Lincoln County campus turns 30

It was just more than 30 years ago when the Montana Legislature authorized the creation of the Lincoln County branch of Flathead Valley Community College.  

The college first started in what was once upon a time the high school on Mineral Avenue. At the time the Memorial Center was the school’s gym where floor hockey was played and graduation was held. There were many reasons it was time to move, but to retrofit the building to comply with the American Disabilities Act requirements proved to be prohibitive.

In 2002, the college moved into the old U.S. Forest Service building on Commerce Way.

To celebrate three decades as a resource, on Dec. 4 an informal meet-and-greet was held with some current and former faculty, staff and students. The laid-back shindig was fitting for a school that quietly works to provide area residents an opportunity to improve their positions personally and professionally.

“The community college’s purpose is to try and satisfy what the community’s needs are, whether that’s a full degree or whether it’s a typing class for a particular job,” said campus Director Chad Shilling.

Shilling became director in July 2013, but he has taught business courses at the school since 1994. He doesn’t have some grand plan to grow the school leaps and bounds. “It’s not like I’m going to run a sale and somebody’s going to come and buy more milk.”

He knows that his prospective students aren’t coming from Florida, though the school’s online courses do attract some from out of state and out of the country. Often when Shilling asks students why they’re attending the Lincoln County Campus of Flathead Valley Community College, they say they’re from the area and would like to stay here.

Sure more students would be nice, but there is a caveat. “We’ve got this inverse relationship, when the economy is doing well then the school is doing poorly, and when the economy is doing poorly we end up with more students,” Shilling said.

So the school’s focus is to be nimble enough to offer what the community is looking for.

For more than a decade the school offered a medical assistant program that was put on hold for a couple of years until interest returned.

This fall Shilling fully expects the school to get its nursing program off the ground. Some kinks still need to be worked out to conform to state requirements, but he’s confident it will materialize. The program would fulfill a need seen in rural areas across the country and an interest expressed by community members.

Twenty-year faculty member Janet Haines is an integral part of the Lincoln County Campus. Her business card lists three functions, although that only covers part of what she does. She is also an adjunct professor who teaches keyboarding and medical administration, among other tasks.

Haines admits she may get too close to the students she helps, but it’s that kind of one-on-one interaction that makes the school less intimidating to students.

Shilling and Haines said the campus has recently seen more traditional students in its classrooms. It’s a trend they both welcome.

They were happy to accommodate the influx of non-traditional students who enrolled when local lumber mills changed hands or shutdown, but they’re pleased students are finding their way to the college from area high schools. But Shilling thinks the school is a great resource that continues to be under-used.

Former interim director of the school, George Girard, echoes those sentiments. During his directorship, Girard saw a “window of opportunity” to expand the school by purchasing and renovating the other half of the former Forest Service building.  He thinks the college affords a tremendous opportunity not taken advantage of by enough people in the area.

To make the transition from high school more attractive, several carrots are hung on a stick to entice a nibble. The campus organizes panels for prospective students to ask current students about what it’s like to be in college. Some students who would be first-generation college students have questions that haven’t been broached in their households.

Local students can also take advantage of six free credits to see if continued education is right for them.  

Students can also earn college credits while they are still attending high school in the program called Running Start.

Community college tuition is made affordable by tax dollars from local mills, which offsets tuition costs. That makes giving college a try more cost-friendly than attending most four-year schools.

Studies show students who start at community colleges then transfer to four-year institutions often perform better than those coming straight from high school. “When we talk to four-year schools, they overwhelmingly say our students are very well prepared,” Shilling said.

The campus sees high success rates from students seeking national certification in the medical assistance program.

For students looking to transfer within the Montana university system, the process is currently being streamlined. Over the last four years Montana is moving towards Common Course Numbering. That means course titles, numbers, and 80 percent of content, is now uniform across the state.

Haines said the school may not have flashy facilities, but what you get is personal interaction.

“What makes us unique is just the fact that we are here,” said Shilling.

Retention rates are a common measuring stick for how well a school is performing. Shilling didn’t have data for that criteria, but he thinks those numbers are only one indicator of success.

His focus is on staying dynamic and changing the degree and course options offered so his students can be successful in their lives.