EAST GRAND FORKS – For Shari Olson, stepping into the role of interim president of Northland Community and Technical College this past summer “is like coming home,” she said.
Olson, who was raised on a farm northeast of East Grand Forks, has returned to the institution where she spent 13 years of her long career in higher education, which included positions in Wyoming, Arizona and the Twin Cities.
In her “State of the College” address Thursday, Oct. 17, she shared her background and updated the audience of business, industry, finance, government, education, health care and other area leaders on what’s happening at NCTC.
“Our role is to change lives,” Olson said. “That’s what we aspire to. That’s our North Star.”
Photo by Pamela Knudson / Obituary
Outlining the school’s goals and activities, she noted that its enrollment has been dropping and she has set a goal of growing enrollment. In the last fiscal year, the school’s full-time equivalent (or FTE) enrollment was 1,426; she has set a goal of increasing that figure by 10%, or 143, in the next three years.
In the fiscal year ending June 30, NCTC saw a total enrollment of 3,261 (many students take classes part time), which represents 2,382 freshman and sophomores and 879 high school students, the latter group enrolled in NCTC classes during high school. It is this latter category “is really where we’re seeing our growth – almost 100 more students from last fall to this fall,” Olson said.
The top five, concurrent enrollment schools, ranked by headcount, are: Lincoln High School of Thief River Falls, East Grand Forks Senior High, Fosston, Fertile-Beltrami and Bagley.
A total of $3.28 million will be invested in NCTC teaching and learning spaces, Olson said, and $2.436 million will be used to improve aerospace facilities. The college operates satellite facilities for state-of-the-art aerospace training in Warroad and Roseau, Minnesota.
Partnerships aimed at filling the demand for well-training qualified employees have been developed with organizations such as Marvin Windows, Northrop Grummond and the Grand Forks Public Schools’ Career Impact Academy.
For example, a new program, launched by NCTC this fall, is answering the pressing need for trained respiratory therapists here and in St. Cloud, Minnesota, Olson said. Twenty students are enrolled.
Photo by Tracy Jo Peterson, NCTC
The NCTC has also teamed up with Marvin Windows to create a mechatronics lab program in Warroad to help fill the need for skilled workers to operate and maintain the expanded automation used by manufacturing companies. Twenty-seven students are enrolled in the program at Warroad; one student drives from Canada to attend and will be the first graduate in May, Olson said.
During her presentation, Olson cited shared governance as another area of focus for NCTC. This initiative is intended as a means to stimulate ideas to stimulate the school’s growth and development. The plan in place “is not a top-down approach, but a bottom-up approach,” she said, and invites the submission of ideas through an online proposal process.
“Twelve proposals have come through, and we’ve only been up and running six weeks,” she said.
This fall, Olson noted that NCTC gave $214,175 in scholarships to students and expects to give a similar amount in the spring – accruing to about a half-million dollars in support for students as they pursue their educational and training goals.
Photo by Pamela Knudson / Obituary
To better inform regional secondary students about NCTC offerings, the college is planning to welcome students in grades 7-12 for the “Experience Northland Aerospace” event, during which they can choose from 10, 45-minute specialty classes – and get a firsthand taste of the type of training NCTC provides.
Olson, as interim president, replaced Sandy Kiddoo, who did not renew her contract past its expiration date, June 30. The initial steps in the search for the next president begin next week, when Minnesota State Chancellor Scott Olson visits, tours and conducts listening sessions at the NCTC campus here and in Thief River Falls.
The official presidential search process will begin in a few months, according to Chad Sperling, NCTC director of marketing and communications.
