Education Notebook

HealthForce Minnesota grants $25k for nursing program, $50k for mobile science lab

Two local organizations have received thousands of dollars to develop healthcare careers and innovation, as HealthForce Minnesota has awarded $50,000 to Southeast Service Cooperative and $25,000 to Rochester Community and Technical College.
Eight statewide grants, totaling $320,000, were awarded to programs that demonstrated an ability to improve healthcare practice, education and research, while fostering a strong connection between education and the healthcare industry.
RCTC has been awarded the grant for creation of an innovative model advancing baccalaureate nursing education in Minnesota. The curriculum will be designed after the Oregon Consortium of Nursing Education model and will lead to the advancement of a dual-admission nursing program between RCTC and Winona State University.
Southeast Service Cooperative has been awarded a K-12 vision for youth grant and will partner with Mayo Clinic and Rochester Area Math Science to develop a second Mobile Science Lab for use by high school teachers.
The Mobile Science Lab allows students to utilize thousands of dollars of scientific equipment without leaving the classroom. It was created in association with Mayo Clinic, the Rochester Area Math and Science Partnership and funded through a $75,000 grant by HealthForce Minnesota. The trailer is outfitted with roughly $50,000 of equipment.

In a release, HealthForce Minnesota staff said the group seeks new collaborative models that integrate health science education and practice, and have the potential for sustainability and awards grants accordingly.

LINK: HealthForce Minnesota (Web site)

Swipe: Leading E-Textbook Seller Reports 400 Percent Sales Increase in 2009

In a "water is wet story" to your humble ink-stained eye-strained(?) wretch, e-textbooks seem to be gaining in popularity, as the largest e-book seller has reported a yearly sales increase of 400 percent.

My regular reader might recall the story we wrote about the proliferation of electronic textbooks on college campuses, specifically Winona State University.

At the time, it showed that the technology was on the rise, but yet students were still using print books more often. That shows true with this article from The Chronicle of Higher Education, which states the the leading E-book textbook seller reported a 400 percent sales increase during the past year.

Oh, and some computer company that seems to dominate all things peripheral is planning on some "large announcement" later this month. (Apple is expected to release the iTablet.)

Are we watching the final tipping point of electronic versus print media? Links below.

LINK: Leading E-book company sees skyrocketing sales
LINK: E-books gain clicks on Winona State campus

Trend: More community colleges offering four-year degrees, don't expect RCTC to join

Community colleges in Minnesota are becoming more popular -- with our local Rochester Community and Technical College experiencing record enrollment growth lately -- but in Florida, schools are taking the community out of their name.

From an article in the Tampa Tribune:

Of the 28 community colleges across Florida, 14 offer full, four-year diplomas, and at least three others are seeking the state's approval to start. Several have shed the "community" in their names.

Manatee Community College is now the State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota. It offers only one bachelor's program, in nursing, but has proposed adding five more, including degrees in early childhood education and health care administration.

I find this interesting because RCTC obviously has a strong nursing program and continues to grow. But I wouldn't expect them to shed the community college label. I talked to college officials about that several months ago and the idea of having four-year degrees didn't seem to move them at this point. RCTC already has a strong partnership with Winona State University, which has a Rochester campus on the RCTC site Students can earn a Winona State degree without ever setting foot on the Winona campus.

So it wouldn't make too much sense for RCTC to go at four-year degrees on their own. But in a few years, who knows?

LINK: Community colleges offering four-year degrees

Articles: Electronic books growing in popularity, but some students still reluctant to make switch

Here are two stories about the rise of electronic media, at the expense of printed books on college campuses. Every time I write articles about electronic files replacing print, the irony is not lost. I had to laugh when writing about students who aren't adapting yet to electronic media -- it makes me think of a hay salesmen bragging up his product to people in line for the new Model T.

ANYWAY, the death of print may not be directly upon us, but one has to think that - at least on campuses - it's going to come exponentially. If something is cheaper during these times, people will latch onto it. And since e-books are much cheaper, there's your variable.

LINK: E-Books gain ground on college campuses

LINK: Even with e-books, student hit print button

(*Ed note: Stories appear truncated online for the first day because of a new policy. They will appear in full on Wednesday. I'm not allowed to post them in full until they appear that way online. This policy is only for "enterprise" type stories. Meeting coverage and breaking news will not fall under this guide. Basically, it's a way to encourage people to buy the paper, rather than leech it for free online.)

Article: Local college enrollments continue upward

Here's an article from today's paper about local college enrollments continuing to grow...

By Elliot Mann / emann[at]postbulletin.com

Blame it on a slumping economy and workers driven to improve their skills, but colleges in southeastern Minnesota are again reporting enrollment increases.

More students have enrolled at Winona State University this fall than ever before in the college’s 151-year history, with 8,606 students attending school this year. That’s up from 8,450 last fall. Other schools are seeing similar trends.

Compared to last year, Rochester Community and Technical College is up 7.5 percent in terms of credits sold this fall. Riverland Community College in Austin is up about 13 percent in credits sold, while Winona State-Rochester has a student head count increase of about 11 percent.

The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system hasn’t released official 30-day numbers yet. They are expected to do so this week.

Riverland Community College President Terry Leas said the gains are multidimensional. “One is obviously dislocated workers coming for training so they can get jobs,” Leas said. “Also, there are students who ordinarily go from high school to a university, but their parents had college funds that may have tanked with the market, so they are using community college as a short-term option to save money.”

Another group enrolling at community colleges are those already employed, but are looking to better their job skills or training.

Rochester Community and Technical College Chief of Strategic Operations Dave Weber said he is hopeful that the growth can also be attributed to stronger recruiting measures. Now, the college offers customized communication with prospective students.

“We’ve gotten smarter with a lot of our management of student interest, and we’re converting higher numbers,” Weber said.

At Winona State-Rochester, the growth can also be linked to the jump of students at RCTC.  Of the 137 new undergraduate transfer students to WSU-Rochester this fall, 84 percent (115 students) came from RCTC.

Winona State Director of Undergraduate Admissions Carl Stange said that has been by design, as school staff have tried to forge strong relationships with the RCTC campus.

As for Winona State as a whole, the affordability of the school has been attractive in this marketplace, Stange said.

Winona State: The only MnSCU college where you can rent a car for $8

Winona State University starting today will rent three cars, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to campus students and staff.

The program, launched with Zipcar, is meant to wean people away from owning their own cars, and renting a vehicle only when needed.

Rates will be $8 an hour, or $66 per day on weekdays and $9 per hour and $72 per day on weekends. People won't have to pay gas or maintenance charges, apparently. (I'm wondering if people will be offered insurance like on rental cars. A certain "Seinfeld" episode is coming to mind, but that's another story.)

With only three cars they won't be challenging for the market share abdicated by Denny Hecker's absence, and Winona isn't exactly New York City as far as not needing an automobile.

But at the very least, it's another option. The release is below:

RELEASE:

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. and WINONA, Minn., Sept. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Winona State
University (WSU) officially launches Zipcar on campus in an effort to reduce
demand for parking, decrease carbon emissions and offer students, faculty and
staff a convenient, economical and environmentally friendly alternative to
owning a car.

Starting today, three self-service Zipcars -- two Toyota Matrixes and a Toyota
Prius -- will be available for use 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The cars
are located in three dedicated spots near Kryzsko Commons and Sheehan Hall and
are available to all students and employees aged 18 and over. Gas,
maintenance, insurance and reserved parking are included in the low hourly and
daily rates.

Kurt Lohide, WSU Vice President for Finance and Administrative Services will
kick off a special event, which will feature remarks from Winona Mayor Jerry
Miller and WSU Student Senate President Caitlin Stene, as well as prizes and
refreshments.

The partnership with Zipcar is part of the university's sustainability
initiative, launched when WSU President Judith Ramaley signed the American
College and University Presidents Climate Commitment in 2007. Along with
Zipcar, WSU will also offer a bike-sharing program this fall. Through the
Purple Bike Rental Program, students and employees will be able to check out
bikes, helmets and locks free of charge.

"Winona State University is committed to reducing its carbon footprint," said
Ramaley. "Investing in alternative transportation is one facet of the
university's overall approach to sustainability, and we're proud to partner
with Zipcar to provide our community with a versatile alternative to
personally-owned vehicles."

Zipcar provides students and employees the freedom of car ownership - for
errands, entertainment or road trips - without the associated cost and hassle
of owning a car. Zipcar also eliminates hundreds of dollars in monthly
transportation costs, saving members an average of $600/month or $7,200/year
when compared with car ownership - money that can be put toward other expenses
such as tuition and housing. The service also benefits faculty and staff who
bike, carpool or ride transit to work, by giving them access to a car during
the day if they need one.

"Zipcar is a perfect solution for universities, giving people access to a car
when they need one, without having to bring one to campus," said Matthew
Malloy, Vice President of Global University Operations for Zipcar. "Winona
will also make these cars available to community members, further promoting
sustainability on and off campus."

Faculty, staff and students can join Zipcar for $35 and will receive a $35
driving credit for the first month of their membership. Zipcar members can
drive for as little as $8 per hour or $66 per day on weekdays and $9 per hour
or $72 per day on weekends. Local Winona residents ages 18 and older can join
for $75 ($25 one-time application fee and $50 annual fee). All members 21 and
over will have access to Zipcar's network of more than 5,500 vehicles
throughout the UK and North America.

More information, including how to sign up, is available online at:
www.zipcar.com/winona.

Winona State is the first school in the Minnesota State Colleges and
Universities system to work with Zipcar, which was selected based on its
superior technology platform, membership experience, and track record of
providing peer universities with a proven, cost-effective and environmentally
friendly transportation solution.

Among the dozens of colleges that have partnered with Zipcar to reduce
traffic, noise and parking demands are University of Minnesota, MIT, Columbia,
Georgetown, American University, Harvard University, University of Toronto,
University of North Carolina, University of Chicago, UCLA and Amherst.

More information about Zipcar's university programs is available at
www.zipcar.com/universities

About Winona State University
Founded in 1858, Winona State University is a comprehensive, regional public
university with more than 8,000 students. For more information, visit: www.winona.edu.

About Zipcar
Zipcar is the world's leading car-sharing service with 325,000 members and
6,500 vehicles in urban areas and college campuses throughout 28 North
American states and provinces as well as in London, England. More information is available at www.Zipcar.com.

Article: Irony of reading a story in the newspaper about 'Area colleges going paperless' is not lost

 Here's a swipe from today's paper about local colleges that are choosing to no longer print course guides and other materials. Instead, they are moving everything online. 

Yes, I can see the 20,000 pound elephant in the room.

While I think the parallel to the newspaper industry is worth noting, that angle really doesn't fit into the story. Anyways though, that discussion is for a different day...

(Will update with link when story goes live. And yes, I used this as an excuse to show a picture someone forwarded me of the new TCF Bank Stadium.)

Area colleges going paperless
By Elliot Mann / emann[at]postbulletin.com

Want to check out the courses offered at Rochester Community and Technical College? Better go online.

The local two-year college is one of many across the state and country that are scaling back efforts to print hard copies of school information, instead directing students to the Web, in saving printing and postage costs.

Other colleges — like Winona State University for one — are getting rid of athletic media guides, while many others are scaling back printed promotional materials.

At Rochester Community and Technical College, savings across the entire campus are hard to pinpoint. But the college’s Chief of Strategic Operations Dave Weber said the move has saved thousands from the yearly budget in his department alone.

“Even eight years ago, we were probably spending $100,000 more on printing,” Weber said. “Today, it’s less than $15,000.”

The department was also able to heavily reduce its annual postage budget, which at one point was near $20,000.

The change has been clear at the emerging University of Minnesota-Rochester campus, which this fall will enroll its inaugural undergraduate class.

University of Minnesota-Rochester Assistant Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Kendra Weber said the school isn’t printing a course catalog or “view book” for students.

“We’re really trying to drive students to our Web site,” Kendra Weber said.

Class schedules and information often change within six months, she said, leaving the unyielding books out of date within weeks. Keeping it online allows staff to seamlessly update the information with a couple mouse clicks, rather than thousands of dollars in new books.

Meanwhile, University of Minnesota News Service Director Daniel Wolter said the entire system has scaled back print operations. For about a decade, the official means of communication has been e-mail.

Budgetary issues have also contributed to a paperless system systemwide. The University last fall suspended publication of one alumni magazine that was sent to each of the more than 400,000 living graduates. In its absence, representatives stepped up the alumni Internet presence.

Doing away with the print version saved $400,000 annually, Wolter said. “We have for quite some time been moving slowly toward a paperless process."

College representatives said that students overwhelmingly support a text message or e-mail much more than a traditional stamped letter. Around 2000, Rochester Community and Technical College commissioned a study by SNG Research to see how students preferred to have information delivered to them.

The results came back that about half desired an electronic format, Weber said.

That was nearly a decade ago.

“When you think of our institution, when seven out of 10 students are ages 18 to 24, they’re web savvy,” Dave Weber said. “You’re not running into problem where people don’t have access to the Internet. The presence of the Internet is well into the 90 percent saturation point in this marketplace.”
If someone doesn’t open an e-mail in three days, he said software notifies the college, which allows staff to send traditional hard copy to the students.

Taking the move even another step, RCTC representatives are rolling out a new program in the coming weeks that uses the Internet rather than print materials in attracting new students. Similar to a personalized Google.com home page, prospective students will e-mail the university about their different interests, and then RCTC staff will e-mail back a personalized Web page.

“Now we’re moving toward mass customization,” Dave Weber said.

For more information, go to Postbulletin.com/weblinks.
Rochester Community and Technical College
http://www.rctc.edu
University of Minnesota-Rochester
http://www.r.umn.edu/