Northern State announces teach-out partnership with Presentation College
ABERDEEN, S.D. (Dakota News Now) - When Presentation College announced that it will be permanently closing its campus in 2023, Northern State University was eager to work with Presentation to form a teach-out agreement for students who want to continue their education in Aberdeen. The partnership was announced by Northern State on Tuesday.
The teach-out agreement will allow students in every major at Presentation, except nursing and radiologic technology, to finish their degrees online or in-person through Northern State and graduate on-time.
“We’re worried about the students from Presentation College and the stress they’re going through with their university closing, and we want to make sure they know they have a home in Aberdeen to finish their degree, finish it on time and at a price that works for them and that is comparable to what they’re paying at Presentation College, if not lower,” said NSU Associate Provost Erin Fouberg.
As the two universities located in Aberdeen, Presentation College and Northern State University have worked together for years. NSU President Neal Schnoor says Northern State wanted to make the transition for Presentation students as smooth as possible.
“Northern has worked with Presentation for quite awhile. These agreements are very detailed. You want to make sure you get it right so when you announce it, the students and everyone know that this is a solid plan to help us help them reach their goals,” said Dr. Schnoor.
Dr. Fouberg says NSU already has a system in place for transferring credits for Presentation students and resources available to them. Community members have already offered one-time scholarships for students who choose to utilize the teach-out agreement as well.
“Our registrar is already helping some Presentation College students matriculate to Northern and tell them exactly how their courses will fit,” said Dr. Fouberg.
Northern will not only accept credits from current Presentation College students, but also any student who stopped out of their degree since 2013.
“We want to help those learners come back to college and finish their degree from Northern and be proud alumni of Northern State University,” said Dr. Fouberg.
NSU is also interested in keeping Presentation staff in Aberdeen as well.
”We also have a lot of talent on-staff at Presentation. So, for Aberdeen, it’s very critical that we retain talent in the region. Our job as a regional comprehensive is to fulfill workforce needs, and we’re absolutely committed to that,” said Dr. Schnoor.
Dr. Schnoor says meeting Presentation students’ needs and encouraging them to continue their education in Aberdeen is Northern State’s priority.
“Northern has deep respect for the legacy of the Presentation Sisters and Presentation College. This is an especially challenging time for Presentation students. With this agreement, Northern can directly assist them to complete their degrees. Aberdeen is a close-knit community, and we’ll pull together to help Presentation students and continue to meet regional educational and workforce needs.”
Northern State staff will be present at the teach-out fair in Lantern Hall on Presentation College’s campus from 1 to 4 p.m. Monday, Jan. 30, and Tuesday, Jan. 31.
For more immediate support, NSU encourages students to reach out to Northern Director of Admissions Mr. Layton Cooper at Layton.cooper@northern.edu or Associate Provost Dr. Erin Fouberg at erin.fouberg@northern.edu.
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