INTERCOM October 23, 2009

Intercom Newsletter: Intercom is a publication of Mar-keting and Communications. It is produced electronically every Friday for the faculty and staff of Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA). Submissions: Please submit your items via e-mail to Intercom@nvcc.edu by 5:00 p.m. on Friday prior to pub-lication. Photos should be sub-mitted as digital files and at-tachments should be in MS Word or MS Publisher format. All submissions are subject to editing for length and clarity. The articles and information in this publication are written and submitted by NOVA faculty and staff (contributors) and are pub-lished with the understanding that such information is correct and verified by the contributor prior to submission. Editor: Alison Nicole Nooks Phone: 703-323-3002 For Intercom Archives and Submission Guidelines: http://www.nvcc.edu/pip/ Posting Schedule: Intercom is posted on the Web by Friday afternoon each week unless there is a holiday. Inclement weather or technical emergencies may prevent Inter-com from being posted on time. During the summer and in-between semesters, Intercom is published every other Friday. Submit your news today!

Inside: Pages 7 - 10: Up & Coming Pages 11- 12: Hot Topics

Page 2: Table of Contents Pages 2 - 6: NOVA Sightings

Calliope Celebrates Year Three of Distinction

Again, the Annandale Campus' stu-

dent journal of art and literature, Calli-ope, has won special recognition from the Community College Humanities Association (CCHA). This year, the journal took third place in CCHA's Southern Division. Ray Orkwis (AN) of the English Department, Languages and Literature Division, said that Eng-lish and art faculty commend the stu-dents for the outstanding work that they produce for the publication.

Orkwis, former chair of the Calli-ope Committee, also reported that NOVA’s Majdah Gama, named as “Best in Publication, Literary,” for the 2009 edition of Calliope, won a national award in CCHA's National Literary Magazine Competition. The student's prize-winning poem in both competitions was "Elixir of the East."

Categories for Calliope consist of poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction, English as a Second Language and all media of visual art.

Every spring, at the Calliope awards ceremony and celebration, the An-nandale Campus CE Forum is filled with award winners, family, friends and faculty. Orkwis, said, "It is always particularly encouraging when our pride in our students is reflected by those outside of the College, who look at these achievements more objectively. Congratulations and kudos go to the writing and art students whose work made the publication possible, and to the hard-working Calliope staff who produce the journal."

Orkwis said that students and staff are both already eagerly preparing for the next issue of Calliope. He added, "This publication, I know, will maintain what has become a proud tradition on our Campus."

Annandale Campus faculty are encouraged to tell their students about the fall submission deadline of December 15. The submission address is calliope@nvcc.edu.

The new co-chairs of the Calliope Committee are Liona Burnham (AN) and Christina Wells (AN), English Department.

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Table of Contents:

Page 1 • Calliope Celebrates Year Three

of Distinction Page 2 • Obsessive Google Syndrome? • Listen to Podcasts of the Calli-

ope Ceremony Page 3 –4 • American Culture and Language

Institute Holds Professional Development Day

Page 5 • Loudoun Campus and Business

Office Received County Kudos Page 6 • Manassas Campus Students

Volunteer at Local Elementary School

Page 7 • Upcoming Assessment Work-

shops Page 8 • Science Seminar Page 9 • Faculty Showcase Concert at

the Annandale Campus • New Faculty Seminar Available! • Wait List Webinars Next Week:

New NOVAConnect Feature for Spring Enrollment

Page 10 • Call for Proposals for VCCS New

Horizons 2010: Discover What’s Next

• Power Up Your Pedagogy Conference

• Entertainment Books Are Here Page 11 • Benefits Open Enrollment Peri-

ods in October • President’s Sabbatical Deadline • Awards Committee Announce-

ment Page 12 • Finding the Inspiration: The

QEP and CCSSE

Obsessive Google Syndrome?

Research-paper time is upon us. Do your students suffer from Ob-sessive Google Syndrome (OGS)? Symptoms include belief that “everything is on the Web,” that Google is the most appropriate and exhaustive tool for academic re-search and reluctance to pursue other research avenues. Advanced cases may even exhibit lack of critical thinking, insufficient evaluation of online material and inability to properly cite sources! But help is at hand. OGS can be cured with a “library intervention.” Contact your campus librarians at http://www.nvcc.edu/Library/campuslibraries.htm to set up library and research instruction. You can arrange to bring your class to the library to discover print and electronic resources, receive instruction on their use and even to gain hands-on practice. You may also arrange for a librarian to visit your classroom and make a brief presentation on best research prac-tices (even on how to use Google effectively and when it might be appro-priate to do so!). Your campus librarians can also provide assistance in cit-ing sources. Fight OGS – talk to your campus librarian today!

NOVASIGHTINGS

Listen to Podcasts of the Calliope Ceremony

Calliope features sound and sight for a third consecutive year. At the 2009 award ceremony, held April 30 at the CE Forum on NOVA's Annan-dale Campus, award-winning students who read their works were recorded for podcasting.

Access to the podcasts is available via NOVA's iTunes U at http://www.nvcc.edu/current-students/technology/itunesu/, or the podcasts can be downloaded or heard via the Calliope Web page at http://www.nvcc.edu/annandale/langlit/eng/calliope/.

Shirley Nuhn (AN), instructor in English as a Second Language (ESL), coordinated podcasting, as in previous years. She did scripting and narra-tion. Robert Brown of the Web Services and Digital Media (WSDM) served as technical director.

Writing categories eligible for the journal are poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction and ESL.

This event was sponsored by the Languages and Literature Division, Liberal Arts Division and the Lyceum Committee of the Annandale Cam-pus.

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NOVASIGHTINGS

American Culture and Language Institute Holds Professional Development Day

On October 9, the faculty of American Culture and Language Institute (ACLI) at the Annandale Campus participated in a professional development day focusing on the use of instructional technology for their English as a Second Language (ESL) classes. Annandale’s ACLI faculty have been asked to follow the same college requirements to get their classes and curricula ready for online environment in the event of a college closing. ACLI faculty have been involved in regular instructional technology training over the last five months. Training provided by the Technology Applications Center (TAC) and Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) has been excellent and many thanks go to Nan Peck, Nikkia Anderson, Renee Kesner and Michelle Gee for their expert and patient guidance. Recently, the NOVA Instructor Go! Kit has been a great help as well.

ACLI faculty members have prepared detailed lesson plans, complete with meaningful online content available through Blackboard or Wiki sites. ACLI courses include reading and writing as well as oral com-munication. Whereas it is more conducive to adapt reading and writing course content to online environ-ment, offering components of oral communication courses online presents a particular challenge. To ad-dress it, ACLI instructors have focused specifically on using audio and recording tools online. They have

Darlene Branges, American Culture and Language Institute (ACLI) assistant coordinator and other ACLI faculty Jennifer Campion, Chris Kern and Mike Baker share ideas and food.

Continued on page 4

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NOVASIGHTINGS

explored Skype, Wimba, including voice discussion boards and voice mail, Audacity recording software, and found that the combination of these tools will make it possible to conduct ESL oral communication classes online for a limited amount of time.

On the professional development day, ACLI faculty exchanged ideas, practiced using Wimba and Skype, conducted workshops teaching each other various techniques and ap-proaches. This online technology is also being used outside of the class-room, as many teachers have begun conducting virtual meetings via Skype.

Since ESL instruction at ACLI has a very hands-on approach and starts at much lower levels of English profi-ciency than the College ESL classes, using instructional technology at ACLI is not meant to replace classroom in-struction but to enhance it during the course of the semester and to serve as a backup plan to ensure continuity of in-struction.

ACLI is planning to be ready in the Intensive English Program by the end of October. This plan enables faculty to deliver several consecutive days online no matter what course it is. Once this foundation is built, additional materials can be easily developed and added as needed. Discussing the specific steps for academic recovery plan with Dar-lene Branges, Deborah Naquin said: "Wimba is a fantastic tool for listening and speaking classes. I'm impressed by the quality of your faculty!" It has been a steep learning curve for all, but with the rest of the NOVA instructors, ACLI ESL faculty made impressive strides with instructional technology this fall.

American Culture and Language Institute Holds Professional Development Day

Continued from page 3

Lois Wyatt and Betty Lynch are discussing putting their oral communi-cation course online.

Christy Bainbridge is sharing Wimba tips with Kathy Ferguson and Nancy Graham.

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NOVASIGHTINGS

Submit to the Intercom!

Deadline: Submissions must be received (via e-mail) by 5:00 p.m. on Fridays for the following week’s edition. Submission Guidelines: Submissions should be e-mailed to intercom@nvcc.edu. Unformatted text should be sent in an MSWord document or may be put into the body of the e-mail. All photos should be attached as jpeg, bmp, tiff or eps files; photo captions should also be included with your text. For guidelines go online to: http://www.nvcc.edu/pip/guidelines.htm. Please remember all news submissions should highlight NOVA faculty and/or staff. NEXT EDITION: October 30

Loudoun Campus and Business Office Receive County Kudos The Loudoun County Department of Construction and Waste Management wrote a letter of thanks to the

Loudoun Campus for the use of the Campus parking lot on September 19 for their sixth Household Hazard-ous Waste (HHW) Collection Event.

Three hundred and thirteen county residents delivered over 20,000 pounds or 10 1/2 tons of household hazardous waste for either recycling or treatment and proper disposal. Statistics show that over half of the material collected was paint, and a quarter of the material collected was aerosols, solvents and pesticides. Over 55 percent of residents who participated were from the Sterling area, and 42 percent were participat-ing for the first time.

The Department of Construction and Waste Management appreciated the assistance of Cory Thompson and his team in the Loudoun Campus Business Office with coordinating and executing the event.

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NOVASIGHTINGS

Manassas Campus Students Volunteer at Local Elementary School

On October 12, Manassas Campus students in Cindy Rohrer’s English 108 class participated in Sudley Elementary School’s Field Day and Walkathon. This event promotes the fun of fitness with activities cre-ated for all of the grade levels. This opportunity was organized by Rohrer, and student volunteers super-vised games during the Field Day activities. It was a wonderful event for NOVA and elementary students, alike.

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Left to right, back row: Cindy Rohrer (LO), reading specialist at Sudley Elementary and adjunct instructor at NOVA; Jasmin Powell and Brittany Ganow, NOVA students; Charlotte Geisler, PE assistant at Sudley Elementary, and Pam Moody, principal at Sudley Elementary; Tracy Dodson and John Merritt, NOVA students; Barry Ramirez, PE teacher at Sudley Elementary and Cesar Souza, NOVA student pose with fourth grade students at Sudley Elementary School. Front row: Sudley fourth grade students - Victor Martinez, Kevin Bears, David Johnson, Tristan Johns and Zara Sheikh.

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UP&COMING

Upcoming Assessment Workshops

As part of NOVA’s ongoing commitment to student learning, the Office of Institutional Research (OIR) and Academic Assessment continue its series of workshops devoted to student learning outcomes (SLOs). Our next workshops will be devoted to developing rubrics for evaluating student work and to classroom assessment techniques (CATs).

There is no registration for the in-person sessions. For the two online sessions, you must RSVP by close

of business (COB) on the day before the meeting so that your e-mail address can be entered into the class, after which you will be sent the link for the session. Please note the maximum online capacity is 20. For information on attending eMeetings (including system requirements), see: http://www.nvcc.edu/current-students/technology/emeeting/before/index.html.

For questions or to RSVP, please contact the Coordinator of Academic Assessment, Jennifer Roberts, at jeroberts@nvcc.edu or 703-323-3086.

Developing Rubrics October 23 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Alexandria Campus - 255AA October 30 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. eMeeting

RSVP by October 29 20 person limit

Classroom Assessment Techniques October 27 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Annandale Campus

Ernst Cultural Center Seminar Rooms C-D

November 4 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. eMeeting RSVP by November 3 20 person limit

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UP&COMING

Science Seminar Presented by the Annandale Campus Math, Science, Engineering Division and also supported by the Lyceum

On October 23, in the CE Forum, 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m., Chris Bright, president and co-founder of

the Earth Sangha, a non-profit environmental group, is scheduled to present in the upcoming Science Semi-nar titled “Community-Based Environmental Action.”

The Earth Sangha is a Buddhist environmental group based in Fairfax County co-founded by Bright and his wife, Lisa, to work with volunteers on ecologically significant restoration projects in natural areas. Every year, over 500 volunteers donate more than 10,000 hours of their time to the Sangha's restoration projects throughout Northern Virginia. Volunteers have built the Sangha's Wild Plant Nursery, the District of Columbia metro area's most comprehensive local-ecotype native-plant propagation center (local ecotypes are local, wild native-plant populations; the use of local ecotypes is a standard best practice in restoration because that helps to conserve the genetic diversity and local adaptation in the species planted). The Earth Sangha is also a kind of low-tech innovator in the control of invasive alien plants - such plants are a major threat to local natural areas. In 2006, the Sangha transplanted a version of its community-nursery approach to the Caribbean island of Hispaniola. The Sangha's Tree Bank/Hispaniola program works along a portion of the Dominican Republic – Haiti border, where it helps impoverished farmers improve their incomes and restore patches of native forest on their lands.

Bright will describe the Earth Sangha's work, the rationale behind it and its implications for the conser-vation agenda. Before founding the Earth Sangha, he was a senior researcher at the Worldwatch Institute, a think tank that tracks global environmental and social trends. He is the author of numerous articles and one book, “Life Out of Bounds: Bioinvasion in a Borderless World,” the first global, interdisciplinary study of biological invasion written for a general audience. Bright’s academic background is in the humanities and he holds a master of arts degree from the University of Toronto in Medieval Studies.

All students, staff and faculty are cordially invited.

NOVA Community Chorus Presents Brahams’ “A German Requiem” NOVA Community Chorus,

directed by Mark Whitmire, will present Johannes Brahms’ “A German Requiem” on Oc-tober 27 at 7:30 p.m. in the Rachel M. Schlesinger Con-cert Hall on the Alexandria Campus. Admission is $10. NOVA students, faculty and staff are free with College ID.

For information call 703-845-6097 or e-mail mwhitmire@nvcc.edu.

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UP&COMING

Faculty Showcase Concert at the Annandale Campus

The second annual Faculty Showcase Concert, featuring members of Annandale’s applied music faculty, will be held on October 27 at 7:30 p.m. in the Ernst Center Theatre on the Annandale Campus.

Among the performers will be Sonya Suhnhee Kim, playing piano compositions by Joseph Haydn on the 200th anniversary of his death; Rosemarie Houghton, who will sing songs by Brazilian composer Hector Villa-Lobos and Kevin Vigil, who will perform guitar pieces by Francisco Tarrega.

Admission is free, and the public is welcome. For more information, contact Kim at skim@nvcc.edu or call the Annandale Campus Music Office at 703-323-3114.

New Faculty Seminar Available!

Hold on to your hats, wear your helmets – protect your brain. The Virginia Community College Sys-

tem’s (VCCS) New Faculty Seminar will take place October 26 to 27 in Richmond, Virginia and will feature Rita Smilkstein on “How the Brain Learns and Brain-Compatible Teaching.” The New Faculty Seminar is open to faculty (full-time and adjunct) hired within the last year and is known throughout Vir-ginia as a wonderful time of professional development, networking and learning about the VCCS.

There is no cost to the faculty member or their college for the program. One night’s lodging and all meals are included (opening luncheon on Thursday, reception with the Chancellor, dinner and breakfast). Attendees simply need to get themselves there and back. Many colleges use college vans or attendees car-pool.

Attendees simply need to register through online registration which will be launched soon. Check this Web site: http://www.vccs.edu/FacultyStaff/ProfessionalDevelopment/tabid/120/Default.aspx and click “New Faculty Seminar 2009” under “Peer Groups” on the menu listing on the left.

Wait List Webinars Next Week: New NOVAConnect Feature for Spring Enrollment

Sign up now for a webinar about the new NOVAConnect wait list function. Go to

http://tac.nvcc.edu/sisregistration/fa09/ and choose either October 27 or 28. You can participate from your office, home or wherever you have Internet access, but you must pre-register to receive log in informa-tion.

The Web-based presentation will provide an overview of the wait list process, explain how to view class rosters that show both enrolled and waiting students, discuss important do’s and don’ts and more. If you have any questions, contact Art Cavanagh at acavanagh@nvcc.edu.

A tutorial for faculty is available at http://www.nvcc.edu/novaconnect/faculty/waitlist.htm. For additional information about the wait list, see the October 16 issue of the Intercom at http://www.nvcc.edu/pip/101609.pdf.

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UP&COMING

Call for Proposals for VCCS New Horizons 2010: Discover What’s Next

The Virginia Community College System (VCCS) New Horizons 2010: Discover What’s Next confer-ence will be held April 7 to 9, 2010 at the Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center. High-tech, mid-tech and no-tech proposals that are geared toward enhancing teaching and learning are all welcome.

Go to the New Horizons front page and bookmark it: http://www.vccs.edu/FacultyStaff/ProfessionalDevelopment/tabid/120/Default.aspx. They will frequently update the site to keep everyone informed of the latest developments. You can access the call for proposals link on the left to submit your proposals. The deadline for submission is 12:00 p.m. on November 16.

It is going to be great! The VCCS hopes you can come and make this the best New Horizons ever!

Power Up Your Pedagogy Conference Academic Services, the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL), the Extended Learning

Institute (ELI), Human Resources (HR), Technology Applications Center (TAC) and Web Services & Digi-tal Media (WSDM) are gearing up for the 4th Annual Power Up Your Pedagogy Conference. The PUP faculty development conference is “by and for” NOVA faculty.

The PUP conference will be held at NOVA’s Annandale Campus on January 6 and 7, 2010. This is our second year of combining Cross Campus Day with the PUP Conference. All NOVA faculty (young, old, emeriti, part-time, full-time, teaching, professional and administrative) are welcome to attend.

College Staff from Academic Services, CETL, ELI, HR, TAC and WSDM are welcome to attend and will also be presenting.

The theme for this year’s conference is “Encouraging Excellence!” There will be six strands: 1. Excellence in Academic Leadership 2. Excellence in Instructional Technology 3. Excellence in Online and Hybrid Education 4. Excellence in Professional Development 5. Excellence in Student Services 6. Excellence in Teaching and Learning Early bird registrations being accepted now! To learn more, go online

http://www.nvcc.edu/faculty-and-staff/teaching-support/cetl/index.html.

Entertainment Books Are Here The Entertainment 2010 coupon books have arrived! They make a unique holiday gift.

The Entertainment 2010 books are available in room 817 in the Pitney Bowes Building. The books cost $30.00 each. The NVCC Educational Foundation receives $5.00 from each book sold. The books contain over 500 discounts for dining, vacation packages, music, theaters and even on-line shopping. You may pay by cash, credit card (VISA or MC only) or check. For more information, call Michelle Beaini at 703-323-3023 or e-mail mbeaini@nvcc.edu. Entertainment 2010 may be used immediately, so do not delay – buy yours today.

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HOTTOPICS

Awards Committee Announcement Opportunities are available for NOVA full-time faculty to apply for two major programs sponsored by

the Virginia Community College System (VCCS): the Chancellor’s Commonwealth Professorship and the Chancellor’s Faculty Fellowship.

The Chancellor’s Commonwealth Professorship provides reassigned time, summer stipends and funding for reimbursable expenses over two years for faculty to pursue self-directed projects. Up to three individuals may be designated Chancellor's Commonwealth Professors each year. For detailed information, go to http://www.vccs.edu/FacultyStaff/ProfessionalDevelopment/Scholarships/tabid/387/Default.aspx and click on “Chancellor’s Commonwealth Professorship.”

The Chancellor’s Faculty Fellowship provides support to faculty pursuing doctoral degrees. The Chan-cellor's Faculty Fellowship is awarded annually to up to three professional educators in the VCCS. To learn more, go to http://www.vccs.edu/FacultyStaff/ProfessionalDevelopment/Scholarships/tabid/387/Default.aspx and click on “Chancellor’s Faculty Fellowship.”

Applications for NOVA faculty are processed through the Awards Committee. Those interested in pursuing either opportunity for the next academic year should submit the required materials to Debbie Rosen, chair of the Awards Committee, by November 16.

Benefits Open Enrollment Periods in October Two Benefits Programs have an Open Enrollment period in the month of October. The first one is an

open enrollment period for the College’s long-term disability program with UNUM. The second open en-rollment period is for faculty who are current participants in the Optional Retirement Program.

Optional Retirement Plan Participants - Provider Change Opportunity: The Optional Retirement Plan (ORP) has two providers available to plan participants. They are Fidelity Investments and TIAA-CREF. If an ORP participant wishes to change his/her current vendor, a request to Human Resources for a Provider Change Form is needed. In addition, the enrollment and beneficiary form of the new provider must be completed. Information on each provider is available on their respective Web sites, http://www.fidelity.com/atwork and http://www.tiaa-cref.org. This enrollment period does not permit cur-rent plan participants to convert to the Virginia Retirement System (VRS) defined benefit plan. All forms requesting a change in providers must be received in Human Resources by close of business on the last business day in October. Please contact Eileen Sorenson at 703-323-3396 or Janice Cottingham at 703-323-3336 with any questions.

President’s Sabbatical Deadline The President’s Sabbatical Award will allow three faculty members, one of whom can be on a twelve-

month contract, to receive a semester of leave with full pay. Proposals will be awarded based on their excel-lence and a candidate’s potential to contribute to the long-range mission of the College. Those wishing to apply for the award for the 2010-2011 academic year will need to submit their proposal by December 1.

Proposals should be no longer than 1,000 words and specify how the sabbatical leave will uniquely benefit both the individual and the College. The proposal and a 50-word executive summary should be sent to Human Resources as an e-mail attachment along with NVCC form 105-100. Faculty members on the Personnel Services Committee (who are not eligible for the award) will evaluate the proposals. Award re-cipients will present a lecture on their sabbatical experience to the College community during the year fol-lowing their leave. Questions concerning this important professional development opportunity should be directed to your local representative on the Personnel Services Committee or to the chair, Charles Errico, at 703-878-5639.

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HOTTOPICS

Please note that the attachment section of the Intercom can be accessed online at: http://www.nvcc.edu/pip/102309attachment.pdf.

Finding the Inspiration: The QEP and CCSSE

The Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE), affectionately pronounced “sessie,”

is a project of the Community College Leadership Program at the University of Texas at Austin. Launched in 2001, the CCSSE’s aim is to provide information about the quality and performance of community col-leges so that the institutions can improve student learning and retention.

The Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) is the strategy that NOVA will use to improve student learning. We are currently investigating the areas where NOVA can have the most significant impact on student learning. It only makes sense to look to NOVA’s CCSSE results for inspiration. NOVA participated in the CCSSE in 2004, 2005 and 2008.

CCSSE identifies five benchmarks of effective educational practices in community colleges. Each benchmark score is determined by students’ answers to a number of questions. NOVA can compare its scores to the Virginia Community College System (VCCS) Consortium, the CCSSE cohort and area col-leges that participated in the survey. Benchmark scores from the cohort are standardized so that the average is 50. A score above 50 would mean that performance is “above average,” while a score below 50 would mean “below average.”

The first benchmark measured is Active and Collaborative Learning. NOVA has made improve-ments in this area since 2004, but remains slightly below average and slightly below the VCCS Consortium score. A QEP topic that addresses this benchmark would aim at improving active involvement in classes and encouraging students to apply what they are learning to different settings.

The second benchmark is Student Effort. NOVA’s score has decreased since 2004, and remains be-low both the VCCS Consortium and the CCSSE average. A QEP strategy to improve student effort would need to focus on how to change student behavior regarding time spent on assignments and use of labs and other services.

Academic Challenge is the third CCSSE benchmark. NOVA’s scores have remained steady since 2004 and are just above the VCCS Consortium score and just slightly below average. Academic challenges includes learning that is both intellectual and creative. The survey items for this benchmark address Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives.

Benchmark four is Student-Faculty Interaction, which includes academic and career advising. NOVA’s scores have improved since 2004 and are now above average, although less than the VCCS Con-sortium score.

The fifth benchmark is Support for Learners. According to CCSSE, students perform better when the College is committed to their success. NOVA’s scores have dropped since 2004 and remain below average. The VCCS score is slightly above average. A QEP strategy to enhance support for learners could encourage students to use the services we offer. Another idea is to improve student support services.

The CCSSE provides valuable information concerning how NOVA can enhance student learning. When compared to national data, two of the statistically significant areas fell under Student Effort (“frequency of peer or other tutoring”) and Student-Faculty Interaction (“talked about career plans with an instructor or advisor”).

How can NOVA improve the benchmark results? How will the QEP help enhance student learn-ing? Get involved in the QEP process. Submit thoughts and/or proposals for QEP topics to QEP@nvcc.edu. Proposal submission information is in the attachment section of this edition. For more information on the CCSSE, please visit http://www.ccsse.org. For more information on NOVA’s results, please refer to reports posted on NOVA’s Office of Institutional Research Web site http://www.nvcc.edu/about-nova/directories--offices/administrative-offices/oir/index.html.