MUSings Newsletter for Tuesday, June 30, 2020

MUSings
Tuesday
June 30, 2020

Clayton T. Christian
Commissioner of Higher Education

This spring, the Montana University System was honored to receive the Bernice Joseph Award for outstanding innovations that can be adopted and modeled by other academic institutions.

Presented by the Western Alliance of Community College Academic Leaders through WICHE, the award recognizes the MUS’ American Indian Student Success Dashboard.

As one would expect, the dashboard reports and parses data from enrollment to academics to financial aid. It sounds dry but, taken together, the metrics and measures tell a poignant human story – that of American Indian students who, despite being Montana’s First Peoples, have not enjoyed the same access to higher education – or the same level of success once there – as their peers.

Given that the most fundamental step in solving any problem is understanding it, the new dashboard, which came online last fall, is a cornerstone of the university system’s work to reverse this long-standing and unacceptable disparity. It is a mission that I am deeply committed to alongside our Montana Board of Regents.

In 2013, I convened the MUS American Indian and Minority Achievement Council to lead MUS' effort to close the access and academic achievement gap.

The Council has a three-pronged mission:

To make the MUS one of America’s premier public higher education systems for American Indian students, administrators, faculty and staff.
To ensure that every MUS institution does everything it can to remove barriers, obstacles and challenges that hinder student success, especially as they relate to American Indian students and other minorities.
To work with Montana Tribal Colleges to ensure mutually beneficial relationships and student success.

After much careful research, discussion and deliberation, the Council submitted a substantive package of recommendations to the Board of Regents in November 2017. The resulting campus action plans were initiated the following spring and updated in October 2019.

Here are a few cornerstones of the Council’s recommendations, which are now in place at every MUS institution:

All MUS institutions share data on American Indian student access and success to the dashboard, which establishes an accessible, digestible and up-to-date report on our progress to stakeholders throughout Montana.
New Montana University System employees receive training about Montana's First Peoples. To meet that requirement, the AIMA Council developed the Indian Education for All for One MUS training to help employees serve American Indian students from a place of awareness and sensitivity.
Each MUS campus has a single point of contact for American Indian students. This high-level campus administrator identifies coordinators in critical services such as financial aid, advising, residence life and professional development to ensure that American Indian students and other minorities are getting the right support at the right time.

This third action – the established network of advocates for American Indian students – proved vital as the MUS pivoted to remote learning with the onset of COVID-19. At Montana Tech in Butte, all American Indian students were directly contacted by the dean of their department as well as a staff member. At MSU Northern in Havre, the Little River Institute reached all 158 American Indian students at least three times. The University of Montana partnered with Missoula’s Urban Indian Alliance to provide laptops for student use. All worked to help students make a successful transition to remote learning and they continue to support their students’ return to campus this fall.

These advocates are doing the hard work on the ground to see that the challenges wrought by COVID-19 don’t reverse any of the momentum gained. Indeed, the needle is moving. Since 2016-2017, American Indian student enrollment in the MUS has grown by 7.6 percent, and now stands at 5.5 percent of the total student population. Yet the access gap still stands, as American Indians make up about 6.7 percent of Montana’s population, and graduation rates continue to offer significant room for improvement.

To address these long-standing and complex challenges, the MUS works closely with tribal leaders and colleges as well as partners beyond Montana’s borders, such as WICHE. This also includes collaboration with the Lumina Foundation, which in 2018 awarded the MUS a $25,000 grant from its Fund for Racial Justice and Equity. The MUS was among 19 institutions to receive the funding, out of 312 applicants nationwide, which was used to host the first-ever American Indian Student Success Summit at which MUS institutions re-examined and updated their action plans. Lumina created the Fund for Racial Justice and Equity after the racially motivated violence in Charlottesville in 2017.

In announcing the grants, Lumina Foundation President and CEO Jamie Merisotis noted that awardees demonstrated “willingness and capacity to address racial disparities at a systemic level. They recognize that achieving equitable results is about more than promoting diversity — it’s about whether the institution fosters a climate in which every student feels welcome and has the same opportunity to earn a degree or certificate of value, regardless of race or ethnicity.”

Indeed, this is our mission for the Montana University System. We know the journey will be long and challenging, and we won’t ever rest.

Subscribe to MUSings at: https://mailchi.mp/montana.edu/musings

BOR welcomes new Student Regent

Governor Steve Bullock this month appointed Amy Sexton, an accounting and mathematics student at Montana State University Billings, to the Montana Board of Regents.

Sexton will represent students across the Montana University System as the Board's Student Regent. She currently serves as a Senator for the Associated Students of MSU Billings. Sexton will assume her duties on July 1.

The Board of Regents and the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education wish to thank outgoing Student Regent John Miller for his excellent work and devotion to the Board, the Montana University System and its students.

News of Note

Congratulations to Dr. Sreekala Bajwa, who was named this month to the Montana Pulse Crop Committee by Governor Steve Bullock. Dr. Bajwa is the Vice President, Dean and Director of the College of Agriculture at Montana State University.

Congratulations to Dr. Robin Saha, Associate Professor of Environmental Studies at the University of Montana, who was named this month to the Small Business Compliance Assistance Advisory Council by Governor Steve Bullock.

University of Montana

UM Information Technology launches
program for distance learning

Montana State University

MSU astrophysicists study mystery
object through gravitational waves

BOZEMAN — Last August, astronomers detected gravitational waves emitted by the collision of two massive objects 800 million light years from Earth. One of those objects was a black hole; the other is a mystery, according to Montana State University astrophysicists.

The mystery object is larger than any neutron star we’ve ever observed but smaller than our current knowledge deems possible for a black hole, and researchers at MSU say its discovery may have far-reaching implications in the study of both cosmic objects.

“This mystery object is either the smallest black hole ever discovered or the most massive neutron star ever discovered,” said Montana State University Regents Professor Neil Cornish, director of the MSU eXtreme Gravity Institute.

Take the MSU-Northern 360 campus tour

University of Montana Western

UMW partners with Montana Tech and
Carroll College to Can-COVID

DILLON — Jason DeShaw and the Realize Hope Organization are proud to announce the launch of the Can-COVID campaign, a digital fundraising platform focused on raising funds in support of the Montana Food Bank Network, as well as student scholarships and assistance.

In partnership with Presenting Partners, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Montana, and the Montana Office of Public Instruction, CanCOVID.us will provide 70 cents of every dollar raised to the Montana Food Bank Network and 30 cents directly to the emergency scholarship fund of the recipient’s choosing.

As part of a collegiate campaign, the Montana Tech Foundation, the University of Montana Western Foundation and Carroll College have entered into a friendly competition to Can-COVID. The competition will raise funds for the Montana Food Bank Network and students whose education was impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak.

MT Tech Regional Science and Engineering Fair advances young scientists to national stage

Great Falls College MSU

Healthcare Hero: GFC respiratory therapy graduate working on front lines in Washington State

GREAT FALLS — Jacque Henry, a graduate of Great Falls College MSU's respiratory therapy program who has been working with COVID-19 patients at Spokane's Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center, said her role has been intensely rewarding.

And difficult.

The 2019 Great Falls College graduate from Stanford, Montana, said seeing patients go home after battling the illness was an unbelievable feeling.

Read more

Montana State University Billings

Florence Garcia retires after 30
years of service to MUS

What you need to know
about Financial Aid during COVID-19

Valerie Curtin, Director of Financial Aid at Helena College
discusses how financial aid offices are able to help

Learn skills that are in high demand at Gallatin College

Dual Enrollment Summit registration is open

Highlands College AS degree offers
transfer flexibility close to home

BUTTE — An Associate of Science degree from Highlands College is a transfer degree which indicates the student has completed a course of study equivalent to the first two years of a bachelor’s degree. The Associate of Science does not include a major or minor, however, students do complete a 20-24 credit program of study, leading in most instances to transfer to a STEM-related Bachelor Degree.

The primary goal of the Associate of Science is to facilitate transfer from Highlands College to related degree programs at Montana Tech or other Baccalaureate granting institutions across Montana. This program prepares students for entry into STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), Healthcare, other non-STEM related fields or appropriate Applied Science degrees through completion of all developmental, and prerequisite coursework leading to early transfer.

Learn more

Dawson Community College

Virginia Boysun talks about how DCC
gave her the flexibility to balance family, work and study

"I started Dawson as a non-traditional student and so I had three children already and working full-time, going to school full time and still being able to manage my kids – Dawson allowed me the flexibility to take classes when I needed to. I was able to study in the library during breaks in classes and still be able to go to work in the evening. Dawson has just been a great asset to me and my family. Three of my four children have taken classes here."

Learn more about DCC

Flathead Valley Community College

FVCC offers forestry transfer track

KALISPELL — With an abundance of public and private forest lands, Northwest Montana is an ideal place to study forestry.

FVCC’s Forestry transfer track emphasizes opportunities to observe field management situations and interact with practicing professional foresters. Many of the courses include field components and utilize advanced technology such as Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

Learn More

Miles Community College

MILES CITY — MCC's professional-technical degrees prepare students to enter the workforce as soon as possible, some within one year. MCC offers Certificate (C.), Certificate of Applied Science (C.A.S.), and Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S.) programs to provide students with the education needed to achieve their career goals. MCC also offers short-term certification courses for credit in CDL (six-weeks) and CNA (five weeks).

Learn more