PTC to submit six nominees for MnSCU's Excellence in Teaching awards program

The Pine Technical College community, including students, staff, faculty, administrators, and alumni, has nominated six instructors to participate in the prestigious MnSCU Excellence in Teaching awards program.

The six nominees, all Outstanding Educators of the Year, now are working on completing some additional information for the Nomination Committee to review, and, using pre-established scoring criteria, the committee will select one faculty member to represent PTC and have a chance at winning the coveted Educator of the Year award. The six nominees are:
• Ann Boldt
• Jeff Ruth
• Julie Shores
• Dione Thoma
• Rita Watson
• Chris York

Last year, PTC's Melissa Felland, an instructor in the Early Childhood Development program, received an Outstanding Educator of the Year award.

"As a recipient of last year's Outstanding Educator of the Year award, I am proud and honored to congratulate all nominees. Preparing, being selected, and attending the ceremony honoring all Educators of the Year and Outstanding Educators of the Year was one highlight of my teaching career," Felland says. "It's one that I will never forget, and I hope the same for all of this year's nominees," Felland adds.

Photo: Melissa Felland, instructor in PTC's Early Childhood Development program, received an Outstanding Educator of the Year award at last year's ceremony.

Impressive results from Minnesota College Application Week are in

The results are in from Minnesota College Application Week, an event held in Novemnber that waived college application fees for a full week. PTC staff and faculty members are impressed with the initiative's results.

"We had 24 applications come in during the week, compared to 11 applications during the same week last year when application fees were not waived," explained Dani Chandonnet, PTC's Director of Marketing and Admissions. "The program is encouraging for those just thinking about applying who may be on the fence - the fee waiver is an incentive, and applicants truly have nothing to lose," Chandonnet adds.

The event ran Nov. 14 through 18, and applications nearly tripled across MnSCU campuses. Each MnSCU college and university waived its $20 application fee during the weeklong event, resulting in the colleges and universities collectively forgoing about $300,000 in revenue. Students could complete one application and submit it simultaneously to more than one MnSCU institution, a service that had not been available before this year. MnSCU figures report that nearly 10,000 high school students submitted 15,600 applications to the 31 state colleges and universities, compared to 4,900 students who submitted about 5,500 applications during the same week in 2010.

"This initiative was tremendously successful," said MnsCU Chancellor Steven Rosenstone. "Increasing the number of Minnesotans who complete a college degree, certificate or diploma is more important than ever," Rosenstone added.

By 2018, 70 percent of all jobs in Minnesota will require some postsecondary education, according to a Georgetown University study; many of those jobs will require a certificate or associate degree, and not necessarily a baccalaureate degree.

Phi Theta Kappa rolls out new "Giving Tree" program

Going on now through Dec. 12, PTC students, staff and faculty members may contribute to the "Giving Tree" program, established by students in PTC's Phi Theta Kappa honor society chapter. The program features three holiday trees (donated by PTC Student Senate), adorned with tags that double as Donation Requests. The tags represent students and their families who could use a hand up during a season where costs historically run high. PTC students, staff and faculty members are able to help by fulfilling the $10 gift card Donation Requests. The gift card designated options are: Holiday, Chris' Food Center, Wal-Mart and Family Pathways.

Photo at top: Marcus Lhotka (L) and John Thabes (R) present PTK President Ann Kubesh (center) with $500 in the form of gift cards to support the Giving Tree program. The large donation was generously provided by the PTC Shooters Association/Foundation Fund, of which Lhotka and Thabes are members.