Stay Curious. Stay Connected.
MailNewsletters♡Donate Now
Sign up
*Password must be at least 8 characters and contain one uppercase letter, one lowercase letter, one number and one symbol.
Already have an account?
By submitting, you consent that you are at least 18 years of age and to receive information about MPR's or APMG entities' programs and offerings. The personally identifying information you provide will not be sold, shared, or used for purposes other than to communicate with you about MPR, APMG entities, and its sponsors. You may opt-out at any time clicking the unsubscribe link at the bottom of any email communication. View our Privacy Policy.
Sign in to your profile
Forgot Password?
New to MPR News?
Welcome back
to news
for you
Reset Password

Enter the username on file and we'll send you a code to reset your password.

Still require assistance or not sure what your User Name is?
Welcome back
to news
for you
Email Verification

A verification code has been emailed to

Still awaiting the code?
On Campus Blog
Alex Friedrich

Carleton and St. Olaf will soon work together on college courses

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Northfield sign
And cooperation? (Northfielder via Flickr)

Northfield's old rivals -- St. Olaf College and Carleton College -- are teaming up to save costs.

A $1.4 million grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation will have them jointly run some areas of their information technology, administration -- even academic programming.

St. Olaf President David Anderson said sharing some college operations would be more efficient:

"One of the things that the financial crisis brought out into the open was a deep and abiding concern among Americans about the cost of college. So the president of Carleton and I looked at each other and said, 'You know what? Maybe it's time that we don't need to have two of everything in Northfield, Minnesota. And that can help us address that concern."

Carleton President Steven Poskanzer says they could hold joint courses. Or a professor from one school could teach a specialty as part of a class at the other school.

He told me:

"In the long run, this recognizes the fact that we can give a broader and richer array of academic courses and learning opportunities for students jointly than we can with one campus individually."

The two colleges already share a few things, including library services, thanks to a smaller Mellon grant they got previously.

Campus officials said this new grant will enable them to integrate their libraries more by, among other things, creating a common internet portal for them. That way students from each college will have the same online experience, they said.

But both Poskanzer and Anderson emphasized that the two colleges have no plans to merge.