2 min read December 2021 — In an interview with Invest:, Patricia Rogers, president of Lake Superior College, talked about the changes the college has made throughout the pandemic to adjust to the lifestyles of students and to prepare them for the workforce by collaborating with various industries in the area.
What were some key successes of the last year and how do you plan to continue that momentum?
Bringing people safely back to campus in June was high on our list of milestones and that was quite wonderful. With that said, we spent a lot of our time physically closed with everything primarily online except for serving students who needed access to technology and advising. While the building was mostly closed, we used some one-time funds to make improvements that we knew would help with retention while also updating facilities.
We have a main campus that is set on a hill overlooking the twin ports of Duluth and Superior that serves as a welcome space for the surrounding community. Off of the main entryway is a corridor that we call Main Street. Work on Main Street started before the pandemic and is still under development to make the area accessible and provide services for the community in terms of access, such as a café, library access, free health and dental clinics, and financial literacy services.
Keeping our programs moving and even growing is our main success through the pandemic. That comes from making certain the College stayed relevant and nimble in meeting the needs of students and employers. We made it clear to students that the hands-on aspects of their studies would be available to them once we could safely return to campus. We did that by offering free summer labs and hands-on training to ensure that students finished their degrees, certificates, or diplomas.
What does student success look like for Lake Superior College and what is your strategic plan?
Student success is our North Star. It is also tied into our work across the system, called Equity 2030. Our strategic plan aligns all of those things and our efforts to ensure that students have the best success that they can have. We’ve been working with a company that specializes in higher education to identify gaps and figure out how to best aid student success, such as for older students who want to get into the workforce as quickly as possible.
What strategies are you pursuing to increase enrollment?
Some students will succeed no matter what but people who have kids, are older and veterans, for example, need extra help. We’ve also made it clear it’s not just about credits or traditional degree programs, we have customized training available. We work with different businesses and industries, along with our local chamber and regional partners, to create the preparation needed to meet workforce demands. That has always been our strategy: to work closely with the business and industries in our region.
Our trade programs are pretty much carrying the load right now. The traditional high-school age group is diminishing everywhere and we dropped down to 23% when COVID initially hit. LSC is blessed with a great reputation, and we have been able to bounce back and quickly increase our enrollments in that age range. For all students, and in particular our “adult learners,” we provide a curated and individualized approach. We want to make certain we are a place where a student can come, get a little training through a certificate or credential and go out into the workforce and then build on the credential when they come back. Or they might have prior learning that we can credit toward their program of study. So, stackable credentials have been a big selling point for us as we fine tune our strategies. With that in mind, we are reaching out to displaced workers, adults with some college (but no completion), employers who seek workforce upskilling, etc.
What are some defining characteristics of the Duluth Market?
We are the furthest inland international port in the country so there is a lot of shipping going in and out, and all industries are wrapped up in transportation and the supply chain industry in one way or another. Our big partners here are really in healthcare, with Essentia and St. Luke’s Health, which are investing heavily in the Duluth region. They are doing incredible work and are demanding workforce at many different levels. We make certain that we are providing the right level of preparation to students.
We are also working in manufacturing, with partners such as Moline and Altech. Another big one is aviation, aircrafts are manufactured in Duluth and we work with Monaco Air and Jackson Air, so our community college is a pipeline for both pilots and aviation mechanics.
What do you see as key distinctions between the pre- and post-pandemic education models?
Higher education has to undergo a shift. For too long, higher education in general has gone by the “if we build it, they will come” model but that isn’t the case anymore. Being attuned to the workforce and industries is crucial and taking two to three years to develop something is no longer acceptable. Part of how we move ourselves along is through customized training and being able to offer things in a non credit format, allowing for quicker program development. We are then able to move into credit-based certificates or diplomas if needed. We can often change the customized learning into credit for prior learning if needed.
What positions are you looking to hire in 2022?
Mental health needs of our students are very much on my mind. I’m hiring a psychologist who is able to offer therapy and teletherapy in addition to referrals. We are also considering a couple of positions, one of which is concierge-type advisor who would make sure that students have that white glove experience as they move from prospect to enrolled student. I have an associate VP position that will be filled soon as well, and that position will spearhead the work of our student success team.
What is your outlook for the next two to three years?
We are definitely making drastic changes in response to COVID and social justice. We are going through growth and restructuring to address inefficiencies. If we need to restructure, we will and we will work with people to make sure that happens.
My outlook is quite positive. Higher education is shifting and moving toward being more collaborative, rather than competitive. This allows us to use resources wisely and to work together to make certain students have the appropriate access. Students don’t necessarily want to move around as much anymore, so being able to meet them where they are in our region is important.
The workforce is really the focus of a good community college and we are known as the community’s community college. We have a great reputation of being responsive to business and industry and creating focused programming that will take the region to the next level. We can’t be independent agents and expect to still be successful.
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