The University of Northern Colorado has always held itself to a high standard of excellence. Even against major budget cuts and staffing layoffs, the university continues to create and uphold the highest quality educational experience it can for its students. Through its 136-year-long history, the university has seen many ebbs and flows and changes as student culture has evolved.
One example of UNC’s long standing commitment to excellence is the Monfort College of Business, which received the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA) in 2004. The MBNQA is the nation’s top honor for organizational performance and requires a rigorous evaluation across multiple criteria. More than 20 years later, the MCB continues to uphold these standards through the resources it provides and the level of student support it offers.
When it comes to the quality of a business, there are several possible awards it could win. Awards like the Deming Prize praise businesses for their excellence in ensuring quality for goods and services. Other awards such as the President’s Quality Award recognize executive branch agencies for their managerial excellence. What sets the MBNQA apart is the level of examination and categorical analysis that is required for accreditation.
In short, the MBNQA looks at seven key areas, known as the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence, in order to determine whether an institution qualifies. These areas are: Leadership, Strategy, Customers, Measurement/Analysis/Knowledge Management, Workforce, Operations and Results. All of these categories play off of one another to create a work environment that establishes high quality performance and results. Excelling in one category is simply not enough, having a well-rounded approach to each sector is critical for those seeking to achieve this honor.
In 2004, the formal application for the MBNQA was submitted for the Kenneth W. Monfort College of Business at UNC. The 59-page document covers each of the seven categories while also highlighting the ways in which the MCB overcame challenges along the way. In a similar mirror to modern day, the 2003-2004 year also brought with it budget cuts to the university. Despite suffering a 10% budget reduction, the college continued to highlight excellence and student performance through various ways.
Fast forward to the current day in 2025, and many of these standards are still the primary focus. Expectations of students at the MCB are high, but they are not without several areas of support in order to ensure their success. Looking back at the “Results” category of the award, the MCB requires students to participate in programs each of their year of study to prepare for careers post-graduation. Whether these are workshops, job fairs or jumping right into an internship, these diverse opportunities drive the success of business majors. Clearly, the expectation and upholding of results is still there.
For director of advising and success center at the MCB, Ben Moore, the vision of students succeeding well beyond their academic careers has always been a key piece of the puzzle. After starting with the college in November of 2023, Moore has seen a lot of leadership related changes. However, the mission remained the same.
“The kind of consistent vision that every person who’s led this college has brought is students first,” Moore said. “Making sure that we’re able to support students through this program and get them as many experiences both inside and outside the classroom as possible.”
Additionally, the culture of the MCB is another highlight for Moore. While there are definitely stereotypes for what business majors look and act like, Moore’s experiences with helping to teach this semester have shattered this expectation.
“Our final project was to make a short, you know, TikTok or reel style video about why students chose to come to UNC or why they chose to study business and what their experiences have been so far,” Moore said. “When you deal with advising stuff, you get lots of positive conversations, but you also see a lot of the hard things about being a college student… those videos and see everyone's different experiences really helped, like, liven me back up.”
However, the landscape of the MCB looks much different now as well. Most recently the overall enrollment rate of the university has dropped in comparison to 2024, forcing the school to face critical budget decisions. This may be a key separator between then and now, and puts into question the quality of the leadership within the MCB.
Federica Bologna, a former student, recently revisited the MCB while attending a conference in Greeley. As an exchange student from Italy, she met her husband here 12 years ago. The support and environment within UNC was a truly impactful aspect for her life. As she walked down the halls of the college, a sense of nostalgia and pride for how the building has held up flowed through her.
“I would say that UNC changed my life,” Bologna said. “And when I was walking down here… it’s a different smell in the building… It brings good memories.”
Students and staff alike find themselves on high alert as the difficult fall semester has progressed but the college has endured. The environment in which students come to learn plays arguably just as big of a role in their success as the actual lecture content. Outfitted with several lecture rooms, inspirational decor throughout the building and a staff dedicated to success, the MCB has never looked better.
Even to students who are not actively studying at the MCB, the college exemplifies a caring environment that aims to put students first above all else. Elle Marchant, a first-year special education major, works at the college of business helping students check in at the advising center. Though this is not where she would typically find herself for school, her mother was a business major which inspired her to see different sides of campus. It is within this position that she was able to meet and experience different viewpoints from different students. Better yet, it has also shown her the resources the college provides to help students from all areas of life.
“I think it’s a great opportunity… I’m learning a lot of different things, especially with business majors,” Marchant said. “I love working with advising because we have the business closet, which allows for a lot of people who maybe don’t have the money to get suits, they can borrow or just have the suits from the closet… If I have the opportunity, I want to stay here as long as I can.”
Although this has not been the easiest year financially for UNC, there still remains a lot on campus to be thankful for as finals begin to wrap up. As a large framed plaque celebrating the MCB’s award-winning status hangs in the lower floor, students that pass by are reminded of the college’s dedication to excellence. Even more than two decades later the MCB works to support, prepare, guide and ultimately release individuals who are ready for the business world from day one.
The College of Humanities and Social Sciences are Spared from UNC’s Layoffs
Cultural Centers Versus the Budget Deficit
