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Staying Relevant for the Future

In every team and department at Northwest Vista College, there are always great stories to tell that show faculty and staff going above and beyond.

While it’s hard to capture every story, we hope to periodically share in this space some of the major accomplishments or projects that are taking place. Members of the executive team will write about important topics that they feel NVC employees should be made aware of.

Let us know about the positive things your area is doing to help students or improve processes by contacting myself or NVC Public Relations.

– Dr. Ric Baser, NVC President

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Dr. Daniel Powell
Vice President for Academic Success

In a hyper connected world with constantly changing technologies, our education institutions are tasked with educating many students for jobs that don’t exist yet as we are entering a new renaissance period of change unlike anything the world has experienced. Ninety percent of the world’s data has been produced in the last few years and automation and machine learning will accelerate in the coming decade.

As part of our academic initiatives, we are tasked with defining and communicating marketable skills that students need to be successful. Many seasoned instructors know well the skills such as critical thinking and communication needed in this rapid changing society, but sometimes we use the language of academia describing learning outcomes, competencies, and assessing learning artifacts that we forget that position descriptions in industry refer to Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSA).  We need to refine the way we communicate marketable skills for the intended audience of students and employers.

Long ago, Albert Einstein said “Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school.” This is a profound quote that is still relevant today.  When a student graduates, what they learned will fade into the fabric of their daily lives but they will evolve to learn and adapt new skills.  Recognizing this, we should be intentional at advocating and assessing on how a student learns and not what a student thinks. Content is only a click away, but critical thinking and problem solving will always be in demand.

Considered to be one of the most successful investors and businessman, Warren Buffet stated in a 2003 speech in his typical humble and simple way that “there are three qualities that you need to do well: Intelligence, Energy, and Integrity.”

How would we communicate and articulate marketable skills that are relevant to our students and employers?

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