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Dakota College at Bottineau leaders describe shared services, program growth and capacity limits
Summary
New campus dean Corey Gorder told the Higher Education Institutions Committee that Dakota College at Bottineau is expanding dual-credit offerings and health programs but faces space and instructor limits — dental hygiene capped at 10 with 27 applicants and nursing sites constrained by lab space and instructor ratios.
Corey Gorder, recently appointed campus dean of Dakota College at Bottineau, told the Higher Education Institutions Committee on the college's campus that the institution relies on shared services with Minot State and other NDUS institutions while focusing local efforts on regionally targeted programs and student recruitment.
Gorder said the college has moved some administrative functions, including payroll and the business office, to partners to leverage expertise, while keeping day-to-day student-facing services on campus. "We let a bigger institution have some of that expertise and then let us be good at what we're good at," he said, describing collaborations on Title IX coordination, institutional research and financial services.
The nut of Gorder's presentation centered on enrollment, program capacity and workforce-oriented offerings. He reported that DCB's campus shows 330 full-time and 912 part-time students, with 1,104 in-state students, 67 from other U.S. states, 55 Canadian students and 16 international students. He said dual-credit enrollment has grown quickly and that "645 people taking dual credit" creates substantial advising and administrative work.
Gorder outlined several programs with limited capacity. The dental hygiene program opened in 2025 with a 10-student cap and drew 27 applicants; Gorder said 17 applicants were turned away because of space and instructor constraints and that the college is exploring reconfiguring classroom and lab space to expand capacity. On nursing, he described a consortium model across sites: Botinneau (PN), Minot and Valley City, noting Minot can take 36 practical nursing students next year and expects 25 associate-degree nursing students, producing more than 60 nursing students across sites.
On workforce training, Gorder said DCB recently started a stackable certificate in small unmanned aircraft systems and highlighted a Farm Management program that serves about 125 producers with four instructors. He also said the college aims to grow trade-focused programs (welding, HVAC, electricians) to meet regional demand and offset projected declines in traditional high-school-age enrollment.
Gorder acknowledged facilities and instructor availability as recurring constraints. "We're capped at 10" in hygiene because of space; for nursing, clinical and lab capacity and instructor-to-student ratios set hard limits. He said the college will pursue incremental facility changes and program reviews to prioritize offerings that align with local workforce needs.
The chair and committee members pressed Gorder on how shared-service costs and cost-allocation are negotiated; Gorder said arrangements were typically negotiated among campuses based on market analyses and split across institutions when positions serve multiple campuses.
The presentation concluded with a brief campus tour of Old Main, the nursing sim lab and other facilities; Gorder said he would provide requested follow-up data to the committee, including specific counts of dual-credit instructors who are K-12 teachers versus college faculty and paramedic-program enrollment figures.
The committee did not take formal action on the presentation; the next business included student association remarks and NDUS updates.
