You don’t have to go to the NCAA to find a Hokie and a Highlander under one roof. The New College Institute is home to a diverse group of educators from K12-to-colleges as well as having partners in both business and industry. Discover how NCI has blossomed from two empty classrooms and a tiny computer lab to becoming a premier educational facility.
What’s an interesting fact about your business most people don’t know?
NCI started with no students, no programs, no offices and just 2 classrooms and a small computer lab. King hall was our primary classroom building and the downstairs and upstairs were not renovated when we moved into the building. So, NCI has come a long way, since November, 2006! The most interesting thing that has happened was that a deer jumped through a window of the King Building and, of course, disrupting classes.
What would you like to share about your business or organization with our members?
NCI connects Southern Virginia to degrees, certifications, and talent development. New College Institute is a state-funded educational entity that provides access to degree programs (bachelor, master, and doctorate) through our partnerships with VA colleges and universities. NCI strives to be accessible and convenient for students of all ages. Our staff, faculty, and board members are all committed to making NCI a premier educational facility for students, businesses, and the community at large. In addition to college-level degree and certification programs, NCI offers experiential learning opportunities such as the NCI Internship Program and regional cybersecurity and engineering competitions. Additional programs such as NCI’s summer camps, LIFE (Learning Is ForEver), and financial aid resource events encourage and promote continued education throughout the Martinsville-Henry County region.
What challenges are you facing that the SPTC may be able to assist with?
NCI full-heartedly wants to share education opportunities with members of our region. Before COVID, we could attend meetings, schedule one-on-one appointments, and distribute flyers in high traffic areas. Now, many of our marketing tactics are completely online, and recruiting is by phone and email. We realize how fortunate we are to be doing business in a technology-age but miss the powerful impact of sharing ideas face-to-face. We have come to rely more and more on our partners like the SPTC to share opportunities that will help businesses grow, individuals prosper, and innovations to continue. We appreciate the SPTC for sharing information about the Amazon Web Services (AWS) reStart program recently, for example, which helps unemployed and underemployed individuals learn cloud computing skills via 12 weeks of free training. Afterward, NCI will even help them find employment.
What positive impact have you witnessed during the COVID-19 pandemic?
At NCI, we have been fortunate to work from home. Being at home has allowed us to focus more on our families, home, and health. Many families and individuals have taken this opportunity to learn new skills like gardening or invest in their education. More people are interested in short-term certification programs that give them skills in high-demand careers like cybersecurity and cloud computing. Folks are particularly interested in programs that allow them to take classes virtually like IMPACT Cybersecurity Program and AWS reStart or even business management through William & Mary. Both programs open the door for graduates to get jobs that allow them to work from home also.
Also, the telehealth course completion rate at New College Institute’s Southside Telehealth Training Academy and Resource Center (NCI STAR Telehealth) has increased more than 100% over the past six months as the global community seeks to quickly deliver more health services virtually, NCI’s STAR Telehealth program has trained participants from 40 states and countries, as the global healthcare community embraces telehealth as a viable and highly-effective platform for patient care. NCI telehealth participants gain knowledge and skills on the use of video-conferencing technologies in the clinical setting skills and remote patient monitoring in the home setting. The telehealth program helps to participate in physicians, nurses, paramedics, social workers, licensed professional counselors, IT specialists, and health care administrators redesign their practices to successfully provide telehealth services to their patients. The program also enables participants to increase their knowledge about telemental health, spanning multiple mental health disciplines.
The SPTC Board of Directors are excited to share the good news that’s happening with all of our members.
For more information on New College Institute visit www.newcollegeinstitute.org or call 276-403-5671.
Want to be featured? Contact Rachel Reynolds at info@sptc-va.org for more information.