Dear First Name,
The 2021 legislative session began clouded with the uncertainty around the budgetary and policy impacts of the pandemic. Legislators were apprehensive to set priorities beyond the immediate needs of people negatively impacted by the continued efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19.
In September 2020, the IFO negotiating team and Board of Directors made the important decision to freeze salaries for the 2021-2022 academic year. This difficult decision was made with the members interests at the forefront. Our campuses around the state are facing severe budget deficits and retrenchment and other extreme budget cutting measures are being implemented. We needed to do what we could to provide some certainty in the campus budgeting process while we worked with the legislature to fund our campuses.
The 2021 legislative session adjourned in mid-May without lawmakers passing a final budget for the 2022-2023 biennium. However, a budget framework was agreed upon by the Governor and legislative leaders on the final day of session. The framework required conferees, legislative leadership, and commissioners to finalize their work by June 4. Most committees met this deadline, and the legislature concluded their work by late June. Minnesota is the only state that has a legislature with divided control. The House is led by the DFL and the Senate is led by the GOP.
The higher education target was $100 million in new funding over the biennium. MinnState received $56.4M in new funds. The University of Minnesota received $38M in new funds. The remainder helped fund the State Grant, the Office of Higher Education, teachers of color programs, and more.
Below is a summary of the higher education bill, as well as provisions included in other committee bills that impact on Minnesota State Colleges and Universities.
Higher Education Finance and Policy (click here to read the full bill)
Under the final higher education bill, the higher education budget for the 2022-23 biennium includes $1.58 billion for the Minnesota State system (45% of the higher education budget), $1.39 billion to the University of Minnesota (40%), and $546 million to the Office of Higher Education (16%). The Mayo Foundation will receive $2.7 million for its education programs.
Throughout the session, the House and Senate took very different approaches to fund higher education. Both the House and Senate included unfunded tuition freezes or reductions. The Governor’s budget proposal included the full request and no restrictions on tuition. The final outcome was adequate in the context of a contentious legislative session but still leaves a budget shortfall for our campuses.
Specifically for Minnesota State, the Senate bill appropriated $25 million in new money over the biennium. Of that, there was $5 million each year of the biennium for campus operations and maintenance; $2.7 million each year for rural college supplemental aid; $2 million each year in additional funds for workforce development scholarships; $2 million over the biennium for the system office budget; $1.5 million in one-time funding for mental health awareness programs; $1 million in one-time funding to help with student basic needs; and $1.1 million in one-time funding for textbook affordability to expand the Z-Degree (zero textbook cost) and Open Educational Resources (OER) program to at least eight additional colleges beginning in the 2022-2023 academic year. The Senate bill also required Minnesota State to reduce tuition by five percent, forcing us to illegally use the federal COVID relief funds to fill the revenue shortfall created by COVID safety measures.
The Senate bill included language that would require the colleges and universities to provide a tuition credit for enrolled students, and a refund to students no longer enrolled, for the amount of the online differential tuition rate charged to students for online courses during the 2020-2021 academic year that were not offered as online courses during the previous academic year. \
There was also language in the Senate bill that required Minnesota State to award one-time COVID-19 risk stipends of $500 to instructors, including adjunct and part-time instructors, who taught in-person during the spring 2021 semester in which students were present.
In comparison, the House bill appropriated $68.4 million in new money over the biennium to Minnesota State. Of that, there was $21.5 million the first year, and $43 million the second year of the biennium for campus operations and maintenance; $1.25 million each year of the biennium for student basic needs, including mental health resources; $500,000 each year of the biennium in one-time funding to expand the Z-degree program to two additional colleges or universities by 2023-2024; and $400,000 one-time funding in the first year of the biennium for a career and technical educator pilot project at Winona State University and Minnesota State College Southeast. The House bill required Minnesota State to freeze tuition both years of the biennium. The House did not provide the funding to pay for a tuition freeze.
Minnesota State Colleges and Universities:
The final bill included $56.4 million for Minnesota State to be spent in the following ways:
$45 million over the biennium for campus funding.
Tuition language that caps the Board of Trustees to increase tuition each year of the biennium at 3.5% and allows universities to adjust tuition to account for a reduction of online differential charges if the change is revenue-neutral.
An additional $5.4 million, or $2.7 million each year, for supplemental aid to non-metro colleges for a total of $11.4 million over the biennium.
$1 million in additional funding for the workforce development scholarships, for a total of $9 million over the biennium. The program is amended in the bill to include an additional area of study or certification available for a scholarship, based on a workforce shortage for full-time employment requiring post-secondary education that is unique to the institution's specific region.
$500,000 over the biennium, for the Z-Degree and OER textbook program. The funding is for four additional colleges or universities to offer the opportunity to earn a Z-Degree by the 2023-2024 academic year.
$1.5 million in one-time funding for student mental health awareness (details below)
$1 million in one-time funding to support students’ basic needs (details below)
$2.015 million over the biennium for the system office; $1.008 million the first year, and $1.007 million the second year
Other provisions in the bill include:
Language regarding an online differential tuition refund that requires Minnesota State to request guidance from the U.S. Department of Education regarding whether it is permissible to use the American Rescue Plan federal funds to provide a tuition credit or a refund for the amount of the online differential tuition rate charged to students for courses moved online due to the pandemic during the 2020-2021 academic year that were not previously offered as online courses. If the Department advises it’s permissible, federal funds are to be used for the above purpose.
Of the $1.5 million for mental health awareness programs for students, the bill specifically states $500,000 is to be used for training opportunities, and $200,000 is to be used for grants to colleges and universities to establish peer support pilot programs. Minnesota State is also required to convene a committee that includes students to review and approve the grant applications.
The mental health awareness program at each college and university is to include a web page that includes links to existing self-assessment resources, resources that connect students to campus and community-based resources, and emergency contact information and resources. The programs are to also include mandatory mental health first aid training, evidence-based suicide prevention training, or other similar mental health training for faculty, staff, and students, giving priority to those who serve in roles that include increased direct contact with students who are experiencing mental health concerns, such as student housing and campus safety employees. Each college and university is to identify the appropriate faculty, staff, and students to receive training based on their structure and available funding.
There is also a requirement for a session at each student orientation program that includes information about maintaining good mental health, the symptoms of mental health conditions common among college students, and mental health resources and services available to students; a messaging strategy to send students information on available mental health resources and services at least once per term, and during periods of high academic stress; and distributing the suicide prevention helpline and text line contact information in a way that increases accessibility and awareness of that information to students.
Of the $1 million to support student basic needs, Minnesota State is to use 25 percent for grants to colleges and universities and use a consultation and committee process that includes students to review and approve grant applications. Language in the bill requires each college and university to create and maintain a web page that clearly identifies basic needs resources available at the college or university.
Minnesota State is also required to pursue the creation of a centralized basic needs online resource webpage that will raise awareness of campus-based resources available at colleges and universities and local, state, and national resources that can assist in addressing basic needs insecurity. Minnesota State is also required to develop and implement, at each college and university, initiatives, or campaigns to raise awareness among all students of potential Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) eligibility including targeted communications to students who are likely eligible.
The State Grant program receives an additional $5.2 million over the biennium. Funding is used to reduce the assigned family responsibility (AFR) for dependent students from 82% to 79% of the parental contribution. For independent students with dependents other than a spouse, the bill reduces the AFR from 74% to 71% of the student contribution; and for independent students without dependents other than a spouse, the bill reduces the AFR from 38% to 35% percent of the student contribution. The bill also increases the living and miscellaneous expense allowance (LME) from 106% to 109%.
The bill allows an additional semester of state grant eligibility for students who provide care to a spouse, child, or parent with a serious health condition; and excludes developmental education and below college-level courses from counting against the eight-semester cap on state grant awards.
The bill also appropriates almost $4 million over the biennium for a new program, the Fostering Independence Higher Education Grants program, which provides grants to attend a post-secondary institution to individuals who are currently or were formerly in foster care.
The bill appropriates $2 million over the biennium for the Underrepresented Student Teacher Grants program. Under this provision, OHE is to establish a grant program for student teaching stipends for low-income students who belong to an underrepresented racial or ethnic group. The bill also revises the Student Teacher Grants in Shortage Areas program, which provides stipends to low-income students during the period the student is student teaching who intend to teach in a license shortage area or rural school district after graduation and receiving their teaching license. The IFO was proud to join the coalition in support of programs to increase the number of Minnesota’s teachers of color.
The bill amends the Hunger-Free Campus Designation program to include the state universities, the University of Minnesota, and the private colleges, in addition to the two-year colleges that are already part of the program. The bill appropriates $307,000 over the biennium for the program. The bill also adds a new requirement that each campus reapply for the designation at least every four years. The bill requires the Office of Higher Education to establish a competitive grant process to distribute initial grants with funding up to $8,000 and sustaining grants up to $5,000 for campuses that meet and maintain the hunger-free campus designation. Each campus that receives a grant, must match at least 50 percent of the grant awarded with funds or in-kind resources.
There is language in the bill that requires Minnesota State to expand credit for prior learning for work-based experiences and make students aware of the opportunity to receive credit for prior learning. The IFO will play an important role in determining how this will be implemented. Faculty will retain the right to determine how credit for prior learning is awarded.
The bill also establishes a Direct Admissions Pilot Program, and appropriates $1 million over the biennium for the program, which includes the Office of Higher Education developing a pilot in consultation with stakeholders, including Minnesota State, Minnesota Department of Education, and others, to automate the admissions process to Minnesota public colleges and universities for high school seniors based on a student’s performance in high school. The pilot must include high schools with a significant number of students of color, low-income students, or both, and must achieve statewide representation. The IFO proudly supported this initiative as a way to ensure students are aware of the programs to help pay for college and the opportunity to attend.
There is a Report on the Expense Patterns of Public Higher Education Institutions provision in the bill that requires Minnesota State to perform an internal audit of expenditures to determine the extent to which administrative costs have increased based on uniform, historical data. The system would be required to provide to the Legislature the traditional IPEDs data submitted to the National Center for Education Statistics, as well as analysis as to whether the institution’s administrative operations are growing disproportionately in relation to its core academic functions.
The bill also includes language that would prohibit institutions from attaching the release of a transcript to the payment of student debt. Under this provision, an institution would be prohibited from refusing to provide a transcript for a current or former student because the student owes a debt to the school if the debt owed is less than $250; the student has entered into and, as determined by the institution, is in compliance with a payment plan with the school; the transcript request is made by a prospective employer for the student; or the school has sent the debt for repayment to the Department of Revenue or to acollections agency external to the institution.
And finally, the bill includes a new program called the Aspiring Minnesota Teachers of Color Scholarship and appropriates $3 million over the biennium for the program. The Office of Higher Education is to establish a scholarship program to support undergraduate and graduate students who are preparing to become teachers, have demonstrated financial need, and belong to racial or ethnic groups underrepresented in the state's teacher workforce.
State Government Bill
The IFO led an effort to provide more competition to the Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) selection process for state employees. The omnibus state government bill includes a provision regarding the procurement of a pharmacy benefit manager and a platform technology vendor. The language requires the Commissioner of Minnesota Management and Budget to use a reverse auction process to select a pharmacy benefit manager to administer the prescription drug benefits provided to state employees through the State Employees Group Insurance Program (SEGIP). The auction is facilitated by a technology platform hosted by a vendor selected through a competitive bidding process.
Minnesota GI Bill: the bill appropriates $200,000 each year of the biennium for the costs of administering the Minnesota GI Bill postsecondary educational benefits, on-the-job training, and apprenticeship program.
The bill also includes language that the Legislative Auditor is to conduct a special review of the state’s response to COVID-19, including an analysis of all major aspects of the state's response, including programs to provide testing, vaccination, and public outreach; contracting and other state purchasing necessary to facilitate the response or to provide public services; and the methodology used in modeling and forecasting the course of the outbreak.
Commerce, Climate, and Energy Finance Bill
The commerce, climate and energy finance bill includes a “Student Loan Borrower Bill of Rights" article intended to protect student loan borrowers. The bill requires student loan servicers operating in Minnesota to be licensed by the Department of Commerce. It would give the Commissioner of Commerce the authority to suspend or revoke the licenses of servicers that mislead borrowers. The article prohibits a student loan servicer from engaging in unfair or deceptive practices or misrepresenting or omitting any material information relating to servicing. This includes misrepresenting the amount, nature, or terms of fees, payments due, terms and conditions, or the borrower’s obligation. Language in the bill requires a student loan servicer to apply partial payments in a way that minimizes late fees and the negative impact on the borrower’s credit history, and requires partial payments, where a borrower has multiple loans, to be applied to satisfy as many individual loan payments as possible.
The bill also appropriates $1.242 million to provide financial assistance to state colleges and universities to purchase and install solar energy generating systems. The appropriation is to be used on schools located outside the electric service territory of the public utility. An additional $1.242 million is appropriated to state colleges and universities to purchase and install solar energy generating systems on schools located inside the electric service territory of the public utility.
This bill also establishes the Energy Transition Advisory Committee to develop a statewide energy transition plan and to advise the governor, the commissioner, and the legislature on transition issues, established transition programs, economic initiatives, and transition policy. The Minnesota State Chancellor or the chancellor's designee is an ex-officio non-voting member of the Committee.
The bill also establishes a solar for schools program in the Department of Commerce. The purpose of the program is to provide grants to stimulate the installation of solar energy systems on or adjacent to school buildings by reducing the cost, and to enable schools to use the solar energy system as a teaching tool that can be integrated into the school's curriculum. The definition of “school” includes a state college or university that is under the jurisdiction of the Board of Trustees of Minnesota State.
Agriculture Bill
The bill includes $50,000 each year of the biennium for additional funding for mental health outreach and support to farmers and others in the agricultural community, including a 24-hour hotline, stigma reduction, and educational offerings. These are onetime appropriations.
Jobs and Economic Development Bill
The omnibus jobs and economic growth finance and policy bill appropriates $400,000 in one-time funds in fiscal year 2022 to the Minnesota State Board of Trustees for the career and technical educator pilot project. Of this amount, $250,000 is for Winona State University and $150,000 is for Minnesota State College Southeast. By the 2024-2025 academic year, Winona State University must develop a teacher preparation program that leads to initial licensure in at least one license area. Winona State University must partner with Minnesota State College Southeast to provide the subject matter training necessary for license areas chosen.
If practical, the partnership must result in a candidate earning an associate's degree from Minnesota State College Southeast and a bachelor's degree from Winona State University. Money appropriated for this project may be used for any of the following purposes: (1) analyzing existing course offerings at both institutions to determine compliance; (2) determining any courses that need to be adjusted or created by each institution; (3) designing and implementing any needed course; and (4) providing administrative support for gaining approval of the program from the Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board.
The bill also appropriates $875,000 each year for a grant to the Minnesota Technology Association to support the SciTech Internship Program, a program that supports science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) internship opportunities for two- and four-year college students and graduate students in their fields of study. The internship opportunities must match students with paid internships within STEM disciplines at small, for-profit companies located in Minnesota having fewer than 250 employees worldwide. At least 200 students must be matched each year. No more than 15 percent of the hires may be graduate students. Selected hiring companies shall receive from the grant 50 percent of the wages paid to the intern, capped at $2,500 per intern. The program must work toward increasing the participation among women or other underserved populations.
Also, of importance for the Minnesota State colleges and universities is the Minnesota Job Skills Partnership program. The bill appropriates $4.2 million each year of the biennium for this program.
E-12 Education Bill
The omnibus E-12 education bill increases the general education basic funding formula allowance by $161 per pupil, a 2.45% increase for fiscal year 2022; and by an additional $296 per pupil, which amounts to a 2.0% increase in fiscal year 2023.
In addition to the base funding of $375,000 each year of the biennium for the statewide concurrent enrollment teacher training program, the bill also appropriates an additional $125,000 each year of the biennium for a total of $500,000 each year for expanded concurrent enrollment grants to institutions offering “Introduction to Teaching” or “Introductions to Education” college in the schools courses. To encourage students, especially American Indian students and students of color, to consider teaching as a profession, participating schools, school districts, and postsecondary institutions are encouraged to develop and offer an "Introduction to Teaching" or "Introduction to Education" course.
The bill also includes $6.5 million each year of the biennium for grants for Grow Your Own programs. Language establishes grants for Grow Your Own programs to develop a teaching workforce that more closely reflects the diverse student population and ensures equitable access to effective and diverse teachers. Districts are able to apply for grants for teacher preparation programs, and each grant recipient is required to use at least 80 percent of grant funds for tuition scholarships or stipends to allow school employees or community members affiliated with the district, who are of color or American Indian, to participate in the teacher preparation program.
The bill also establishes grants for school districts and charter schools to offer secondary school students opportunities to increase their interest in teaching, supports to be successful in postsecondary enrollment options coursework that meets teacher licensure requirements, and scholarships to enroll in undergraduate teacher preparation programs. A district or charter school must ensure that the aggregate percentage of students of color and American Indian students participating is at least equal to the aggregate percentage of students of color and American Indian students in the district or charter school. The Commissioner of Education is to give priority to districts with the highest number or percentage of students who are of color or American Indian.
The bill also appropriates $750,000 in one-time funds in fiscal year 2022 for the Black Men Teach program. The funding is to be transferred to the Office of Higher Education for a grant to Black Men Teach Twin Cities to establish partnerships with eight school district elementary schools or elementary charter schools with the goal of increasing the number of black male teachers to 20 percent of the employees at each school site.
The education bill also appropriates $1 million each year of the biennium for collaborative urban and greater Minnesota educators of color grants; and the bill includes an appropriation of approximately $3 million in both years of the biennium for the development and expansion of teacher mentoring, induction, and retention programs designed for teachers of color or American Indian teachers. The program, already in statute, encourages school districts to develop teacher mentoring programs for teachers new to the profession or district, including teaching residents, teachers of color, teachers who are American Indian, teachers in license shortage areas, teachers with special needs, or experienced teachers in need of peer coaching.
There is also $900,000 each year of the biennium in the bill for statewide licenses to online databases selected in cooperation with the Minnesota Office of Higher Education for school media centers, public libraries, state government agency libraries, and public or private college or university libraries.
Judiciary and Public Safety Bill
The omnibus judiciary and public safety finance and policy bill includes $6 million each year of the biennium to the Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Board to support and strengthen law enforcement training and implement best practices. Each sponsor of a training course is required to include the following in the sponsor's application for approval submitted to the board: course goals and objectives; a course outline including at a minimum a timeline and teaching hours for all courses; instructor qualifications, including skills and concepts such as crisis intervention, de-escalation, and cultural competency that are relevant to the course provided; and a plan for learning assessments of the course and documenting the assessments to the board during review. Upon completion of each course, instructors must submit student evaluations of the instructor's teaching to the sponsor.
State Government Policy Bill
This bill adds the Minnesota State Chancellor and Board of Trustees to the list of public officials required to file campaign disclosure forms with the Campaign Finance Board. The Chancellor and Board of Trustees currently do this, and the bill simply codifies current practice.
Capital Improvements
The Legislature did not pass a capital improvements package, commonly referred to as a bonding bill. As we shift gears and look ahead to the 2022 legislative session, scheduled to convene on January 31, 2022, the Minnesota State Board of Trustees adopted a bonding request on June 16 that will be submitted to the Governor and Legislature for consideration in the 2022 session.
The 2022 Minnesota State bonding request consists of $292.9 million, of which $150 million is for asset preservation with the remaining funds for 20 capital projects across the state. Lawmakers typically visit campuses in the summer and fall to learn more about the different bonding projects. Campuses will begin preparing to host legislators and the Governor’s administration to learn more about higher education’s infrastructure needs.
A special thank you to the MinnState System office Government Relations staff for their partnership this session.
Please contact me at bohn@ifo.org or at 651-815-1196 with any questions or concerns you have.