Institutional Overview Great Falls College Montana State University (GFC MSU) is a public two-year college offering the comprehensive community college mission to the larger Great Falls area. The city of Great Falls, located in the northcentral part of the state, is Montana’s third most populous. It is the county seat of Cascade and has approximately 60,000 residents. More than 73% of the students in academic year 2014-2015 were residents of that county. Of the remainder, the largest numbers of enrollees were from neighboring Chouteau, Teton, Glacier, and Pondera Counties. GFC MSU offers online courses and programs, extending the reach of the college throughout Montana and nationwide. There is no public four-year higher education institution in Great Falls. The GFC MSU student population is 70% female. In fall 2014, 53% of the students attended part-time and 72% worked at least part-time. Thirty-three percent are first-generation college students and 47% are older than 25, with an average age of 27. In fall 2014, the college had a median class size of 17 and a student-to-faculty ratio of 18:1. Sixty-six percent of GFC MSU students attended class face-to-face, 4% in a hybrid format, and 30% completely online. The college was founded in 1969 as a vocational technical education center and initially operated as a unit of Great Falls Public School District (GFPS) to provide employment training to the community. Great Falls College MSU (then the Great Falls Vocational-Technical Education Center) earned initial accreditation in 1979 from (then) Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges. In 1987, the Montana Legislature delegated the general administration and supervisory control of Montana’s five vocational-technical education centers to the Montana Board of Regents of Higher Education. In 1994, as a result of Montana University System restructuring, the college became one of four campuses in the Montana State University family and was renamed Montana State University Great Falls College of Technology. In early 2013, all Montana two-year colleges of technology were renamed through College!Now, a university system two-year campus rebranding initiative, and the college became Great Falls College Montana State University. The campus includes two main buildings and an early childhood education center located on 36 acres. The 134,650 square-foot main building houses faculty and administrative offices; state of the art science and computer labs; regular and computer classrooms; the North American Network of Science Labs Online (NANSLO) node (one of only two in North America); facilities for the carpentry and industrial technology programs; centralized student support services in Student Central; the Advising and Career Center; the Weaver Library and eLearning Center; the Academic Success Center (ASC); an Academic Testing Center; a Native American Center; a staffed Veterans Success Center; a bookstore and café; the Adult Education Center (administered by the Great Falls Public School District); KGPR Public Radio; MSU-Northern Great Falls offices; and Lifelong Learning. A second building, the 12,392 square-foot Trades and Industries Building, houses the welding/fabrication facility and a welding test center. A third building is home to the Bright Beginnings Learning Center, a child development center providing daycare and early childhood education services for the children of students attending the college and others in the community. GFC MSU offers three transfer degrees: the Associate of Science, the Associate of Arts, and the Certificate of General Studies. In addition, the college provides 7 Certificates of Technical Studies (CTS, formerly called Professional Certificates); 11 options for the Certificate of Applied Science (CAS); and 21 Associates of Applied Science (AAS) designed specifically for entry into and advancement in a variety of career fields. The college offers more health science programs (23) than any other institution in Montana and is home to the most comprehensive simulated hospital in the state. The college will soon be Great Falls College Montana State University 1