Chancellor
A Personal Message from Chancellor Storey...
Greetings to prospective students and to others interested in the University of Montana Western.
Whether full-time or part-time, I urge you to apply for admission to Montana Western in Dillon. My colleagues and I hope to see you on campus. Let me explain.
UMW is Montana’s educational gem. This is a great place to live and to learn, to experience the difference and ultimately earn a degree. The faculty and staff here are as dedicated to the students and our educational mission as any institution in the country and the teaching and learning that characterizes the university is first-rate. In fact, U.S. News and World Report agrees with this assessment. Last fall, this prestigious national magazine again rated UMW among the top public comprehensive colleges in the West.
In the 2005/06 academic year, after three years of planning and testing, we became the first American public university to fully implement a block plan schedule—we named it Experience One where students take, and faculty teach, one course during a block lasting 3 ½ weeks. The block is followed by a block break and a new class begins the next week. Our Web site explains Experience One in detail.
Other universities plan to follow in our footsteps. The faculty adopted the plan because it improves teaching and learning. Our challenging but interesting courses become small, focused learning communities where students get to know each other and their professors and the subject. Graduate students do not teach courses here and we have no large lecture classes.
Montana Western’s emphasis on experimental learning—that is, learning by doing-- is uniquely supported by Experience One encourages a serious commitment to learning while teaching organization, responsibility and productivity. This system provides focus and flexibility as it generates a rich array of educational opportunities including active, hands-on labs and field trips, off-campus programs, focused art projects, community-based learning, research opportunities and internships. With a block plan system, attendance increases, academic confidence and performance improves and students graduate.
Our students are engaged academically while enjoying school more than ever. Student success is up, satisfaction is at an all-time high and we are remarkably affordable in today world of high tuition. It is nice to hear a parent say, “Thank you, we feel our daughter is more than getting her money’s worth at Western and we are pleased with the school and the block plan.”
Montana Western transforms students. We all have seen it happen. Our students become life-long enthusiasts for learning and almost certainly continue to be active in the life-of-the-mind for the rest of their time as a productive adult. We believe education is the best answer to most of the problems that confront our society today and we want all of our students to be part of the solution to these problems. Here, you learn from the best in the best way: Experience One.
Accordingly, earning a degree from Montana Western is far more than getting a good job (which happens) and hanging your diploma on your office wall. It carries a responsibility to be the kind of role model and leader who does in fact make a positive difference in society. We want our alumni to earn a good living but also to volunteer time to support worthy causes and organizations, and to become involved productively and wisely in important political issues, environmental and social causes and humane endeavors. All of our current and former students are important to Western’s ongoing success and they will always be part of the Bulldog family.
Once again, Montana Western is a “best buy” university and a sound investment for your future. We will likely offer about the lowest tuition rates compared to the other public and private universities in the region. We can do this because our excellent, dedicated faculty, while remaining active scholars in their field, focus on teaching.
Weighing the high quality of a Montana Western education and the relatively low cost of attendance, we have taken the lead as the head-and-shoulders best value around for higher education. We deliver quality degree programs in the arts and sciences, education, business, technology and equine studies. We offer numerous financial and work-study packages to assist students.
Another strength is our unique location. Southwest Montana and the Dillon area is beautiful, unspoiled and safe country filed with mountains, forests, valleys, rivers, lakes, fish and wildlife. Ski runs are nearby. So are Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks. Larger cites are within easy driving distance. Come paddle a canoe, ride a mountain bike, cast a fly line, take a photograph, experience a trail ride, or otherwise enjoy the open country and Rocky Mountains where Dillon is located. The September 2006 edition of National Geographic named Dillon one of 31 “great small towns” in the U.S. If you love to do anything out-of-doors Dillon is the place for you.
For more information, please contact our admissions office at 866-869-6669 or 406-683-7331 or cruise the rest of our Web site. Come visit us in Dillon. You will be impressed.
Ultimately, we hope to see you on campus as a student to experience the difference at Montana’s educational gem.
All best wishes,
Richard Storey
Chancellor
Go to top
