NEW ACADEMIC PROGRAMS

In our pursuit of educational excellence, Saint Ben’s and Saint John’s recently completed an Academic Program Prioritization process. The purpose of this analysis was to identify a strategic programming balance, as well as to target academic programs that have the potential for growth, innovation and integration.

“The guiding principle for this prioritization process is that students come first,” says Ice. “We seek to offer educational programs that have strong student interest as well as to position CSB and SJU as leaders and change agents in liberal arts education. We also want to become more competitive in the higher education marketplace.”

The Academic Program Prioritization process has involved years of discussions and analysis – and some undeniably tough decisions. (To learn more on that, we encourage you to look back on the email message that was sent to the entire community on Friday, Feb. 24. If you can’t find or didn’t receive that email, feel free to reach out to the Alumnae Relations office at csbalumnae@csbsju.edu.)

Much has been said and reported about academic program reduction at colleges and universities across the country, including at Saint Ben’s and Saint John’s. And yet, not to be overlooked in this conversation are the significant steps that we’ve taken over the past five years to add a number of new academic programs. “These new programs are innovative and strategic,” Ice says, “and many of them are cross-disciplinary, because that is the future of liberal arts education.”

Data Analytics Minor

About the program – Data analysis has come to the forefront of society in multiple dimensions. In politics, business, finance, the economy, the environment, international relations, the arts, genetics, health care and in the study of languages and history, data analysis has always been of great importance. However, information technologies and increasing availability of data have provided new avenues of inquiry and exploration in the pursuit of knowledge, in the pursuit of the common good, and in the pursuit of private interest.

“Data analytics is a central tool for decision-making, and whether a person’s profession is as an epidemiologist, accountant, marketing manager, physician, political adviser, nurse, teacher, historian or biologist … they will be immersed in data as they attempt to make good choices in a rapidly changing environment.”

– Bob Hesse, CSB and SJU associate professor of computer science and mathematics

Neuroscience Minor

About the program – The interdisciplinary neuroscience minor at CSB and SJU is designed to pair with any major or pre-health program and is collaboratively administered by the biology and psychology departments. Students take one core course – either Neurobiology or Physiological Psychology –and work with a neuroscience faculty advisor to individualize elective coursework that meets their unique needs and goals, such as accommodating study abroad or gaining computational experience.

“Neuroscience students are encouraged and supported in pursuing research and other cocurricular activities. We have research options available on campus during the school year and summer and also help students to apply for summer research positions and internships at other locations, such as in clinical positions or at large universities.”

– Jennifer Schaefer, biology department chair and neuroscience minor director

Exercise And Health Science Major

About the program – At the heart of the exercise and health science major is the concept of evidence-based practice. Our graduates will ask clinically relevant questions, locate and read applicable primary research articles, evaluate research quality for potential bias, and synthesize research findings to answer the clinical question while giving consideration to the strength of the evidence. These academic skills allow our graduates to use the best scholarly evidence available to inform their clinical decisions, which is foundational to nearly all careers in the exercise and health fields.

“Awareness of these social identities enables our graduates to appreciate the unique values and preferences of each patient or client in relation to their own, and how social identities influence interactions with exercise and health fields.”

Global Health Minor

About the program – Saint Ben’s and Saint John’s global health minor taps into a compelling and growing field of study that examines the health of communities on an international scale, paying attention to issues of justice, inequality and problems that transcend borders.

The new minor, which became available in fall 2022, takes a liberal arts approach to the study of health within a global context. The program emphasizes the contributions that the social sciences and humanities –such as anthropology, sociology, history, communications and psychology – can make to understanding human experiences of health, illness and healing.

The unique courses and training provided by the minor will help students analyze some of the most pressing problems that shape our world, preparing students for exciting careers in health care, public policy, international service and more.

“Students have been interested in global health for many years and have been seeking out opportunities, both on and off campus, to pursue those interests on their own. So it just made sense to provide students with an opportunity to pursue this course of study in a more comprehensive way that combines relevant course work with study abroad opportunities, lectures, workshops, summer internships and more.”

Narrative Practice Minor

About the program – The narrative practice minor connects the skills of creative writing to students’ future careers. Pre-health and nursing students in the narrative practice minor work with St. Cloud Hospital patients to prevent delirium and social isolation by offering innovative, creative-writing programming. Students gain clinical experience in multiple units of St. Cloud Hospital, deepening their understanding of acute and chronic illness while learning how metaphor and imagery shape effective communication.

“From first-semester students to graduating seniors, the narrative practice minor prepares students to hear and tell the stories that will improve the health of their future patients, the reach of their future businesses, and the vitality of their communities.”

Climate Studies Minor

About the program – The climate studies minor (which will be available in fall 2023) aims to provide students with a course of study that helps deepen knowledge about the climate crisis with applications and solutions derived from many academic disciplines. The minor can be integrated with – and complement – any existing major or future career.

With climate change looming as perhaps the biggest crisis of the foreseeable future, it is likely to require multiple solutions and complex thinking to find ways to reverse its effects and live with its reality. To address this need within a liberal arts education, Saint Ben’s and Saint John’s will incorporate many fields from the academic catalog into the new minor.

“The great thing about our climate studies minor is that it is truly interdisciplinary. Climate crisis requires all hands on deck to research, innovate and craft sustainable and just solutions. Our program builds on our existing liberal arts strengths in cultivating diverse skills and perspectives among our students – the leaders of the future.”

– Corrie Grosse, assistant professor of environmental studies

Engineering Physics Concentration

About the program – The engineering physics concentration track within our existing physics major is designed to prepare students for technical jobs directly in industry after graduation as well as for students who want to pursue engineering degrees elsewhere. This program provides students with a fundamental background in engineering along with a strong foundation in physics and math. Joining these strong technical skills and knowledge with the excellent liberal arts education that CSB and SJU are known for is a winning combination for our students.

Specific courses like computer-aided design and MatLab programming introduce engineering and give practice in engineering technology. CSB and SJU are formalizing the path for students to do engineering senior projects like designing, building and testing devices like wind tunnels and rail guns.

“We see the new engineering physics track as an evolution of our applied physics program. Applied physics has been a great path into industry and engineering for our alums, but they have been telling us that more specific engineering practice would have been useful to them. We are confident that our engineering physics program is going to open up great opportunities for our students.”

– Jim Crumley, chair of the physics department

Graduate Nursing Program

About the program – Saint Ben’s and Saint John’s have a distinguished, 40-year tradition of preparing strong, professional nurse leaders for contemporary nursing practice. That tradition now includes graduate nursing programs designed to prepare registered nurses for advanced roles in health care. You can learn more about the launch of our graduate programs in our fall 2021 issue, using the QR code above.

Currently available programs include:

• Doctor of nursing practice –Family nurse practitioner track

• Doctor of nursing practice –Leadership track

• Master of science, nursing –Leadership and education for practice track

FINANCE MAJOR (PROPOSED)

About the program – In recent years, finance has become a more popular avenue of study for students at CSB and SJU. The accounting major has seen approximately a 30% increase in the number who choose the finance concentration. In addition, the economics major has recently added a finance concentration to cater to students interested in finance through the lens of economics.

The proposed finance major, currently working its way through faculty governance, was developed with the goal of merging these concentrations into a single major in an interdisciplinary fashion. This is in keeping with the liberal arts spirit of Saint Ben’s and Saint John’s. An additional concentration in mathematical finance is also being proposed to make finance at CSB and SJU stand out among our peers.

“Only one other school in Minnesota currently has an undergraduate major in mathematical finance. We feel that with our current faculty, we have strengths in all of these areas and can deliver a major of outstanding quality and value to incoming students.”

– Steve Welch, chair of the accounting and finance department

CREATIVITY AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP MINOR (PROPOSED)

About the program – The creativity and entrepreneurship minor is designed to help students develop a “creative mindset” (curiosity, risk taking, pushing boundaries, welcoming failure, lateral thinking and embracing ambiguity) and an “entrepreneurial mindset” (opportunity recognition, idea generation, customer value proposition design, feasibility analysis and business model design). The minor will include 20 credits of coursework including an experiential component requiring students to create something they can “put out into the world.”

“I think this minor is a perfect fit for liberal arts institutions like CSB and SJU. We need creative problem solvers and entrepreneurial thinkers now more than ever. We need them in climate change, health care, education, politics, business, and so many other areas.”

– Paul Marsnik, director of the Donald McNeely Center for Entrepreneurship

CYBER SECURITY (PROPOSED)

About the program – This will be an exciting and highly relevant new option, but it’s currently still in the development and discussion phase. Watch for more information to come.