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Campus News

Charting the Future


9/30/14

Minnesota West Community & Technical College and other Minnesota State Colleges and Universities are engaged in a collaborative process to develop specific actions to better serve our 435,000 students and communities, strengthen our colleges and universities, and protect our unique character and autonomy.


Even though we remain steadfastly committed to our compact with Minnesota, we know too well that our ability to fulfill this promise is at risk – threatened by challenges that could weaken educational quality and our ability to deliver on our commitments:

  • Funding shifts that threaten quality, access, and affordability;

  • Increasing competition that affects enrollments in our degree programs, customized training and continuing education;

  • Population shifts in which a larger share of Minnesotans are moving to a handful of metropolitan areas; and

  • Threats to our authority to govern.

 

At the same time, emerging trends create opportunities for us to become stronger and serve students in new ways:

  • Dramatic growth in the diversity of the students we serve;

  • Growth in the number of students enrolled in multiple colleges and universities within our system;

  • Changes in technology that create new opportunities for how students can learn, how we can teach and support their learning, and how we can work together;

  • The changing nature of work and what it means to be well prepared for jobs and careers; and

  • The growing need for us to demonstrate the capabilities of our graduates.


The effort addressing these challenges is Charting the Future, and the work stems from six recommendations developed with input from more than 5,000 students, faculty, and staff which were adopted by the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Board of Trustees in November 2013:

  • Dramatically increase the success of all learners, especially those in diverse populations traditionally underserved by higher education. Read more.

  • Develop a collaborative and coordinated academic planning process that advances affordability, transferability, and access to our programs and services across the state. Read more.

  • Certify student competencies and capabilities, expand pathways to accelerate degree completion through credit for prior learning, and foster the award of competency-based credit and degrees. Read more.

  • Expand the innovative use of technology to deliver high quality online courses, strengthen classroom instruction and student services, and provide more individualized learning and advising. Read more.

  • Work together under new models to be the preferred provider of comprehensive workplace solutions through programs and services that build employee skills and solve real-world problems for communities and businesses across the state. Read more.

  • Redesign our financial and administrative models to reward collaboration, drive efficiencies, and strengthen our ability to provide access to an extraordinary education for all Minnesotans. Read more.

  • To act on the recommendations and translate them into specific actions, eight campus-led implementation teams comprised of students, faculty, and staff were launched. You can view the full rosters here.


The implementation teams currently convening include:


The implementation teams that began convening this fall include:


Tell us what you think

Please consider actively participating in shaping this effort using the resources below: