News and Events

Michael Seymour, President, Alexandria Technical & Community College
Printed in the Echo Press as In the Know: Renewing purpose, rebuilding culture at Alexandria College

In 2019, employees were interested in exploring new things; our approach at the time was not going to sustain our operations. This became clearer as we gathered feedback to inform our 2020-2024 strategic plan—the majority of our campus community supported change. As a result, an employee campus climate survey administered in September 2020 gave high marks to administration for shaking things up. 99% of employees surveyed said that they would recommend ATCC as a place to work, up from 79% four years prior (and well above the national norm).

In response to a 2021 interim report required by the Higher Learning Commission, our accrediting body, we took steps toward structural change. We formalized many internal processes and introduced evidence of data-based decision-making to our culture. In addition, we worked to find efficiencies, explored new revenue generating initiatives, and reorganized to allow for greater innovation. Most employees understood that this change was inevitable based on accreditation requirements and higher education trends, but that didn’t make it any easier.

Significant struggles have impacted our work along the way. The COVID-19 pandemic divided our campus over vaccination requirements. Reduced state funding in 2023 left us (and every other state institution) grappling with a looming budget deficit. This led to over a half of million dollars in program and staff reductions.

Throughout these challenges we not only survived, but thrived, in large part due to the long-standing caring culture and our employees’ drive to be the best. We set ambitious enrollment goals—and we surpassed them. We reveled in our non-conformity. We took risks, embraced change, and tackled hard issues. We achieved what many thought impossible, together.

But as our enrollment has grown, so has the complexity of higher education, requiring continued adaptability and constant creativity.

Externally, higher education faces heightened political scrutiny and polarization, leading to controversies, protests, and increased pressure on leaders, according to The Change Leader Inc., and Inside Higher Ed. Accreditation visits are a routine and essential part of maintaining academic excellence and institutional accountability. In addition to institutional accreditation, several of our individual academic programs undergo their own specialized reviews. As accreditation bodies are questioned at the federal level, colleges are pushed to better demonstrate their value and impact. We are currently preparing for two accreditation visits, and have successfully completed three within the past two years.

As a state-funded institution, our financial planning is closely tied to the broader state budget. This means that while we are deeply committed to supporting our employees—through benefits and negotiated pay increases outlined in collective bargaining agreements—we must also carefully balance these obligations with tuition setting. This is the natural result of working within a public system where many important priorities must coexist. Out of 33 colleges and universities in the Minnesota State system, we are one of just six with a projected balanced budget through 2027, but there is little to no room in the budget for added staffing to support our enrollment growth. With a projected deficit in the 2028/2029 state budget, future disruptions seem inevitable.

These budgetary constraints, combined with workload pressures and rising expectations, have contributed to increased stress, turnover, and strain on relationships across our campus community. These are not the result of any one event, group or decision, but rather the intersection of many systemic factors.

A snapshot of these internal/external pressures are reflected in a recent campus climate survey. Although our climate results align closely with national norms, our culture is back to where we were pre-2019 in terms of overall employee satisfaction. This means we have work to do. Strategic priorities for the coming years include campus leaders engaging their teams more consistently in collaborative efforts to build trust, provide growth opportunities, and to better ensure all voices are considered as decisions are made.

We know these employee challenges are real, and we don’t have all the answers. But as a campus, we’re committed to showing up honestly and listening carefully to create a more inclusive culture for employees and students. This work is important but not easy, especially when the path forward is complicated by factors out of our control. Our new challenges may be different now than they were in 2019, but our biggest strengths remain: our reputation, our community and most of all—our people.