OUR BOLD, SHARED FUTURE
SHARED SERVICES AND ALIGNMENT UPDATE In 2013, DCTC and Inver Hills began transitioning to a shared
President Berndt reported that the Alignment Committee
leadership structure. Sharing services and expertise between
helped to identify and leverage the ways the colleges comple-
the two colleges is an alignment strategy intended to make
ment each other, especially in providing more academic and
core functions more effective and cost-efficient. Our guiding
career options for students.
vision is to best meet the needs of our students, business and industry partners, and surrounding communities by working together.
and Marketing, for example, carry out responsibilities on
Inver Hills and DCTC counselors and advisors communicate
both campuses. Increased collaboration has resulted in major
with each other across campuses. We are also looking at more
cost savings for both institutions.
ways faculty at each college can work together.”
“Navigating alignment has evolved over the years to become
President Berndt added that listening carefully to the
less reactive and more thoughtful and student-centric,”
concerns and suggestions from colleagues at both colleges
said Michael Berndt, Inver Hills and DCTC president. “We
has been a key component of alignment planning.
vision while bringing faculty and staff together for shared events and training.”
on a process to better align the mission, vision, and values of
mission statements of both schools, while maintaining the
both colleges.
heart of the former statements.
In 2020, both institutions celebrated 50th anniversaries
The respective mission statements now read:
and, given their shared status, used the tagline, “Two proud
• Learn, discover, and build a better future: DCTC is
histories, one bold future.” Coming off those yearlong
dedicated to education for employment and life-long
celebrations, it seemed fitting to review—through a shared
growth.
lens—the documents that guide each college’s daily work. While each college has its own focus, some fundamentals
opportunities each school has to offer,” the president said. “One way we are accomplishing that objective is by having
Alignment Committee tasked with clarifying our collaborative
Those three words and phrases have been added to the
liberal arts, to be more informed about what programs and
Departments such as IT, Operations, HR, Safety and Security,
have developed a more planful approach that includes an
Over the last academic year, DCTC and Inver Hills embarked
“We want students at both colleges, one technical and one
“We are always asking how we can do things together,” he said. “Understanding how our distinct college missions strengthen each other is not only integral to that process, but also gives us the wisdom to best serve our students and be a good steward of our resources.”
• Learn, discover, and build a better future: Inver Hills is dedicated to the power and promise of education.
apply to both. In talking with various stakeholders—including
Simple yet meaningful, the refreshed missions capture the
students, faculty and staff, and community partners—three
shared spirit of what community and technical colleges offer.
tenets revealed themselves as key outcomes for students at
They will help guide our work as shared institutions into the
both colleges. The mission workgroup embraced the words
next 50 years.
learn, discover and build a better future as foundational to the work of both colleges.
Learn, discover, and build a better future: DCTC is dedicated to education for employment and life-long growth.
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Learn, discover, and build a better future: Inver Hills is dedicated to the power and promise of education.
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