Montana Education Excellence

COTs have outgrown their cumbersome names.

The scholarships can only be applied toward tuition. Students who are awarded a renewable scholarship must maintain a grade point average of 3.0 or higher and continue to be enrolled full time.

One problem has been that the colleges may be one of the state’s best-kept secrets.

"The earlier we give them the options, the better."

The problem with the explosion of technology in the schools is not how to get children to learn to use every new gadget and device.

It’s the adults.

The future of the state rests on an educated citizenry able to tackle important problems in the 21st century’s knowledge-based economy. The University of Montana welcomes those who want to make a difference.

In order to keep pace with leading nations, the U.S. must produce 16 million more degree recipients above its projected output (48 million) by 2025. This is a daunting task.

Montana Tech will have a hard time keeping a qualified chancellor unless the state stops allowing the presidents of its larger universities to have oversight of the smaller colleges, Chancellor Frank Gilmore told the state Board of Regents recently.

"If we graded Montana against other countries, we’d be about a B. There are at least a dozen, maybe 20 countries around the world that have higher achieving students when they graduate from high school. So, I think we have to challenge the status quo, we have to improve."

At the request of Baucus, President of Flathead Valley Community College, Dr. Jane Karas and Fort Peck Community College Vice President of Academic Affairs, Dr. Janine Pease, were selected to share their perspectives during a summit highlighting the critical role community colleges play in developing America’s workforce and educational goals.