The Eastern Montana University Center in Sidney will begin offering classes and degree programs in the fall semester of 2010. The Eastern Montana University Center concept was created to address a variety of needs throughout the region and was designed specifically to extend the region’s existing K-12 education plan to include a more robust K-20 education strategy, in order to provide higher education opportunities to all residents of eastern Montana and western North Dakota.

Under recently negotiated partnership agreements, Eastern Montana University Center will begin hosting remedial and collegiate prerequisite classes, general education courses, as well as courses within selected academic majors leading to the completion of both associate and baccalaureate degrees in August of 2010.

Under the leadership of Dr. Daniel Farr, superintendent of Sidney Public Schools, the new campus will engage a far reaching set of educational strategies and technologies to provide both traditional in-class seminars, as well as simulcast lectures from faculty located throughout Montana, including Montana State University and Dawson Community College.

Mayor Bret Smelser

This pedagogical strategy of combining in-class and simulcast lectures is designed to provide students throughout the region with a broad range of educational opportunities, convenience and academic specialization. As part of the Eastern Montana University Center curriculum, students will be able to enroll in classes leading to degrees in agriculture management, ranch and farm management, business, health, industrial technology, energy management, the sciences, liberal arts and the humanities.

I am delighted to announce the creation of the Eastern Montana University Center. The establishment of this campus, combined with the cooperative agreements, will provide an affordable alternative to local area residents, along with exceptional education opportunities for the entire eastern region of the state. I would like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation and gratitude to our partners at Dawson Community College (President Jim Cargill and Dean Jackie Schultz) for their assistance and support, as well as the administrators and faculty of Montana State University for their support and assistance in making this exciting education opportunity a reality. We plan to expand the curricular and degree offerings offered at EMUC through other agreements with strategic partners, as well as expanding our classes designed to support adult education and the vocational training and apprenticeship programs.

Under the region’s expanded K-20 strategy, the EMUC campus will address five specific areas of need. They include (1) AP and vocational training and apprenticeship for high school juniors and seniors, (2) adult education and enrichment classes, (3) curricular offerings leading to award two-year college degrees, (4) establishment of academic programs leading to award four-year baccalaureate degrees and (5) graduate level education.

The EMUC suite of educational offerings will continue to expand in order to meet the needs of the residents of the area and to provide the greatest possible level of academic opportunity. Faculty from throughout the area will provide a substantial number of in-class lectures throughout the academic year, which will be augmented by simulcast interactive video lectures beamed from Montana State University, Dawson Community College,and other campuses throughout the state and region.

In addition to the initial course offerings planned for the fall semester, new undergraduate degree programs will be added in coming years, along with graduate-level education opportunities. For now, Eastern Montana University Center will concentrate on facilitating the delivery of higher education services through existing and planned partnership arrangements, but future evolutions of the campus will seek to create EMUC-based degree programs that provide local residents with a wealth of educational options.

In his comments regarding the new university center, Dr. Daniel Farr stated; “Eastern Montana University is seen as an evolutionary enterprise that will commence operations this coming fall with an initial suite of degree offerings that will provide recent high school graduates, as well as adults wishing to continue their education, with a wide range of higher education opportunities. As the campus grows, new degree programs and academic concentrations will be added in order to enhance the rigor and relevance of the academic programs provided. The goal of the K-20 plan is not simply to offer an affordable alternative to higher education, but to provide the finest education possible to the people of this region. I anticipate that many families in the area will discover not only the cost benefit of attending classes at Eastern Montana University Center, but will also soon recognize that the personalized student attention provided by our advisers, along with the quality of academic instruction, and the student service focus of this new institution of higher education will provide demonstrable value and opportunity. All too often students can get lost in the crowd at a large university which can have very negative personal and academic consequences. At EMUC, our goal will be to provide private university attention and public institution prices to avoid these issues. I look forward to providing the leadership that will ultimately serve the people of eastern Montana through Eastern Montana University Center, and I encourage everyone to explore the expanding possibilities that will exist for attaining their collegiate level education needs right here at home.”