Rainy River Community College Provost Michael Johnson outlined some of the college’s assets, as well as some of its challenges during a Brown Bag Luncheon hosted by the International Falls Area Chamber of Commerce Wednesday.
“You have a great college in this community, and you don’t want to lose it,” Johnson said, adding that the college, with a $4.3 million annual budget — with the majority of funds spent locally — and which provides training for many local enterprises, has an impact on the community.
“I’m not crying chicken little that the sky is falling and I’m not Pollyanna, that everything is great,” Johnson said. “We’ve got challenges ... but I am very optimistic about what’s going to happen at Rainy River Community College in the future.
“And while I don’t think we have the fear necessarily of closing this college, we want it to be a thriving, successful college that people look at as the star of the north up here and really want to go to.”
To do that, Johnson said that the school needs to expand programming, set itself apart from competing colleges, and use partnerships and collaboration to make the best use of resources.
“If we just sit around and wait, if we can’t adapt to things that are going on, it’s going to be very challenging,” Johnson said.
One of those challenges is meeting goals for full-time equivalent students. This fall, Johnson said RRCC met its goal of 280 FTE. He hopes to retain those FTEs and expand to 300 FTE next year.
To meet that goal, Johnson said a working relationship between RRCC and Falls High School is imperative.
“I really believe that for the future of not only the school district, but of the college it is going to be critical — the relationship between the college and the school district. If that doesn’t happen I really think it’s going to be difficult.”
Johnson acknowledged District 361 Assistant Superintendent Kevin Grover in the audience, and said that while he understands the district’s concerns about the Post-Secondary Enrollment Options Program, in which advanced high school students are able to take courses at RRCC for college credit.
“(PSEOP is) not good for the high school. Plain and simple it is not good,” Johnson said. “We get a lot of enrollment. And for many, many students it’s a wonderful opportunity to be able to get college credit and go on. My only concern about PSEO is that many times it’s only done for the financial benefit.”
He said that some students who ordinarily would not be ready for college material were being encouraged to go the PSEOP route. Instead, Johnson pointed to a concurrent education model where teachers would be able to work at both high school and college campuses to make the best use of time and resources.
He talked specifically about creating a building between the two campuses that would house industrial-type programs for both high school and college. He is currently talking to state legislators about securing bonding for such a program, he said.
When Johnson asked a colleague at Itasca Community College, Aaron Wenger, about Rainy prior to his accepting the position, Johnson remembers that Wenger said, “Sometimes I get frustrated when I think of Rainy ... They have all of these great assets but they don’t take advantage of them.”
He mentioned Rainy Lake, Voyageurs National Park, Canada, and Boise Inc. as some of the assets that would lead to a world-class math and science education experience.
“Can you imagine doing your internship at VNP if you’re going to be a science teacher? The Ash River (nutrino detector) project? There are phenomenal opportunities,” Johnson said.
Johnson said a grant-writing process is moving forward to fund a math and science teacher program at RRCC.
Tammy Cook, academic services director, detailed the success of the new green and sustainable construction technology program that started this fall, in conjunction with classes offered at Falls High School. She said the nearly 30 students involved in the high school and college cohorts are working to complete a Minnesota Green Star certified home and are even looking to improve the standards on the homes they build next year.
Johnson also said a thriving nursing program, which would undoubtedly be full again next fall, has been a boost to enrollment and is a draw to the college.
With several new ideas for programs on the horizon, Johnson said getting students in the door was important.
“If we didn’t bring in students from other areas, we wouldn’t have a college here,” he said, noting that recruitment was very important.
Johnson said the most successful way to get students to RRCC is to get into the state’s high schools and establish relationships with schools.
And that can be seen by the changing demographics at the school, said LeAnne Hardy, RRCC student services director.
“We are a changed student body at Rainy River ... a lot of hard work on everybody at the college’s part,” she said.
Hardy explained that students have come from several states as far away as Arizona and Alaska to attend RRCC. Her target market, she said, is west of International Falls towards Thief River and into Canada.
“Scholarships are the way to kids’ hearts,” she told the group gathered. Johnson invited several members of the staff, including Hardy, to speak Wednesday.
Last year, RRCC gave out just less than $2 million in financial aid, Johnson said, including federal grants, loans, and work study; and the Rainy River Community College Foundation awarded $53,000 in scholarships last year.
And once students are there, Brad Krasaway, academic advisor and director of student life, said he wants to make sure they have an enjoyable experience and continue their education outside the classroom.
“Education is all about harnessing teachable moments,” said Krasaway. “And whether some people want to admit it or not teachable moments don’t always happen in the classroom. Most of the time they happen outside the classroom. I try to harness teachable moments that happen outside the classroom as well as create some.”
Krasaway, who is new to the school this year, said diversity programs, multicultural speakers, motivational speakers, clubs and organizations and even the occasional dodge ball or badminton tournaments lead to teachable moments.
Having a physical campus with instructors and a dormitory, Johnson said, completes a student’s educational experience and gets them excited to go to Rainy River.
The provost also explained that, especially in this community, online courses are not the savior of higher education.
“It’s not a matter of ‘If you have online, you have access.’ People aren’t going to go to college if they don’t have a place and they don’t have that human contact,” he said.
Julie Schumacher, with RRCC’s customized training and continuing education program, said using the services that her department provides help even those who have been in the work force a while to use the college’s services to increase their skills and/or provide employees with additional on-the-job training.
“I’m always looking for customer input so that what I offer is very relevant to you,” Schumacher told the business people in attendance. “It’s a great option not to leave International Falls.”
Schumacher said if an employer is looking for training the local market can not fulfill, she works with other colleges in the state to find an expert in that field and bring them to the International Falls to give a customized learning experience.
