Funding colleges, grants provided
A new law provides a 9.9 percent increase in University of Minnesota funding and 8.5 percent for the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) system. Each took a nearly $200 million cut in 2003.
Combined, the $2.76 billion bill is close to splitting the differences between the original $2.79 billion Senate proposal and nearly $2.74 billion House plan.
Rep. Bud Nornes (R-Fergus Falls) and Sen. Sandra L. Pappas (DFL-St. Paul) sponsored the legislation.
The following is a look at some of the specific provisions in the new law, effective July 1, 2005, unless otherwise noted.
HF1385*/SF1174/CH107
University, MnSCU funding and policies
The law allocates $1.21 billion to the university and just over $1.2 billion to MnSCU. In terms of new funding, MnSCU will receive $107.5 million and the university $105.6 million.
Adjustments for enrollment and inflation are eliminated from the determination of instructional services base for the university and MnSCU, effective June 30, 2007. (Art. 2, Sec. 1)
The university appropriation includes $13 million for competitive compensation to attract and retain top faculty members. The MnSCU appropriation includes $12 million for "competitive compensation to faculty or staff for initiatives that promote excellence in student learning." The money also includes funding "to strengthen and expand the Minnesota online program, increase the capacity for training nurses and teachers, provide for the management education needs of farm and small business owners, and provide services and outreach to underserved populations." (Art. 1, Secs. 3-4)
Also included in the MnSCU funding is $5 million each year for the creation of three to eight Centers of Excellence. The law specifies 10 criteria for selecting a center, including a strong existing program upon which the center will build, the capacity to build multi-state regional or national program recognition within five years and a strong partnership between a four-year and at least one two-year institution that maximizes the leverage of academic training capacities. An advisory committee, comprised of local, statewide and national leaders, must be created at each center. The committee is to report on center activities annually to the governor and Legislature. After three years of a center's existence, the report must include how the program is impacting the local economy. (Art. 1, Sec. 3 and Art. 2, Sec. 31)
MnSCU is permitted to offer applied doctoral degrees in audiology, business, education, nursing, physical therapy and psychology. Supporters said advanced degrees are needed in these fields to help meet the future needs of the state. (Art. 2, Sec. 3)
The process for selecting the university's Board of Regents is changed, under the law.
The Regent Candidate Advisory Council will now make recommendations to the governor, instead of the Legislature. The recommendation deadline is moved from March 15 to Jan. 15 of each odd-numbered year. In its selection process, the council must look at the needs of the board so that it represents diversity in experience, gender, geography, occupation and race. Term limits cannot be a consideration.
By Feb. 15, the governor must submit a slate of candidates to a 20-member joint legislative committee. The committee, whose makeup must include the chairs of the education and higher education committees or divisions, must meet by Feb. 28 to recommend the governor's choices to the full Legislature or reject them. If a candidate is rejected, the governor is to submit another name. (Art. 2, Secs. 47-50)
Students wanting to make recommendations to the governor for student representatives to the MnSCU Board of Trustees must do so by April 15 of the year in which its member's term expires. Previously, a recommendation had to be made by Jan. 2. The change coincides with the recommendation deadline for the Board of Trustees Advisory Council. (Art. 2, Sec. 30)
Mayo Medical Foundation
The foundation is to receive $2.78 million, the same amount as the 2004-05 biennium.
This level provides $1.06 million for the Mayo Family Practice and Graduate Residency Program, nearly $1.03 million for the Mayo Medical School and $692,000 for the St. Cloud Hospital-Mayo Family Practice Residency Program. The goal for these programs is to train physicians to practice primary care medicine in rural areas. (Art. 1, Sec. 5)
Higher Education Services Office
Overall funding for the office, which will be renamed the Minnesota Office of Higher Education, is $349.31 million. Officials indicate the name change better reflects its role as the state agency responsible for financial aid, higher education policy, data collection, analysis and reporting.
Of its allocation, $400,000 is designated to develop and implement an accountability reporting system for postsecondary institutions that will provide information, according to the office, "on the effectiveness of the higher education sector in meeting state goals." A report is due to the Legislature by Jan. 15, 2006.
Further, the office is to study licensed or registered for-profit postsecondary institutions, and report back to the Legislature by Nov. 15, 2006. Among the issues to be addressed are: tuition, program offerings, student debt load, financial assistance and the impact of the tuition, and fee maximums set in law to this sector and its students.
Upon finance commissioner approval and notice to legislative higher education committee chairs, the office is permitted to transfer state appropriations to the state grant, tuition reciprocity, child-care or work study appropriations.
The office is to collect monthly data from institutions disbursing state financial aid and report quarterly to the Legislature on financial aid expenses and balances. By Nov. 1 and Feb. 15 of each year, the office must provide updated state grant spending projections. (Art. 1, Sec. 2)
Negotiations are to begin with Wisconsin officials on updating the current tuition reciprocity agreement with a goal of having Wisconsin students pay at least as much as Minnesota students at a Minnesota institution. In 2004-05, Wisconsin students attending one of the four University of Minnesota campuses paid an average of $1,627 less than Minnesota students. Officials are also directed to examine the feasibility of reinstating payments with South Dakota, which have not occurred since 1988. A report is due the Legislature by Jan. 15, 2006. (Art. 2, Sec. 56)
The office is to provide an annual reciprocity report to the Legislature. It is to include the number of students using the program, the reciprocity and resident tuition rates at each school and payment obligations for the states involved. (Art. 2, Sec. 15)
Furthermore, the office is to consider developing procedures and collection measures to monitor students from other states who attend school in Minnesota through reciprocity. Summary data would include graduates by institution, degrees granted annually, and employment and earnings in Minnesota following graduation. (Art. 2, Sec. 16)
A statutory grant program is to be established to provide outreach services to historically underserved students in grades six-12. One-year grants are to be awarded to programs that provide pre-college services such as academic counseling, mentoring, fostering and improving parental involvement, services for English as a second language students, financial aid counseling and assistance with high school course selection and information about college admission requirements. Applicants must match the grant dollar-for-dollar, and submit an annual report to the office detailing its program and student outcome goals. (Art. 2, Sec. 29)
A taskforce is to be convened to look at the statutory funding of public postsecondary education and report back to the Legislature and governor by Jan. 15, 2006. (Art. 2, Sec. 57)
The office must convene a group, including representatives of publishers, private and public postsecondary schools or systems and the Minnesota State Services for the Blind, to "develop a network to make available postsecondary instructional material in an electronic format or to identify other solutions, such as a national system, to address the specified format needs of postsecondary students with disabilities." Any network material must be made available to Minnesota institutions and postsecondary students with a disability that require a reading accommodation. A progress report is due to the Legislature by Jan. 15, 2006. (Art. 2, Sec. 58)
Another group is to develop recommendations and revise the regulation of private and out-of-state postsecondary institutions. Under the law, "the recommendations must address the provision of degrees, certificates, diplomas, and training offered by for-profit and nonprofit institutions in Minnesota and outside of Minnesota, in classrooms or online, and regulatory issues under federal law." Preliminary recommendations are due the Legislature by Nov. 15, 2005. Final recommendations are due Jan. 15, 2006. (Art. 3, Sec. 20)
State grant changes
Nearly $136.4 million is allocated for state grants in fiscal year 2006 and nearly $144.76 million in fiscal year 2007. If the appropriation is insufficient either year, the appropriation for the other year is available for use. (Art. 1, Secs. 1-2)
Although the overall numbers match the 2004-05 biennium, many students will see a slight increase in award amounts because of some other changes.
For students enrolled in four-year programs, the tuition and fee maximum will be $9,208 for the first year and $9,438 the second year, versus the previous $8,983 each year. However, for students in two-year programs the numbers decrease from $6,913 to $6,567 and $6,436, respectively. The living and miscellaneous expense allowance is increased from $5,205 to $5,350. All these numbers are used in determining a state grant award. (Art. 1, Sec. 2)
In the second year of the biennium, the higher education office is permitted to use any projected surplus in the state grant program to increase the living and miscellaneous allowance. Any increase does not carry forward to the subsequent biennium. This provision expires June 30, 2007. (Art. 2, Sec. 19)
The deadline for applying for a state grant is extended from 14 to 30 days after a term begins. (Art. 2, Sec. 20)
The maximum child-care grant award is increased from $2,200 to $2,300 for each eligible child per academic year. (Art. 2, Sec. 24)
State statute is changed so that grant recipients must be current with child support obligations in conformance with Department of Human Services language. (Art. 2, Sec. 17)
The types of fees charged by institutions in calculating state grants are defined. According to the law, "Fees do not include charges for tools, equipment, computers, or other similar materials where the student retains ownership. Fees include charges for these materials if the institution retains ownership. Fees do not include optional or punitive fees." (Art. 2, Sec. 18)
Students who withdraw from school for active military service will be eligible for an additional term of state and child-care grant eligibility. This is retroactive to Dec. 31, 2002. (Art. 2, Secs. 20, 23, 59)
Certain protections are expanded to a disabled military veteran whose medical condition prevents continued attendance. They are still eligible to withdraw from a course with full credit of tuition and fees, but the right to enroll without penalty or redetermination of eligibility is increased from one to two years following release from active service or following completion of the medical treatment or sufficient recovery from their medical condition. (Art. 2, Sec. 52)
A low-income nursing education account is to be created in the General Fund with the dollars designated to establish a loan repayment program for licensed practical or registered nurses agreeing to practice in a Minnesota nursing home or work as a nurse educator in the state full-time for at least three years in either area. Recipients are to receive annual disbursements "equivalent to 15 percent of the average educational debt for indebted nursing school graduates" upon notification of qualifying practice. Failure to comply will result in the participant repaying 100 percent of any payments made plus interest. (Art. 2, Sec. 51)
Other policy issues
The United Family Medicine Residency Program is to receive $360,000 each year to help support 18 resident physicians training to provide family care medicine in underserved parts of the state. (Art. 1, Sec. 2)
Qualifying deaf students will be able to attend a public postsecondary school for free, under the law. It requires the school to make up the difference of tuition and fees after subtracting all grants and scholarships a student has been awarded. To qualify, a student must receive either a federal Pell grant or state grant. (Art. 2, Sec. 4)
Resident senior citizens are permitted to attend a class in any state-supported higher education institution for free on a space-available basis. The law clarifies that a senior must pay any materials, personal property or service charges for the course. They must also pay an administrative fee to cover course costs. Additionally, a senior citizen enrolled in a contract training or professional continuing education program is not eligible for the free enrollment benefit. (Art. 2, Secs. 8-9)
A number of the changes made to the Minnesota College Savings Plan are primarily clarifying or are made to conform to federal law. For example, it adds attendance at a U.S. military academy to the exemptions in the definition of nonqualified distribution, clarifies that state residency is required to receive a grant and specifies that a parent or guardian claiming the plan beneficiary as a dependent for tax purposes must be a Minnesota resident. (Art. 1, Secs. 34-46)
Fees are increased for private career schools seeking initial and renewal licensure. Application for a renewal must now be made 60 days before the expiration of the current license, instead of the previous 30 days. (Art. 3, Secs. 7-8)
A private career school that closes during a term is required to refund all tuition, and a student's outstanding obligations for the term are cancelled. (Art. 3, Sec. 14)
Effective May 27, 2005, a section of the law establishes an 11-member Rochester Higher Education Development Committee "to research and make recommendations to the governor and legislature on the creation of mission-driven postsecondary educational programs or institutions in the Rochester area that meet the educational needs of the region and the state and that capitalize on the unique opportunities for educational partnerships presented in the Rochester area." The committee is to specifically address the University of Minnesota. A report is due to the Legislature by Jan. 15, 2006. Funding for this initiative is $3.2 million. (Art. 4, Secs. 1-3)
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