WNCC 2010 Self-Study Report - Western Nebraska Community ...

the cosmetology and aircraft maintenance programs remained anchored in Sidney. The addition of
the general education courses and increased access for Cheyenne county students was not readily
appreciated by all the local residents. The Scottsbluff faculty members held certain biases as well,
since they had voted unanimously to retain the name Nebraska Western College, only to have the
name changed within a few days. They consequently felt that their accomplishments had perhaps
been under-appreciated.
Fortunately for the residents of the entire Panhandle region of Nebraska, and due to patient
guidance by a long-standing President, the rifts began to heal over time. Like all forced mergers,
there remains a segment of independent history for each of the three institutions, but Western
Nebraska Community College now functions as an integrated unit.
Keeping pace with the changes and growth, a new campus was constructed and opened in Sidney
just south of town in 1995, which helped to increase local access and also signaled a commitment
to the Sidney community by WNCC. In Alliance, WNCC had rented a vacant building downtown
and begun offering courses in the community, most of them taught by adjuncts or a few full-time
faculty members who traveled to Alliance once a week to deliver three-hour block classes. Also
wanting to support the efforts of WNCC to offer expanded services to local residents, the City of
Alliance constructed a new library/College building in 1998. Abandoning its homely and cramped
storefront operation, the College moved into leased space in the present-day structure.
Along the way, the College developed and perfected its connections with the Centers by providing
administrative and student support at each of the locations, either in person permanently or by
rotational visit (such as the Registrar, the Counseling Director, and a representative from the
Financial Aid Office visiting each Center weekly on a predetermined schedule). In instruction, the
greatest gain came from the adoption of interactive television system (ITV) with real-time audio and
video feeds. With the initial construction of three origination rooms, one at each location
(Scottsbluff, Sidney, and Alliance), instructors could offer classes to students across the system
simultaneously. Importantly, instructors also had the ability to originate the course from a remote
site on some days in order to travel to receiving sites to meet the distance students in person.
This ITV system is still a critical component of the instructional delivery plan at WNCC, having been
supplemented by the addition of a separate system linking only the Alliance and Sidney campuses.
Another origination room was created at Scottsbluff capable of interfacing with the local
Educational Service Unit (ESU) 13 system, which allows instructors at the Scottsbluff campus to
connect with up to four area high schools at one time to deliver either college-credit or dual-credit
courses to area high school students.
Given the increase in demand for worker training, retraining and economic development activities,
WNCC established the Center for Business and Individual Training (CBIT), which was housed at a
leased building near Western Nebraska Regional Airport (about 4 miles east of the WNCC main
campus). Although serviceable as a start, the location had the disadvantage of limited space plus
technological and electrical limitations. When a building erected by Sykes Corporation in 1996
directly south across the street from the Scottsbluff campus as a call center became available, the
College conducted a major fundraising drive and purchased the building. It was subsequently
remodeled and opened in 2005 as the John N. Harms Advanced Technology Center of Nebraska
(HATC)—named in honor of the long-time College President, Dr. John Harms. That particular
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