Saint Paul, Minnesota
Where is Minnesota?
Twin Cities – Minneapolis and
Saint Paul
Types of American Universities
 Research Universities
 Will have undergraduate, masters level, and robust doctoral programs

Faculty emphasis is on research; teaching is assigned to graduate students
 Teaching Universities and Colleges
 Liberal arts colleges center on undergraduate education; may have
limited graduate programs
 More comprehensive universities will have undergraduate, and master’s
level; doctoral programs are applied research

Faculty emphasis is on teaching students
 Each can be either private or public
 Now also proprietary – operate primarily as teaching universities
Contrast Logo Statements
 University of Minnesota
 Driven to discover
 Metropolitan State University
 Where life and learning meet
Historical Beginning -- 1971
• Locations throughout the Twin Cities
• Serve primarily employed persons
seeking additional education or
persons who have already attended
junior or vocational colleges
• Emphasize teaching not research
• Offer convenient hours and schedules
• Bring the teachers to where the
students live and work rather than
forcing students to uproot
 Urban University
 Students are working adults
 Classes are usually in the evening or weekend
 No residences for students, no athletic teams
 In 1971 - serving working adults who lacked a complete
university degree was regarded as “weird”
 Today many universities are competing for this type of
student
Today@ Metropolitan State
 10,000 students
 Goal to have 20,000
 Nearly all undergraduates are transfer students
 30% students and 25% of facultyfrom minority
populations
 Average age of students: 32 years
Diverse Students
 My experience : 27 different countries
 Europe – Bulgaria, Belarus, Russia
 Middle East – Iran
 Africa – Kenya, Nigeria, Liberia
 South America – Guyana, Brazil
 Asia – Laos, Nepal, India
Most health science students are immigrants and
refugees, not students with international visa
No gap
 No gap in graduation rate between majority and
minority populations of students
Community Engagement
 Part of the mission statement: “The university is
committed to academic excellence and community
partnerships through curriculum, teaching,
scholarship and services designed to support an urban
mission.”
Examples within Health Sciences
 Love Grows Here – partnership with a nearby Lutheran
Church to provide health services to homeless persons
and families
 Political engagement within Health Policy class
 Health services to persons with pervasive mental illness
 Dental services to those without source of payment
Prior Learning Assessment
 Getting Credit for What You Know
 Student Designed Independent Study (SDIS)
 Peace Corps Student
 Mobilizing for Medical Disaster Relief
 SDIS can be used prospectively as well
Saint Paul Campus
• 22 Classrooms
• 6 Computer Laboratories
• 3 Temporary Science Labs
• 1 Psychology Lab
• 9 Conference Rooms
•Have a small classroom building
opening in Fall 2011
•Need a Science Building
Midway Center (Energy Park - Saint Paul)
Leased Facility with limited
opportunities
• 36 Classrooms
• 4 Computer Laboratories
• 2 Temporary Science Labs
• 1 Conference Room
Minneapolis Campus (Management Education Center)
• 14 Classrooms
• 2 Computer Laboratories
• 1 Conference Room
Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice
Education Center
Co-Located with Hennepin
Technical College in Brooklyn Park
• 6 Dedicated Classrooms
• 2 Computer Laboratories
• 1 Forensic Science Laboratory
• 1 Conference Room
Contrasting Roles
 Faculty Role
 Student Role
Faculty Workload
 1 European credit = 0.6 American credit
 Faculty teach 24 credits in academic year
 At Metro we receive 3 credits for student advising
 Summer teaching is a special workload
Other expectations
 Scholarly or creative achievement or research
 Continuing preparation and study
 Contribution to student life and growth
 University and community service
Student Workload
 Traditional undergraduate workload
 16 credits
 At Metropolitan State
 8 credits is full time workload
 International students must take 12 to retain student
visa
 Courses both classroom and online
 Students expected to either attend and participate in
classroom based courses weekly or do weekly
assignments in an online course
Health Policy Assignments
(spread over 15 weeks)
 Module 1 – 3 short essays and a 10 point quiz
 Module 2 – 2 discussion forum questions plus 1 follow
up discussion posting
 Module 3 – 50 point quiz
 Module 4 – 1 discussion forum
 Module 5 – patient safety policy paper, nursing
workforce journal club, and a 10 point quiz
 Module 6 – 50 point quiz
 Module 7 – 3 discussion forums questions plus 1 short
essay
 Additional Assignments
 Policy issue paper
 Analysis of a health policy committee hearing
 Briefing paper
 Report of briefing experience
Grading Scale
 75% to pass
 95% for an A
College of Nursing and Health
Sciences
 Relatively new and expected to evolve to College of
Health and Human Services
Nursing Programs
 RN-BSN – bachelor’s degree completion program
 Entry Level MSN – prepares person with degrees in
other field to become professional nurses
 MSN
 Leadership and Management
 Nurse Educator
 Ending Nurse Practitioner programs at this level
Doctoral Programs
 Doctor of Nursing Practice
 Post master’s program offered in consortium with two
sister state universities with any emphasis
 BSN-DNP – will begin in Fall of 2012 to prepare family
health nurse practitioners
Dental Hygiene
 BS in Dental Hygiene or Dental Hygiene Post
Baccalaureate
 Prepares dental hygienists to provide assessment and
evaluation and preventive services in other locations
than a typical dental office in order to meet the needs of
underserved and special populations
 Can do some beginning restorative functions as well
Oral Health Care Practitioner
 First in the United States
 Dual license as dental hygienist and advanced dental
therapist
 Provides assessment and evaluation, preventive,
restorative, and therapeutic services to underserved
members of the society
 First 2000 hours of practice on site with dentist
 After 2nd exam, more independent practice
Invitation to Participate in
Intercultural Communication
Class
 Online course – fall, spring, and summer semester
 Seeking participants in other countries for the last five
weeks
 No cost to students to participate
 Thank you for your kind attention.