Students who consider Carroll College in the fall will see new choices in the student handbook, including new majors and more opportunities to study abroad.

The college, which is approaching its 100th anniversary, will also expand existing programs and redesign others to simplify students’ transition into graduate school.

Jerry Berberet, dean of the college and senior vice president of academic affairs, said that in the coming years the school’s effort will result in several new majors ranging from marketing to legal studies.

However, some of those majors, such as biochemistry, will likely depend on the outcome of Carroll’s centennial fundraising campaign.

“I think Carroll College will look very different a year from now,” said Berberet. “We will have new programs in place, and will have thought some of these things through.”

Berberet said roughly 30-percent of Carroll’s freshmen enroll with hopes of entering medical school. That, Berberet added, makes biology and chemistry among the school’s most popular programs.

But as Carroll grows, Berberet said, it hopes to offer a wider variety of pursuits to attract students beyond those interested in pre-med.

“We’re interested in students coming to Carroll to study science for reasons other than just pre-med,” said Berberet. “In both science and engineering, we’d like to grow the enrollment and have more go on to graduate school.”

While the college would like to create a new major in biochemistry, such a program would have to wait until the college renovates its laboratories.

Such renovations were included in Carroll’s centennial plans, which now hinge on the school’s fundraising campaign.

Berberet said the school has already revamped its environmental studies major and upgraded its internship program. A new major in television production will soon be launched, along with new majors in business, and new programs listed under the Department of Health Sciences.

“We’re looking at adding athletic training and strengthening to our community public-health program,” Berberet said. “We’re looking at a strong science-based, health-sciences track that prepares students for physical therapy, occupational therapy, and pre-pharmacy.”

Carroll also hopes to create several centers of excellence on issues that include gender studies, environment, health and wellness, and social justice. As an example, he said, a center for peace and justice could be one way of bringing dynamic speakers to campus.

“It might be a place where some academic offerings could be housed,” Berberet said. “It could be a place that supports some research.”

Berberet said Carroll has a responsibility of being an honest broker within the community, sponsoring debates on a level platform. This past fall, the school co-sponsored the Montana Healthcare Forum and hopes to offer other seminars in the future.

Aside from the standards expected of a four-year institution, the changing academic environment finds Carroll competing with community colleges like UM-Helena College of Technology, where two-year programs and certificate courses are growing in popularity.

Berberet said Carroll has already approved a template for certificate programs, allowing for a package of courses nontraditional students can take to advance their career, such as in GIS.

Other certificate courses could include community health, marketing and health care management. Courses toward each certificate would be clustered, allowing a participant to pursue the subject in a short period of time.

“We’re also working on making summer school more of a flexible third semester — making it more attractive and accessible to the public,” he said. “It’s an issue of what’s affordable, and if loans are available.”

Berberet said many new programs have already gone before the curriculum committee and will be reviewed by faculty in the coming year.

Reporter Martin Kidston: 447-4086 or mkidston@helenair. com