Bismarck State College

Bismarck State College

Spring 2020 enrollment up 5% at Bismarck State College

BSC saw a significant 5% enrollment increase for Spring 2020 semester over Spring 2019.  Numbers are up across several key areas including full time and part time students.

  • Full time students increased by 1%
  • Part time students went up by 8%
  • Total credit hours increased by 3%
  • Freshmen students increased by 10%
    • This is a marked increase in retention from fall semester to spring semester and the highest increase seen in recent history
  • First-time enrolling freshmen went up 45%
  • New transfer students (those planning to transfer on to a 4-year college or university) increased by 31%
  • Non-traditional student numbers increased:
    • 35-49-year-old students up 12%
    • 50-64-year-old students up 32%
  • Enrollments by state also increased:
    • North Dakota increased by 4.5%
    • Minnesota increased by 5%
    • Montana increased by 7%
  • The largest program growth areas:

 

BSC cyber student secures internship at Palo Alto Networks in national cyber competition

BSC Cybersecurity and Computer Networks student, Riley Mueller, was a top 10 finisher in the first Palo Alto Networks Secure the Future Competition – a grueling months-long national competition against dozens of cybersecurity students from universities across the nation. Other finalists came from four-year universities like Ball State University, Murray State University and East Carolina University.

Additionally, the sophomore was one of five finalists to land a prestigious paid summer internship at Palo Alto Networks corporate headquarters in Santa Clara, Calif.

According to Palo Alto Networks, the Secure the Future Competition is designed to teach students how to “make decisions regarding protection of operational assets through the analysis, comparison and selection of advanced security tools, methodologies and implementation options.”

A 2018 graduate of Legacy High School in Bismarck, Mueller attends BSC full time and works 30 hours per week as an intern at National Information Solutions Cooperative (NISC) in Mandan. The competition required another 15-20 hours of effort each week from Sept. 1 through early January.

 

BSC implements $830,000 grant from U.S. Economic Development Administration

An award of $415,256 from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is helping BSC equip its new Health Sciences facility with high-tech equipment for enhanced workforce training. The grant is a 50 percent cost share for the $830,000 project. This is the first EDA grant made in North Dakota under its Assistance to Coal Communities funding.

Funds from the grant will be a variety of items, including interactive video systems for distance Health Sciences education, specialized instruments for lab exercises, audio/visual equipment for simulation and observation rooms, and more.