BVU, Titan Nation Align Through Strategic Partnership
Through a collaboration with Buena Vista University, Graettinger-Terril and Ruthven-Ayrshire Community School Districts broaden educational opportunities for employees and their eligible family members.
Buena Vista University (BVU) and the Graettinger-Terril and Ruthven-Ayrshire Community School Districts have bonded as Strategic Partners to help support those who serve students and strengthen the communities and regions they serve.
This partnership allows for employees of Titan Nation, as well as eligible family members of full-time employees, to receive grant funding to lower the overall cost of education while enrolled in classes at BVU’s Storm Lake campus. Partner grant funding also lowers the cost per credit hour for students enrolled in BVU’s convenient online undergraduate programs or the organizational leadership graduate program.
“This is a great opportunity for our staff and their families,” says Graettinger-Terril and Ruthven-Ayrshire Community School Districts Principal and Curriculum Director Michelle TeGrootenhuis. “BVU has really good programs from what I’ve seen firsthand, and in working to grow our own, for teachers especially this is going to be very helpful.”
“BVU has really good programs from what I’ve seen firsthand, and in working to grow our own, for teachers especially this is going to be very helpful.”
Graettinger-Terril and Ruthven-Ayrshire Community School Districts Principal and Curriculum Director Michelle TeGrootenhuis
Falling under the umbrella of Titan Nation, the Graettinger-Terril and Ruthven-Ayrshire Community School Districts have engaged in a half-day, 9-12-grade sharing agreement for the past decade. About 130 professionals, including 56 certified teachers, educate and serve the combined school districts’ 500 students. The Graettinger-Terril Community School District’s PK-5 students are housed in Terril, while students in grades 6-12 attend school in Graettinger. All Ruthven-Ayrshire students are based in Ruthven except for high schoolers, who spend half of each school day learning in Graettinger.
“This Strategic Partnership opens up opportunities for people who have not traveled the traditional four-year college pathway as they now have the opportunity to go to the next level of education,” says Graettinger-Terril and Ruthven-Ayrshire Community School Districts Superintendent Marshall Lewis. “As a spinoff, that helps our community as well because we have people who want to live here, and they want to advance. It’s a nice way to let our people stay where they want to stay and advance in their current career while maintaining current employment during that process.”
With a motto of “Learning for a Lifetime, a Lifetime of Learning,” Titan Nation is dedicated to helping students develop the skills needed to reach their individualized personal goals and become successful, important members of society by offering challenging learning opportunities, quality activities, and social support.
“Receiving my master’s from Buena Vista University was appealing to me because of the hybrid learning option,” says Graettinger-Terril Professional School Counselor/Registrar Allie Peterson M.Ed. ’20. “Being a full-time employee and having a family, it provided me with the flexibility to complete the program quickly and efficiently. In May of 2020, I graduated with the rest of my cohort. Having a cohort was something that I also really enjoyed about my education at BVU. Similar to a small school, my cohort of 22 other students became the people that would help push me throughout the program, prepare me for my career, and are still the peers that I turn to today if I have questions. I take pride in receiving my master’s degree in professional school counseling from Buena Vista University. Just like Graettinger-Terril Community School, Buena Vista University truly is a community.”
“Attending a small university while working full time for the Graettinger-Terril and Ruthven-Ayrshire Community School Districts has provided me with opportunities I never thought possible,” says Paraprofessional Hailey Ferguson, who is completing her bachelor’s degree in elementary education with a special education endorsement through BVU’s Online Programs. “I enjoy applying my coursework to the experiences I have with students.”
BVU has long enjoyed strong educational ties in and around Emmetsburg, home to Iowa Lakes Community College, a campus that has collaborated with BVU for decades. Students enrolled in a program through Iowa Lakes can seamlessly transfer their credits toward their bachelor’s degree at BVU. Students receive personalized support including admissions and enrollment counseling and academic advising right in Emmetsburg through BVU’s office on the Iowa Lakes campus.
“Buena Vista University is excited to partner with the Graettinger-Terril and Ruthven-Ayrshire Community School Districts through our Strategic Partnership initiative to provide affordable, accessible education to employees and their family members,” says BVU Director of Strategic Partnerships Laura Todd. “We look forward to this collaboration with Titan Nation and the opportunities it opens for individuals, which strengthens the communities we serve.”
For more information about BVU’s Strategic Partnerships and partner opportunities, please visit the BVU website at bvu.edu/strategic-partnerships or contact Strategic Partnerships at StrategicPartnerships@bvu.edu.