Dear Neighbor,
With students recently starting classes at local colleges and universities, I thought it a good time to send out an update on what happened in higher education this year at the Legislature.
Legislation which passed provides a $166 million increase to the University of Minnesota, Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU), and the Office of Higher Education in the 2016-17 biennium. The majority of this funding was designated to the MnSCU system, which I believe is appropriate given they educate the majority of Minnesota college students. The Office of Higher Education, which funds scholarships for public and private colleges and universities, also received a significant increase, while the U of M received a somewhat more modest increase.
Tuition at two-year institutions, like Saint Cloud Technical and Community College, was frozen for 2016 and actually reduced by 1 percent for 2017. Tuition at four year MnSCU institutions, such as Saint Cloud State University (SCSU), is frozen for 2017. However, four-year schools were allowed a tuition increase of about four percent if they thought it was important for dealing with issues such as declining enrollment.
Most people don't know this, but MnSCU schools have different rates of tuition. Saint Cloud State has the lowest tuition of any of the traditional MnSCU four-year universities (see the full list by clicking here), and even with their increase will still likely remain the lowest traditional MnSCU four-year university. It should also be noted that, for those SCSU students from lower-income families that qualify for Pell grants, that the increased grant will result in a net tuition decrease in 2016 despite SCSU's tuition increase.
This year's higher education reforms also make it easier – and less costly – for MnSCU students with an associate degree to continue their education in a bachelor's program in that field of study. The new law also helps College in the Classroom students save on tuition by ensuring credits they earn through the Postsecondary Enrollment Option are transferable throughout the MnSCU system. This is just one of numerous changes to ensure students are not paying more for unneeded classes, saving them money and reducing loan debt by helping them graduate on time.
There also is loan forgiveness now available for teachers who work in areas that face challenges in filling staff vacancies. This is especially helpful for districts in Greater Minnesota.
Debt management was another focus of this year's higher education package. A top priority is to help students get the credits they need, graduate on time and limit debt they incur, but the reality is that does not always happen. A new pilot program will make debt counseling available for people who are 30 to 60 days delinquent on student loans.
Measures to promote student safety and bring uniform policy in responding to sexual harassment, sexual violence and sexual assault on campuses also became law.
These improvements are designed to make higher educational more achievable for our children, helping them succeed once they get there and thrive upon graduation. More work remains, but these are important accomplishments from 2015.
Please feel free to contact me if you have questions on this or other important topics.
Sincerely,
Jim Knoblach
State Representative 14B