MSCTC

I just had to share this on my blog! The link is not working, so here is the article from the Fergus Falls Daily Journal and can be found at the website below!

http://wp.fergusfallsjournal.com/2010/08/31/m-state-among-top-colleges/

M State among top colleges

Published 10:17am Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Minnesota State Community and Technical College-Fergus Falls has been named one of the top 50 two-year colleges in the nation, the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MNSCU) system announced Monday.

M State in Fergus Falls placed 37th in the annual ranking of “America’s Best Colleges” published in the September-October issue of Washington Monthly magazine. Five other Minnesota schools were also named.

“We are proud of the Fergus Falls campus and the entire college for the growing success we have had with student experience, retention and graduation rates,” said Dr. Ann Valentine, president of M State. “The data used in the Washington Monthly article was based on those factors to quantify student metrics, not to develop a college ranking, but we are happy to be recognized. M State’s students, faculty and staff continue to do great things!”

The rankings are based on data provided by the Comm-unity College Survey of Student Engagement, established by the Comm-unity College Leadership Program at the University of Texas at Austin, and graduation data from the U.S. Department of Education. Student engagement data comes from surveys of students at about 650 community colleges.

Saint Paul College ranked first based on student-faculty interaction, support for learning, graduation rates and collaborative learning methods. The college was also cited for efficiency by spending less than $10,000 per student. The other Minnesota colleges that ranked among the top 50 are the Northeast Higher Education District-Itasca Community College, 5th ; Alexandria Technical and Community College, 8th; Minnesota West Community and Technical College, Pipestone, 30th; and the Northeast Higher Education District-Vermilion Community College, 43rd.

“We are pleased that six of our colleges ranked among the top 50 in the nation,” Scott Olson, interim vice chancellor of academic and student affairs at MNSCU, stated in a press release. “Faculty and staff at all 25 community and technical colleges have worked hard to engage students, keep costs low and serve groups that traditionally have been underrepresented in higher education — low-income students, students of color and first-generation college students. Being recognized for these efforts is gratifying, but the real reward is in helping all those students achieve their dreams.”