Graduates from all of Carroll’s degree programs are sought after by employers, and our health-related majors have exceptional career outcomes. One of the reasons, I believe, is that each of these graduates have come from a comprehensive liberal arts background. That is, our students are excellent problem solvers, great communicators, and strong collaborators and team-builders, who are steeped with empathy and relationship-building skills. We believe that the liberal arts are critical for our students’ success by providing well-rounded professionals who will have technical skills AND heart. It is one of the many reasons our students are in such high demand across Montana and the Northwest.

Montana is facing a healthcare workforce crisis

According to the Montana Bureau of Labor and Statistics, Montana is facing several significant challenges with ensuring a future healthcare workforce. The registered nursing shortage is expected to get worse, as the Montana Department of Labor and Industry projects 711 annual RN job openings, which exceeds the number of annual nursing graduates across all of Montana. Physicians are another area of concern over the next ten years.

In an effort to promote homegrown talent, Carroll and the Helena Chamber are inviting students and families to hear from both Carroll and Helena College about our available healthcare pathways and programs at an event at Carroll on Saturday, April 23. In addition, area employers will be showcasing opportunities right here in Helena as well. We are looking forward to providing this opportunity to the community in partnership with St. Peter’s Health, Shodair and the IR to continue to grow interest in a high demand industry in the Helena area.

Carroll College’s Health Professions Initiative

In the spring of 2019, Carroll College launched its Health Professions Initiative, which has been designed to help address Montana’s workforce shortages in allied health and nursing. One of the highlights of this initiative is our new Master of Social Work (MSW) program, which is focused on creating Licensed Clinical Social Workers. I would like to extend my sincerest gratitude to Terry Payne for his generous assistance with critical start-up funds that allowed us to build and launch this program. Just this week, we received excellent news from the Commission on Accreditation of Social Work that Carroll’s new program has been accepted for candidacy status for national accreditation. The MSW program now has a fully online option which is available to serve all of Montana. In addition, last May, we launched our new Accelerated Nursing RN program, which was approved to allow those who have already earned their bachelor’s degree the opportunity to return to college to earn their Bachelor of Science in Nursing RN degree in just 15 months. Carroll is also working on other programs and initiatives under its Health Professions Initiative, including current discussions and planning with St. Peter’s Health for a potential joint health education center on the Carroll campus. It is local partnerships such as those with St. Peter’s Health, Shodair, the VA, and others which are instrumental in providing Carroll students with hands-on, real-world learning experiences.

Special ARPA Scholarship opportunity for accelerated nursing and MSW

Last month, we welcomed Governor Gianforte to our campus to announce a special new funding initiative for new students in both our Accelerated Nursing and MSW programs. Thanks to this new federal ARPA initiative, which is operated under Accelerate Montana, new students in either program could be eligible for up to $12,500 in tuition assistance. Many thanks to Governor Gianforte for his support of using these funds to aid new MSW and Accelerated Nursing students who make a commitment to live and work in Montana. For more information on this scholarship opportunity, visit carroll.edu/arpa.

Carroll College is a gem among Montana’s rich higher education sector, with the college earning the #1 Regional College in the West status by US News and World Report for the 11th consecutive year. Our students come from Montana, 44 states, and 15 different countries. We are pleased that five years after graduation, 71 percent of our graduates are living and working in Montana, a feat that is impressive considering the majority of our students hail from other states. We were also excited to learn that Georgetown University’s research on graduate outcomes shows that a degree from Carroll has the highest return on investment over a 30-year period of any institution of higher education in Montana.

Many thanks for the incredible support Carroll receives from across Montana and the region. We are proud to be part of this community and honored to be part of Montana’s nursing and allied health workforce solution.