This spring, Heather Isernhagen, math specialist at Dougherty Family College (DFC), is going to graduate her first STEM class.
“We’re helping those students who are interested in science and math to really build up that foundation as they move up through DFC,” Isernhagen said.
DFC opened in 2017 and is a two-year college located within the University of St. Thomas’s downtown Minneapolis campus. It offers an associate degree and a rigorous curriculum, including leadership development, mentoring from St. Thomas faculty, and paid internships. It is a fit for students who ultimately aspire to attend a four-year bachelor's degree program. Classes at DFC are the same general core courses all undergraduates at St. Thomas take during their first two years.
Interested students and their parents can learn more about the new STEM program at DFC, along with the college’s entire programming, at an information session on Saturday, March 28, at DFC’s Minneapolis campus.
For several years, DFC has been working on creating a STEM pathway at the college, which has focused on helping students earn their Associate of Arts (AA) in liberal arts for education and skills in the arts, humanities, and social sciences, while also serving as the first two years of a bachelor's degree. Recently, the college worked with 3M to offer summer and J-Term STEM learning options, but now students can incorporate STEM into their school year coursework.
DFC puts a strong emphasis on small classes and expanded student support. “Our class sizes are about 20 students within each cohort,” Isernhagen explained. “I like to say we have really assertive mentoring supports. It’s really hard to fall through the cracks here at DFC no matter what your degree or program is.”
DFC staff also offers wrap-around services. “When you attend college, that’s not the only thing going on in your life,” Isernhagen added. “There are lots of other challenges.”
Specifically, those supports include a bus pass, a mental health and housing counselor on campus, and two free meals provided to students every day. This winter, during the surge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in the Twin Cities, DFC handed out grocery store gift cards to some students.
The wrap-around services are in addition to the cohort experience at DFC, in which each student is assigned to a group of 20 to 25 students who take all their classes together for their first full year at DFC. “We want to make sure they have a chance to talk to each other and support each other through their experience.”
Guests at the March 28 DFC information session from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. will be able to tour the Minneapolis campus and talk to staff, including admissions and financial aid personnel. Learn more and register here.
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