New curricula for changing times

By Anne Blackhurst

Earning a university education is no longer a pursuit primarily for 18to 22-year-old students who are leaving home for the first time to walk the halls of ivy-covered campuses. Increasingly, students are earning degrees without leaving home, and without being forced to give up their established careers.

In May, Prairie Business carried the story of Jennifer Sundby, a wife, mother of four (soon-to-be mother of five) and school principal in Maddock, N.D., who earned a master’s degree in school leadership from Minnesota State University Moorhead. For Jennifer, the path to advancing her career did not require giving up everything else important in her life. And as a virtual life-long learner, Jennifer is not alone.

MSU Moorhead offers 18 fully online programs — both degrees and certificates — in areas identified by the business and educational communities as high demand. Four of the programs lead to an undergraduate degree (Business Administration, Nursing, Operations Management, and Project Management).

Seven of the programs lead to graduate degrees (Healthcare Administration, Nursing, Business Administration, Business Administration with Healthcare Management, Curriculum and Instruction, Educational Leadership, and Special Education).

A new doctoral program in Educational Leadership is awaiting final approval from the Higher Learning Commission, and we hope to welcome our first students this fall.

The growth in online higher education should not be taken as evidence that those idealized ivy-covered walls are going the way of the horse-drawn carriage or the Commodore computer. I believe the future of higher education requires a flexibility to respond in a variety of ways to the needs of individuals and the greater community.

Several times a year, we partner with the Greater Fargo/Moorhead Economic Development Corp. and our two-year partner institution M State-Moorhead to engage business and industry leaders in conversations about the trends they see and how we can better prepare their future employees. Literally dozens of initiatives have sprouted from these conversations, including new degree options and exciting enhancements to established programs.

For example, all of our Paseka School of Business students complete an experiential learning component while at MSUM. For some students, it may involve solving real-world business problems as part of the Dragon Consulting team. Others gain a deeper understanding of the world of finance through the Dragon Investment Fund. Still others get coaching and mentoring from local business executives.

Advice from business leaders and our own students has also led to the blurring of traditional disciplinary boundaries. Combining classes from different disciplines is a powerful means for students to be more competitive in the job market and more prepared for life after college.

At the MSUM Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, non-business majors learn how to start or run a business so they can stay in their chosen field by adding skills that transcend traditional academic paths. For example, do you love music and want to run a studio? Why not combine music industry and business classes?

My point in sharing these initiatives is to show that the stereotype of academic institutions being reluctant to change is disproven by the innovations on our campus and on campuses throughout this region. Individuals have abundant choices with an array of classes delivered online, in person or through a hybrid model combining both.

Businesses have a solid voice in shaping new curricula for their changing environments.

In the past several years, we took considerable time at MSU Moorhead to clarify our core purpose. After a lot of great conversation, we decided that our purpose, in its simplest form, is to transform the world by transforming lives.

This purpose statement is our guide as we seek ways to be indispensable to the social, cultural and economic advancement of this region. We won’t achieve these lofty goals by sitting still, but when I see how Jennifer Sundby was able to transform her life, and when I see hundreds of graduates like her earn their degrees through traditional and nontraditional means, I know we are having the impact society needs us to make. PB

Anne Blackhurst PRESIDENT, MINNESOTA STATE UNIVERSITY MOORHEAD MOORHEAD, MINN.