Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe College (LCOOC) is excited to announce its successful bi-annual “accomplishments to goal,” following a re-vamp of the college’s strategic goals for the 2021-2024.

The achievements were many. To begin, LCOOC revised its social media communication plan to be more relevant and launched a new website to provide greater functionality for internal and external customers. Students, staff, faculty, and community members were surveyed in developing the new site. Other milestones include a partnership with the College of Menominee Nation and the University of Wisconsin System in order to host the 3^rd Annual Seven Generations Intertribal Leadership Summit, which brought together leaders and learners from across our communities. Moreover, continued relations work with the Sokaogon Chippewa Community/Mole Lake and Forest County Potawatomi (FCP) communities has resulted in two new enrollments at Sokaogon and an impending visit and tour from FCP officials.

Another main goal was to practice ethical and responsible conduct by continuing to develop and care for those employed at the college. To this end, LCOOC offered a donation of leave time to fellow employees; created a team atmosphere for positive, productive meetings; and devised outreach inclusion and commitment to the LCOOC team. College president Russel Swagger was selected for the 2021-2022 Aspen New Presidents Fellowship, which supports community college presidents in the early years of their tenure as they aim to achieve higher and more equitable levels of student success. LCOOC also conducted employee trainings for out of office notification, active shooter on campus preparation, inclement weather policy, and customer service training.

Over the past year, LCOOC sought to enhance current support services and to create new opportunities for its students and alumni. Partnerships with businesses and organizations in the community resulted in job opportunities shared with current students and alumni, specifically positions with North Lakes Community Clinic. The college disbursed $544,940 in student aid, including grants and scholarships; received 323 2021-2022 FAFSA applications; received 74 LCOOC scholarship applications; and made campus upgrades to AV systems in classrooms and the auditorium to allow for live streaming events, as well as AV upgrades for a portable online presentation meeting system. The college developed new, more effective processes for Drop-Out-Detective being implemented, held a book swap/buy-back event, and purchased over $1,000 in reference textbooks for students. LCOOC also awarded over $21,000 in emergency aid to over 50 college students, saw an 80%-90% retention/persistence rates, and held “fun-study weeks” for midterms and finals that included games, coloring sheets, therapy kittens, pizza, and tutoring.

LCOOC evaluated current academic offerings and developed new programs to meet the needs of the tribal and surrounding communities we serve, including the creation of three new one-credit courses (bandolier bags, advanced grant writing, and jingle dress making) to meet community needs. The college also developed a workplace wellness yoga program and an Indigenous wellness and resilience micro-credit course taught for Ashland County Jail.

LCOOC sought to develop relationships to increase the capacity to accomplish its goals and meet the needs of its students. To achieve this goal, LCOOC applied for and received grants to evaluate the need and to develop new academic programing from Wells Fargo Philanthropy, Patricia Ann Emberg Charitable Trust, and the Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families. LCOOC received a $25,000 anonymous donation to support student scholarships in the field of agriculture and natural resources and saw the appointment of a new financial aid director. The college made campus upgrades too, including generator connections and electrical services. The college solicited bids for an exterior façade and awarded a contract. Other accomplishments are as follows: finalized plans and specs for HVAC renovation, the installation of a new CAT-6 network cabling, the reconfiguration of network closets, the installation of emergency lighting to be compliant with building codes, the renovation of restrooms, the installation of additional interior and exterior security cameras, the installation of additional access control systems on exterior doors, the completion of additional office renovations, the repair of lighting controls in library, and the finalization of campus upgrades.

LCOOC engaged in a contract with a fundraising consultant to develop a strategy to fund the implementation of the campus expansion project. The college also completed a land survey and a phase 1 environmental review for a new campus property, applied for and received an additional $20,000 from Otto Bremer Trust in supplemental emergency aid funding, applied and received a $500,000 two-year grant from USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture for New Beginning for Tribal Students in conjunction with College of Menominee Nation and UW-Madison, gained 33% in full-time employment, witnessed an 81% retention rate, and maintained 90% satisfactory academic progress. LCOOC partnered with the LCO Tribe and UW-Madison for hemp research, cultivating one acre of hemp and harvesting over 200 pounds of biomass. The college also completed the Achieving the Dream Institutional Capacity Assessment Tool (ICAT), a self-assessment tool to help colleges assess areas of strength and improvement. Over the past year, the college hired staff for new positions, including English faculty, human services field coordinator faculty, education faculty, nursing faculty, an advancement coordinator, and a placement coordinator. LCOOC filled vacated positions for an academic assistant, an HR admissions and recruitment specialist, NAS faculty director, the registrar, a recruiter, a sustainable agriculture research manager, and a retention coordinator.