(Havre) – Montana State University Northern has entered into a partnership with Stone Child College that allows students easy access to MSU-N’s Criminal Justice Program. Beth Durodoye(Duro-Doy_eh) the Dean of the College of Arts, sciences, and Education and Jack Dieger Professor of criminal justice talk about the agreement.
Durodoye:”We created, and we have a partnership with stone child college, an articulation agreement, that if you would allow students to begin their work there and then move onto our criminal justice program here and then finish up here with their degree.”
Dieger:”It was just an agreement form the two schools to allow Stone Child to Graduate with your associates and then you can move right into criminal justice here. That’s basically what it’s for its just another pipeline to bring in more students into here from the surrounding area.”
Dieger continued by talking about how the partnership began.
“I started here 8 years ago, and I asked, I can’t remember who I was talking to, something about why we are not getting students up from Stone Child or actually any of the reservations and there was no answer. So, I just went out to Stone Child College introduced myself and said ‘Hey I’d like to teach introduction to criminal justice here at your school would you be willing, and they said yeah let’s give it a try. So, my first year out there I taught one class and I’ve been out there teaching every spring now the intro class and we just decided it’s time to move forward and do this articulation agreement and then hopefully they’ll have an associate in criminal justice here by next academic year.”
They continued by talking about if they have any other partnerships planned in the future.
Dieger: “I mean were looking at other schools as well Fort Peck, Flathead Valley you know the other community schools that are in the area and along the hi-line that is. I’m sure the other programs you know education would probably be of interest so were just trying to help everybody along here.”
Durodoye: “And I guess transition smoothly or help students to transition smoothly between institution in order to you know get their degrees and so we just want to look at all the various avenues that we can in order to be able to do that and so yeah were just in the process now of you know kind of checking these different opportunities out.”
Durodoye finished by explaining that they are open to other partnerships with other institutions.
Durodoye: “We’re very open and very willing to be able to speak with constituencies al over and so yeah we’re about outreach here and we want to you know do whatever it is we can for our students and we’re looking for new ways and innovative ways and creative ways in order to be able to, you know, outreach. so, we’re always open to any thoughts that people have as well as, you know, what’s going on and the thoughts that are emanating from our institution and from Stone Child and other institutions as well.”
