Hagos Receives Mark M. Welter Award

11/14/18

Hailemichael Hagos, a student at the Minnesota West, Worthington Campus, was recently named a recipient of the Mark M. Welter World Citizen Award, a $500 award, made available through LeadMN.

The purpose of the Mark M. Welter World Citizen Award is to provide a tribute to Minnesota State students who most exemplify the thoughts, words and actions demanded by a 21st century world citizen. College and university staff look for students who exemplify an understanding of the interconnect world in which they live to nominate for the award. Each college or university may make only one nomination and 20 awards are disbursed per semester.

Sandi Mead, Worthington Campus Librarian, nominated Hagos for the Mark M. Welter Scholarship. Sandi stated, “I am so proud to have nominated Hailemichael Hagos for this World Citizen Award as he exemplifies a student with compassion for others, a determination to succeed in his coursework, and a goal to positively connect with the world.”

Economic Impact

 

The tremendous geographic impact of Minnesota West Community and Technical College (Minnesota West) is marked by five campuses and two center locations spread across 21,000 square miles, which span 19 southwestern counties. Its footprint defines a unique mix of community combining history, traditions, philosophies, and cultures, distinguishing Minnesota West from all other colleges in the state. Its nearly 900 degrees, diplomas, and certificates awarded annually, with 80 percent of graduates living and working in Minnesota, define the role Minnesota West plays in training the state’s workforce.

Minnesota West was named a top online college for the third year in a row and #1 Community College in Minnesota as well as #3 online college nationally by bestcolleges.com. Minnesota West has also been recognized three times as a Top 150 Community College by the Aspen Institute, 10 times as a Digital Survey winner, and a Military Friendly school since 2012. Annually more than 9,000 students come to Minnesota West from 39 states and 10 countries.

Minnesota West is an educational treasure in southwest Minnesota making a significant impact.

 

Generating Impact in Minnesota

• Minnesota West generated an economic impact of $128.6 million. This includes a direct impact of $66.1 million and indirect/induced impact of$62.4 million.
• Operational and capital spending in the State of Minnesota generated $55.6 million of the total impact and $73.0 million from student and visitor spending.

Supporting and Sustaining Jobs in the State

• Minnesota West directly employs 334 people.
• Overall, Minnesota West supports 1,140 Minnesota jobs (724 direct and 416 indirect/induced).

Students and Alumni in the State Generate Additional Impact

In academic year 2016–2017, Minnesota West awarded 886 associate degrees, diplomas, and certificates. The class of 2017 will realize increased earning power as a result of getting a post-secondary credential or degree beyond high school. The alumni living and working in the state total 15,400. Assuming that a career lasts for 40 years, Minnesota West alumni currently living in Minnesota will have contributed$2.5 billion in impact over the span of their careers.

The Minnesota West campus community makes a difference throughout the region with faculty, alumni, and students participating in civic engagement, community volunteerism, service learning, internships, advisory boards, and most recently, earning the designation as a Yellow Ribbon Campus, honoring and supporting military families. All of the campuses have been recognized by Tree Campus USA by the Arbor Day Foundation.

Minnesota West is also leveraging its locations to meet regional needs and support local communities in unique ways. Unique partnerships, like leasing campus space to groups such as Southwest/West Central Coop, YMCA Worthington, Women’s Rural Advocacy Program, and more, illustrate the Minnesota West commitment to innovation and regional economic sustainability.

Making a Difference in the Community and State

Minnesota West is the regional leader in training development and delivery of programs that meet the workforce needs of employers and individuals seeking improved skills and workplace advancement. To foster strong workforce skills development initiatives, Minnesota West has secured and facilitated $3,657,500 in Minnesota Job Skills Partnership funding, which supports specialized workforce training initiatives for 14 distinct employers training nearly 3,210 employees.

Employer partners actively participate on program advisory committees and the President’s Advisory Council providing curriculum direction and insight on most critical workforce needs and trends. Local business donations and state funding has allowed Minnesota West to introduce four new degree programs, including health IT, pharmacy technician, mechatronics, and welding and re-established the carpentry and precision machining programs all to meet workforce gaps. Nursing is one of the largest programs at Minnesota West, holding the top Minnesota State licensure passing rate for LPN preparing programs in the state.

Minnesota West is reaching into the community and preserving local industries through three distinct program areas of small business management, farm business management, and lamb and wool management. These programs reach more than 600 small and family businesses in the region by focusing on their business and family goals, maintaining solid records for business and tax planning, as well as offer an emphasis on transition planning.

The lamb and wool program at Minnesota West is unique to any program in Minnesota with instructors providing quality sheep production education. Farmers in the program benefit from an unbiased instructor coming to their farms to give recommendations for improving production practices through improved feeding systems, animal housing and handling, as well as nutritional and animal health.

Minnesota West is intimately woven into the social, economic, educational, and family fabric of southwest Minnesota.

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Link to PDF file of Economic Contribution Analysis of Minnesota West
 

Minnesota West Ranked in Most Affordable Online Colleges for IT

11/8/18

SR Education group has announced that Minnesota West is ranked in the 2019 Most Affordable Online Colleges for Information Technology for the Information Technology program.

This ranking recognizes colleges across the nation that are working to provide economical options with fully online offerings. Minnesota West Community & Technical College is recognized in this ranking for offering Associate Degrees in Information Technology.

Minnesota West is ranked 18 in the top 25 of schools across the nation. A full list of schools is available at https://www.onlineu.org/most-affordable-colleges/information-technology-associate-degrees.

Including the Information Technology program, Minnesota West offers over 60 majors and technical degrees to choose from including 25 different Computer programs, with various certificate and degree options available.

For more information contact 507-658-2330 or visit www.mnwest.edu