Bemidji State University is steadily developing alternatives for students who want a four-year degree that isn’t wholly online but live too far away to attend classes in Bemidji.
BSU now offers several so-called hybrid programs – mostly online but part face-to-face – that allow students to complete bachelor’s degrees or achieve professional certifications on campuses close to their homes. Plus, a new business administration program at Anoka-Ramsey Community College is now offered on ARCC’s Coon Rapids campus, entirely in person.
The degree-completion programs typically come at a lower cost than other credit-transfer options, and students still have access to traditional classroom instruction from Bemidji State professors without having to travel great distances.
The university expects to continue adding locations and program options, said Lynn Johnson, BSU director of extended learning.
“The business program at Anoka-Ramsey is being looked at as a model for other programs,” Johnson said. “There are other departments that have an interest in delivering these programs to students in the metro area.”
FasTrack teacher licensure
BSU’s Department of Professional Education set an early precedent for off-campus alternatives a decade ago when it created the FasTrack program for degreed professionals who want to become licensed teachers. Participants take coursework online and then meet in person three times a year in the Twin Cities.
The post-baccalaureate program now serves about 250 teacher licensure candidates each year. The average FasTrack student is 35 years old and can’t manage on-campus study because of work and family.
These students can pursue licensure in music, physical education and special education at the K–12 levels; in communication arts & literature, mathematics, health and social studies at the 5–12 grade levels; or chemistry, earth & space science, life science and physics at the 9–12 level.
The program is also expanding its offerings through a partnership with St. Cloud State University that will allow students to obtain certification as library media specialists.
B.S. in business at Anoka-Ramsey
BSU this fall began offering the bachelor of science degree in business administration to two-year business graduates in partnership with ARCC.
The BSU@AnokaRamsey program is modeled after BSU’s accredited bachelor of science degree program on the Bemidji campus. Students choose between emphasis areas in management or entrepreneurship, and all courses are daytime. Full-time, in-residence BSU faculty members teach upper-division courses.
RN-to-BSN nursing degree
In fall 2009, Bemidji State launched the first of its satellite bachelors degree-completion programs for registered nurses at ARCC’s Cambridge campus. The program instantly filled to capacity, sparking an expansion to Anoka-Ramsey’s Coon Rapids campus, as well as Lake Superior College in Duluth and Century College in White Bear Lake.
These programs offer registered nurses with two-year degrees a combination of on-campus and online courses, allowing them to pursue their bachelor’s degrees while holding down full-time employment. The programs allow for full- and part-time enrollment options, with students visiting the host campuses every three weeks for lab work to complement the programs’ online coursework. Clinical experiences are arranged to be as close as possible to students’ homes.
Because of increasing demand for baccalaureate nurses, BSU is exploring additional sites at other two-year campuses in the greater Twin Cities.
“There continues to be a huge demand among Minnesota’s nurses for programs like these,” said Dr. Jeanine Gangeness, founding dean of the Bemidji School of Nursing. “This is part of our continuing effort to support the ability of nurses to come back to school and complete their education.”
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BSU Extended Learning
Phone: (218) 755-2068; (800) 852-7422
Email: cel@bemidjistate.edu