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Creating Pathways to Student Success

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Creating Pathways to Student Success
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11/18/21

While operating during a pandemic has introduced numerous challenges, across Minneapolis College we see many examples of progress toward our goal of equitably serving students and ensuring their success.

The onset of COVID-19 encouraged us to innovate and fine tune how best to meet student needs. We’ve continued to provide flexible offerings, including in-person, online and hybrid courses. Our focus on becoming a Guided Learning Pathways institution continues to help us refine our academic pathways to ensure a clear route to graduation.

Admissions has worked to demystify the college experience, making onboarding easy by tailoring information and support to meet individual needs. This gives new students less to worry about, so they can concentrate on their education.

Data shows that students who receive scholarships are more likely to persist, graduate at higher rates and have lower stop-out rates. Each year, we award more than half a million dollars in scholarships to students based on financial need, academic interest, volunteer experience or other activities. In addition to tuition and fees, scholarships provide for books, materials, tools and equipment. Our scholarships are now awarded on a rolling basis, making the process easier for students to understand and access.

The Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund III (HEERF III) includes aid to students and institutions. To combat the direct negative impact that COVID-19 has had on students, $1.1 million in outstanding debt was paid off in October. This debt was incurred during the pandemic by those Pell/MN Grant-eligible students demonstrating extraordinary need.
 
Minneapolis College meets students wherever they are on their academic journey, and we stand alongside them whenever they need access to resources, including counseling, food, housing assistance, recovery services, parenting resources and more. We even provide bus passes to ensure that students can get to-and-from the College with ease.

We challenge every department to discover new ways to equitably serve students with diverse needs and educational goals! Your innovation can help reverse the downward trend in enrollment, so that Minneapolis College will have the resources and stability necessary to fulfill our mission of empowering student success.

Finally, November is a time to give thanks for family and friends—and for our campus community. I encourage you to reach out to a coworker this month to express your appreciation for them. By caring for one another, we strengthen our community as we persevere through our challenges.

Sharon Pierce
Minneapolis College President

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