News and Events

Throughout its existence, the college has constantly changed and evolved to meet the needs of students and employers. What processes are in place to ensure ATCC is able to meet these needs?

Our commitment to excellence has contributed most to the college’s emergence as a higher education leader earning best-in-class outcomes through classroom innovations and genuinely caring about students. 

In 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, we launched an integrated planning process that resulted in a strategic framework and the college’s first strategic enrollment management plan that guided much of our work through 2024. Having achieved many of the objectives we set in 2020 and seeing tremendous enrollment growth throughout that time (while many institutions were in decline), the process proved to be successful. As a result of community feedback, listening to the needs of students, and the dedication of our staff and faculty, we expanded student housing, refreshed the college’s brand, created athletics programs, implemented additional avenues for personalized student support, and began recruiting students from abroad. We have come a long way in the past five years, and we aren’t slowing down.

October 2024 brought a renewed focus to strategic planning, which again led us to seek input from key groups: community members, employees, alumni, and, of course, our students. Everything we do over the coming years will ultimately reflect three foundational priorities: student success, inclusive culture, and operational excellence. With the groundwork laid in the form of an updated strategic framework titled “The Best is Yet to Come,” we are now developing a comprehensive 2025-2030 strategic plan designed to engage employees across the institution.

This framework builds upon the college’s ‘Students First’ culture, validating the need for continuous improvement and ensuring that the support offered is always evolving to meet the changing needs of learners. ‘Students First’ puts the ’we’ above the ’me,’ encouraging a sense of community and belonging. Ultimately, we demonstrate ‘Students First’ by giving more than what learners expect and fostering an environment where engagement is encouraged and every individual is seen, heard, and valued.

We have re-centered our mission and vision statements, defined clear, concise values that our campus community can connect with, and have identified the long-range targets that will guide our evolution over the next five years.

Work has begun on four supporting plans spanning academics, operations (HR, finance, IT, and facilities), strategic enrollment management (recruitment and retention), and the emerging EDGE Center for Innovation.

What is the college’s role in the county and what impact does it have on this area?

Known for our hands-on approach to learning, Alexandria College is making an impact in the Alexandria Lakes area, while attracting students from near and far. ATCC keeps its focus on workforce training and success through advisory boards, both at the college and foundation levels, and for each of our academic programs. With the keen guidance of advisory members, the college anticipates what is happening in the industry then aligns its curriculum accordingly. This relationship helps account for ATCC’s 99.2% job placement rate, the highest in the state. Offering transfer education and career-focused training in healthcare, education, business, information technology, design, manufacturing, and transportation, ATCC is also known for one of the largest peace officer education and training programs in Minnesota—making an impact in every corner of the state.

ATCC generates an economic impact of $139.8 million annually.  This includes a direct impact of $77.3 million and an indirect/induced impact of $62.5 million.

More than 50% of our students in FY2024 came to ATCC from more than 50 miles away. More than 40% from 100+ miles. And for the past three fiscal years we have served students from all 87 Minnesota counties. That is a testament both to the quality of education and extracurricular opportunities at ATCC and to Alexandria’s reputation as a vibrant destination community.

Not only do students come to Alexandria to study, many choose to stay in Alexandria. Abby Mumme, a 2024 graduate of our Police Training & Education program, came to ATCC from Waterville, Minnesota. She’s been with the Alexandria Police Department since graduation, and now calls the Alexandria area home.

How does the college partner with other entities to best serve its students and the community?

ATCC is deeply rooted in the lakes area community. Our employees volunteer in the community, serve on executive boards and event planning committees, and some even hold city government and school board positions.

We partner with industry leaders to ensure our curriculum keeps pace with industry needs, and to provide real-world experiences to students so they’re prepared to thrive when they enter the workforce. Students may work directly with community businesses through projects and internships, volunteerism, and mentorship programs. Some students have work study positions on campus or with area non-profits, a mutually beneficial partnership that provides valuable work experience to students.

ATCC also serves as a training provider for high school instructors across the state, providing specialized training in manufacturing, mechanics, and more.

Industry experts make several of our competition events possible, judging local and state competitions for DECA, BPA, and SkillsUSA at both the high school and college levels.

The college hosts the annual Diversity Fest, bringing hundreds of community members together to celebrate cultural diversity through food and entertainment from around the world.

The RAISE initiative, a partnership between ATCC and Douglas County, allowed eligible unemployed or underemployed county residents to take a course or begin an academic program at no charge. Similarly, the Next Generation Nursing Assistant program, a statewide initiative aimed to bolster the number of CNAs in Minnesota, allowed students to complete training and testing at no charge. This initiative was wildly successful at ATCC, training many new nursing assistants from our region and from as far away as the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area.

ATCC is engaged with our area high schools, providing avenues for students to earn college credit as high school students through PSEO, concurrent enrollment, and online college in the high school (OCHS), plus hosting specialized training, like nursing assistant, directly at area high schools. The college also hosts summer camps in IT, manufacturing, and healthcare to keep area students engaged and looking toward their futures.

What are the biggest challenges the college is facing at this moment? What is being done to combat those challenges?

The biggest challenge the college is facing right now is an approaching “enrollment cliff.” The number of high school graduates in Minnesota and across the U.S. is expected to decline year over year, beginning in 2026.

Compounding this issue, the return on investment of college education is increasingly scrutinized by the public, and fewer high school graduates are continuing their education at colleges and universities. Generally the public shows more confidence in two-year colleges than in four-year universities, and we are especially well positioned as an institution largely focused on career preparation.

To combat the decline in number of high school graduates we are exploring additional avenues to engage with adult learners, including partnerships with White Earth Nation, the U.S. Naval Community College, and development of “upskilling” initiatives and online training opportunities focused on working adults.

ATCC has a legacy of providing quality education to central Minnesota residents, but through the addition of athletics programs and unique online programs the college now draws students from across Minnesota and around the world. Athletics offerings like soccer, paired with broad-appeal programs like Business Management have greatly increased interest among international students, and we are working to expand international recruitment further in the coming years.

While it’s common to think of college students as being 18 years old, fresh out of high school, the median age of our student body is 20, and almost one quarter of our students are over the age of 25. To accommodate our changing demographic, ATCC has invested in bilingual (English/Spanish) student success coaches and tutors, academic advisors focused on international students and athletes, and recruiters who visit high schools and college fairs across the upper Midwest and in the MSP metro area. Additional strategies to attract and retain students will be explored throughout our strategic planning process, currently underway.

Does employer demand play into the college’s decision-making process in regard to programming and other areas? If so, how? And if so, are there certain programs impacted more than others?

A recent study from Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce compared alignment between available certificate and associate degree programs and labor markets in various communities across the United States. Alexandria, Minnesota ranked #9 in the nation in having educational offerings most closely aligned with local industry. Alexandria College is a key contributor in building and maintaining a strong workforce in our community, and we take that responsibility seriously.

Employer demand definitely plays a role in our academic programming. It’s pretty hard to convince a prospective student to invest their time, energy, and money into an education if there’s no hope of getting a job when they come out the other side. By staying plugged in to industry through program advisory boards, industry tours, and guest speakers, our technical programs stay informed about industry workforce needs and emerging technologies, and use that information to adjust curriculum, invest in program equipment, and develop new courses to meet changing needs.

Last year we invested in equipment and renovated lab space to add capacity in our welding program, due to both industry demand and increasing interest from students.

The manufacturing and healthcare sectors two areas where workforce is in high demand, and often well paid, but some careers in these fields are not top of mind when students are trying to determine a career path. If someone says they are a welder or a nurse, you probably have a good understanding of what their job entails, and what that education might look like. This isn’t necessarily the case for manufacturing technicians, machinists, ophthalmic technicians, and medical coders. These are great careers in fields that need skilled employees, but if no one knows these careers exist, it’s tough to fill that demand.

We’re working to shed light on some of these lesser-known, high-demand careers, and breaking down the stigma that a degree from a two-year college won’t get you anywhere.

Statewide, some of the occupations available with these degrees are expected to grow an average of 13.5% over the next 10 years, with median wages averaging nearly $29 per hour.

• Machinists: 7.6% growth, $25.70 per hour
• Ophthalmic Medical Technicians: 10.2% growth, $28.83 per hour
• Industrial Machinery Mechanics: 20.5% growth, $31.45 per hour
• CNC Tool Programmers: 21.4% growth, $32.52 per hour
• Medical Records Specialists: 7.7% growth, $25.87 per hour

Data from MN DEED