"Ask here" feature on PTC website offers on-demand student service

The Pine Technical College website employs a feature called ask here, an efficient and comprehensive always-available vault of information and answers to students' most need-to-know questions about PTC. By using ask here, students are empowered to privately research and resolve issues without needing to reach someone or ask for assistance; it's always "on" and always available.

PTC students have always had high expectations — to be heard, supported and valued. With ask here, students have an arsenal of tools at hand -- information delivered with just a few keystrokes in an efficient, fast, private and thorough manner. The feature is supported by RightNow Technologies, a software company that many MnSCU system campuses use for just the same purpose. Visit the PTC website, look for the orange ask here button, and try it!

PTC proudly flies new banners

Photo above: New banners installed in PTC's main parking lot.

Pine Technical College just finished installing 30 new banners on its property to enhance the appearance of the campus and spark more school pride. The new banners fly 20 feet above ground and are installed on the college's existing light poles, two-to-a-pole. The long-lasting vinyl banners measure 30" x 60" and feature the college logo on green, orange and brown -- the college colors.

"The new banners contribute to a more campus-like, collegiate atmosphere and inspire a heightened level of school spirit and pride," says PTC President Robert Musgrove. "All the banners have been up for just one week, and we've already received numerous compliments. I like seeing and hearing this added school spirit," Musgrove adds.

The idea of installing banners was born from an Oct. 2009 visit by Gov. Pawlenty's Design Team. The team conducted a comprehensive visit and study of Pine City and recommended several courses of action regarding how city leaders might improve the city for residents, businesses and visitors. The team invested much of its time studying the college and its vital role in the community, and one important finding and resounding recommendation the team discussed confirmed what PTC college administration had long suspected: the college must gain more visibility, gain "a stronger presence," and find ways to strengthen the link between the college and the community it serves. The new banners proudly flying are one way the college is working toward the design team's recommendation.

"Plus, from an advertising perspective, it just makes sense to fully utilize campus property to advertise the college," says PTC Director of Marketing and Admissions Dani Chandonnet. "While we advertise in newspapers, on the radio and on billboards, we should be looking at property and media we already own and maximize that," Chandonnet adds.


Photo above: Dave Pixley of PTC's Facilities Department installs the last banner along Fourth Street and trims tree branches so passers-by gain the best view.

PTC enrollment reaches, surpasses milestone figure of 1,000

With a fall enrollment headcount of 1,022, Pine Technical College now is serving its largest enrollment in college history. While the economy has factored into PTC’s higher enrollment, President Robert Musgrove notes there’s more to it.

“In addition to current economic conditions, more people are recognizing we offer quality instruction, transferability, accreditation and MnSCU affiliation – and we’re affordable. Altogether, PTC just makes sense for Pine Area students,” Musgrove says.

PTC responded to the enrollment surge by hiring additional full-time and part-time instructors, which allowed the college to offer more course sections. Plus, more evening and weekend courses were offered this fall semester to accommodate classroom and lab availability.

“We’re working hard to meet the needs of our region and be an engine of workforce development,” says Nancy Mach, PTC’s Dean of Student Affairs. “One focus of our mission is to be a community resource for quality education that improves and empowers learners, and by the numbers, we’re doing that – we broke 1,000!” Mach exclaims.

Along these same lines, the financial aid department has seen and processed a record number of FAFSAs (Free Applications for Federal Student Aid). At the fall start, the college received 1,107 financial aid applications compared to 944 received at last year’s fall start – a 12 percent increase.

In addition to more instructors, more courses, more financial aid processing, the college also has grown physically to accommodate the surge. In July, the campus landscape underwent a major change with the addition of 80 new parking spaces. And, in anticipation of future growth and services, PTC has plans to add a hi-tech business incubator to the campus. Groundbreaking for this new 20,000 square-foot facility is planned for July, 2011.

PTC offers certificates, diplomas and associate degrees and currently is accepting applications for its spring, 2011 semester, which starts Jan. 10, 2011. For more information, call 320-629-5100, or visit www.pinetech.edu.

Disc golf comes to Pine City

On top of everything else PTC offers, now students have a new way to kick back and have fun -- you might call it "recess!" Now debuting in Pine City is disc golf, brought to you by City of Pine City adminstrators and the Parks and Recreation department.

"The sport is growing in popularity, and I am sure PTC students will enjoy playing," says Nathan Johnson, City of Pine City Planner.

Discs are available at Lee's Pro Shop, and soon, SuperAmerica will make them available as well. Disc golf is played much like traditional golf; the object is to throw the disc from the tee area to the target "basket" in the fewest number of throws.

Located on the Snake River at Voyageur Park, the new Pine City disc golf course is challenging and scenic, and best of all -- free! For a map of the course, see the image below. For more information, call the City of Pine City, 320-629-2575.

PTC biology and composition students embrace Food Literacy Week

Students in biology instructor Alexis Grinde’s courses and students in Stacey Foster’s college composition courses are collaborating in a unique project during Food Literacy Week, Oct. 11 through Oct. 15.

Inspired at the annual PTC fall inservice held in August, Grinde and Foster participated in a learning communities workshop facilitated by Emily Lardner of the Washington Center for Improving the Quality of Undergraduate Education. Lardner discussed the importance of establishing learning communities -- a way of organizing groups of students and their teachers across the boundaries of traditional courses, making learning more integrated, more engaging and more meaningful. As a result, Grinde and Foster are bringing biology and composition students together in a collaborative project, and the results are on display in PTC's main hall this week.

Students in Foster’s classes created brochures and/or newsletters reviewing the importance of avoiding plagiarism and discussing ways to analyze and discover credible sources for research. These brochures were shared with Grinde’s biology students who then researched topics related to food and used their new lessons from the composition students regarding finding credible sources. Guided by both Grinde and Foster, the different groups of biology students researched the following topics: genetically modified food; energy drinks; the process milk takes from cow to store; breastfeeding and formula feeding; sugars -- natural, high fructose corn syrup, and artificial; and organic and inorganic food and farming.

Based on the research they discovered, the biology students prepared posters and brochures now on display during Food Literacy Week. The next phase in the collaborative project will see Foster’s students using the research and presentations prepared by the biology students to find supporting evidence as they prepare either a process essay or a comparison/contrast essay.

"The intent is to get students to think harder about real-world dilemmas and to learn what their places in the dilemmas are," explains Foster. With this project, Grinde and Foster are optimistic this will take place.

PTC rolls out Safe Zone program

Pine Technical College is serving its largest enrollment in college history, and in recognition of an increasingly diverse student population and National Coming Out Day, Oct. 11, the college is implementing Safe Zone. The Safe Zone program is designed to support to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) students and employees.

"While it’s easier for other minority individuals to identify role models and mentors, the invisibility of sexual orientation makes it very difficult for GLBT students to find support and information," explains Nancy Mach, Dean of Student Affairs. "One goal of the Safe Zone program is to make it easier for GLBT students to identify people and offices on campus where they can safely turn – where they will be welcome and not judged," Mach explains.

Two major components of the Safe Zone program are symbols that participating PTC staff and faculty members will post visibly in their workspaces and a scheduled "Ally Training" they will undergo Oct. 27. The symbol allows the campus community to easily identify participating program members and know they can speak freely with these individuals about issues, including sexual orientation and gender identity, which may affect their academic success or job satisfaction. The symbol also indicates staff or faculty members who have participated in Ally Training and have an understanding and sensitivity toward GLBT issues.

The Safe Zone program at PTC and its components were developed by PTC’s Diversity Committee. Penny Hudlow, PTC Director of Human Resources and Diversity Committee Co-Chair says participating in the Safe Zone program is voluntary.

"Since an outcome of the Safe Zone program is to improve the campus climate for GLBT individuals, participants should be willing to challenge homophobic and heterosexist comments or behaviors in an educational and informative manner," Hudlow explains.
PTC administrators say they are proud of its increasingly culturally diverse population and support cultural diversity in every way possible.

"Safe Zone is one way to say all sexual orientations and gender representations are part of the campus culture, and they are acknowledged and supported," says Joan Bloemendaal-Gruett, Dean of Academic Affairs. "It provides a visible network of volunteers for students. Plus, our Safe Zone volunteers portray a campus committed to providing an environment in which every student is free to thrive on an academic, professional and personal level within a community based on respect and dignity," Bloemendaal-Gruett adds.