Dear Students and Employees:

The fall term at Northland College is off to a very good start. In fact, you may find this hard to believe, but it’s almost mid-semester. Hopefully the rest of the semester will proceed as well as the first half, and I hope the wonderful fall weather that we have had continues on.

The opportunities to partake of the richness of being a member of a choir have never been better on the EGF campus! We now have two choirs – one is a credit course for students, and the other an open community choir. Both choirs are under the direction of Charles McCauley, a well-known music director in the greater Grand Forks area. I am pleased to announce that the student choir, known as the Chamber Choir, has 17 registered students and 15 community members have signed up for Community Choir. The choir is accompanied by Marlys Murphy, whose well-versed background makes her dedicated presence a true “standing ovation.”

Director McCauley is planning a December 6, 2007 performance of the two choirs in the EGF campus Commons, and also an evening performance at the Heritage Village to say “thank you” to the Heritage Foundation for allowing us to use their facilities for practice. Stay tuned for additional information regarding the performances.

During the past ten days, two very important visits have taken place. On Thursday, September 20, the Minnesota House Committee on Higher Education was here, and on Wednesday, September 26, the Minnesota Senate Committee on Higher Education was here. The committees are charged with determining whether or not the state will bond a project that would add 7,600 square feet of new classroom space and renovate an additional 30,500 square feet of existing classroom space on the EGF campus. The proposed addition would house the nursing program and would renovate space for the surgical technology program. The project would also provide much needed space for the library, bookstore and general classroom areas.

To understand the importance of these meetings, one may need a little history. The East Grand Forks campus has not had a major building addition since 1992. At that time, our campus enrollment was 900 students. Since that time, our enrollment has increased by more than 900 students, and we have added several programs. During the last few years, we have used our own campus general fund dollars to renovate five different areas of our building. We are now at a point where we can no longer create more usable space from our existing space without a substantial bonding project.

With these thoughts in mind, I hope that students and employees will convey the urgency of this needed bonding project. If all goes well, the project will be approved by the legislature in the spring so construction may begin in the fall of 2008.

Mike Normandin
Dean of Academic Affairs, EGF campus

Dear Students and Employees:

Now that we are four weeks into the semester, I hope everything is settling down and a sense of normalcy has returned for everyone. If you find yourself struggling with any of your classes, there are some services we offer to assist you. Personnel in the Learning Centers are available to help you should you want some tutoring or instruction on how to take better notes. See Dean Dalen on the Thief River Falls campus or Ellen Brehmer on the East Grand Forks campus for a complete list of services they offer which contribute to your college success. We also have advisors available to offer you assistance in adjusting to college life, assisting with any academic issues you may have, and help you with financial planning. Please stop in and visit with one of our advisors if you are having any problems.

Fall semester registrations are pretty much complete. Current enrollment numbers show us having 1973 full-time student and 1815 part-time students for a total of 3788 students currently registered for fall semester. Last fall we had 2008 full-time students and 2108 parttime students for a total of 4116 students. Full-time equivalencies show us with 1355 FYE last fall and 1298 this fall. We do expect some additional part-time enrollments to still come in for our Farm Management programs.

Over the next couple of weeks we will be adding information to our website which was previously provided in hard copy format only. This will include information which is required of all colleges and will include the following:

(1) Policy regarding Drug-Free Schools and Colleges,

(2) Equity In Athletics Disclosure,

(3) Financial Management,

(4) College Policies & Procedures,

(5) Student Code of Conduct,

(6)Student Right to Know/Graduation & Transfer Rates, and

(7) Services for Students With Disabilities.

Please check this information out as we will no longer provide hard copies of this information.

Also, please remember that email is our official means of communication, so check your email account frequently. If you do not know what your college email account is you can check with any of our student services or technical support personnel.

Dennis Bendickson
Vice President of Student Services

WOW, we made it through another fall rush.

Thanks to all who were patient and understanding through the first few weeks of the semester. This is the first opportunity I have had to share some thoughts with you as Director of Financial Aid, so I am going to use this opportunity to reflect back on the last three weeks and end with some advice. The first week of fall term brings constant telephone calls, continual emails, and steady student traffic in both financial aid offices & this year was no exception. The second week was a carbon copy of the first, and the third week ended with disbursement day. There were a number of disappointed students because overage checks were not as large as expected, or they did not receive one. There are a number of reasons that cause these situations to occur and I would like to take the time to explain some reasons.

One of the main reasons that we found this fall was that student loan/s were not given to students that did not complete the Entrance Loan Counseling (ELC) and Master Promissory Notes (MPN). Students may complete their ELC and MPNs online using the instructions sent with award letters. Both new and returning students need to complete all or part of the process in order for their loans to be released. Another reason was due to outside funding or agency funding that came in a day or two prior to disbursement day. This short timeframe of receipt does not allow enough time for processing.

Another odd occurrence that happened this fall was due to computer glitches at one of the servicers. Great Lakes experienced computer problems prior to the beginning of the semester, and for some students who completed ELC and the MPNs on their website, they did not go through. Please check with the financial office on your campus if you have not received the loan/s you were expecting.

I would like to end with some advice to students. Complete your financial aid paperwork as early as possible because the earlier students apply, acquire necessary signatures, and return necessary paperwork, etc, the easier it is to help students plan their finances while in college.

Please read all of your documentation that you receive from the financial aid office and send back requested documentation, and above all, if you have questions or do not understand a process, please ask one of the staff members and they will be able to clarify the process. The process is regulated and at times very confusing - we want to help you through that process.

Getting your FAFSA done early in the spring is the key to having everything in order. When the FAFSA is done early, the award letter is also processed early, giving you a lot of time to read the enclosures and to follow the instructions for loan processing. There is a much longer turnaround time for paperwork that is turned in during the first three weeks of school, so we encourage students to complete it early.

In a couple more weeks we should be caught up and have all the loose ends tied up so that everyone will have their financial aid disbursed. Again, thanks to those who were patient and understanding through the rush. I wish you all the best for the remainder of the year at NCTC and hope it is an enjoyable experience.

Donna Quam
Financial Aid Director