Dakota College at Bottineau has been around almost as long as North Dakota itself. The state constitution, ratified in 1889, provided for a forestry school to help promote the growth of trees on the prairies. We opened our doors in 1906 as the North Dakota School of Forestry.

A lot has changed since then, including our name and mission. But we're still here to cultivate growth. Of course, "growth" doesn't mean exactly the same thing in the 21st century that it did in the 19th. While our natural resource programs remain among the best in the upper Midwest, we also offer degrees in fields such as health care, web design, and information technology along with a strong liberal arts program.  And we have one of the most robust distance-learning programs in the state.

North Dakota's landscape has changed a lot since 1889, both physically and culturally. Our graduates helped bring about those changes. And Dakota College at Bottineau has changed, too --- so that we can prepare today's students to build the landscapes of the future.

We'd love to show you more about our campus. See the menu at left to schedule a tour, or request more information about Dakota College at Bottineau. 

Dakota College at Bottineau provides students with a quality education in a caring environment. The institution values diversity and personal enrichment by promoting engaged learning for employment and university transfer. With the help of a supportive community, Dakota College at Bottineau emphasizes nature and technology to accomplish its mission through an array of curricula, programs, and services.

1. Liberal arts education provides students the knowledge and tools to continue their education, to serve as good stewards of the environment, and to function as responsible citizens.
2. Career/technical education provides students with the knowledge and skills required to succeed by utilizing natural, human, and technological resources.
3. Distance delivery provides students increased access to education and career opportunities.
4. Community education provides diverse life-long learning experiences.
5. Support services provide opportunities for individual growth and success.
6. Campus activities provide for interpersonal development.
7. Campus outreach provides area schools and groups access to college resources.
8. Workforce training and development provides the human resources for economic development.
9. All programs provide a greater understanding of human diversity.

Dakota College at Bottineau's curricula, programs, and services take students beyond nature and technology and leave them with an ethic of concern and care for the natural world.

"Dakota College at Bottineau is rooted in the past and grows towards the future by combining the best from the Past, Present, and Future to provide students with innovative educational opportunities. The campus will emphasize a knowledge and appreciation of Nature, implement a rapidly changing Technology, and prepare students to go Beyond and improve the quality of life."

1. Student Centered:  Dakota College at Bottineau values students, considers their needs and interests, and makes sincere efforts to respond positively to those needs and interests.
2. Excellence:  Dakota College at Bottineau college community members take pride in their work and strive for academic and professional excellence.
3. Learning:  Dakota College at Bottineau values innovation and quality as it serves the learning needs of its various constituencies. 
4. Respect and Responsibility:  Dakota College at Bottineau acknowledges, understands, and supports the rights of others to express their ideas.  Individual responsibility is integral to civil discourse, which enables meaningful learning experiences and informed decisions. 
5. Diversity:  Dakota College at Bottineau supports and embraces diversity, which enriches the quality of the learning experience.

1. Improve learning and services through ongoing assessment.
2. Improve extra and co-curricular offerings.
3. Provide curricular offerings to meet the needs of constituents.
4. Develop the institution's Nature, Technology, and Beyond focus.
5. Utilize all campus resources.
6. Enhance residential life.
7. Develop learning partnerships throughout the region and state.
8. Promote global awareness.
9. Promote an innovative culture in a technologically enhanced environment.

Established as the School of Forestry in 1906, Dakota College at Bottineau has consistently utilized the biological diversity of the region:  the Turtle Mountain Forest, the prairie pothole region, the J. Clark Salyer National Wildlife Refuge, the International Peace Garden, and Lake Metigoshe.  Using these as natural laboratories to strengthen the educational experience and continuously expanding academic and career programming, Dakota College at Bottineau integrates technology to prepare students not only for the present but also to go beyond and improve the future.

Dakota College at Bottineau's diverse, natural surroundings provide examples of how and why everyone must care for the environment.  Technology aids in determining appropriate methods to solve problems and create the change necessary to maximize positive consequences to all life.

Through these and other appropriate actions, Dakota College at Bottineau will endeavor to leave students with an ethic of concern and care for the world.

Graduates of Dakota College at Bottineau are self-confident and possess skills that promote life-long learning.  When Dakota College at Bottineau graduates leave the nurturing environment the campus provides, they can successfully continue their education or effectively enter the workforce. By utilizing the knowledge gained and the interpersonal and communication skills learned on campus graduates will become contributing members of society.  Dakota College at Bottineau develops responsible graduates who can manage life activities in a manner that allows them to become high achievers who can protect and use our natural and human resources wisely.