Contact: Katryn Conlin, Communications Director
Minnesota State College Southeast
651-385-6364 phone
1-877-853-8324, ext. 6364
[email protected]
For Immediate Release
Minnesota State College Southeast announces new name, new mission, new degree option
Winona and Red Wing, MN (June 22, 2016) -- Minnesota State College Southeast, previously known as Minnesota State College - Southeast Technical, announces today approval by the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Board of Trustees of a change in mission, allowing the college to offer the associate of arts degree.
"Today marks a new day in the college's history. We are now a comprehensive technical and community college," says Dr. Dorothy Duran, President of Minnesota State College Southeast. "We look forward to building on our current programming to serve our Red Wing and Winona communities. The students, faculty, staff, and administration celebrate the college's new name and mission."
For the past year the college has been in the process of preparing and applying for a mission change to offer both technical programs and the associate of arts degree. A presentation on this topic was made at the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Board of Trustees meeting on May 17, 2016 and approved by the Board of Trustees on June 22, 2016.
"Offering the associate of arts degree will better serve the needs of students by increasing access to liberal arts and sciences coursework at the college level and by creating a more seamless transfer process to four-year institutions," says Dr. Duran. "While technical education will always be at the heart of our mission, adding the associate of arts to our offerings broadens our service to the region while strengthening the college as a whole."
The new associate of arts degree provides a well-rounded general education with a range of coursework in the arts, humanities, mathematics, and sciences. Upon successfully completing the degree, students will be eligible to transfer to any one of the seven Minnesota State universities as college juniors. Students may now go to the college's website at www.southeastmn.one to learn more about the Associate of Arts degree in Liberal Arts and Sciences. The new degree is available beginning in the 2016-2017 academic year, which begins on August 22, 2016.
Name Change
With a change in college's mission came a need to change its name to reflect its new status as a comprehensive technical and community college. The college sought input from students, faculty, staff, and the general public in re-naming the college, ultimately arriving at a simplification of the previous name that aligns perfectly with the newly announced Minnesota State brand: Minnesota State College Southeast.
"We believe this new name will represent the college well in the future and provide continuity with the past," comments Dr. Duran. "The college has changed its identity many times since it first opened its doors almost 70 years ago. We hope the new name will serve Minnesota State College Southeast well for the next century or more."
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About Minnesota State College Southeast
Minnesota State College Southeast is a two-year technical and community college that prepares students for a lifetime of learning by providing education for employment, skill enhancement, retraining, and transfer, to meet the needs of students and the community. The Winona campus opened in 1949, merging with the Red Wing campus in 1992 and updating its name to Minnesota State College Southeast in 2016 with the change of mission to offer both technical training and the associate of arts degree. Minnesota State College Southeast is a member of Minnesota State. For more information, visit www.southeastmn.one.
About Minnesota State
Minnesota State consists of 37 colleges and universities with over 16,000 employees offering nearly 4,000 educational programs to nearly 400,000 students. It is the fifth-largest higher education system in the United States.