The North Dakota State College of Science Division for Workforce Affairs is announcing a partnership with the Minnesota / North Dakota Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) to offer Construction Core, a Rapid Response Training, as a pre-apprenticeship program.

The training will be offered quarterly, with the first session at NDSCS-Fargo beginning in March 2018. The class will be limited to eight students per session, so individuals are encouraged to register early. Construction Core Training will consist of National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER) Core Curriculum and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) 10-hour training. Trainees will receive 72 hours of instruction over 12 weeks, with a mix of classroom and at-home study.

This new training offering will help to fill a need for additional skills in the region’s workforce. Trainees will be prepared to begin a rewarding career in the construction industry and the opportunity to be certified in core competencies for the construction industry. This training will help to connect the students to employers in the region who will invest in and foster their careers. 

“Associated Builders and Contractors of MN/ND recognizes the need to foster the younger generation of workers. However, we also have a tremendous need for workers right now. The Construction Core training will help answer the current need,” said Jennifer Erickson, Regional Director, Associated Builders and Contractors of MN/ND.

“Today’s companies are competing in a fast-paced and highly technical environment and a trained workforce is essential,” said Joe Schreiner, NDSCS, TrainND Director. “We look forward to providing the training and the skilled workforce needed by our newest partner, Associated Builders and Contractors.”

For more information regarding Construction Core training, please contact Joe Schreiner, NDSCS TrainND Director, at 701-671-2721, or Jennifer Erickson, Regional Director, Associated Builders and Contractors of MN/ND, at 701-238-8853.

The NDSCS Performing Arts Department will present its holiday concert on December 5, 2017 at 7:30 p.m. in the Bremer Bank Theatre in the Harry Stern and Ella Stern Cultural Center. Free will donations will be accepted and there will be a reception following the concert.

The concert will feature the NDSCS Concert Band under the direction of Dr. Adam Hollingsworth and the Concert Choir under the direction of Bryan Poyzer. This will be the final concert of the semester and will feature a variety of music, including three pieces by the newly formed NDSCS Voice Ensemble. There will also be a jazz piano tribute to Vince Guaraldi, the composer behind A Charlie Brown Christmas, by second year students Wayne Doe and Ben Schuler. The concert will conclude with a few sing-along carols.

The NDSCS Choir students will also perform at West Acres Mall in Fargo, N.D. on Friday, December 1 at 12:00 p.m.

The North Dakota State College of Science Performing Arts Department will present its fall play, The Farndale Avenue Housing Estate Townwomen’s Guild Dramatic Society Murder Mystery, November 16-18 in the Bremer Bank Theatre in the Harry Stern and Ella Stern Cultural Center. The performances will be held at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, and 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. General Admission tickets are $5 for adults and $1 for students.

The Farndale Avenue Housing Estate Townwomen’s Guild Dramatic Society Murder Mystery is a comedy by David McGillivray and Walter Zerlin, Jr., presented by special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc.

North Dakota State College of Science honored two employee teams with the College’s annual LIFE and Steeple awards on October 25, 2017. This year’s LIFE award was presented to the HVAC-R Trane Lab, while the Steeple award was presented to the Building Success at Science Initiative.

This year’s LIFE award recognized the HVAC-R Trane Lab. The recipients included Jeff Kukert, Mark Wood, Leslie Shirek, Tana Erbes, Barbara Bang, Dallas Fossum, Darrell Schreiber, David Cooper, Mark Eklund and Jodi Ost. The LIFE Award stands for “Bringing LIFE to NDSCS” and recognizes collaborative efforts that support the LIFE values of the College. The award is presented to an individual, employee group or committee for developing and implementing an action plan for Strategic Planning or Academic Quality Improvement Project goals.

In June 2016 NDSCS obtained a partnership with the Trane company. This partnership included funding for state-of-the art commercial air conditioning equipment for the lab, advanced digital building control systems and software as well as the Variable Air Volume boxes to control airflow with the controllers. In October 2016 grant funding was awarded to renovate the existing lab and classroom. Additional funding was donated by industry and alumni. These funding sources converted the two spaces in the Mechanical Systems building into a state-of-the-art commercial controls and equipment learning center. Students will receive training and certification, which is only available in a few select colleges in the country. NDSCS can now host NC3 certifications for the existing workforce in the region as well. A secondary impact of the partnership announcement as well as the renovation is an increase in first-year student enrollment. Fall 2017 brought the department beyond its capacity and some students were placed on a waiting list.

This year’s Steeple award was presented to the Building Success at Science Initiative. The recipients included Clinton Gilbertson, Barbara Spaeth-Baum, Kyle Armitage, Justin Grams, Kari Hasbargen, Maria Kaduc, Joe Schreiner, Dr. William Shay and Randy Stach. The Steeple award stands for “Climbing New Heights” and is presented to an individual, employee group or committee for new and innovative methods to accomplish their role on campus. Criteria for the award include taking a risk, thinking outside the box, just-in-time delivery and how that addresses immediate needs, shared innovation, impact on student learning and development, and documented results.

To enhance student success, the College plans to work together to build an effective academic and non-academic program review process entitled “Building Success @ Science.” This action project encompasses the first phase of the process, establishing the leadership and communication channels to provide input and explain the initiative. The team that was nominated by their peers and undertook this project was exemplary.  They went above and beyond the task at hand and made a much larger impact by developing a transparent and open communication process that could be used for all College initiatives. The communication process that was the product of this group is now fully implemented and is positively impacting the transparency and communication of the College community. The NDSCS Management Team adopted this process and it is now an expectation of all major College initiatives. This group exemplified each aspect of the NDSCS Quality Standards – especially customer experience, communication and teamwork.

The NDSCS Performing Arts Department will present its first concert of the season on Tuesday, October 24, 2017 at 7:30 p.m. in the Bremer Bank Theatre in the Harry Stern and Ella Stern Cultural Center.

All music groups, including the NDSCS Concert Band, Concert Choir, Jazz Band and Wildcat Singers, will perform during the concert. The concert is free and open to the public. Free-will donations will be accepted.

Fall enrollment numbers are now official for the North Dakota State College of Science. Total student enrollment is 2,985, which includes Wahpeton, Fargo, online and early entry students. This is a slight drop compared to fall 2016 enrollment, which totaled 3,003.

Fall enrollment data shows 442 students taking at least one class at the NDSCS-Fargo location, which is a nearly 3% increase over 2016. There are 483 students taking classes at multiple NDSCS locations, or through a combination of in-person and online instruction. The number of high school students taking Early Entry classes through NDSCS has increased by more than 4% from 684 in 2016 to 714.

The student body is comprised of 1,942 freshmen and 1,043 sophomores. There are 1,707 full time students, while 1,278 are enrolled part time. There are 963 students living on the NDSCS Wahpeton campus in residence halls or apartments.

There are 2,050 students from North Dakota, with 47 of the state’s 53 counties represented.