This document discusses how Chippewa Valley Technical College in River Falls creates a cohesive culture through faculty partnerships to improve student satisfaction and retention. It provides examples of how general education and program faculty work together by coordinating assignments, guest speakers, and combined class sessions to create a unified classroom experience and show students how general education skills apply directly to their career programs. The goal is to blur the line between general education and career-focused courses so that students feel all of their coursework is relevant to their goals. This collaborative approach aims to motivate students to stay enrolled and learn as much as possible from all of their instructors.

1. Cohesive Culture Through
Faculty Partnerships
Paying it Forward at CVTC in River Falls
Gregg Nelson

2. Chippewa Valley Technical College in River Falls
400 Current Students – but how do we keep them coming back? Faculty collaboration and partnerships play a big part!

3. Hypothesis: Cohesive Culture Improves
Student Satisfaction and Retention!
• Question: What does cohesive culture mean?
• Answer: General Education and Program faculty work together to create a unified
classroom experience, effectively blurring the line in students’ minds between the
“classes that matter” and the ones “someone made me take.”
• Sample Effect #1: A Criminal Justice student might take four classes a day. The
General Education course deals with CJ skills, just like the program courses.
• Sample Effect #2: A Business student feels that all classes are relevant to her
success.

4. Hypothesis: Cohesive Culture Improves
Student Satisfaction and Retention
• If cohesive culture is done properly, the students will feel that every class
relates to why they are in school.
• This maximizes chances that the students will continue to pursue their
chosen career path.
• They are reinforced from all sides, and no class feels like a “hoop jump.”
So, how do we do it in River Falls? Here are some examples.

5. English and Communication
• Criminal Justice Business
Management
Life Sciences

6. English and Communication
• Both English Composition 1 and Introduction to Criminal Justice require a
research paper.
• Myself and the Criminal Justice instructor decided to time that assignment so
students could write one paper for us both instead of two.
• I taught the writing, CJ taught the content.
• We were both in each other’s classrooms several times so students could ask
questions of us both.

7. English and Communication
• Semester #1 Business Management students in my English Composition 1
are assigned a paper on active citizenship and community involvement.
• Guest speaker from Little Free Libraries on the effects of their nonprofit
organization in the community.
• Semester #2 Business Management students come to my class to talk about
how these issues come up in their program.
• Business Mangement students are told that the paper they write for me will
be revised next semester for a Portfolio.

8. English and Communication
• Program students had to take Written Communication and Principles of
Sustainability.
• A common assignment was created by myself and the Life Sciences
instructor.
• Students were paired. Sustainability students were responsible for the
environmental knowledge, my students were responsible for the quality
writing.
• Classes were combined with both instructors present.

9. Life Sciences
• Students in Principles of Biology have to test DNA.
• Criminal Justice students collect DNA from a simulated crime scene for
Criminal Investigations 1.
• Principles of Biology students test the DNA to find out who did it, and get
to see a real world application of a General Education skill.
• These are just a few examples!

10. What do we have?
• General Education courses are linked with program courses whenever
possible.
• There is an authentic connection between General Education and program.
Students see that one needs the other, and everything relates to them.
• The line between General Education and program courses becomes blurred.
Students see that everything relates to their program and career plans.

11. Cohesive Culture in River Falls
• Are there obstacles? Yes!
• Scheduling, classroom availability, timing of paired content.
• What I see:
• Students go throughout their day at CVTC feeling like their coursework is all relevant,
leading them to their goal. This motivates them to stay in school, try hard, and learn as
much as they can from all their instructors – not just the program teachers!

12. Wrapup
• Questions and thoughts?
• What are examples of collaboration at your schools?
• Can you collaborate more than you already do? How would you do it?
• Individual
• Department
• Division