Two critical projects for South Central College's North Mankato Campus are included in the 2026 Minnesota State Capital Request for Bonding. These investments will directly strengthen the region’s workforce, expand access to essential health services, and preserve campus infrastructure relied upon by thousands of students, employers, and community members.
Dental Instructional Lab — $2,235,000
Included in the Minnesota State system’s Learning Environments & Equipment Bonding Request
The demand for dental care—and trained Dental Assistants—continues to grow across Minnesota. SCC’s Dental Instructional Lab project is designed to address these urgent needs by bringing the Dental Assisting program back to the North Mankato Campus and creating a new hub for hands-on learning and community service.
Project Benefits
- Leverages more than $550,000 in industry contributions, demonstrating strong employer support and regional need.
- Establishes a Community Dental Clinic to serve underserved populations in Southern Minnesota.
- Expands student capacity in a high-demand program, helping address Minnesota’s significant need for Dental Assistants.
- Relocates the Dental Assisting program from an off-site facility to the North Mankato Campus, improving efficiency, safety, and student experience.
The Dental Instructional Lab project includes a new on-campus Community Dental Clinic to expand care for underserved populations.
Demand far exceeds capacity—60 qualified applicants competed for just 24 seats in Fall 2025.
Boiler Replacement — $6,925,000
Included in the Minnesota State system’s Higher Education Asset Preservation & Replacement (HEAPR) Request
Reliable campus infrastructure is essential to high-quality education. SCC’s current boiler system—installed in 1968—is long past its life expectancy and poses growing risks to campus safety, college operations and budget. Replacing this system is critical to ensuring uninterrupted service and avoiding escalating repair and emergency costs.
Project Benefits
- Replaces a 57-year-old heating and hot water system that serves the entire campus (life expectancy: ~30 years).
- Prevents costly emergency repairs and eliminates reliance on outdated parts and vendor availability.
- Reduces operational downtime, which increasingly disrupts campus activities during the heating season.
- Addresses repeated system failures, including breakdowns of fire tubes, staybolts, mud legs, and refractory.
SCC’s boiler system is nearly twice its intended lifespan and operating with significant efficiency and reliability issues.
Over the past two years, 18 fire tubes have failed, each costing approximately $4,500 to replace and requiring the shutdown of the affected boiler(s) until repairs are completed.
