Category: Faculty & Staff

End-of-Year Update – Upcoming CSP Global Launch Within Concordia University, St. Paul

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As we cap off another successful calendar year at Concordia St. Paul, a lot of work is going on behind the scenes for exciting new opportunities in store for early 2023. We want to provide this internal update before everyone takes some time off for the Christmas-New Year’s holiday season.

Many of you have heard some early updates on the planned launch of CSP Global, which is slated for introduction in mid-January. CSP Global is essentially a new way for us to bring our existing and proven online and hybrid non-traditional programming to even more people. As a newly defined division of Concordia University, St. Paul, CSP Global will be the entity housing 40+ career-propelling online and hybrid degree programs for non-traditional students. The existing “CSP” brand will apply to our traditional on-campus undergraduate programs. 

The introduction of CSP Global is the smart, logical next step in the long-term growth and vitality of the university as a whole. While many other higher education institutions are struggling with declining enrollment, our university has doubled in size over the past decade. By aligning our online/hybrid/graduate programming under CSP Global, we can continue to grow by reaching more students regionally, nationally, and internationally, which directly supports our stated vision to be a Christ-centered, nationally prominent university known for excellence and innovation. 

At the same time, growth will allow continued investment for the future of our traditional on-campus programming and infrastructure as well as supporting ongoing expansion of our online undergraduate and graduate offerings. In addition, we will be better positioned to support faculty and staff across traditional and non-traditional settings, which will create an even better, empowering environment for teaching and supporting our students in all programs. 

Our objective over the long term is to double our enrollment again, with a target enrollment of 10,000+ students by 2030 Concordia St. Paul is actively developing new traditional and non-traditional degree programs aligned with the needs and trends in today’s global economy.  

CSP Global will mark an evolutionary step for our 130-year old university, and it aligns with our continued adherence to our stated strategic plans. Careful planning over the past year has helped ensure a positive transition that will occur over many months. Our objective is to set the stage for sustainable growth and foster an environment for the benefit of students, faculty, and staff alike.  

A few facts to help guide everyone through the process in 2023:

  • At its core, CSP Global is primarily a means of creating a unified brand to better market our online and hybrid non-traditional offerings. 
  • Continued use of the shorter “CSP” as the brand for our traditional on-campus offerings will help ensure clarity of our distinct delivery channels.
  • CSP and CSP Global will still be Concordia University, St. Paul, at their cores. The degrees will be conferred by the university, just as they have for decades.
  • Faculty and staff will generally experience a business-as-usual transition. We will be aligning technology, support, and other services to enhance how we serve students – a process that will happen over the course of several months.
  • Ongoing growth will lead to a vibrant, sustainable alumni community, which will serve to make a degree from our university even more valuable in the marketplace.    

We will provide additional updates internally through many channels (in-person and online) prior to the planned mid-January public announcement. Additional materials will also be available before the news is made public to help everyone understand and share information with your own stakeholders. 

In the meantime, we hope you have a blessed Christmas and holiday season. We have much to be thankful for as we close out a successful year in 2022 and move into an exciting next stage for our university and the Concordia St. Paul community as a whole. 

CSP Strengthens International Programs Partnership During Trip to India

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Two Concordia University, St. Paul staff members recently visited India as part of the university-wide initiative to strengthen its global presence through international student enrollment. Director of International Student Services Tiffanie Loeb Schneider and International Recruiter and Partnership Manager Veronica Mashek spent the second week of September promoting CSP’s graduate and undergraduate offerings.

The first portion of the trip included the chance to visit local schools and participate in a college fair. CSP staff took advantage of opportunities to meet prospective students and showcase CSP’s increasingly popular MS in Information Technology Management and MS in Data Analytics, as well as its strong undergraduate catalog. These face-to-face interactions with future international students and their parents were invaluable to generating interest in programs and easing any fears about studying abroad.

The second leg of their visit centered on continuing CSP’s highly-regarded relationship with its international admissions partner. That flourishing partnership has resulted in a massive influx of international students enrolling at CSP, particularly in graduate programs.

“Since then, the partnership has changed and grown, with our largest student population now being graduate students from India,” said Loeb Schneider. “This growth is expected to continue in the future, so this is a valuable partnership for CSP.”

The international admissions partnership has been marked by success with the university welcoming a record number of international students in spring 2022, and being featured in Forbes India, published earlier this year. In total, CSP currently enrolls 577 international students as of fall 2022. The spring enrollment milestone was simply the first step in CSP’s long-term global outlook as both sides continue toward further growth.

“It was such a great experience being able to meet our partners. I am very optimistic about our relationship moving forward,” added Mashek.

Beyond building in-person relationships, Loeb Schneider and Mashek also made local TV news appearances as featured guests presenting CSP’s degree programs. Watch their full segments on YouTube below:

Tiffanie Loeb Schneider on TV5 News

Veronica Mashek on NTV Live

 

Learn more about international admissions at CSP:

Fire Near CSP Campus Saturday Aug. 21

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Colleagues:

Many blessings on this day the Lord has made. I pray your rest and worship have refreshed you this weekend.

Saturday night, as some of you may be aware, a three-alarm fire occurred just north of the Selby Avenue bridge immediately west of our Kohler Building (west of the baseball field. The blaze totally destroyed the building to our west. It was used as a storage facility for tires and a host of other items. The Kohler building was spare complete destruction. However, two new vehicles used by our Sodexo partners were destroyed as were some of the other contents. We do not yet have a full estimate of the damage. The Kohler building has been used by CSP for decades as the location of our building department’s shop.

The Fire Marshall has launched an investigation into the cause of the fire and our assessment and clean-up efforts begin in earnest tomorrow. We are grateful for the tremendous work done by St. Paul Fire and Rescue and Police Departments to battle the blaze, secure the area and divert onlookers from the fire. The blaze began about 6:00 pm last night. The crews worked through the night and Sunday morning one of the fire department “towers” was still pouring water onto the burn site. Saturday night there were 5 towers battling the blaze at one point. Overall there were 16 fire crews and a total of 86 emergency service personnel on-site.

The property destroyed is one that we have worked to acquire over the years without success. Perhaps the owner will now be more open to selling the property to us. Because it is adjacent to both the baseball and softball complex and Parking Lot D it would be an ideal location to acquire and would provide several options for expansion to the southwest side of the campus.

As additional information is available, I will communicate it with you. Our Critical Incident and Sodexo teams did a great job supporting the work of the fire department. Our RAs, who are on campus for training, also did an excellent job of helping to secure the area and to bring water to the firefighters.

God is so good and continues to bless CSP abundantly. His Guardian Angels attended many last evening.

God’s peace be with you,

Brian

KSTP Story HERE
Fox story HERE

Snap a Selfie: CSP Reads Goes Virtual for 2021

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CSP Reads

As has so much during the 2020-21 Academic Year, our annual CSP READS promotion is going to look a bit different. For this seventh year of showcasing our campus community on READ posters during the month of April in celebration of National Library Week we are asking you to reflect on how quarantine restrictions or reading in the time of COVID-19 impacted your habits – did you read more, did you avoid or gravitate to a certain genre, did binge-watching a show on Netflix or Hulu lead you to a book (Hello, Bridgerton! Hello Little Fires Everywhere!)?
If you agree to take part in this fun event promoting literacy and the library – and we sincerely hope you do – we invite you to snap a selfie (no photoshoots in the library this year) and fill out this Google Form. Your participation as a poster model, showcasing a favorite book, is a necessary ingredient for making this a success! As in the past, the READ posters will be highlighted both in the Library and online.

Please consider taking part in this fun event promoting literacy and the CSP Library, and encourage a colleague or classmate to join in the fun! We love the enthusiasm that people from all across campus have shown toward the Library and this project in the past and can’t wait to showcase this year’s posters, and we’d like YOU to be a part of it!

We look forward to hearing from you by the submission deadline on Friday, April 9!

If you have any questions, please reach out to CSP Library’s Jeanine Gatzke and Megan Johnson-Saylor.

Safety Update from the SPPD and CSP Security

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SAFETY UPDATE FROM ST. PAUL POLICE DEPARTMENT

The St. Paul Police Department (SPPD) has shared that carjackings are on the rise in St. Paul (this is also a trend in other urban centers – not just here). SPPD is working hard to investigate and respond around the clock to apprehend suspects and prevent future incidents and you can help!

Here are 15 ways to protect yourself:

 WHILE DRIVING

• Keep your doors locked

• Drive with a companion (if possible)

• When you stop in traffic, leave enough room to see the tires of the vehicle in front of you (the extra space allows for maneuvering away if your vehicle is bumped)

IF YOUR VEHICLE IS BUMPED

• Don’t stop or get out if you think it was deliberate

• Signal the other driver to follow you

• Call 911 while driving to a secure location (such as a police station)

• Don’t go home

IN PARKING LOTS

• Be aware of your surroundings

• Stay off your cell phone

• Have your vehicle keys in your hand

• Exit and enter your vehicle promptly

• Lock your doors while inside.

A note from CSP Security – We share this not to increase fear of our city or community. St. Paul is an amazing city and our community is full of neighbors who seek out ways to help each other. We share this because it is important to be aware and be prepared so that if there is an occurrence, you are able to respond in the best way possible. Think of it like you would a fire drill – it might not happen, but you still want to know that exit plan.