Progress 08/01/06 to 07/31/11
Outputs
OUTPUTS: The following is a summary of Project Morning Star activities during the no-cost extension period. Previous outputs have been reported in previous Annual CRIS Reports for this project. 1. Primary activities for the no-cost extension of Project Morning Star 2010-2011 included transitioning to the new Tribal Extension program, Project New Day. This involved reviewing remaining budget and planned expenditures to finish Project Morning Star. 2. In October 2011, 35 NICC and community people were trained in first aid and AED training, as first responders in their tribal community. 3. In November 2011, 80 tribal community people participated in at traditional buffalo harvest. 4. In January and February 2011, more than 30 NICC and local tribal employees attended at least 2 grant management training sessions. 5. 1994 NICC Tribal College Extension staff met with 1862 UNL Extension staff to plan for the continuation of Tribal Extension activities. PARTICIPANTS: Participants included employees of Nebraska Indian Community College, and community people in the NICC tribal communities of Macy, Santee and urban South Sioux City, NE. TARGET AUDIENCES: The target audience has been the Omaha and Santee Tribes of Nebraska. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.
Impacts
1. A review of NICC college and community input showed that we needed to complete some activities and events in some campus locations, including first aid safsty training, cultural buffalo activity in Macy, cultural aspects training for each tribe, and grant management training for NICC and community grant staff. 2. Training of 25 first responders helped to address the lack of certified people making the community a safer place to live. The tribal reservations often have no organized first aid or emergency preparedness group. This activity, requested of Tribal Extension by the people, begins to address that need. 3. Participants of the Buffalo Harvest learned about The Buffalo Way of Life. A buffalo was killed in a similar traditional manner after prayers were offered. Participants learned about dressing the buffalo, drying meat, hide preparation, diabetes prevention and traditional sweat lodge, all presented by local elders and tribal experts. 4. NICC and community grant managers learned all aspects of managing and reporting for grants, particularly those involved with federal grant programs such as USDA. Participants learned how to keep track of and report budget expenditures, and how to organize, implement and report program activities. 5. Beginning in 2011, NICC Tribal Extension activities will focus on three primary areas for learning activities: education, healthy lifestyles and culture. It is expected that these three areas will often be integrated together in the traditional way - providing continued education, according the cultural ways, helping tribal people to restore a once healthy body, mind and spirit. The new Project New Dawn will be about "Helping People to Live Again." NOTE: The success of this project has helped to provide growth for the NICC Tribal Extension program, and allowed it to continue with a new 4-year "Project New Dawn", growing education, healthy lifestyles and culrure for NICC tribal people.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 08/01/09 to 07/31/10
Outputs
Project Accomplishments: Objectives addressed and accomplishments: Objective 1. Build capacity, develop and implement a plan for Tribal Extension programming and outreach activities. - Accomplishments: this project continues to develop activities that are based more in the community and provided for tribal community people. Objective 3. Actively involve the Tribal College Extension Advisory Council (TCEAC). - Accomplishments: This advisory council has always be a challenged to establish, due primarily to the turnover of those in this Tribal College Extension PD position. Advisory capacity exists informally, with the Project Director gaining input and ideas from NICC administration, NICC Board members, Tribal leaders and people in the community. Objective 4. NICC administration and faculty will be involved in the implementation of the NICC 5-year strategic plan through professional development activities. a) NICC administration, faculty, staff, and students will have an opportunity to participate in 2-4 professional development extension and outreach activities each year. b) NICC faculty, staff and students will have an opportunity to participate in 2-4 Planning & Evaluation and Training retreats each year. - Accomplishments: 1) NICC administrators and program leaders have consistently attended AIHEC meetings and conferences on a quarterly basis, staying in communications with administrators and program leaders from other 1994 Tribal Colleges. 2) Faculty, staff and students have most been involved in the community gatherings this past year, and did not have any Planning & Evaluation retreats. c) Subcontract with UNL Extension to provide a 0.20 FTE Faculty Educator as co-PD and Extension program advisor, providing technical assistances and coordination of Extension programming between NICC and UNL Extension. - Accomplishments: Much has been accomplished in this area with sometimes weekly communication between the NICC Tribal College Extension lead PD/PI and the UNL Extension Faculty co-PI. Objective 5. Evaluate project activities in order to assess NICC capacity and implementation strategies for Extension programming effectiveness. - Accomplishments: Most of the Morning Star project evaluation has taken place in conversations between the two NICC PI's and the UNL Extension PI. The community gatherings resulted in some evaluation data through the participant surveys. PRODUCTS: - 500 copies of the 2010-2012 College Catalogs, including Extension community education and college courses offerings. - Traditional sweat lodges were developed and used for some activities as part of cultural relevance. - Green houses were developed at each campus as part of the community gardens project. OUTCOMES: OUTCOMES: (according to objectives) Objective 4: a): 1 Administrator and at least 1 program leader attended 4 different AIHEC meetings and conferences this past year. b): There were no faculty/staff Training and Evaluation retreats, but NICC faculty and staff assisted with and participated in at least 4 community gathering events during this past year. c): The UNL Extension co-PI provided technical assistance, guidance and training for 2 Tribal Extension PD's and at least 12 NICC faculty and staff regarding the planning, implementation and reporting of NICC Tribal Extension activities. Objective 5: - Approximately 50 or more participant evaluations were completed from 4 community gatherings. Some participant conversations were summarized in brief activity reports from 3 special cultural event activities. - The Community Gardens activities were a successful result of the Extension community education gatherings. By the numbers, there were 7 community gardens in Macy, Santee and South Sioux City, and at least 20 individual gardens, involving over 200 youth and adults. Objective 6: a) Each year, at least 50 NICC students will learn how to: explore careers, use study skills for college coursework, manage educational resources & finances, and manage family issues while continuing their education. b) At least 80% of NICC students will actively participate in a minimum of 2 gatherings per semester. - Accomplishments: Educational and cultural presentations were used at all 4 community gatherings this year with about 75% of students attending all gatherings, learning about culture, college enrollment, succeeding in school/education, healthy foods, and involvement of families to help students succeed. Objective 7: The 3 NICC campuses will show at least a 25% overall increase in student enrollment each year. - Accomplishments: Overall NICC Fall student enrollment increased from about 100 students in 2009 to at least 130 students in 2010, about a 30% increase. Objective 8: At least 40 families of NICC students will attend at least one educational gathering each semester. Objective 9: At least 20 community members will be involved in community education activities and NICC community gatherings each semester. Objective 10: At least 10 Tribal community organizations will participate in at least one gathering per year to learn how they can support NICC students and their families to continue their education. - Accomplishments: At least 360 NICC staff, students and families, community member and tribal organization representatives participated in 4 different orientation and success community gatherings. DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES: - The NICC Newsletter included feature articles about NICC Extension activities; - Poster fliers are distributed in the community for many of the project activities; - Information about Tribal Extension is included on the NICC website; and - Special events and activities are sometimes advertised for Tribal people in communities off the reservation. FUTURE INITIATIVES: The following is a list of new or continued potential education and training sessions that have the potential of being provided during the final extended year of Project Morning Star for people in the NICC Tribal Communities. NICC Tribal College Extension is making an effort to provide needs as indicated by program participants who have attended previous "community gatherings." 1. AED/CPR and First Aid training for NICC employees, community organizations and community people. This training will help to address the need for maintaining healthy lifestyle awareness and provide a health survival need not currently available in the rural tribal communities. 2. NICC employees and community youth and adults have indicated the need for basic computer training skills (word, excel, PowerPoint, internet navigation. Extension outreach training would take place at each NICC site. There is an issue of access to the NICC library as the college library and the public/community library, including the need for additional computers. A computer training program would also address the need for policy/rules for how these computers are used, primarily for educational purposes with limited recreational/social access. 3. There is a continued need for training activities for NICC faculty & staff including: 1) grant management training, monitoring and reporting (for grant staff); 2) Conflict/resolution training (for employees, for schools, for BOD); 3) Professionalism and ethics (for NICC faculty and staff); and 4) Cultural aspects training (history and tradition), Umonhon and Isanti, utilize cultural experts/elders (sweats, foods, meetings, etc.) - for NICC employees, and local schools.
Impacts
Objective 1: The PD/PI hired with these grant funds now has the job title of NICC Tribal Extension Director, providing "visible capacity of NICC in the community. Objective 3: The Morning Star PD during this past year has established a consistent communication process, seeking input, guidance and approval for all program activities, communicating with the NICC president, engaging in conversations with NICC Board members and community leaders, and having conversations with people in the community at the school, the college, tribal offices and tribal community events. Objective 4: Consistent communication and meetings between the NICC Tribal Extension lead PD/PI and the UNL Extension co-PI has resulted in: a) more consistency of Tribal Extension program activity development and implementation; b) closer monitoring of expenses and funds being spent appropriately according to approved grant activities; c) increased written documentation of program activities to be used for project reporting, and d) a strengthened trust and relationship between Extension program leaders and NICC administrators and fiscal representatives. Objective 5: The impact on participants of community gardens included awareness of healthy eating, growing of healthy & natural foods, providing another alternative for exercise, and providing an environment for community interaction and sharing of ideas.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 08/01/08 to 07/31/09
Outputs
1. Objectives 3 & 4c, 2009 Grant Management Training: A 2-day Grant Management training session was held for all NICC grant project directors during January 2009. UNL Extension provided the training, with the assistance of the NICC Tribal Extension Director. Topics included: a) grant application process; b) basic grant management components (programmatic, fiscal/budget, forms, reporting, collaborations, & partnerships); and c) NICC Grants Management policies and procedures (developed by the NICC Tribal Extension Director). The outcome was that 12 NICC grant project directors had a better understanding of the process for tracking grant activities & expenses so they could begin to develop timely reporting of project activities and expenditures. 2. Objective 4c - Sub-contract with UNL Extension: The formal partnership continued between NICC and UNL Extension, providing a variety of technical assistance, professional development workshops for faculty and staff, and assistance with Extension community outreach projects. The overall outcome was a series of coordinated efforts and activities addressing the most critical needs of NICC Extension programming and organizational development. 3. Objectives 1, 2, 5, 6b, 8 & 10 - Assessment, Evaluation, and Student/Community Communication: Three Community Information Gathering & Update Sessions were held at NICC's three campuses (South Sioux City, Santee and Macy) during March 2009. At least 15-20 community members and NICC employees attended each of the three sessions. The presentation and discussion topics included: a) NICC college & department updates; b) Tribal College Extension review and update; c) NICC historical perspective presentation; and d) open forum discussion/sharing of NICC issues. 4. Objectives 4a, 5b, 7, 8, & 9, Building Capacity, Involving Students, Families & Community: a) Various capacity building activities were attended by NICC faculty members. These activities included FALCON, Western Region CSREES meeting, and UNL Extension State conference. These meetings lead to the further development of NICC and the attendees in the aspects of leadership capacity and development. b) Community Gatherings: The college held cultural/educational gatherings during the beginning and end of each academic semester including: cultural and language camp, holiday cultural gatherings (providing a meal for community members to share thoughts, opinions and needs of the community), cultural speaking, elders stories, identification of community needs, and recognition of student and community member accomplishments 5. Objectives 2, 4c & 10: Monthly planning, assessment and evaluation meetings have taken place between NICC & UNL Extension Project Directors, NICC President, and various NICC faculty members. The UNL co-Project Director and NICC President have communicated by phone and/or email regarding the strengthening of the NICC Extension Program. As a result, the most recent NICC Morning Star project director and co-project director have established a high quality working relationship with the UNL co-project director. PRODUCTS: - Oyate Teca, Youth Partnership video developed for a Children, Youth and Families At Risk (CYFAR) national conference (funds provided from another source for youth development through UNL Extension). - Santee community youth also developed a music CD reflecting their culture and received an award. OUTCOMES: 1. The outcomes of the 2009 Grant Management training included: a) 12 NICC grant project directors had a better understanding of the process for tracking grant activities & expenses; b) they learned how to develop a grant management file; and c) they could begin to develop timely reporting of project activities and expenditures, through the use of a project journal. 2. The overall outcome of the NICC/UNL Extension partnership was a series of coordinated efforts and activities addressing the most critical needs of NICC Extension programming and organizational development. 3. Outcomes of the 2009 Community Information Gathering & Update Sessions included: a) a healthy discussion and sharing of NICC issues including questions from students and community members with responses from NICC staff (21 issues/questions from South Sioux City campus, 19 issues/questions from Santee campus, and 22 issues/questions from Macy campus); and b) the development of a list of community priority concerns/issues, helping to provide direction for NICC goals and priorities for 2009-2010. 4. The Community Gardens activities were a successful result of the Extension community education gatherings. The outcomes of these activities included awareness of healthy eating, growing of healthy & natural foods, and providing an environment for community interaction and sharing of ideas. 5. Monthly planning and capacity assessment meetings have taken place between NICC & UNL Extension Project Directors, NICC President, and various NICC faculty members. The UNL co-Project Director and NICC President have communicated weekly by phone and/or email regarding changes and direction for the project and partnership. As a result, the two newest Project Morning Star project director and co-project director have had several meetings with the UNL co-project director during the past 4 months. The outcomes of these meetings have been very productive and this team of three Extension programming professionals is producing up-to-date reports for Project Morning Star programming and partnership activities over the past two years. This CRIS Progress Accomplishments report and other reports are a result of these efforts. DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES: - The NICC Newsletter included feature articles about NICC Extension activities; - Poster fliers are distributed in the community for many of the project activities; - Information about Tribal Extension is included on the NICC website; and - Special events and activities are sometimes broadcast as community news on a local radio station. FUTURE INITIATIVES: 1. Project director changes and the need for organizational restructuring are needed to better maintain oversight of Project Morning Star. Due to staff changes, there were 2 different project directors between August 2008 and July 2009. 2. The most current NICC project director and co-project direct are making a commitment to identify and actively engage a Tribal College Extension Advisory Council (EAC) who will help provide advice and direction for Project Morning Star. 3. The NICC project director, co-project director and UNL Extension co-project director have each indentified their specific role in planning, developing, implementing, evaluating and reporting the activities of Project Morning Star. The NICC/UNL Extension partnership will serve an increased role in the successful implementation of this project. 4. Other planned activities include implementation of community gatherings, and the integration of community Extension education and family development & youth development educational activities with other related projects and activities in the NICC communities. 5. Some specific planned "pilot" activities include: a) Development of a College/Community Orientation Project - open to community members, providing opportunities to meet people, talk about programs, and discuss activities that are planned at NICC; b) Cultural Adventure Camps - providing outdoor education, involving community youth, families and extended family members, including local camping and canoeing training activities in preparation for major camp outdoor and cultural activities. c) Diabetes Awareness and Education - providing information and education about diabetes and its effects on the Tribal community. d) Healthy Food Harvest - a final experiential event and celebration related to the outdoor healthy foods activities including community gardening, prairie food production, and natural foods.
Impacts
1. The NICC Project Director for Project Morning Star, who became the NICC Tribal Extension Director in the Spring of 2008, resigned at the end of January 2009. Two other individuals became the new Project Morning Star project director and co-project director in February 2009. The project director is a Tribal member and had worked for NICC but this individual's project support ended in December 2008. The new co-project director has had many years experience with Extension natural resources programming and is an NICC faculty member. Both of these individuals will help to provide a more consistent direction for the project, resulting in timelier implementation of project activities and reporting of project outcomes and impacts. These NICC project directors are looking at utilizing project assistants to work at the community level so all NICC communities have local coordination and support. 2. The original intentions of the project are growing with the additions of the new project directors. Financial stability, grant management, team building, leadership development and innovative programming are improving at NICC. The partnership between NICC and UNL Extension has been strengthened with this newest relationship between project directors. Time and patience are still needed in order to implement and realize the long-term results of Project Morning Star. The change in NICC project directors will provide some exciting and innovative changes for NICC Tribal Extension project through the creation of some changes in programming and more interaction with the community.
Publications
- - 2009-2012 College Catalog, including Extension community education and college courses offerings
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Progress 08/01/07 to 07/31/08
Outputs
1. Objectives 1, 2 & 4b, Professional Development Activity: A planning, evaluation and training retreat occurred in August 2007 for NICC faculty, staff and administration, NICC Board, students & family members, and community members. The educational training was co-presented by UNL Extension faculty and emphasized NICC job roles and responsibilities related to grant projects, teaching & community education, administration, and NICC programming. Outcomes are listed in the Outcome section below. 2. Objective 4c, Sub-contract with UNL Extension: The formal partnership continued between NICC and UNL Extension, providing a variety of technical assistance, professional development workshops for faculty and staff, and assistance with NICC Extension community outreach projects. 3. Objective 3, Program Needs: Communication was identified as a potential challenge issue for NICC. UNL Extension provided technical assistance for an NICC Communication Project for the first 6 months of 2008. After a series of surveys and focus groups discussions, communication preferences were identified for NICC administration, faculty, and staff. Communication among this group was shown as adequate to good. However, communication with the NICC communities was shown to be adequate to poor. Several priority challenges were identified, a summary given in the Outcomes section below. 4. Objectives 1, 2 & 4b, Professional Development Activity: A planning, evaluation and training retreat occurred in July 2008 for NICC faculty, staff and administration, NICC Board, students & family members, and community members. The educational training was co-presented by UNL Extension faculty and emphasized communication, Dakota and Umonhon culture, and NICC strategic planning. Outcomes are listed in the Outcome section below. 5. Supporting Objectives 4a, 5b, 7, 8, & 9, Building Capacity, Involving Students, Families & Community: a) Various capacity building activities were attended by the President and faculty members. Three AIHEC meetings, 1 FALCON conference are included. These meetings lead to the further development of NICC and the attendees in the aspects of leadership capacity and development. b) Community Gatherings: The college held cultural/educational gatherings during the beginning and end of each academic semester including: community cultural bison education event (including a buffalo kill), cultural speaking, elders stories, identification of community needs, and recognition of student and community member accomplishments. 6. Objectives 2, 4c & 10, Assessment, Planning & Evaluation: Monthly meetings have taken place between NICC & UNL Extension Project Directors, NICC President, and various NICC faculty members. The UNL co-Project Director and NICC President have communicated by phone and/or email regarding Extension project programming and partnership activities. PRODUCTS: -none. OUTCOMES: 1. The outcomes of the August 2007 planning, evaluation and training retreat included a revised NICC organizational management plan including the following NICC work teams: teaching & community education, grant management, finance & administration, and customer service/community relations. 2. An overall outcome of the 2008 NICC Communication Project was the identification of NICC challenges. Communication was identified as the #1 overall NICC challenge. Other priority challenges included facilities, finances, leadership and management, and employee-community relationships. 3. The outcomes of the July 2008 planning, evaluation and training retreat included: a) a better understanding and knowledge of various communication preferences that people have; b) identifying strategies that might improve communication among NICC employees and students, and with families and community; c) an increased awareness and knowledge of the tribal cultures, gained through a variety of experiential learning during the training retreat; and d) development of actions to be implemented for addressing strategic plan priority needs, including the assessment of student learning. - These and other outcomes are related to the Project Accomplishments section statements listed above. DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES: - The NICC Newsletter included feature articles about NICC Extension activities; - Poster fliers are distributed in the community for many of the project activities; - Information about Tribal Extension is included on the NICC website. - Program information is distributed through the College Catalog. FUTURE INITIATIVES: 1. Project director changes indicate the need for organizational restructuring to better maintain oversight of Project Morning Star. Due to staff changes, there were 3 different project directors between June 2007 and June 2008. 2. Efforts are being made to engage NICC faculty, Board of Directors, and community members to "actively" serve as the Tribal College Extension Advisory Council (EAC) who will help provide advice and direction for Project Morning Star. 3. There is a continued need for UNL technical assistances to address the critical needs of NICC and to assist with project management. 4. Other planned activities for the fall of 2007 and spring of 2008 include implementation of community gatherings, community Extension education, and family development and youth development educational activities.
Impacts
1. The previous NICC Project Director for Project Morning Star resigned as of June 1, 2007. The NICC President acted as interim PD until a new NICC employee was designated as the Morning Star project director in the fall of 2007. During the Spring 2008, the most recent project director resigned, and another NICC employee was designated as the new project director. The UNL co-Project Director is working with the NICC president, Board members and faculty to provide a plan that can offer a more consistent direction (project director) for the project, resulting in timelier implementation of project activities and reporting of project outcomes and impacts. 2. The original intentions of the project are slowly beginning to take shape. Financial stability, grant management, team building, leadership development and student recruitment & retention are improving for NICC. The NICC Board is energized and providing more direction for the college. The partnership between NICC and UNL Extension is helping to address technical assistance issues and providing implementation for Extension projects at the college and in the community. Time and patience are needed in order to implement and realize the long-term results of Project Morning Star.
Publications
- - 2006-2009 College Catalog, including Extension community education and college courses offerings.
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Progress 08/01/06 to 07/31/07
Outputs
1. The formal partnership continues between NICC and UNL Extension, evidenced by a subgrant agreement for UNL Extension to provide a variety of technical assistance, professional development workshops for faculty and staff, and some Extension community outreach projects. 2. Monthly planning and capacity assessment meetings have taken place between NICC & UNL Extension Project Directors, NICC President, and various NICC faculty members. The UNL co-Project Director and NICC President have communicated weekly by phone and/or email regarding changes and direction for the project and partnership. 3. Primary issues being addressed as a result of this communication include: a) staff changes and the need for organizational restructuring to better maintain oversight of Project Morning Star; b) engaging a core group of NICC faculty and Board of Directors to serve as the Tribal College Extension Advisory Council (EAC) who will help provide advice and direction for Project Morning
Star; c) continued need for UNL technical assistances to address the critical needs of NICC; and d) implementation of community gatherings and community education activities. 4. Specific capacity-building and Extension activities that have been implemented include: - 02/16/2007, training workshop by UNL Extension presented to NICC faculty, staff and administration with an emphasis on team building, communication, customer service & community relations; - 02/20-21-22/2007, community forum meetings, 2-3 hour open forum community meetings involving community members and NICC students & family members; - 03/07/2007, NICC president and staff visit to UNL with UNL Extension Dean, College of Architecture staff, Directors of UNL Strategic Technologies and Communication Networking and Directors of Human Resources and Student Involvement. - 03/17/2007, customer service & community relations workshop, presented by UNL Student Affairs and Human Resources; - Various capacity building activities
were attended by the President and members of the TEAC, primarily through the use of the AIHEC system. Four AIHEC meetings and one BIE are included. These meetings lead to the further development of NICC and the attendees in the aspects of leadership capacity and development. - The Board of Directors meeting and the Staff held trainings opened to the public to train on leadership development and capacity training. - Community Gatherings - The college held open trainings during the beginning and end of each academic semester to cover topics of financial management and leadership development.
PRODUCTS: Nothing to Report
OUTCOMES: Nothing to Report
DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES: Nothing to Report
FUTURE INITIATIVES: Nothing to Report
Impacts
Nothing to Report
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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