Bismarck State reports record enrollment, seeks funding for health-science expansion and student housing

Interim President Brent Sanford told the Appropriations — Education and Environment Division the college is experiencing sustained enrollment growth and asked lawmakers for targeted capital support for health programs and student housing.

“We continue to grow. We're up 13% in headcount, 17 in credit hours, 20% full time students since last biennium,” Sanford said as he opened the college’s budget presentation.

Why it matters: Bismarck State’s surge in students — and its emphasis on career and technical programs — has created classroom and residential strains at a time when employers in healthcare, energy and advanced manufacturing say they need trained workers.

Sanford described the college’s recent investments and next-step asks. The Advanced Technology Center project has reached substantial completion and has space for robotics, a Security Operations Center, 3D printing and flexible labs. The college also is pursuing new workforce initiatives including Grand Energy, a regional energy-workforce collaboration, and a small dental clinic program designed to expand dental-hygiene capacity in the region.

On capital requests, Sanford outlined two immediate items the college has submitted to the legislature: a $43 million expansion of health-science facilities that would add new classrooms, labs and programs such as respiratory therapy and radiology; and authorization to use $1.4 million of existing Tier funds to remodel a former law-office building into 62 additional dorm beds. Rebecca Collins, Bismarck State’s executive vice president, told the committee the college is ready to move on the dorm remodel and “our plan is to be ready by the fall. We are out for bids right now. We plan to have everything ready. So when the governor signs it, we can issue contracts.”

Sanford said the dorm need is urgent: the college reported 887 traditional-age freshmen this fall and about 470 residence beds available. For the fall the college received 524 housing applications and reported 54 students on a wait list after increasing capacity earlier in the year.

Sanford and staff also briefed the committee on several workforce projects. An XR/VR (virtual/immersive reality) project led by a private vendor and partnered with the college seeks roughly $9.9 million in federal Department of Labor funds; Sanford said the grant is tied up at the federal level. The college is also developing a dental clinic model intended to serve Medicaid patients and to provide clinical training, with startup costs in the low hundreds of thousands because the space the college plans to use already contains exam equipment.

Sanford emphasized the college’s role in stackable credentials and community partnerships. He described the Polytechnic mission and said the college is pursuing Bachelor of Applied Science programs that let students stack technical certificates and associate degrees toward a bachelor’s completion when appropriate.

What lawmakers asked: members pressed for specifics including timelines, local matches and program accreditation paths. Representative Martinson objected to characterizing federal pandemic relief funds as a federal gift, noting previous legislative funding decisions. Representative Richter asked how long accreditation takes for new CTE programs; Sanford said assurance reviews are typically not instantaneous and may require iterative adjustments around curriculum, facilities and practicum arrangements.

Ending: Sanford thanked the committee and said Bismarck State will return for additional hearings. Committee members said they would revisit the college’s budget requests in subsequent meetings.