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It's only been two months since the new
chancellor of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system
declared the institution needed a shakeup, but that didn't stop him
from giving a progress report Wednesday.


      Chancellor Steven Rosenstone added some details and deadlines to
the framework he presented in September to the trustees of the
54-campus system.


      For example, he wants to finish his redesign of how classes are
taught in time to put the new strategies into practice next fall.
That includes writing lesson plans with more learning through doing
projects and solving problems, and training instructors to teach
that way, he said.


      The chancellor also wants to systematically increase
collaboration among faculty and spread their best ideas among the
campuses by fall 2012. That could include a common core of liberal
arts classes and a way to share the best-designed courses across
the system's colleges and universities.


      Some of his other goals are farther out, he said. Rosenstone
wants to more closely align the education provided by the system's
colleges and universities to the workforce needs of the state's
employers, but that can't happen until an ongoing region-by-region
workforce assessment by several state agencies is finished.


      Rosenstone stressed that the details of many of his other goals
would emerge through his ongoing discussions with the college and
university presidents, faculty, staff and students.


      "I don't know the answer to all of these questions," he said.


"I don't have in my bottom drawer the magic plan."


      But he said it couldn't wait. One of his top priorities, he
said, was strengthening the system's finances so it can provide an
"extraordinary" education while remaining affordable at a time of
declining state support for higher education.


      "It's not just about saving money," Rosenstone said. "It's
about the effectiveness with which we do our work."

Gallery

MnSCU Chancellor Steven Rosenstone announced details and deadlines to his plans for the 54-campus system during a briefing to the trustees on Wednesday.

MnSCU chancellor updates trustees on overhaul

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