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Embracing technical education: University System looks to expand CTE footprint

Tim Mihalick

Editor’s Note: This is the third installment in a five-part series.

The North Dakota University System’s wish list for new career and technical programs didn’t make it into the state budget in 2023, but the request will be back in 2025, according to Lisa Johnson, vice chancellor of student and academic affairs.

Potential career training programs are numerous and include artificial intelligence, fire science and automation in manufacturing, she said.

Chancellor Mark Hagerott said the University System would like to expand its CTE footprint.

“We’ve just completed our Envision 2035, looking to the future, and there’s a recognition that we are in a time of transformation to an increasingly complex, technical economy,” Hagerott said. “The Envision process identified this transformation in a lot of areas, but clearly across medical to agriculture to energy to national security, there’s an increasing demand for a technical workforce. So, we’re focused on that.”

Mark Hagerott

One idea for integrating efforts to educate North Dakotans on advanced technology is RUN-ND, or Retool and Upskill Now-North Dakota, which is expected to be among higher education’s requests of the 2025 Legislature.

Tim Mihalick, Minot, chair of the State Board of Higher Education, said RUN-ND could tie Minot State to Lake Region in Devils Lake and the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks to create a program at Camp Grafton focused on technologies such as cybersecurity and drones.

Locally, Minot State University also needs to get as engaged as it can in the trades and commercial drivers license training, as Dickinson State University does in partnering with Train ND and in offering associate degree programs, he said.

“We just need to be more involved in Minot and at Minot State with the opportunities in front of us, because we know the demographics. Students are continuing to decline,” he said of statewide higher education enrollment trends in the past 12 years. “We’re also finding with the cost of college education, kids can’t afford to go, so how do we help them?”

He suggested the state continue to increase virtual course offerings. The University System offers Dakota Digital Academy to provide a variety of technical education and degree programs utilizing its schools across the state.

Lisa Johnson

A study released by Georgetown University forecast up to 52,000 new job openings in North Dakota between 2021 and 2031. Overall, 71% of all North Dakota jobs will require some postsecondary training by 2031, with the greatest growth in healthcare, food and personal services and education fields, the study found.

The message is that students should be thinking about education beyond high school, Johnson said. The trend is certificate programs that allow individuals to create “stackable credentials” that lead to an associate degree, she said. Certificate programs also enable workers with four-year degrees to gain specialties in their fields to meet needs in their communities, such as a teacher earning a certificate in working with individuals with autism, she said.

Certificates are the number one request related to new academics that campuses are bringing to the Board of Higher Education for approval, Johnson said.

“That tells me they’re very well aligned with what their communities are asking for,” she said. “I think it’ll help our campuses to become nimble in responding to changing workforce needs.”

Minot State University lists certificate offerings in 12 different fields within academic areas such as education, technology and management. Dakota College at Bottineau offers certificate options in most of its academic areas.

Mihalick said the University System overall has added 300 certificate programs.

“An important part of higher ed moving forward is to offer the total education package, not just the typical four year degree,” he said.

“We have to figure out a way to tap both of those markets,” he said of CTE and traditional secondary education. “We need to get more aggressive and work hand in hand with the K-12 system, from Minot to all the other locations, to develop CTE programs that make some sense to fill the workforce.

“It’s a constant discussion, but it’s something the sooner we get started, the better. And we have somewhat started, but there’s always room for improvement,” he said. “You’ve got to keep being aggressive, just figuring out ways to make it work.”

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