Plan as well as part of BSC's branding. The ad allows BSC to list openings more frequently and improves visibility. HR has already seen an increase in the number of inquiries.
Mary Eisenbraun in an effort to work with BSC's potential on-line military students took steps to eliminate the NDUS processing fee. She was successful in her efforts!
Susan Stockert has worked diligently to help improve the recycling program that Jean Rolandelli has started on campus. Watch for bins around campus to recycle your pop bottles.
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