To Prepare Students

Concordia responds to evolving needs and opens doors to new opportunities in a changing higher education landscape.

Adapting to Serve Students

Concordia’s mission begins with our students. Regardless of program, major, or degree level, students come to us for a meaningful, relevant education that helps them pursue their callings for life and career. Since Concordia’s mission was established in 1992, the student population has grown nearly five-fold, traditional-age students have shifted from Generation X to Generation Z, and the higher education marketplace has changed tremendously.

Despite these changes, one constant is the way Concordia prepares students by identifying and adapting to the shifting marketplace and needs of students. As Dr. Kim Craig, Vice President of Enrollment Management, shares, “CSP provides degree programs that align with student aspirations and career opportunities in the marketplace. We’ve expanded our academic offerings in many ways, including our new Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN) program delivered in St. Paul and Portland, as well as programs in trauma and resiliency, cybersecurity and data analytics degrees, and many others.”

Additionally, Concordia provides various modes of learning, from in person, hybrid, to online only. Craig says, “We continue to build on three decades of experience in online delivery to bring academic programs to students in the modes that work for their lives.”

Evolving Needs

Concordia’s responsiveness to the needs of Generation Z is also crucial. As Dr. Heath Lewis, Assistant Professor of Christian Education and Leadership, learned through his research on Generation Z’s relationship with the Lutheran Church, this generation is a “highly pragmatic generation, having been raised in a post-9/11 world, living through two major recessions, and now the COVID-19 pandemic. These challenges have left Z’ers experiencing anxiety today and stress about tomorrow.”

Members of this generation are referred to as “digital natives,” which means they have only known a digitally-connected world. “This reality,” Dr. Lewis says, “changes how they engage with others and consume information.”

Dr. Paul Hillmer, Dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, affirms the pragmatic and consumeristic orientation of this generation. He shares, “Students need to see immediate value in what they’re studying. They also want to be more actively involved in their learning.”

Thus, Hillmer and faculty colleagues adapt by engaging students in a wider range of activities than in years past while continuing to emphasize the value of their courses, particularly their liberal arts courses. Hillmer argues that the liberal arts “are more valuable in the workplace than most students think.” He continues, “The critical thinking skills, empathy, research, communication, artistic understanding and expression, nuance, diversity, global and historical context, theological grounding—all these and more—are exceedingly appealing to employers.” In response, Concordia has emphasized career readiness in the last six years to help students hone these vital skills and find rich application of their coursework.

Hillmer notes that Concordia prepares students for life beyond their careers: “In addition to being a valuable worker, students need to think deeply about what kind of person, spouse, neighbor, citizen, volunteer, worshiper, et al. they want to become. These pursuits are, in the long run, every bit as practical and every bit as important as the major one selects.”

Sustained Growth & Stability

Concordia’s ability to meet the needs of students is evident in various metrics, most notably as the second largest and most affordable of the 17 members of the Minnesota Private College Council. Craig says, “At a time when almost all peer institutions are seeing declining enrollment and financial challenges, CSP has followed a strategic eight-year path to sustained growth and stability. This year’s enrollment is the second highest in CSP’s 129-year history, just below last year’s record high enrollment. We’ve gone from fewer than 3,000 students less than ten years ago to 5,526 this fall.”

While record enrollment and affordable tuition are critical markers of Concordia’s success, as Craig argues, “success is best noted in student outcomes. Our graduates hit the job market ready for their careers. More than 90% of students obtain their initial career outcome within 9 months following graduation, and CSP alumni are also among the highest paid business professionals in Minnesota. With these strong career outcomes, Concordia is ranked first among Minnesota’s private universities on the Social Mobility Index.”

Successful student outcomes are driven by Concordia’s consistent, high quality education. As Hillmer concludes, “Fundamentally, students then and now want and need the same things, to find meaning and purpose for their lives. They want their classes to be relevant and their professors to be compassionate and understanding as well as competent and interesting.”

Concordia’s administration, faculty, and staff are proud to see the fruits of their dedication and adaptability pay off, not only for the university, but especially for the students we prepare.

Story: Dr. Colleen Arendt, Associate Professor in the Department of Communication Studies | Photos: Concordia University Marketing