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

providing a rich personal understanding of diversity, these courses also ensure that students arrive
at transfer institutions with a requisite background in issues of diversity and global culture.
Diversity of Faculty and Staff
Western Nebraska Community College is dedicated to creating a faculty and staff that reflects a
global community. The composition of employees is evidence of this commitment. At the
administrative level, an executive leader is of Native American descent and one member is from a
Hispanic background, while eight staff positions are filled by people of Hispanic heritage. The
faculty employs two instructors originally from Russia, one from Peru, and one with a Laotian/Thai
background. One coach/student-advising position is held by a Brazilian, and an Indian citizen fills
a WNCC technology position.
Community Activities
Western Nebraska Community College demonstrates a commitment to diversity in its endorsement
and support of numerous community activities such as Earth Day activities, AIDS Walk and hosting
of forums featuring outside speakers and performers. An active Safe Zone group is directed by a
faculty member on campus, and adherence to ADA accessibility guidelines allows the public
access to facilities. WNCC hosted a Native American Pow-Wow in 2008. Annually, the College
sponsors a Senior Wellness event as a service to elder citizens (see Criterion 5).
Core Component 1c: Understanding of and support for the mission pervade
the organization.
The Western Nebraska Community College (WNCC) mission statement in its current form derives
directly from state legislation and has remained the same since 1993. For the past 16 years, the
mission statement has been included in every edition of the College Catalog and a variety of other
documents in both print and electronic form.
Every employee of the College was offered a card containing abbreviated forms of both the
College mission philosophy statements during the fall term of 2008. The cards are designed to be
inserted into the College identification card holder behind the ID badge. This is the most recent
effort to ensure that all employees have seen and are aware of the mission and values of the
College. The complete statements are available in full text for hanging in workspaces or for posting
on bulletin boards.
When new employees are hired, they are given access to a copy of the mission in the online
materials containing College policy. These types of efforts also serve to raise awareness of the
College mission. The interview process used for all professional employees involves questions that
directly address the candidate’s understanding of and willingness to support the role and mission of
community colleges in general, as well as specific aspects of WNCC.
Open Access Policies
The College’s mission statement opens with the statement that “WNCC will be a student-centered
and open access institution.” For many years, admittance to WNCC was open to anyone with a
General Educational Development (GED) or a high school diploma. As larger numbers of adults
sought admission for lifelong learning and increasing numbers of students sought concurrent or
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Western Nebraska Community College