ST. PAUL, MN – The House Higher Education Omnibus Bill was passed today on a bipartisan 86 to 44 vote. The bill will directly benefit students by freezing tuition at both the University of Minnesota (U of M) and the Minnesota State Colleges and University system (MnSCU), including Saint Cloud State University.
“It was great to work on the Higher Education Committee this year to advocate for SCSU and the students in our area,” said vice-Chair Zachary Dorholt (DFL-Saint Cloud). “The bill that we put forward focuses new resources in two main areas – tuition and debt – to benefit students directly.”
The bill will increase higher education funding by $150 million and freeze in-state resident tuition over the next two years. The bill also allocates $18 million to the MnDrive research program at the University of Minnesota and nearly $11 million to the Office of Higher Education to increase grants for access, choice, and debt reduction.
In addition, the bill includes new reforms to expand legislative oversight of state higher education institution spending. They are designed to better hold the U of M and MnSCU accountable for controversial budgeting practices such as high administrative costs and excessive compensation for top administrators.
The Higher Education Committee held fourteen hearings on the topic of oversight—focusing on the dramatic increase in student tuition, fees, and debt over the past six years student-to-faculty ratios, and administrative costs and trends over the past decade. The product of that work can be seen in new reforms that were drafted in consultation with the Office of Legislative Auditor to expand the oversight function of the legislature to better hold the U of M and MnSCU accountable for the money they are spending.
“Tuition has nearly doubled since I attended SCSU,” said Dorholt. “Controlling student costs and debt is the best way that we can make college more accessible and affordable to Minnesotans. The oversight piece will help to keep costs down over time and make sure that dollars are being spent where they’re needed most.”
Rep. Dorholt can be reached by phone at (651) 296-6612 or by email at rep.zachary.dorholt@house.mn.
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