Celebrating 20 Years of the BTAA CourseShare Program

Over the past 20 years, the CourseShare program at UMN has grown exponentially from a small program offering only a few exchanges, to a robust and inclusive program serving over 100 students each semester. The Language Center has transformed it from a small top-down Provost-led program to a signature and integrated program whose core mission is to meet the needs of students. The Language Center is especially proud of the program’s focus on heritage languages, both in courses we send and receive. Because of CourseShare, we are able to share the American Indian languages Dakota and Ojibwe with a wider audience, and bring University of Minnesota students access to many languages of importance to the Twin Cities area, like Persian, Turkish and Yoruba. 

The program’s twenty years of growth and expansion can be credited to the passion and dedication of many people. At the Language Center, Stephanie Treat has been the primary coordinator of the program since 2017, and she has made it her mission to center the program around students. The current team also includes Amanda Dalola, Mel Hervonen and Carter Griffith, and the full staff of the Language Center have contributed to the program’s success. Language department staff and advisors, and university registrars also play key roles in promotion and administration. 

Our most important partner though is the CLA language instructors who teach the many classes we share in the Big Ten. Nearly all the less commonly taught languages available at UMN have been shared through CourseShare. See the recent article about the Spring 2025 program for a full list of UMN language instructors who are currently sharing their courses in the Big Ten.