Tamara Mans, Ph.D.
Minnesota State University Moorhead
Connection, Vol. 13, No. 1
October 2011
 Through a unique partnership of Minnesota State University Moorhead (MSUM) with North Hennepin Community College (NHCC), MSUM is offering students in the Twin Cities region the opportunity to earn a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry and Biotechnology without leaving the NHCC campus. Students are dually enrolled at the two institutions, and complete a wide variety of foundation courses from the community college, followed by upper level courses in biology, chemistry and biotechnology from university faculty who are also based on the community college campus.
This program fills an unmet need for affordable biotechnology training in the urban area of the Twin Cities, more than 200 miles away from the main campus of MSUM. Nearby institutions that offer comparable B.S. degrees are private colleges or the traditional large public university. Thus, the program is exceptional, providing access to small class sizes and a familiar campus for students whose finances restrain their options to local, public institutions.
The non-residential, age-diverse atmosphere of the “two-year” campus makes this a comfortable fit for nontraditional students tied to the area through work and family obligations.
The special relationship has been particularly successful because the faculty and administrators at the two schools share a strong commitment to undergraduate research. Students design and carry out semester-long research experiments in several courses, and at the same time gain a firm grounding in a wide variety of modern techniques. Students take three dedicated lab “block” courses to practice skills particularly desirable for those entering industry or further graduate training, such as techniques in cell culture, protein purification and RNA work.
In their last year of the program, students undertake a yearlong project, beginning with submission of a detailed proposal and ending with attending and presenting data at regional or national conferences. Students benefit from a great deal of personal mentoring from the faculty. The underlying goal is to develop critical analysis skills so that students become confident in their ability to ask meaningful questions and formulate well-designed approaches to answer them.
MSUM’s first “Twin Cities” graduate completed her degree in 2009, and recently enrollment has increased sharply, with all courses at or above their capacity this year. As students graduate, they are finding themselves well prepared for entry into industrial laboratory research programs, graduate and professional programs.
For more information, visit http://www.nhcc.edu/main/ProgramsAndMajors/ProgramsAndMajors/Biology.aspx and ttp://web.mnstate.edu/biology/twincities/nhcc/. |