UM-Bitterroot College thriving

Dr. Tom Gallagher, Associate Vice Provost, Two-year Education & Workforce Development at The University of Montana

For more than a dozen years, it has been a distinct privilege to serve the citizens of Ravalli County with educational programming through Bitterroot College and the University of Montana. Bitterroot College is part of the Montana University System (MUS) two-year college system and delivers the comprehensive two-year college mission which includes transfer education, career technical education, developmental and adult basic education, lifelong learning, and community development (https://mus.edu/2yr/2-yearMission.pdf). 

Bitterroot College is uniquely positioned to meet the education and workforce needs of our valley. It is a college that has the flexibility to respond to the opportunities and challenges that are specific to Hamilton, Stevensville, Corvallis, and other Bitterroot Valley communities. But it also has the financial backing of the Montana University System, which ensures Bitterroot Valley students have access to the highest quality educational resources our state provides. 

Under the leadership of Director Kristina Berger, the University of Montana has built an expansive portfolio of programs at Bitterroot College supporting transfer education and innovations such as moving away from the developmental education model in implementing the nationally recognized corequisite model for mathematics and writing and using multiple learning modalities including in-person classes, hyflex, and online course. We have worked closely with industry partners, such as Bitterroot Health, in crafting workforce education programs to improve the economic mobility of Ravalli citizens and their ability to access livable-wage careers, while filling an important niche in the workforce through career and professional technical education. We have helped individuals access high-wage jobs as truck drivers through an innovative commercial driver’s license (CDL) education program that combines online learning (written test) and on-the-road training to help individuals enter the workforce more quickly. The Job Site Ready (JSR) program trains individuals for entry-level construction jobs using short-term education programs and multi-day boot camps. These programs provide examples of Bitterroot College training programs that address local workforce needs and provide rapid training to help individuals access high-demand careers. These programs are employer-driven, based on market data that lead to livable wage careers. 

The Bitterroot College Employer Advisory Committee works closely with the college in identifying needs and developing workforce training programs that serve the local community. Bitterroot College has offered community development education programs in the past, but currently, funding for these programs is distributed among local k-12 school districts in Ravalli County. Each school district utilizes the funding to offer community education programs for local communities. 

Bitterroot College is not a community college, rather it is a unit of the University of Montana. Community colleges have a different funding mechanism than other Montana two-year colleges. Bitterroot College will receive no revenue from the BVCC district levy on the upcoming ballot. This distinction created confusion during past efforts and I want to clarify that the University of Montana intends to continue operations in the Bitterroot, regardless of the BVCC district ballot initiative. We will also be supportive partners if Valley residents choose to support a new community college for the State. 

While Bitterroot College leaders are not taking a position on the upcoming levy, it is important that our citizens in the valley understand the facts at hand. Most importantly, Bitterroot College is succeeding like never before, and it will continue to succeed regardless of the levy outcome.