Higher education is undergoing vast changes, and nowhere is this more evident than at open enrollment community colleges like Anoka-Ramsey Community College in Minnesota. Our two campuses—one in a working-class suburb of Minneapolis and the other in more rural Central Minnesota—have a steady stream of first-generation college students with growing numbers of co-enrolled high school students. To adjust to students’ increased preference for online learning (and its subsequent barriers for meaningful connection), we’ve implemented successful modifications to support our changing and diverse student body, helping them find their own voices and successfully launching them into the next steps in their writing careers.
ARCC has one of the most well-established two-year creative writing programs in the country, with associate of fine arts (AFA) and certificate degrees, nine creative writing classes, three vibrant visiting author series, an active creative writing club, a student-edited literary magazine, and strong articulation agreements with transfer partners. Since our inception in 2006, we have welcomed busy students with multiple delivery methods, including many classes in an online asynchronous format, which allowed us to pivot fully online during COVID-19 restrictions, with all our creative writing faculty adept at teaching in seated, online, or hybrid formats. We strive to create meaningful interactions in online learning communities and safe spaces for LGBTQIA, BIPOC, and immigrant students. Asynchronous learning’s flexibility has continued to be extremely popular. AFA student Daisy Johnston said, “Taking poetry and fiction classes online allowed me to work two jobs, as well as work at my own pace, which varies week to week.” Students can now complete our AFA and our creative writing certificate fully online.
We have also adapted our companion program components, offering guest speaker experiences online in addition to in person. Each semester, a Careers in Writing guest speaks at an online Zoom event, where students ask questions about career opportunities in real time. Through our Two Rivers Reading Series—which has been going strong for twenty-five years and has brought in such luminaries as Louise Erdrich, Nuruddin Farah, Patricia Smith, and Kao Kalia Yang—students study an author’s work and interact through in-person, Zoom, and recorded video options. Our fall 2024 event featured Mona Susan Power, whose book A Council of Dolls ushered in a deepened awareness of systemic racism.
Mona Susan Power interviewed by Scott Wrobel at the fall 2024 Two Rivers Reading Series event
Our creative writing club now meets synchronously each month on Zoom. In the Zoom format, students build connections and get hands-on learning with The Rapids Review literary magazine, building skills through revision, editing, and layout. Celebrating our creative writing graduates and literary magazine publication provides opportunities for in-person festivities.
AFA student Martha LaBine at the 2024 Creative Writing Graduates Reading and Celebration
To build a stronger asynchronous creative writing cohort, we redesigned our program to funnel all degree students into A Writer’s Life: Publication Capstone, which introduces students to magazine and book publication, book reviews, writers’ résumés, and careers in writing. Students workshop their creative writing to create a polished manuscript ready to use for transfer scholarships, publication, or scholarship portfolios.
Though students in our pivoted program are less likely to walk into a professor’s office on campus, we’ve found other ways to support students, including moving those life-changing faculty-student conversations to Zoom. We work closely with our advising team to ensure that students receive accurate information from whomever they meet. Finally, frequent email communications from our program director build communication.
Beginning with the fall 2024 semester, Minnesota’s North Star Promise scholarship now offers free tuition for four years to students in households earning below $80,000. Many of our students now qualify for a free associate’s degree at Anoka-Ramsey and can then transfer to finish their bachelor’s at a four-year university in the Minnesota State system. To ensure our students a smooth transfer experience, we have renegotiated our articulation agreements with our Minnesota State partners, removing the confusion that often accompanies the daunting transfer process. Our students place their trust in us, and we ensure that they will be supported at the next institution by connecting them with approachable and knowledgeable faculty and administrators at their transfer university. These connections can be especially meaningful for BIPOC and LGBTQIA students, helping them know they will be safe, welcomed, and represented at their new institution. Thanks to the hard work of our English faculty, our AFA in creative writing transfers seamlessly to many respected on-ground creative writing degrees as well as two fully online BA programs.
Our enrollment in creative writing courses is up, and we are grateful to our administration for supporting our creative writing program director position, currently held by Professor Paige Riehl, who helps students put their hopes and dreams into step-by-step career plans. As current AFA student Eric Linder wrote, “I have grown a tremendous amount as a writer. I have worked full-time throughout my entire education yet kept my passion for writing burning bright thanks to [the] vibrancy of online classroom discussions and the commitment of my teachers. Anoka-Ramsey’s writing program blew me away.” Though our formats have changed, our connections remain strong.
Kathryn Kysar is the author of two poetry books, Dark Lake and Pretend the World, and edited the creative nonfiction anthology Riding Shotgun: Women Write About Their Mothers. In 2024, she was the recipient of a Minnesota State Arts Board Individual Artist Grant and a Write On, Door County fellowship. She is the founder of the creative writing program at Anoka-Ramsey Community College and a previous board member of AWP.
Paige Riehl is the author of a poetry book, Suspension, and a poetry chapbook, Blood Ties. Currently a contributing editor for Midway Journal, she served for many years as poetry editor and as a volunteer poetry mentor for the Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop. She is the creative writing program director at Anoka-Ramsey Community College.