BEMIDJI — The fall semester has officially kicked off at the Bemidji State University campus with classes in session since Aug. 26.
The Beavers hosted their home opener football game on Aug. 29 against Michigan Tech, with a stunning overtime victory.
University President John Hoffman was working the ticket stand ahead of the game. Earlier in the week he stopped by the KBXE studio to discuss the brand-new school year and some of the plans to pull BSU out of its budget woes.
Last fall, Bemidji State had a projected $10 million deficit, and the regional university that once educated 4,200 students a year in the 2010s now serves around 3,200 in the 2020s.
Hoffman took the helm of Bemidji State in 2022. Enrollment decline at Bemidji State since 2019 is frequently cited throughout the university’s strategic plan documents, a situation that is hardly unique to Bemidji.
"Across the country... we're seeing declining enrollment at colleges and universities, especially public regional campuses similar to ours," Hoffman said.
"I'm really excited to say that our new student enrollment is up for the second year in a row. In fact, we're up 12.5% on day one in terms of new student enrollment, and that's enough to bring our overall enrollment up for the first time since 2017."
Bemidji State and Northwest Technical College have merged some administrative functions to be more efficient, but cuts to programs and faculty are felt keenly in the Bemidji community. Around two dozen faculty and staff were eliminated from the budget in 2023.
"We've had to make some difficult cuts. We've had some big ones in the past, some smaller ones this year, but they're still, they always hurt," Hoffman said. "These are good people, people who chose this community and our institution, so we hate to see that happen."
"I also want to say we've got a lot of folks who are here, we've got new programs that we're building, we've got enrollment growth... that we're building upon. We've got new partnerships."
Partnerships, like the new one with Polaris Industries in Roseau, give students an immersive experience in the field while earning a degree.
"Those are the kinds of things we are doing to show up in spaces where our students are at," Hoffman said.
"The pathways are changing... there was a day when students went high school to college, to university, to career. Today, it's a swirl. It's from high school to career, to two-year school to career to, 'I'm going to work while I'm going to classes to finish the university degree,'" Hoffman added.
"We're changing the way we're doing our business so that we can be there wherever students are at and be present for them."
Hoffman said Bemidji State’s commitment to the region, whether it’s growing its workforce or expanding opportunities to the people of Northern Minnesota, remains steadfast.
In implementation this semester is part of the strategic direction for the University: a requirement for students to take Indigenous studies credits for graduation.
"As a part of our curriculum and the work that we do around diversity, equity and inclusion, it's in all college campuses across Minnesota State. But for us, we're doing it with this particular focus on Nisidotaading, so students are learning about the history of the land, of American Indians, our treaties and it's a great opportunity for students who are here to learn about Bemidji and the community."
Nisodotaading is Ojibwe for “mutual understanding.” Hoffman further explains that diversity on the Bemidji State and Northwest Technical College campuses is one of its greater strengths.
"Half of our students are first-generation college students, the majority of our students are receiving financial aid. We have nearly 10% of our students that are American Indian and many other students of different racial and ethnic backgrounds," Hoffman said.
"That diversity is part of what is a strength for our campus an important part of who we are and what we do."
