What do you think of when you hear the word college? Do you think of a stationary institution, professors, and high tuition costs? Well then the Experimental College of the Twin Cities is certainly not what you would expect.

Macalester College students started the Experimental College of the Twin Cities (EXCO) in 2006, responding to what they saw as an unfair admissions policy change at their own school.   Co-founder and volunteer organizer David Boehnke says at the time, he saw EXCO as a “vision of free, diverse, and participatory education intimately tied to the process of people coming together to meet each other, strengthen networks, build movements, and create the world they would like to see in the present,” according to a Minnesota Daily article.

Heading into its fifth year this September, EXCO continues to take on that vision, by committing itself to transforming education on the principle that everyone can teach or take classes and that all classes are free. Fortunately, the program gets $15,000 in annual funding through its student chapters at area schools. However, that is only enough to cover class supplies and $300 stipends for instructors, who might otherwise not be able to teach these classes.  This funding does not supply the program with permanent classrooms. Instead, classes are located at the U of M, Macalester and throughout the community, such as libraries, churches, community centers, parks, etc.

After starting with only six classes, EXCO has expanded to more than 40 classes per semester, ranging from the seemingly ordinary (Introduction to the New Testament: Historical Context of Early Christianity; Renewing Our Future: Energy, the Economy, and Climate; and Creative Writing for the Non-Creative) to the unusual (Anarchist Anthropology, Imprinted Sexual Fantasies: A New Key for Sexology, Basic Bike Maintenance).

Along with the growth of class selection, the program itself has also grown to include chapters at the University of Minnesota and the Academia Comunitaria for the Latino community.

EXCO illustrates how education can thrive through a community-based approach, due in part to the assistance of the chapter groups from Macalester, the University of Minnesota, and Minneapolis Community and Technical College.  This backbone of support includes students and staff.

Though it does not fit the definition of a typical college, nor do the credits atomically count toward a degree, EXCO does demonstrate the belief that education is for everyone regardless of financial circumstances. This is something we should all remain committed to.

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