NRCC History Book

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In 2004 NRCC became the first community college in Virginia to receive approval from Prometric, a provider of computerized testing and assessment, to host a testing site in the workforce development center. Also, in 2004 NRCC was one of five colleges in the VCCS to launch Middle College, a program aimed at 18- to 24-year olds who have not completed high school. Participants first earned a GED, then enrolled in a college program which led to college transfer or gainful employment. In Spring 2008, the workforce development center established an Executive Leadership Institute for emerging executives in the New River Valley. This 45-hour training program was held at the college’s mall site in Christiansburg and included topics on employee motivation, conflict resolution, and business protocol for the 21 st century. During this decade, workforce development offered “fast track” programs in welding; electrical technology; heating, ventilation, and air conditioning; computerized numerical control; and computer applications and concepts. These programs, with an average length of 6-12 weeks, were designed for adults interested in quickly acquiring the necessary skills to obtain entry-level jobs in these fields. Advances in Technology During the first decade of the 21 st century, technology accelerated faster than imagined. The innovative technologies changed people’s daily lives and affected many aspects of the college’s curricula and the teaching and learning process. For example, Microsoft’s computer operating system changed four times between 2000 and 2009, starting in 2000 with the introduction

of Windows 2000, Windows XP in 2001, Windows Vista in 2007, and Windows 7 in 2009. Updated operating systems prompted new versions of software programs. With each upgrade, computer labs, faculty and staff computers, and course materials were reconfigured and revised. Computer workshops were held on campus to train faculty and staff. Often employees learned the new software versions on their own by experimenting with the updated features. Audio and video technology evolved in 2003 when a DVR that could be hooked to a TV was introduced. Beginning in Fall 2003, DE courses with media components for home checkout, courses with on-campus video components, and courses with audio components were changed to computer or web-based courses, eliminating the require ments of checking out media or on-campus viewing of videos. Technological develop ments in 2004 included Facebook, a social networking site; Firefox, a new web browser; and Gmail, a free web-based email service. In 2005 YouTube, a video sharing website, was created; and in 2006 Twitter, a social networking site, was developed. Even though the first BlackBerry smartphone was released in 2002, the release of the iPhone in 2007, a smartphone made by Apple, gave students, faculty, and staff instant access to information and made communicating with each other extremely easy. Also in 2007, the Kindle, the first e-reader, was launched by Amazon. In 2008, the Google Chrome web browser and the first version of the Android phone were marketed. VCCS Technological Changes . During the 2000-01 academic year, NRCC participated in a VCCS pilot project with an online technology called Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and

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