The Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) has formally granted continuing accreditation to the North Dakota State College of Science Registered Nursing and Practical Nursing programs. This includes the one-year Associate in Science in Nursing degree (ASN RN), the two-year Associate in Applied Science degree in Registered Nursing (AAS RN), and the Practical Nursing Degree.

According to acenursing.org, the ACEN supports the interests of nursing education, nursing practice, and the public through the functions of accreditation. Accreditation is a voluntary, peer-review, self-regulatory process by which non-governmental associations recognize educational institutions or programs that have been found to meet or exceed standards and criteria for educational quality. The monitoring of certificate, diploma, and degree offerings is tied closely to state examination and licensing rules and to the oversight of preparation for work in the profession.

NDSCS offers three academic options for Nursing students. The Practical Nursing program is for students who are interested in pursuing a career in nursing or wish to transfer to an associate or bachelor’s program for nursing. The two-year Associate in Applied Science Registered Nursing program is available to applicants wishing to become a Registered Nurse. The Associate in Science Registered Nursing program option is available to Licensed Practical Nurses who wish to continue their nursing education to become a Registered Nurse.

New for fall, Licensed Practical Nurses who graduated from a diploma program will also have the option to obtain their Associate Degree in Registered Nursing. In addition to its regular cohorts, NDSCS has conducted more than 32 satellite nursing programs as part of its commitment to meeting the workforce needs of rural North Dakota and the region. NDSCS-Fargo location is planning to add the Associate of Applied Science Registered Nursing Program option beginning in Spring 2024.

To learn more about the NDSCS Nursing program visit NDSCS.edu/Nursing or email NDSCS.Nursing@ndscs.edu

North Dakota State College of Science will hold its Commencement ceremony on Friday, May 12 at 3 p.m. in the Ed Werre Arena located in the Clair T. Blikre Activities Center in Wahpeton, N.D. Approximately 620 students from the Wahpeton campus, NDSCS-Fargo location and online are scheduled to graduate.

Faculty Senate President Michael Redding will serve as the Stage Marshal, and Vice President for Academic Affairs and Chief Academic Officer, Dr. Lisa Karch will preside as the Master of Ceremonies. NDSCS President Dr. Rod Flanigan looks forward to celebrating his first commencement at NDSCS, and will give remarks and recognitions as well as the presentation of degrees, diplomas and certificates. Additional remarks will be provided by Dr. Mark Hagerott, NDUS Chancellor, and Amanda Edwards, Student Senate President. The NDSCS Wildcat Singers will also perform a musical selection.

This is a free event, and there are no tickets required. The South doors of the Clair T. Blikre Activities Center will open for guests at 1:45 p.m. and will close at 2:50 p.m. Seating is on a first-come, first served basis, and arriving with all parties in your group is recommended – reserving seats will not be permitted.

A seating section will be arranged at Commencement for those attending the 100th Anniversary Celebration of the NDSCS Electrical Technology program and Friends of Barnard Hall.

For guests that are unable to attend in person, the entire ceremony will be live-streamed. The link will be available on Friday, May 12 at NDSCS.edu/Graduation.

North Dakota State College of Science students, faculty and staff will celebrate their annual Agawasie Day event on Thursday, May 4. Events on the College’s Wahpeton campus will begin at 1:00 p.m., with inflatables, games, music, food and numerous attractions taking place throughout the afternoon, including a street dance in the evening.

The public is invited to participate in the Agawasie Day Car Show, which will take place from 1-4 p.m. Registration for the car show is free for all participants, including students, faculty, staff and the public. Trophies will be awarded for Best in Class for each category (cars, trucks, motorcycles), and one overall Best in Show. Additional information and registration are available online at NDSCS.edu/Agawasie or by calling 701-671-2401.

In 1914, the College published its first yearbook called the Agawasie. The arrival of the annual became a day for celebration, hence the start of the annual Agawasie Day picnic. While publishing an annual yearbook was discontinued in 2004, the day for celebration still lives on as Agawasie Day and is celebrated every year right before the start of finals.

North Dakota State College of Science (NDSCS) partnered with the American Welding Society (AWS) to host the annual Behind The Mask competition for high school and college students. The competition, which took place at the NDSCS Wahpeton campus on April 20th, saw ninety high school and college students from North Dakota and Minnesota compete for the top prize.

The competition is designed to challenge each student’s welding skills and to provide them with a platform to present their skills to the welding industry. Behind The Mask is judged by industry professionals who evaluate participants on safety, quality of welds, and the ability to follow AWS welding standards. Students from high schools in Wahpeton, Mandan, Minot, Grafton, Valley City and Fargo, as well as college students from NDSCS, Alexandria Technical College, and Lynnes Welding Training, Inc. all competed in the event.

The competition’s generous sponsors donated all the prizes for the event, which consisted of awards for the top welders in the separate high school and college divisions. All the proceeds from this event go back into AWS scholarships ranging from $500-$2,500 that are available to high school and college students pursuing a welding career. These scholarships help up-and-coming welders pursue their craft and continue to build upon the skills they already have.

The results of the top welders in the high school division include:

• GMAW (wire)
  • 1st – Ben Klemen (NDSCS-Fargo)
  • 2nd – Colton Prellwitz (Minot)
  • 3rd – Daniel Kryvenia (Minot)
• SMAW (stick)
  • 1st – Chantz Delzer (Mandan)
  • 2nd – Caeiton Eslinger (Minot)
  • 3rd – Braeden Olavson (Sheyenne Valley Area CTE)

The results of the top welders in the college division include:

• GMAW (wire)
  • 1st – Jarred Maleska (Alexandria Technical & Community College)
  • 2nd – Shadera Burian (NDSCS)
  • 3rd – Tyler Heida (Alexandria Technical & Community College)
• SMAW (stick)
  • 1st – Dexter Seese (NDSCS)
  • 2nd – Parker Meyer (Alexandria Technical & Community College)
  • 3rd – Colin Lenieux (NDSCS)

“We are excited to have partnered with AWS to provide this unique opportunity for welding students,” said Lee Larson, Associate Professor of NDSCS Welding and AWS Northwest Chairman. “The competition was a great opportunity for students to get feedback from industry experts and gain valuable welding experience.”

The AWS Behind The Mask Competition is a great way to showcase the talents of welders, while also providing an opportunity for students to gain recognition and financial assistance. NDSCS is proud to be a part of this exciting competition and looks forward to hosting an amazing competition at NDSCS-Fargo next year.

The North Dakota State College of Science (NDSCS) Agriculture Program students had the opportunity to attend the NACTA (North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture) Judging Conference in Modesto, California from April 12-15, 2023. While there, the students competed in various competitions, such as Livestock Management, Livestock Judging, Equine Management, Soils, and more.

The NDSCS Agriculture students worked hard to prepare for the competitions, and their efforts paid off as they earned multiple individual and team awards. The students won Second Place, 2-year division in the Knowledge Bowl, Third Place, 2-year division in Crops Team, and Third Place, 2-year division in Ag Mechanics. Andrew Sip was named Third High Individual in the Ag Mechanics Contest, 2-year division.

During the trip, the students also had the chance to enjoy hands-on experiences and explore opportunities in agriculture. They toured Burroughs Family Farms, an organic almond, walnut, olive, and sheep farm that utilizes regenerative practices to restore land and soil health.

By sending teams to competitions like the NACTA Judging Conference, the Agriculture program provides students with an invaluable educational experience. “Trips like this allow students a unique opportunity to learn about Agriculture in different regions of the United States and test their knowledge in the areas they are studying. More importantly, they have the opportunity to expand their professional network.”, noted Craig Zimprich, Agriculture Associate Professor and Department Chair.

The NDSCS students who participated in the competitions included:

• Andy Sip, Farm Management, Ada, Minn.
• Cody Morrison, Farm Management, Hunter, N.D.
• Grace Dinius, Agronomy & Ag Business, New England, N.D.
• Carston Hamre, Ag Business, Audubon, Minn.
• Katrina Quick, Farm Management & Agronomy, Borup, Minn.
• Rose Wendell, Liberal Arts – Agriculture emphasis, Lamoure, N.D.
• Eli Sorum, Animal Science & Precision Ag, Fergus Falls, Minn.
• Will Steffes, Farm Management, Arthur, N.D.
• Hunter Albert, Precision Agriculture Technician, Barnesville, Minn.
• Gavin Mautz, Ranch Management, Garrison, N.D.

The NDSCS Agriculture Program provides students with a solid foundation of knowledge in the areas of Ag Business, Animal Science, Farm Management, Ranch Management, Precision Agronomy, and Precision Agriculture Technician. It is a hands-on program area that emphasizes practical learning experiences through lab and field activities, internships, and cooperative education experiences. Students also benefit from the college’s close working relationships with regional and national agricultural businesses, organizations, and state and federal agencies.

For more information about the NDSCS Agriculture program, visit NDSCS.edu/Ag.

Article written by NDSCS and submitted to external news outlets. 

North Dakota State College of Science (NDSCS) recently collaborated with the National Center for Autonomous Technologies (NCAT) and the Colorado School of Mines to provide a group of seven students from NDSCS’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems certificate program with a unique 16-day fieldwork experience. The students traveled to Arizona and Nevada in March, where they used drones to collect data from mining sites using hyperspectral imaging, a technology that captures data from across the electromagnetic spectrum beyond the visible light our eyes can see.

The trip was funded by a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant secured by NCAT, whose mission is to educate technicians for careers in autonomous technology fields. The grant covered all travel expenses for the students and provided them with a stipend for their work.

NDSCS students were responsible for planning missions, flying drones, and collecting data. Seth Simonson, NDSCS associate professor, accompanied the students and led curriculum development for the UAS component of the project. Graduate students from the Colorado School of Mines evaluated the data collected to identify and quantify material in the mines. The group from NDSCS spent eight days outside of Phoenix, Ariz., and eight days in Henderson, Nev. traveling approximately 60 miles southwest from there into California, to complete their fieldwork. The primary drone used for the project was a $70,000 quad drone equipped with a $300,000 camera that collects 490 wavelength bands. This was the NDSCS students’ first time using a camera with this level of spectral range. “Getting flight time with this high-performance camera was an incredible learning experience for the students,” said Simonson. “It sparked a lot of interest in the future of the industry.”

The NDSCS students who participated in the study included:

• Tyler Cunningham, Land Surveying and Civil Engineering Technology, Thompson, N.D.
• Annah Evavold, Architectural Modeling and Design Technology, Battle Lake, Minn.
• Bailey Goschke, Land Surveying and Civil Engineering Technology, Oslo, Minn.
• Mark Jenniges, Land Surveying and Civil Engineering Technology, Brooten, Minn.
• Joel Kavaloski, Land Surveying and Civil Engineering Technology, Lindstrom, Minn.
• Noah Cunningham, Land Surveying and Civil Engineering Technology, Minot, N.D.
• Trenton Thomasson, Land Surveying and Civil Engineering Technology, Fargo, N.D.

In addition to working with advanced technology, the students valued working in different terrain. “Around here, it’s all flat land. Out there, it’s desert and mountains,” said Mark Jenniges. “You had to pick out your vantage points. You had to figure out how you were going to plan your missions so that you didn’t wreck or lose sight of your drone because you always have to have a visual line of sight. You had to pick out take-off and landing spots–it was all very valuable experience.”

The trip also allowed students to collaborate with other professionals. “We were in the field doing a job,” said Annah Evavold. “It was our job to collect the data so the researchers could do their part in the project. We had to know what we were doing and we took it seriously.”

Joel Kavaloski said he enjoyed working with the graduate students. “The geologists explained the science behind why we were capturing the data. We knew where the drones could fly, but we didn’t necessarily know their points of interest. They helped us understand the bigger picture.”

“Overall, it was just a great work experience for us,” said Tyler Cunningham. “If future employers see that on a resume, I think they’ll take into consideration the time we spent planning missions and developing flying skills.”

This collaboration between NDSCS, the Colorado School of Mines, and NCAT demonstrates the importance of partnerships and the potential for groundbreaking research when institutions come together. Simonson looks forward to future runs of the study where he will continue to lead the UAS curriculum.

The success of this project also demonstrates how UAS is one of the fastest-growing industries with new applications constantly being identified. In response to emerging careers in unmanned aerial technologies, NDSCS is expanding its UAS certificate program into a standalone associate degree. Starting in the fall of 2023, NDSCS will offer an Associate in Applied Science degree in Unmanned Aircraft Systems with six emphasis areas including Land Surveying, Civil Engineering Technology, Architectural Modeling, Construction Inspection, Business & Marketing, and Transfer. Through a hands-on curriculum, students will learn about unmanned aircraft types, legal operational guidelines, preflight planning, piloting UAS, and collecting and processing data through photogrammetry, thermography, multispectral imaging, LiDAR, photography, and videography. Students also earn a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Remote Pilot Certificate preparing them to become remote pilots in different commercial environments and industries. Simonson said the FAA supports NDSCS’s expanded curriculum because of its industry focus and hands-on approach. “Students use UAS to collect and process data just as they would in industry, which distinguishes our program.”

Additional information about the NDSCS Unmanned Aircraft Systems program can be found online at NDSCS.edu/UAS.