RRCC off to a positive start

Ken Simberg, interim provost at RRCC, has been on campus since June 1, and says he’s enjoying his position at the college and in the community.

“I am glad to be here,” he said. “I’m still learning my way around, but so far this is going really well.”

Wayne Merrill, the last permanent provost at RRCC, retired in late 2008. Sue Collins, the president of Northeast Higher Education District, temporarily put Mike Johnson in Merrill’s place for a year and half. While Johnson held the post at RRCC, he held the same position at Itasca Community College.

“Budget dollars didn’t allow for one permanent individual at either campus,” Simberg explained. “It was hoped that the economy and the budget for the college and enrollment would turn around enough for Rainy River to have a leadership position that was of their own and not shared.”

This year, even though things have improved, the college hasn’t reached the point where finances are enough to have a leader serving only RRCC. When the need for someone to fill the position came up again, Simberg, who was the provost at Hibbing Community College for five years, was contacted.

“I had previously talked to Sue and told her that if the need be, I’d be interested in doing a similar, shared position between Hibbing and Rainy,” Simberg said. “Well, here I am and I plan to improve the good things Mike put in place and make the college as strong and as independent as it can be.”

Juggling the same position at both colleges is a bit of a challenge for the Hibbing native at times. He is finding out that a set schedule doesn’t work. He spends one or two days each week on the RRCC campus and the remaining time in Hibbing, depending on meetings and events. His co-workers on both campuses are very understanding and helpful, which make the transition run much more smoothly, he said.

“I didn’t come into this shared position kicking and screaming,” he laughed. “I believe very strongly in access and opportunity of higher education and I know that because RRCC is very isolated, this college is important to this community. There is a lot of support for this institution.”

For the time Simberg spends at RRCC, he plans to focus a number of areas to improve, including enrollment. With the troubled state economy, enrollment is the only way to bring significant dollars to the college to improve the struggling budget situation, he said.

The number of students attending RRCC is up this year from previous years. The college set a target of 300 full-time equivalent students, and 308 are enrolled. Last year, there were 283 full-time students enrolled.

“That’s a pretty significant jump for us,” Simberg said. “We’re also up in head count. Counting every nose, we have 342 students. We’re doing the best job we can to recruit students and keep them here once they get here.”

Recruitment efforts

RRCC put forth a strong effort in recruitment for this year beginning with what Simberg calls concentric circles. The college started by bringing in local students and then expanded itself as necessary. Bringing new programs and opportunities to the campus was one of the biggest techniques used to appeal to students from Borderland and a variety of other areas.

“Industrial technology and green and sustainable construction were added,” he explained. “With the new IT program, we’re preparing students to work in an environment like Boise and the green and sustainable construction program is one in which we are partnering with the high school to interest students in the building trades fields.”

He went on to say that the need for an expansion in the nursing program was so high that the college not only expanded it for this year, but is looking to expand it further in the future, possibly as soon as this spring.

“With the back logs of waiting periods for nursing programs in the metro areas, students tend to find us and enroll in our program,” Simberg said. “We really do like to have students from all over.”

RRCC is also considering an expansion of the math and science areas. Bremer Bank and the Blandin Foundation teamed up to give the college grant money to begin educating students to be math and science teachers. Simberg believes RRCC’s ideal location will be the best place for this training to happen.

“We are using this year to plan on how to make this opportunity more appealing,” he said. “RRCC is in a unique area. Because it has Rainy Lake, Rainy River, the border, etc. in its back yard, this college is at an advantage to produce more science and math teachers. We will implement this idea more next year.”

Simberg said he hopes the program will increase enrollment even further and make RRCC a stronger institution.

“I want help preserve Rainy River, its mission, its goals and continue the good work that is happening in the college and make it as strong as possible.”