Month:

Henderson, Nev. – Nevada State College (NSC) professor of education, Dr. Kevin Graziano has taken the lead in developing an innovative community-based learning program that fosters student volunteerism and also provides a valuable hands-on approach to teaching and learning.
Two years ago, Dr. G., as his NSC students call him, developed a curriculum for his Second Language Acquisition course requiring students to volunteer 10 hours per semester in the Clark County READS initiative, a program which promotes the importance of literacy by providing quality literacy programs to children and families.
Not only did I want my students to gain practical experience working with English language learners, but I also wanted them to experience the value of giving back to the community, said Dr. Graziano.
Students were asked to read to English language learners (ELL) at two schools with a high ELL population, Brown Middle School and Robert Taylor Elementary. The students also developed case studies that allowed the ELL students to photograph images that best represented their educational experiences and everyday realities as English language learners in Clark County.
As a result, the NSC students were able to acquire valuable knowledge about the struggles and joys of being an English language learner in Nevada.
Program Manager for Clark County READS, Curtis Jones stated, Kevin has a great partnership with Clark County School District and the Public Education Foundation to help combat literacy. His efforts should be applauded.
This year, Dr. Graziano introduced his students to another innovative program of giving. The students were asked to submit their assignments electronically to save the traditional costs associated with printing and paper consumption. They were then asked to correlate their perceived savings and voluntarily procure general school supplies that would be donated to needy schools within the East Region.
I applaud college students helping elementary students that’s fantastic! said Robert Alfaro, who serves as the school district’s East Region Superintendent.
Alfaro identified two schools that would greatly benefit from the donations. The program, which began at the beginning of the 2006 fall semester, has already generated five boxes containing a diverse assortment of school supplies.
Dr. Graziano added that he is gratified that his students not only embraced the spirit of volunteerism, but also responded beyond his expectations.
For more information on Nevada State College, call: 702. 992.2000 or visit: nsc.edu.

Henderson, Nev. Nevada State College has seen its enrollment numbers rise by more than 25 percent since last fall. In doing so, the college has met and exceeded the state of Nevada’s mandated enrollment numbers for the fall 2006 semester.
As of the beginning of the fall 2006 semester, 1,950 students were enrolled at Nevada State College compared to 1,557 students at the beginning of the fall 2005 semester.
Our goal was to surpass the state’s student enrollment projections for the College and that is exactly what we have accomplished, said Dr. Fred Maryanski, president of Nevada State College.
Maryanski added that as the school continues to grow, it will continue to serve the residents of Nevada.
Students are finding our nursing, education, business and other programs a good fit for their needs, which is a promising thing to see as their education will have an overall positive impact on our entire community, Maryanski said. Simply put, Nevada State College is filling a need for students and the community.
Of Nevada State College’s1,950 students, more than 550 are enrolled in the school’s nursing program, and nearly 300 are enrolled in the institution’s education program.
Nurses and teachers are two of the most-needed professionals in the state. As of mid-October, the Clark County School District is still short 300-plus teachers even after recruiting almost 2,500 prior to the school year. Also, medical industry experts continually note the nursing shortage in the Nevada is in the thousands.
State Sen. Warren Hardy said the college is having a direct impact on the quality of life in the state and its importance will only increase as the college continues to thrive.
Nevada State College belongs in our community, Hardy said. The growth of the college over the last several years is evidence that its programs are needed, in demand and something we should all support.
Hardy added the success of Nevada State College will make other state institutions such as the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, the University of Nevada, Reno and the Community College of Southern Nevada even better.
The success of Nevada State College allows the other institutions of higher learning to better focus on their respective missions, Hardy said.
Nevada State College is the newest member institution of the Nevada System of Higher Education. As a comprehensive liberal-arts college, Nevada State College offers four-year baccalaureate degrees in 15 programs.
The college opened its doors to students in September 2002 after the Nevada State Legislature determined the need for enhanced educational opportunities in Southern Nevada in 1997.
NSC, which is based on a 500-acre site in the foothills of Henderson, provides progressive programs and study areas for its students in cooperation with the University Nevada, Reno curriculum requirements, maintains a low student-to-professor ratio in comparison to a number of Nevada universities and colleges, and competitive tuition rates.
For more information on Nevada State College, call: 702.992.2000 or visit: nsc.edu.

November 01, 2006
Henderson, Nev. Nevada State College is one of the country’s first and Nevada’s only colleges and universities which was honored in the inaugural President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll this year.
Nevada State College ranked among prominent universities such Harvard University, DeVry University and Boston University. Four hundred ninety-two colleges and universities were honored.
I attribute this award to the success of our community-based learning program, said Dr. Fred Maryanski, president of Nevada State College. We are extremely proud to have already earned national and presidential recognition for our community service efforts, which are still in their first years of existence.
The President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll was created in response to President Bush’s call to service by building on and supporting the civic engagement mission of the United States colleges and universities, according to the Learn and Serve America Web site. Final decisions regarding winners were made by the Corporation for National and Community Service based on extraordinary community service.
More than one million students from the winning schools participated in a variety of community service activities. Locally, Nevada State College students worked on a wide range of projects including: assisting African refugee families in employment searches, prenatal care assessments and teaching and newborn care instruction; providing elementary school students from at-risk schools with education in the arts previously cut from school curriculum; and providing nearly 300 hours of mentoring and guidance to more than 150 high school freshman while working on a paleontological investigation.
Specializing in meeting the needs of the state by offering majors such as nursing and teaching, Nevada State College strongly emphasizes community-based learning, which requires students of all majors to perform community service for a grade.
The community-based learning programs provide students with a real-world setting where they can apply what they’re learning in school and enhance their skills, allowing them to be more marketable to the professional world upon graduation.
This is just the beginning, Maryanski said. We have many plans in development that will continue to grow our community-based learning program and, in turn, provide huge benefits to the community.
The award is co-sponsored by the Corporation for National and Community Service, the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation, the USA Freedom Corps, the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. A complete list of chosen colleges and universities is available at nationalservice.gov/honorroll.
Nevada State College is the newest member institution of the Nevada System of Higher Education. As a comprehensive liberal-arts college, NSC offers four-year baccalaureate degrees in 15 programs.
With an influx of new freshmen students, this year Nevada State College has seen its enrollment numbers rise by more than 25 percent since last fall. In doing so, the college met and exceeded the State of Nevada’s mandated enrollment numbers for the Fall 2006 semester. Over 2,000 students were enrolled at Nevada State College as of the beginning of the Fall 2006 semester.
The college opened its doors to students in September 2002 after the Nevada State Legislature determined the need for enhanced educational opportunities in southern Nevada in 1997.
NSC, which is based on a 600-acre site in the foothills of Henderson, provides progressive programs and study areas for its students in cooperation with the University Nevada, Reno curriculum requirements, maintains a low student-to-professor ratio in comparison to a number of Nevada universities and colleges, and competitive tuition rates.
For more information on Nevada State College, call: 702. 992.2000 or visit: www.nsc.edu.