Minnesota State College Southeast - The Year in Review 

By Dr. Marsha Danielson, President, Minnesota State College Southeast 

June, 2023 

At Minnesota State College Southeast, June marks the end of the fiscal year. It's a time to take stock of the past year's accomplishments even as we bask in the glow of having watched another class of students graduate in May and go forth into the world to succeed in reaching their goals.  

And 2022-2023 was a great year for the college! The Red Wing College Promise, so generously funded by the Jones Family Foundation, was announced in October 2022. This program provides Red Wing students graduating from public high schools with free tuition and fees, a stipend for books and materials, and dedicated staff support to help with navigating college. 

Already we are seeing that students who might not have otherwise considered a college education part of their future are changing their plans and enrolling at MSC Southeast for Fall Semester!  

Many of these students plan to major in fields like nursing, CNC machine tool, welding, and mechatronics that will enable them to move directly into a career with a sustainable wage after they graduate. Others have decided to earn a liberal arts or Transfer Pathways associate degree that will transfer onward to a four-year college or university, saving their families thousands of dollars and making completion of a bachelor's degree much more attainable.  

In Winona, a similar program was announced in February 2023. The College Opportunity Program will provide similar benefits to Winona school district residents graduating in 2023 - the opportunity to attend Minnesota State College Southeast tuition-free, with a stipend for books and materials, and dedicated staff support. These two programs are an amazing opportunity for Red Wing and Winona students! 

For adult learners, a three-way partnership with Workforce Development, Inc., Goodhue County, and MSC Southeast is providing free tuition for up to ten unemployed or underemployed Goodhue County residents to pursue credentials at the college. The Goodhue County Workforce Investment Program is focused on key areas of employment for the county, such as nursing, administrative support, information technology, accounting, business management, and criminal justice. 

In October 2022, we held a special event in Red Wing to adopt and dedicate a formal Land Acknowledgement Statement on Indigenous Peoples Day. We were very honored to hear a welcome message from Vice President Shelley Buck, Prairie Island Tribal Council, and a keynote speech by Broderick Dressen, an enrolled member of the Iñupiat Eskimo people of Utqiagvik, Alaska.  

In October and January, we were proud to continue offering Next Generation Nursing Assistant training. After the state met its initial goal of recruiting and training 1,000 new nursing assistants in 2022, this initiative was funded through February 2023. Through this program, students received training, books, uniforms, and the certification exam at no cost. Our "Next Gen" classes at MSC Southeast served almost 200 new nursing assistant students. 

Our Red Wing campus draws talented and unique students from all over the country (and internationally). In March, our musical instrument repair and building students put on a superb concert for a full house at the Sheldon Theatre. Then in May, our guitar and violin program students showed off their incredible handmade instruments at the Student Guitar Show.  

And - new this year - we also held a spring showcase for our Bicycle Design and Fabrication program. It's so inspiring to see the work and talents of our wonderful students! 

Just as the academic year ended, we received word from the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) that our two-year Associate of Science in Nursing (ASN) program was awarded initial accreditation. Our one-year Practical Nursing diploma is also ACEN-accredited. A degree from an ACEN-accredited college makes our graduates more competitive in the job market because employers prefer to hire nurses who are trained under nationally established education standards.  

Finally, I would like to make note of our college's success in maintaining and increasing enrollment in the past year. You may have read stories or heard on the news about declining numbers of college students. That has not been the case at Minnesota State College Southeast. In our communities, people of all ages are well aware of the value of education in helping them attain better jobs and a family sustaining wage. 

Thanks to our dedicated faculty and staff, we are very fortunate that students are continuing to place their trust in Minnesota State College Southeast. A college education is a promise for a better future. We look forward to continuing to deliver on that promise in the coming year!