University of Minnesota Duluth, University of Wisconsin-Superior, and College of St. Scholastica leaders are gathering on Friday, February 17, at 2:30 p.m. to sign a Cross Registration Agreement in the rotunda of the Kathryn A. Martin Library, 416 University Drive.
The Cross Registration Agreement allows students enrolled at one school to take classes at the other institutions. It started in 1966 as a pilot program between UMD and the College of St. Scholastica. It was expanded to include UW-Superior in 1971.
The agreement was recently reviewed and the February 17 signing is a recommitment to this partnership.
All for One
Rarely are all academic influencers from the Twin Ports at one event, but they say the signing is an opportunity to affirm their alliance for this partnership.
“We’re so pleased to offer this added value to our Twin Ports college students,” says Michael Marsden, interim vice president for Academic Affairs at St. Scholastica. “This partnership between St. Scholastica, UMD and UW-Superior is a great example of higher education innovation geared toward giving our local students the best possible preparation and opportunities to excel in their future careers.”
Christopher Tremblay, UW-Superior Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management, sees it as a way to strengthen course catalogs. “This agreement leverages the academic offerings among all three institutions, giving students enrolled in the Twin Ports area an optimal selection of courses, including a variety of unique and niche courses in which each institution specializes," he explains.
Qualifications
Mary Keenan, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Strategic Enrollment Management and Institutional Research at UMD, says Cross Registration participants are degree seeking, full-time undergraduate students in good academic standing. “Students pay tuition for their home institution and, in turn, the host institution waives costs for up to two courses.”
Keenan says she’d like to see more students take advantage of this unique opportunity within the Twin Ports.
Bulldogs’ Means to an End
Many UMD students are using the Cross Registration Agreement to fulfill graduate school requirements.
Ellie Stafelda is taking anatomy and physiology classes at the College of St. Scholastica because their lab uses cadavers, a requirement for the master’s program she applied to.
Similarly, Lauren Moe says she’s able to take pathophysiology at the College of St. Scholastica, a prerequisite for her master’s degree in nursing that’s not offered at UMD. “Since I was able to Cross register, I’m able to fulfill all the requirements. I’m not sure what I would have done without it.
Others, like Bulldog Anna Siefferman, say Cross Registration is helping them get to the graduation finish line faster. She’s taking upper-level biology classes at St. Scholastica. “It will help me graduate sooner because I’m able to take an elective science course that I may have otherwise needed to wait another semester in order to fulfill.”
Anthony Wetzel is minoring in Russian Area Studies and Cross Registration is actually a requirement for his program. He takes advanced Russian language classes at the College of St. Scholastica that are not offered at UMD. “Cross Registration will not only allow me to graduate faster, it has also allowed me to continue studying a subject that I love.”
Yellowjacket Journey to Graduation
The Cross Registration Agreement is helping UW-Superior student Alison Wainionpaa graduate on time.
“I am currently taking Descriptive Inorganic Chemistry at UMD,” she said. “I needed this class in order to graduate in the spring because it is only offered every other year in the fall at UW-Superior.”
For Victoria Greer, a UW-Superior English Education major with a minor in Spanish Education, convenience was a major factor.
“I chose to take classes at another local college because of an internal schedule conflict with courses for my major and minor at UW-Superior, as well as a conflict in my route to graduation,” said Greer. “My class at St. Scholastica was very positive. The professor was very friendly and the class exceeded my expectations.”