Learning

MSU has always prepared graduates to meet the challenges of tomorrow. Successful, sought-after graduates are part of our legacy, and preparing students is central to our mission. MSU students learn in the classroom, lab, studio and field, through a hands-on, student-centered curriculum that integrates learning, discovery, and engagement in and out of the classroom. 

Goal: MSU prepares students to graduate equipped for careers and further education.

Objective L.1: Assess, and improve where needed, student learning of critical knowledge and skills.

Objective L.2: Increase graduation rates at MSU.

Objective L.3: Increase job placement and further education rates.

Strategies

• Highlight successful assessment programs as models across the curriculum
• Develop assessment strategies in co- and extra-curricular programs
• Test pilot initiatives for retention and graduation
• Learn from and share best practices in key introductory level course redesigns
• Revamp summer session to maximize catch-up/jump-ahead opportunities
• Improve and add to advising and student success programs, including proactively intervening with at-risk students 

Budget Alignment

(2017-18 investments unless otherwise noted):

• $5 million increase in instructional expenditures over FY17 (includes some of the following instructional investments)
• $1.3 million in new faculty lines (also noted in Discovery and Engagement)
• Over $800,000 to increase section offerings and add capacity to serve student schedules and graduation needs
• $190,000 improvements in the Writing Center to serve more students in support of writing across the curriculum budgeted for FY19
• $850,000 annually to support the Hilleman Scholars program, providing financial, academic and professional resources to promising Montana students
• $100,000 annually for the Sophomore Surge, a peer mentoring program designed to boost retention to the sophomore year 

Successes

Reaffirming Mission Commitment

The Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities reaffirmed Montana State’s accreditation after a significant self-study effort and site visit. The visiting accreditation team praised MSU’s efforts to keep students in school to earn their degrees and the university’s strategic planning process as well as its transparency in providing students, faculty, staff and the community the opportunity to provide input in decision-making processes through its strong shared governance principles. The team also praised the MSU Library’s work developing resources for college and university students across the state, and two-year Gallatin College MSU programs, improving access to education consistent with MSU’s land-grant mission.

Surging Ahead

To help students surge into their second year, MSU developed the Sophomore Surge, a peer and faculty mentoring program associated with first year seminars. First-year students in the Surge participate in an extended orientation to the University, creating deeper ties, exploring more student success resources and drafting academic career maps. Early evidence from the first cohort indicates success for both first-year students and their Surge student mentors.

Honoring Hilleman’s Legacy

Each year since 2016 fifty Montana students have been selected as Hilleman Scholars, named for Maurice Hilleman, MSU alumnus and the world’s most influential vaccinologist. Paramount in the selection process is evidence of significant academic, leadership and career potential. While this scholarship provides them with assistance, it is not a full ride or a free ride. Hilleman Scholars commit to work at their education beyond ordinary expectations and help future scholars that come after them. The Hilleman Scholars program has shown evidence of increased student persistence and success.

Motivating Support for Academic Program Development

• Don and Sue Fisher pledged $1 million to Montana State University to bolster early childhood education. gift
  

  Don and Sue Fisher of Greenwood Village, Colorado, have pledged $1 million to Montana State University to bolster early childhood education.

   will be used to establish the Sue and Don Fisher Family Professorship in Early Childhood Education within the MSU Department of Health and Human Development in the College of Education, Health and Human Development. This strategic gift will build upon the early childhood education program at MSU and serve as the basis for the practice of early literacy and pre-school education reaching thousands of children across the state of Montana.
• Ann Jackson and her husband, Ken Wilson, committed to donating $570,000 to support programs and initiatives that will expand writing support for students and faculty. The Jackson-Wilson gift will let MSU’s Writing Center expand its work with students in science, technology, engineering and math fields through grants for faculty and by hiring a staff member to help STEM faculty better incorporate writing into their courses.

Exceptional Outcomes

• Nine MSU graduates received competitive National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowships that funded their new graduate school pursuits: Jacob Gardner, Earth sciences; Carol Baumbauer, electrical engineering and French; Andrew Bender, mechanical engineering; Jayme Feyhl-Buska, life sciences; Casey Kennedy, physical chemistry; Isaac Miller, organismal biology; Michiel Pillet, life sciences; Anna Scott, chemistry; Matthew Weingart, Earth sciences.
• Ryan Mason and Cara Robertus were selected as recipients of the Goldwater Scholarship. The Goldwater is the
  

  Montana State University students, Connor Hoffmann, left, and Haley Cox received Truman Scholarships. MSU Photo by Adrian Sanchez-Gonzalez

  nation's premier scholarship for undergraduates studying math, natural sciences and engineering. MSU has now produced 70 Goldwater Scholars, making the university one of the nation's top institutions in the number of scholarship recipients.  
• Students Haley Cox and Connor Hoffman each won the Truman Scholarship, a highly competitive and prestigious scholarship given to 59 college juniors nationwide who have demonstrated leadership potential and commitment to public service. The scholarship provides funding for graduate school and the opportunity to participate in professional development programming to help prepare recipients for careers in public service leadership.  
• MSU’s Kyle Alderman was one of 50 awardees selected nationwide from among 437 applicants for a prestigious Udall Scholarship, and among just 10 students who received awards in the tribal public policy category. The Udall provides funding to college sophomores and juniors for leadership and public service on issues related to Native American nations or the environment. 

• Students Nick Ryan and Tavin Davis, both juniors in graphic design, and MSU graphic design graduate Chinon Williams, who professionally goes by Chinon Maria, recently completed murals in Las Vegas, Paris and New York City. Ryan’s work with South American graffiti artist Marina Zumi on the MSU parking garage resulted in his selection to work on a similar project in a music festival Las Vegas. Davis was selected for a 10-day residency in Paris’ Street Art City and Hotel 128, and Chinon Maria recently painted a 200-foot-long mural in lower Manhattan with the United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees and the Downtown Alliance of New York.  
• Jessica Dehn, a Montana State University alumna and founder of Dino Drop-In, a modern, no-screen preschool with the flexibility of drop-in care, placed second in the U.S. Small Business Administration’s InnovateHER competition with support from the Blackstone LaunchPad at MSU.
• Jason Roehrig, a student in MSU’s Science and Natural History Filmmaking MFA program, won the top student prize at the Wildlife Conservation Film Festival in New York City for an episode of “Stewardship with Vision” about Nevada rancher Dave Spicer and his efforts to promote the Amargosa toad population. The Amargosa toad only exists in a 10-mile stretch of the Oasis Valley in the Amargosa Desert. Roehrig made the film as an intern for the Western Landowners Alliance.  
• The Bridger Brass Quintet, a group of Montana State University School of Music students supervised and coached
  

  MSU's Bridger Brass quintet performed at the Music Teachers National Association chamber music competition finals.

  by trumpet professor Sarah Stoneback, competed at the finals of the Music Teachers National Association national chamber music competition. The quintet members include Briana Gillet, trumpet, a senior business management and music major from Bozeman; Jimmy Kelsey, trumpet, a senior music technology major from Bridger; Philip Shuler, French horn, a junior music major from Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Hayden Woods, trombone, a senior music major from Bozeman; and Marques Ceasar-Lopez, tuba, a senior music major from Alamosa, Colorado.
• James Rolin and Waylon Roberts, students affiliated with the Blackstone LaunchPad at Montana State University, were two of forty top college entrepreneurs from around the world who participated in the Blackstone LaunchPad Techstars Training Camp held in New York City. Rolin and Roberts are affiliated with Cowboy Cricket Farms and Darktwin Studios, respectively. Based in Belgrade, Cowboy Cricket Farms is owned and operated by Kathy and James Rolin and produces bugs for human consumption. Darktwin Studios is a company that builds video games focused on decision-based storytelling. The company’s game director and co-founder is Roberts.  
• David Varricchio, associate professor of paleontology in MSU’s Department of Earth Sciences, and Dana Rashid, assistant research professor in MSU’s Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, accompanied 18 students and recent alumni to the annual Society of Vertebrate Paleontology meeting, where the students and faculty presented research findings. The MSU Office of Student Engagement provided funding to the Dead Lizards Society, an MSU student paleontology club, for travel to the conference, which provides international exposure for MSU and its students.  
• Emma Gamble, a sophomore business student, is one of only 150 students to be accepted into the 2017-2018 BNY Mellon Enactus Student Fellow Program, a prestigious student fellow program focused on business and entrepreneurship.
• Daniel M. McCauley, a civil engineer known for helping small towns across Montana fulfill their infrastructure needs, was inducted into the Montana Professional Engineers Hall of Fame. McCauley, a Big Timber native who earned his bachelor’s in civil engineering from Montana State University in 1980, is a founder and current president of Great West Engineering, which has offices in Helena, Billings and Boise.  
• Lt. Gen. Paul E. Funk II, a three-star general who is a 1984 graduate of MSU’s College of Letters and Science and now serves as a lieutenant general in the U.S. Army, was named commander of Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve, an international coalition fighting the Islamic State. The coalition is tasked with defeating the Islamic State in designated areas of Iraq and Syria and ensuring conditions are favorable for subsequent operations, with a goal of increasing stability in the region.
• The Montana State University student chapter of the American Marketing Association enjoyed a strong showing at the 40th annual American Marketing Association International Collegiate Conference, taking home three major awards. The MSU chapter earned second place for best website and third place in the case competition. The organization was also named one of the top 20 chapters out of more than 370 student chapters worldwide.    
• MSU students Taylor Johnson, Bryce Miller and Bailey Jack took first place in a problem-solving championship at the Technology and Engineering Education Collegiate Association’s national technological competitions. The students are part of MSU’s Technology Education club, which is housed in the technology education program.  
• Several MSU alumni and recent graduates received the prestigious NSF Graduate Research Fellowship to support continued study in the sciences, including Laura Fisch, who graduated from MSU in 2016 with a degree in biochemistry, and Mark Young, an MSU graduate in chemical engineering. 
• Two Montana State University graphic design students won top prizes in a national book cover contest sponsored by the Innovation Center for Design Excellence. Whitney Pomroy was the gold medal winner for her first place design of a book cover and Katie Nell was the bronze medal winner for the third place design. 
• A Montana State University team of business and graphic design students who participated in the National
  

  Montana State University art students Katherine Nell, left, and Whitney Pomroy took third place and first place, respectively, in the Innovation Center for Design Excellence book cover design competition last fall. MSU Photo by Adrian Sanchez-Gonzalez

  Student Advertising Competition so impressed the judges that the judges spontaneously gave the MSU team an impromptu award for best tactic, dubbed “The Golden Cranberry” for the competition’s Ocean Spray sponsors.  

Fostering Success & Inclusivity

To help new students connect to campus quickly and foster their long-term success at Montana State, staff in the Division of Student Success imagined and implemented MSU Debut, a series of signature events in the first three weeks. Assessment of the activities for impact on student attachment and retention is key to refining and improving the series. Two of these events won awards from the National Association of Campus Activities, which provides resources for higher education to promote student learning through engagement in campus life. 

Showcasing Women in Art

Montana State University photography student Kate Chapin produced The Artists magazine for the College of Arts and Architecture. MSU photo by Colter Peterson

As a compelling show of support for student excellence, MSU recently released “The Artists”—a magazine produced by the College of Arts & Architecture and originally designed by Kate Chapin, a photography student in the College of Arts and Architecture, as a class project. Chapin was tasked with developing the content and design for a mock magazine as culmination to a semester learning about graphic design. She chose to feature women artists in the College. One of Chapin’s photographs from the magazine was also featured in Glamour magazine, highlighting 22 college students and their perspectives on what it is like to be a young woman in America.

Bobcat Mentoring

Now in its fifth year, MSU’s Bobcat Mentoring program pairs 40 students with experienced professionals to offer positive, one-on-one mentoring relationships where students can receive advice, recommendations and experiences to enhance their academic and professional development. The program is run by the MSU Alumni Foundation in conjunction with the Allen Yarnell Center for Student Success’s Career, Internship and Student Employment Services office. It aims to foster student growth and professional development through inspiration, support and shared wisdom. 

High Flying Entrepreneurs

Gallatin College, MSU’s comprehensive two-year college, and Jake Jabs College of Business and Entrepreneurship team

Gallatin College and Jake Jabs College of Business and Entrepeneurship team up to offer an accelerated path to an associate's degree in aviation and a bachelor's degree in business. MSU photo by Kelly Gorham

up to offer an accelerated path to an associate’s degree in aviation and a bachelor’s degree in business. Since students earn their private, instrument and commercial pilot certificates in the aviation program, they can earn money and accumulate extra flight time while attending business school. The path can be completed in as few as four and half years, and graduates are highly sought after. 

New Program Addresses New Needs

Responding to the ubiquity of computers in society, a new academic program in the Gianforte School of Computing in MSU’s Norm Asbjornson College of Engineering seeks to open the world of computing to a wider range of student interest and prepare graduates for diverse employment opportunities. The degree combines computer science courses with concentrated study in areas such as sociology, music, business and community health.  Possible futures for graduates of the BA program include combining computing with education to make customized learning tools, with nursing to improve the software used by health care providers, and with political science to improve citizens’ access to their elected officials.