UM president visits Hi-Line, touts his university

Despite some occasional bumps in the road, the University of Montana and the Montana University system is well positioned for the future.

So said Royce Engstrom, president of the University of Montana, who was visiting the Hi-Line this week, talking to potential students and listening to people in the community, gathering input on what the university can do to provide students with knowledge that will be helpful for businesses and the community at large.

He visited Cut Bank, Browning and Havre on this trip.

UM has started a variety of new programs to help students succeed, he said, One program offers leadership training for students. Four hundred people are already taking part in the programs that include a variety of seminars, classes, projects and off-campus study.

Since the program includes students from every major, it often opens students' eyes into the way others look at problems, he said.

He also cited the growth of online courses, including a public health master's program that is run entirely online. People who have begun their careers can take the courses in their hometowns, he said.

For the most part, he sees a blend of online and traditional classroom teaching as the wave of the future.

Many students who study online are full-time, on campus students, he said. They attend classes, but often do their work on computer. This enables them to work at off-campus job, he said.

But technology will never replace the traditional classroom setting, he said.

The campus is a place where students become acquainted with people from other places, ideas and backgrounds, said Peggy Kuhr, vice president for integrated communications, who accompanied Engstrom to Havre. She said she couldn't imagine UM become a virtual campus.

Engstrom said he was positive UM's enrollment would rebound after a slight decrease in recent years.

Although the controversy over alleged sexual assaults by members of the Grizzly football team was blamed by some for the decline, Kuhr said a survey of those who accepted at UM but went elsewhere determined that financial problems were the main deterrent.

Engstrom said the university has adopted programs aimed at preventing sexual abuse, All students have now taken part in the program.

The program has been emulated at campuses throughout the country.

UM has worked with campus and Missoula city police to help train them in investigating sexual abuse complaints.

To help reduce concerns about the price of attending UM, the administration is working on ways to raise funds in the private sector to provide scholarships.

Yet, he said, a recent study showed that UM had the second-lowest cost of any state flagship university in nation. Only the university of Wyoming was lower.