St. Paul, MN – Today, the Minnesota House of Representatives approved new higher education measures to help Minnesotans adapt to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. It provides economic security for students, expands eligibility for more child care assistance, delivers greater support to our native tribal community colleges, and adds more protections from financial harm when colleges suddenly close, especially private for-profit schools, like Argosy.
“Our compromise House and Senate bill addresses additional students’ needs and protections amid the COVID-19 pandemic,” said House Higher Education Committee Chair Connie Bernardy (DFL-New Brighton). “We must do all we can to help degree-seeking Minnesotans. I’ll continue to advocate for students and their families, putting them above profits.”
The bill prohibits a postsecondary institution that is receiving state financial aid from withdrawing a student from class or suspending a student due to an unpaid student account balance. These efforts will help ensure students aren't penalized financially if they are forced to withdraw from a class, hindering their ability to complete, still be on the hook for the cost of the course, and possible loss of aid and money already paid.
The bill expands the Office of Higher Education's Child Care Grant Program to also include postsecondary institutions offering only graduate or professional degrees. This financial resource helps low income students who have young children pay for child care while they attend classes.
Additionally, the new legislation requires new standards for OHE to provide for maximum involvement of and consultation with the Tribal Nations Education Committee in establishing programs and formulating polices related to American Indian students’ post secondary involvement.
A core provision of the higher education bill aims to add more protections to students from financial harms due to abrupt college closures. Despite significant efforts of the House DFL to put an end to predatory and fraudulent practices of private, for-profit colleges, the final bill includes a measure that permits Office of Higher Education to revoke or suspend registration for a degree-granting postsecondary institution if the institution was administratively or judicially determined to have committed fraud or a material violation of law involving state, local, or federal funds. This section had stronger enforcement measures in the House of Representatives, such as revoking registration or approval of an institute of higher education if they fail to prove enrollment at the school, use fraudulent or dishonest practices, and other requirements that were tied to financial viability provisions. The Senate Republicans refused to incorporate these measures into the final bill.
A copy of the bill can be found here.
###