Our opinion: As enrollment grows at NCTC, so should appreciation by the region’s businesses

Shari Olson is checking off tasks at Northland Community & Technical College.

Olson has been president of NCTC since April – although technically longer than that, since she was named interim president in the summer of 2024. Last week, she gave a State of the College presentation to more than 120 guests at the college’s East Grand Forks campus, explaining that while she was serving as interim leader, she self-assigned three goals:

Create a shared governance model;

raise enrollment growth by 10% in three years;

and improve the well-being of staff and students.

Already, evidence tends to show that it was more than just bar-napkin scribblings.

Olson’s goal of shared governance was born from listening sessions she had during her months as interim president.

“I learned from staff that th