Updates for fall include green and sustainable construction program, a new baseball team and Rainy Hall renovations
Rainy River Community College has built a momentum that Provost Michael Johnson said he hopes to see continue into the new school year.
An updated Rainy Hall, a new baseball team and the addition of a green and sustainable construction program at the school are some of the changes that students and faculty will see when school resumes Aug. 24.
Johnson, who has been at RRCC since March and splits his time with Itasca Community College, is — even before school begins — looking past the fall semester to ensure that the school remains financially sound despite statewide budget cuts to colleges and universities.
“We want to ensure Rainy River is a very alive and thriving place in the future, as it is now,” Johnson said.
He said the school is seeing a 20 percent increase in enrollment over this time last year, meaning the college is budgeting for 280, and hoping for 300, full-time students.
RRCC staff have not been told what its share of budget cuts will be, based on Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s unallotment plan that was announced last month, Johnson said.
However, the school is anticipating cuts for the 2010-2011 school year and is trying to find ways to mitigate the impact now.
One way school staff hope to handle the cuts is with the baseball program. The school has 18 players signed to play next year.
“I’m really looking forward to adding this to our list of student activities,” Johnson said.
The school is also looking to add and expand several academic programs.
Next school year, Rainy River will partner with the Falls High School teacher Ladd Kocinski to bring a green and sustainable construction program to the college.
“Green is the way, now,” Johnson said, adding that he is glad to enter into a mutually-beneficial collaboration with the local school district.
Rainy River will start its third year of the industrial technology program. The school works closely with the Boise Inc. mill through this program and its graduates are well situated for positions there after graduation, he said.
Johnson also has several ideas planned for the future.
One of these proposals is to add a spring semester nursing cohort. Johnson said that enough qualified students would need to apply for the additional program to begin.
“We need to make sure the students would have a good chance at success,” he said.
He is also working with Aaron Wenger, from the engineering program at Itasca Community College, to make RRCC a center for training math and science teachers.
He called the Borderland area, “quite a lab for science teachers,” and said that Rainy River would be the first two years towards a four-year math or science education degree at a university.
A local telescope, natural geology and wildlife, Voyageurs National Park, proximity to Canada, and a variety of other natural factors make this area a natural location for training the next generation of science teachers, Johnson said.
He is also looking into grants to, in the long term, consider a technology building on campus to house many of these programs.
Johnson attributes the increase in enrollment, which he said spans many of the college’s programs, in part to these new programs and also to the relatively lower cost of the community college compared to other education options.
The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities board Wednesday announced its tuition changes, which includes a $119 increase from 2009 to 2010, bringing the annual student tuition at the school to $4,066.
“It’s a pretty good deal,” Johnson said of an RRCC education, citing rising higher education costs across the board.
About 30 students are scheduled to move into the recently renovated Rainy Hall residence hall just before school opens in August. The building got a $350,000 makeover this summer, including a renovated roof, a fresh coat of paint, new siding, wireless Internet access throughout the building, and changes to the game room and resident bedrooms.
Johnson called the updated housing a, “real learning-living community” and said that the building is an integral part of the campus community.
The provost is in the process of hiring a residential life director, who will work directly with students living at Rainy Hall.
Overall, Johnson said that he is very impressed with the staff and faculty at the college and the way they have dealt with the changing programs and staff at the school, and he has a great optimism for the future of the school.
