Bemidji State University is expanding opportunities for northern Minnesota students to quickly and affordably earn bachelor’s degrees through a series of partnerships with the region’s two-year colleges.

In early September, BSU and Northwest Technical College President John L. Hoffman and a contingent of faculty and administrators from both campuses visited a half-dozen northern Minnesota two-year colleges to sign new agreements and discuss opportunities for future partnerships.

These agreements are creating seamless transfer opportunities for two-year college graduates, who gain automatic admission to BSU, full transfer of their two-year college course credits toward their bachelor’s degrees, and other benefits, depending on the program.

“These agreements are about creating opportunities for students,” Hoffman said. “Bachelor’s degrees open doors, and we are being very creative as we explore ways to deliver these opportunities in ways that are affordable, accessible and student friendly.”

Recent highlights include a new BSU bachelor’s degree-completion program in forest management, a partnership that will help address out-state Minnesota’s significant shortage of providers for mental health and addictions care, and opportunities for Lake Superior College students to pursue bachelor’s degrees in BSU’s applied engineering and project management programs.

Forestry

Throughout the last year, wildfires in places such as California and Canada have made national and international news, placing renewed attention on forestry management.

BSU’s new undergraduate program in forestry management, launched this fall, trains foresters how to safely and efficiently use forest measurement and geospatial tools to gather data; methods for using that data to inform forest-management decisions; and provides a holistic understanding of forests and their varied ecologies to empower sustainable management practices.

This program is designed in direct partnership with associate of applied science programs in forestry technology at Minnesota North College’s Itasca campus in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, and Vermillion campus in Ely. Students must graduate from those Society of American Foresters-accredited programs in order to gain admission into BSU’s bachelor’s degree program.

At BSU forestry majors complete 50 credits of coursework, including a 44-credit forestry core and 6 credits of natural resource management electives. Core courses include forest biometry, integrated forest management, forest health, and community and tribal forestry.

Addictions & Social Work

A 2024 report by published by “Minnesota Physician” illustrated the strain being put on the state’s mental health services due to increased demand and a shortage of licensed practitioners. The report stated, “the problem is that our mental health system simply cannot meet the demand. There are simply not enough people to do the work.”

A new partnership between Bemidji State and Minnesota North College seeks to address this shortage in northern Minnesota by creating new pathways for practitioners to get the educations they need. A transfer agreement signed earlier this month enables graduates from Minnesota North College’s addiction studies program to transfer seamlessly into BSU’s social work program. In addition to on-campus and hybrid bachelor’s degree programs, BSU offers a minor in addictions that can be completed entirely online and a certificate in addictions. The certificate fulfills educational requirements necessary for becoming a Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor in Minnesota.

BSU and Minnesota North College are also exploring potential partnerships with Minnesota’s tribal colleges, which would allow tribal-college students to remotely join classes being offered at BSU or Minnesota North from their tribal-college campuses.

Engineering and Project Management

Amongst the many opportunities available in BSU’s innovative School of Technology, Art & Design, students can pursue bachelor’s degrees in applied engineering, engineering technology or project management.

Graduates from six Lake Superior College programs in Duluth, Minnesota, now have direct pathways into these programs and the career opportunities unlocked by a BSU bachelor’s degree. Engineering Technology, Computer Assisted Drafting Technology, Electronic Engineering Technology, Aviation Maintenance Technology, Computer Numerical Control Programmer and Welding graduates can directly apply at least 60 of their two-year college credits toward a bachelor’s degree at BSU.

For additional flexibility, BSU’s applied engineering degree can be completed entirely online.

Beyond these agreements, BSU has many similar agreements in place with two-year colleges throughout Minnesota. In addition to providing clear paths to bachelor’s degrees for students, they also demonstrate the value of an associate’s degree.

“These agreements add value to an associate’s degree,” Hoffman said. “For a variety of reasons, a two-year campus might be a better fit for a student who wants a college degree. BSU and our partner colleges are making it easier than ever for these students to continue their educations and complete a bachelor’s degree on a schedule that works for them.”