NEWS | December 2006 - all articles
This page includes all articles in the December issue of NEWS. Return to summary of articles.
Education Agenda Triggers Positive Responses
Leaders in study abroad
Two for the price of one: combining learning with community service
Holiday events galore
Reason #3 (from 10 reasons Minnesota needs private colleges)
BRIEFS
Education Agenda Triggers Positive Response
Attention is growing for the 2007 Education Agenda for the Common Good, released by the Minnesota Private College Council Nov. 16.
While media attention is important to building broad awareness, the Council has also been focusing on connecting directly with various stakeholders. For example, on the day of the release, before the agenda was shared with reporters, the Council held a meeting with a variety of community leaders. This was a particularly good opportunity to reconnect with stakeholders whose views were solicited in the development of the agenda. Other discussions with business and community leaders have been underway.
The agenda addresses two main challenges.
- To increase academic readiness and high school graduation rates, the state can:
- Expand proven access programs for high school students,
- Create new academic scholarships for first-generation high school students, whose parents haven’t completed college, and
- Generate greater public awareness of the importance of post-high school education.
- To improve the ability of low- and middle-income Minnesotans to afford post-high school education, the state can:
- Increase need based state aid through the State Grant Program, and
- Improve childcare support for student parents.
One strong endorsement for a component of the agenda has already emerged. The Minnesota Chamber of Commerce has come out strongly in favor of increasing funding for the state’s need-based aid for college students through the State Grant Program. The chamber sees this program as the best way to increase accessibility for the emerging workforce.
Initial newspaper and broadcast media coverage of the agenda focused on another component — the creation of new academic scholarships for high school students whose parents didn’t complete college themselves. In addition, two editorials have run in the Twin Cities that address the agenda. The Pioneer Press editorial noted the pending problem of demand for college-educated workers exceeding the supply. The agenda was outlined, with the suggestion that given the sizable demographic changes coming, Minnesota needs to get ready. The StarTribune editorial said the State Grant Program is due for a boost. It also credited the Council for coming up with an agenda that “tackles head-on a problem that is barreling straight at the Minnesota economy.”
Efforts to build attention for the agenda with various stakeholders and the public will continue. If you have a suggestion of a group or individual whom the Council should approach to discuss the state’s demographic challenges and this education agenda, contact Kate Metzger, (651) 293-6830.
Leaders in study abroad
Minnesota’s private colleges are leading the way in undergraduate study abroad participation, according to the latest Open Doors report published by the Institute of International Education. The report indicates that in 2004-2005, of Minnesota students studying abroad, 58 percent attended the 17 institutions of the Minnesota Private College Council (MPCC) compared to 30 percent at the University of Minnesota and 12 percent at state universities.
In addition, many of Minnesota’s private colleges lead the nation in participation. Among the top 20 baccalaureate institutions for study abroad participation, five MPCC member schools were listed. St. Olaf College ranked number one and was joined by the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University (two), Concordia College-Moorhead (seven) and Gustavus Adolphus College (17). Additionally, among the top 20 research institutions, the University of St. Thomas ranked third overall and was the only Minnesota school to appear on the list.
MPCC colleges and universities offer a wide variety of study abroad programs, making it manageable for students to fulfill course requirements while participating in these global experiences. Trip lengths can vary from semester-long experiences lasting several months to January or May term trips lasting 3-4 weeks to summer opportunities. All opportunities offer students the chance to explore topics such as the arts, science or history in a broader, more global context, while allowing students to experience different cultures. Study abroad enriches students’ academic experiences and their perspectives of the world by engaging them in learning outside the classroom.
The U.S. Senate passed a resolution designating 2006 as the “Year of Study Abroad.” The resolution encourages initiatives and opportunities for students to study abroad. Examples of current study abroad offerings at MPCC institutions include study in Namibia to learn about globalization and nation-building (Augsburg College); travel to Scandinavia to study environmental, social and cultural sustainability (College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University) and study of biology in India (St. Olaf College). As interest increases among students, MPCC schools are continually adding and expanding the opportunities available to students.
The strength of our study abroad programs can be attributed in part to the liberal arts emphasis on global diversity and awareness. Our institutions also are committed to preparing students to be good citizens and exemplary leaders through international education. Study abroad experiences allow students to expand and build on such vital skills as communicating and relating to people across cultures. Such skills are becoming increasingly important and necessary to students who will be working and contributing in an ever-changing global environment.
Two for the price of one: combining learning with community service
A liberal arts education is not just about classroom learning; it also is about integrating academics with learning outside the classroom to develop the whole person and make better citizens. To make sure this happens, all 17 of the Minnesota Private College Council member campuses incorporate “service learning” activities into curricula combining academics with community service.
At Bethel University, as part of the Understanding Diversity course that all education majors take, students participate in the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) tutoring program in St. Paul Public Schools. AVID helps prepare students from the “academic middle” — many of whom are either from first-generation or underrepresented racial or ethnic families — for enrollment in four-year colleges.
For many of Bethel’s white students, this is their first direct experience working with people from other ethnic communities. They work with groups of high school students who plan to attend college — serving as their tutors, coaches and role models. "It's huge for students to have a place where people think of them as ‘college-bound,’” says Bethel junior Nathan Elliot. The Bethel students cover assigned material, but they are also responsible for getting the high school students to work together and see each other as resources. "It's a shared learning experience," says Bethel student Greta Johnson, "it's very collaborative and we both benefit."
Professor Robin Hasslen, who teaches Understanding Diversity, believes it is essential that future educators spend time in the field working with diverse classrooms. The one-to-one interaction offered by AVID is a great initial entry, according to Hasslen. “Our Bethel students form relationships with the AVID students, thereby engaging in the type of experiential education which changes lives, is reciprocal and beneficial for all participants, and cannot be acquired through college coursework or textbooks.”
Service learning is very much encouraged at Bethel for its experience-broadening benefits, say Elliott and Johnson. They credit their AVID experience with showing them how as teachers they can effect social change. "I've learned that it's not just what you teach, but how. We have to be a positive role model, build relationships with students and treat everyone like they have the same capacity [for learning and success]," says Johnson. Bethel participant Anna Jean Sullivan adds, "For the first time, we've had a proactive diversity education."
Macalester faculty participated in a faculty development seminar on community-based learning
At Macalester College, service to society is an integral part of the school’s mission. This focus is evident in its multifaceted Lake Street Global Borderland project with the Minnesota Historical Society and several partners from the Lake Street area in Minneapolis. During the past three semesters, 12 Macalester classes from a wide range of departments have participated in projects to document and tell the community’s history. The Lake Street corridor is one of the most racially, ethnically and economically diverse areas of the Twin Cities and includes many immigrant and refugee communities. The work will culminate in a major historical exhibition, “Lake Street Intersections,” which will open in fall 2007 at the Minnesota History Center.
Students have been involved in the project in many ways, depending on which course they took. Laura Zeccardi, as part of the course “Public History: Making History Matter Beyond the Academy,” is researching the story of the Sears Building site and its transformation into the Midtown Global Market. She interviewed former Sears employees and neighborhood residents to get a better sense of the impact of the site. “People have many memories around Sears and when I interviewed them, they realized that their stories and history fit in a larger context.” Zeccardi says that the positive focus of this project has meant a lot to residents who’ve so often seen the Lake Street area portrayed in negative terms. She also says that delving into pubic history for the first time has been a real learning experience. “Using the History Center for primary research, learning how to do oral history and putting together an exhibit has been really great.”
Zeccardi will graduate in the spring with a double major in history and music and is already applying for graduate school in public history. “I enjoy looking at history, not just from books, but by bringing in the people who were involved.”
Other Global Borderland projects have included:
- Each student in “Women and Politics” created a display on one woman’s life story; the displays were exhibited at the Blue Moon Coffee Café.
- Students in “Frames and Methods in Performance Studies” created and performed a dance and drama at Patrick’s Cabaret based on community stories they researched.
- Students in “Consumer Nation” researched and created displays about stores and businesses along Lake Street and “Latino Politics” students researched how the recent Latino immigration to Minneapolis has transformed the street. Work from both classes was on exhibit at the Resource Center of the Americas.
When a service learning experience works well, students gain new knowledge, develop practical skills and begin to understand civic responsibility — and the community reaps the benefits of access to and relationships with academic institutions.
Holiday events galore
Our 17 campuses celebrate the holiday season with a variety of events that showcase the talent of students and reach out to the broader community. Ranging from traditional and not-so-traditional music concerts to tree lightings, lectures, dance performances and art sales, there is something for everyone. We estimate that more than 180,000 attend these events each holiday season. Although most events occur in early December, several of the concerts are re-broadcast later on Twin Cities Public Television (TPT) or Minnesota Public Radio (MPR). Check the MPR and TPT holiday schedules for details.
Reason #3 (from 10 reasons Minnesota needs private colleges)
Educating Andrea, Antonio and AmunMinnesota’s private colleges enrolled more than 57,000 students in fall 2006.
- One in five college students in Minnesota attends one of our institutions.
- One in ten private college students is a student of color.