Booming enrollment growth at Minnesota State Colleges and Universities sets record high

More students poured into the 32 Minnesota State Colleges and Universities this fall than ever before, resulting in the largest increase in the number of students since the system began, officials said today in releasing enrollment figures.

The state colleges and universities system now has 198,792 students or 12,641 more students than last fall when 186,150 students were enrolled. That’s nearly a 7 percent increase. Previously, the largest increase in the fall headcount was 9,023 additional students in 1999. Also, this is the fourth consecutive year that the system’s fall enrollment has set a record high.

Enrollment increases were particularly strong at the system’s 25 community and technical colleges. Thirteen colleges had increases greater than 10 percent.

“We know the economy was a major factor driving this enrollment boom,” said Chancellor James H. McCormick. “This unprecedented growth comes at a time when budgets have been cut at the state colleges and universities so faculty and staff are working harder than ever to serve students. We especially welcome the opportunity to serve displaced workers seeking to retool and upgrade their knowledge and skills.”

Enrollment was up in nearly all categories. The number of students of color this fall grew by 18.7 percent, from 27,446 to 32,585, while enrollment of white students was up 8.6 percent. In recent years, the colleges and universities have expanded programs to recruit and retain more students from groups traditionally underrepresented in higher education – students of color, low-income students and students who are the first in their families to attend college.

Enrollment of high school students in college courses, through the Post-Secondary Enrollment Options program, grew by 4.8 percent. Under Minnesota law, high school students can take courses tuition-free at the state’s public colleges and universities.

The number of students taking online courses, which includes credit and noncredit courses, grew by 21.7 percent to 47,794 this fall. The system offers about 200 programs completely or predominantly online through Minnesota Online (www.minnesotaonline.org), the largest provider of online education in the state.

Full-year-equivalent enrollment is projected to increase by almost 5.5 percent for the current year. (Full-year-equivalent enrollment is calculated by adding the credits taken by all students and dividing by the number of credits considered to be a full-time course load – 30 credits per year for undergraduates and 20 credits for graduate students.) The colleges and universities project a full-year-equivalent enrollment of 151,805 for the current year, compared with the actual full-year-equivalent enrollment of 143,924 for the 2008-2009 academic year.

The numbers released today are the official enrollment count of students taking credit-based courses on the 30th day of the fall semester.View pdf Thirtieth Day Headcount Enrollment

Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility passes House

The U.S. House of Representatives passed HR 3221, the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act, this afternoon by a vote of 253 to 171. The vote occurred largely on a party-line basis.

As you know, the bill contains the community college initiative in Title V, which is an historic federal investment in community colleges. The bill also includes guaranteed increases in the Pell Grant maximum, and changes in financial aid, such as simplifying the FAFSA form. Funding is available for these initiatives and others in the bill, by requiring that all institutions begin participating in the Direct Loan program by July 1, 2010. There has been an estimated $80 billion cost savings over 10 years from moving to the Direct Loan program.

On the floor, House Education and Labor Committee chairman George Miller, D-CA, offered an amendment that includes limiting the quantitative benchmarks that colleges that receive grants must set and meet. The amendment also includes language that says in order for States to receive funding under the community college initiative, they must establish and implement comprehensive articulation agreements.

Another amendment that passed on the floor ensures that colleges that received funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, or ARRA, are not denied facilities funding under the bill. The House did reject amendments that would have stripped the community college initiative and construction funds from the bill.

Now that the full House has passed the bill, the Senate will introduce their version of the bill, which could be as early as next week. Stay tuned.

Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act heads to House floor

This week, H.R. 3221, the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2009, will be brought to the House floor for a vote. This landmark legislation contains the American Graduation Initiative, the $12 billion initiative proposed by President Obama and focused on community colleges. This is the largest single Federal investment ever made in community colleges.

H.R. 3221 also includes the following:

- $6.3 billion in grant funding to community colleges over the next ten years;

- $2.5 billion in facilities funding, made available on October 1, 2010;

- Guaranteed annual increases in the Pell Grant maximum, to ensure that it continues to grow faster than inflation;

- Guaranteed funding for Hispanic-Serving Institutions;

- Simplification of the application form and process for Federal student aid

Federal address to nation's students

The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities continually work on closing the achievement gap and providing access to students who want to further their education. President Barack Obama is delivering a similar message to students, administrators and teachers next week.

At 11:00 a.m., Central Time, September 8, 2009, President Barack Obama will deliver a national address to the students of America. During this special address, the president will speak directly to the nation’s children and youth about persisting and succeeding in school. The president will challenge students to work hard, set educational goals, and take responsibility for their learning.

The U.S. Department of Education invites students of all ages, teachers, and administrators to participate in this historic moment by watching the president deliver the address, which will be broadcast live on the White House Web site and on C-SPAN at 11:00 p.m., CT. We also encourage educators to use this moment to help students get focused and inspired to begin the new academic year. The Department of Education offers educators a menu of classroom activities—created by its teachers-in-residence, the Teaching Ambassador Fellows—to help engage students in the address and stimulate classroom discussions about the importance of education.

To learn more, please visit this site.

Senator Franken visits system office, emphasis placed on students

U.S. Senator Al Franken, DFL- Minn., visited with the Leadership Council of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, Monday, August 31. The focus of the discussion centered around serving students. Campus presidents told Senator Franken what was unique about their institutions and explained that Minnesota State Colleges and Universities serve students differently- some students may transfer between two year and four year institutions, others are taking classes at multiple locations and many are non-traditional, some going back to school after facing unemployment. There was also discussion about how the federal government could better structure financial aid to serve the system's unique learners. Senator Franken said he learned valuable information at the session, which he hopes to bring back to Washington, D.C. He is a member of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pension Committee; the Judiciary Committee; the Committee on Indian Affairs, and the Special Committee on Aging. After the August recess, the HELP committee is expected to begin work on higher education legislation.

Federal government progresses on funding higher education; legislators will be at state fair

Both the U.S. House and Senate have been busy drafting their fiscal year 2010 Labor-Health and Human Services-Education appropriations bills, which has Congress on-track to finish the appropriation process on-time this year (prior to the start of a new fiscal year Oct. 1). Last Friday, the full House passed their version of the bill, HR 3293, by a vote of 264-153. This bill appropriates $163.4 billion in discretionary programs. Those programs under the Department of Education will receive $67.8 billion resulting in an increase of $6.2 billion above last year's (2009) appropriation.

Higher education programs will receive a total of $2.3 billion which is an increase of $194 million over fiscal year 2009 and student aid programs will receive $19.6 billion, an increase of $478 million. $17.8 billion will go toward Pell Grants supporting an award of $4,860, which combined with mandatory funding provided in the 2007 College Cost Reduction and Access Act, will increase the maximum award to $5,550 for the 2010-2011 school year. The bill also provides $20 million increases for both the TRIO and GEAR UP programs.

Of the 12 appropriations bills the House and Senate are to consider, the House is considering its last bill, the Defense spending bill, which is being debated on the floor this week.

In the Senate, of the 12 appropriations bills, the full Senate has passed only two appropriations bills, leaving ten bills to take up. The Senate's agenda is full, including the debate and vote on the Supreme Court nominee, Judge Sonia Sotomayor. However, the Senate did introduce their version of the Labor-HHS-Education bill on Tuesday, and the full Appropriations Committee approved the bill yesterday afternoon. Similar to the House bill, the Senate bill includes funding for student financial aid, and maintains the maximum discretionary Pell Grant award level at $4,860, and combined with mandatory funding provided in the 2007 College Cost Reduction and Access Act, will increase the maximum award to $5,550 for the 2010-2011 school year.

Unlike the House bill, other than an increase of $441 million above 2009 funding for the National Institutes of Health, the Senate bill would fund all other higher education programs at their 2009 levels, including Federal Work-Study ($980 million) and Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants ($757 million). The Perkins Loan Program would receive no new funds under this measure.

The Senate bill was influenced by the recent passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), which appropriated more than $124 billion for programs that are funded in this bill, including almost $100 billion for the Education Department. Since most of the funding for ARRA programs will be obligated during fiscal year 2010, Committee Chair Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, said they generally did not provide additional large increases in this bill to those programs that received large increases in ARRA, such as Title I grants. Harkin said they expect to put a higher priority on these critical programs in the fiscal year 2011 appropriations bill.
The bill will likely not be before the full Senate until Congress returns from August recess. Once the full Senate passes the bill, a conference committee will be formed to work through the differences between the two bills.

In addition to the Labor-HHS-Education appropriation bill is HR 3221, the budget reconciliation bill. The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2009, introduced by George Miller, D-Calif, Chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, contains the new community college initiative announced by President Obama earlier this month. Included in the bill is $6.3 billion in funding to community colleges and other eligible entities. Funding is made available to eligible entities to compete for four year grants (minimum grant is $750,000) to support innovative programs or programs of demonstrated effectiveness that lead to the completion of a postsecondary degree, certificate, or industry recognized credential leading to a skilled occupation in a high-demand industry. Funding will also be provided annually to states to apply for grants to engage in the systematic reform of their community colleges.

The legislation also provides $2.5 billion to states for new community college facilities and modernizing, renovating, and repairing existing facilities. Grants can be used to reduce the financing cost of loans, provide matching funds for community college capital campaigns, and capitalize a revolving loan fund.

The bill also includes reforms to student aid, including simplifying the FAFSA form. The legislation reduces the amount of information that students will need to provide in order to file a Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA.

Also included is a provision that ends the subsidized Federal Family Education Loan, or FFEL program by July 2010, and requires all colleges to participate in the Direct Loan program, under which loan capital is provided by the Federal government rather than banks. The Congressional Budget Office has projected a savings of $87 billion over ten years with this change.

Also under the measure, the Pell Grant maximum is increased from $5,550 in fiscal year 2010 to $6,900 in fiscal year 2019. The bill however, does not make the Pell Grant program an entitlement program, as proposed by President Obama; but rather $40 billion of savings from moving to the Direct Loan program is used to augment funding provided through the regular appropriations process. President Obama had proposed transforming the Pell Grant program into an entitlement program that, like Social Security and Medicare, would ensure a minimum level of funding that would increase each year.

The bill also provides $600 million annually from 2010 to 2014 for a "College Access and Completion Fund" designed "to promote innovation in postsecondary education practices and policies by institutions of higher education, States, and nonprofit organizations to improve student success, completion, and post-completion employment, particularly for students from groups that are underrepresented in postsecondary education."

The full House is not expected to take up the bill until September, after the August break. The Senate has yet to formally begin work on its version of the bill.

On Aug. 7 Education Secretary Arne Duncan will participate in a webinar to discuss the Obama administration's higher education agenda and take questions from campus leaders. This is being co-sponsored by the American Council on Education and the National Association of College and University Business Officers. You may find more information here.

Congress is scheduled to be on a recess starting August 10 through Labor Day for summer district work. We will continue to keep you updated as things progress federally.
As a reminder, many of our state and federal elected officials greet citizens at the Minnesota State Fair (August 27 - September 7). This is a good opportunity to meet your representatives and remind them that in hard economic times, the role of Minnesota State Colleges and Universities becomes even more critical as people seek education and training to update their skills or find new jobs. See you at the Fair!

State and federal updates- July 14, 2009

Legislative Advisory Commission reviews governor’s unallotment plan

Further cuts to state government and local government aid were made by Gov. Tim Pawlenty mid-June through the unallotment process after the Legislature and governor failed to reach agreement during the legislative session ended May 18. Many of those cuts took effect July 1 for the start of fiscal year 2010. The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system received an unallotment of $50 million in fiscal year 2011, the second year of the biennium. The additional cut to the system will not affect the one-time American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding of $79.2 million the system received.

Since the governor’s unallotment plan was made public, the Legislative Advisory Commission has been meeting to discuss the cuts. By law, the governor's administration has to consult with legislative leaders, but they do not need legislative approval. Members of the commission approved a resolution condemning Gov. Pawlenty’s unallotment plan, citing concerns over job losses and future deficits.

The resolution stated that the governor’s proposal to cut nearly $2.7 billion from the state’s biennial budget by executive action would be “unwise and not in the interest of the state’s long-term fiscal stability.” State Economist Tom Stinson told the commission that the proposed unallotments would result in 3,300 to 4,700 public- and private-sector job losses. Minnesota Management and Budget Commissioner Tom Hanson defended the governor’s plan, arguing that tax increases would have put Minnesota at a long-term competitive disadvantage with other states. “It is our view that the governor’s plan will put us in a better position to recover from this recession,” Hanson said.

Labor contracts approved

The Legislative Coordinating Commission Subcommittee on Employee Relations met late last month to approve labor contracts and plans including the Minnesota State College Faculty, the Minnesota State University Administrative and Service Faculty, AFSCME, MAPE, the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Administrators Plan and the Commissioner’s Plan.

A copy of the adopted resolution can be found here.

A summary of the collective bargaining agreement can be found here.

As a reminder, the current Inter Faculty Organization contract was approved by the Legislature this past session and can be found in Session Laws 2009, Chapter 85.


Minnesota officially has two U.S. Senators

A new Minnesota senator was sworn into office last week. Gov. Pawlenty signed Sen. Al Franken’s election certificate June 29 after the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that Franken had won the election. Franken will join the U.S. Senate nearly seven months after the other newly elected senators were sworn into office. The new senator already has been reaching out to the state’s colleges and universities. A copy of Sen. Franken’s election certificate can be viewed here.

Rep. Kurt Zellers named new minority leader

With former House Minority Leader Marty Siefert, R-Marshall, stepping down to make a run for governor, the House Republican Caucus elected a new leader. Rep. Kurt Zellers, R-Maple Grove, defeated Rep. Randy Demmer, R-Hayfield, for the position. The minority leader is instrumental in raising money and helping elect new candidates into office. Zellers said his goal is to see the caucus membership increase to around 70 members after the 2010 election, two more than needed to regain control of the House. Currently, House Republicans hold 47 seats. He said that anything is possible and that “a year from now is a long time.” Zellers also said the House Republican Caucus will “stick to the basics” like limited government and low taxes.

Rep. Kurt Zellers began his state service in 2003 when he won a special election to the House of Representatives. This past session, he was the Republican lead on the House Commerce and Labor Committee and also has served on the House Labor and Consumer Protection Division, House Taxes Committee and House Transportation, and Transit Policy Oversight Committee.

Governor race wide open

Since the announcement that Gov. Tim Pawlenty will not seek a third term in office, a lengthy list of contenders stepped forward. The lists below are those who have announced they will run, and still others who are exploring a run and are likely to throw their hats in the ring. For the DFL party, those who have announced their candidacy for governor include:

● Current State Sen. Tom Bakk
● Former U.S. Sen. Mark Dayton
● Former House Minority Leader Matt Entenza
● Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner
● Current State Sen. John Marty
● Current State Rep. Paul Thissen

Other DFL candidates exploring a run:
● Current St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman
● Former State Sen. Steve Kelley
● Current Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak
● Speaker of the House Margaret Anderson Kelliher

The Republican Party candidates include:

● Current State Sen. Mike Jungbauer
● Former State Rep. Bill Haas
● Current State Rep. Paul Kohls
● Former House Minority Leader Marty Seifert
● Current State Rep. Tom Emmer

Other Republican candidates exploring a run:
● Former State Auditor Pat Anderson
● Current State Sen. David Hann
● Current State Sen. Paul Koering
● MN Business Partnership, former governor chief of staff and former State Rep. Charlie Weaver
● Former Speaker of the House and Dept. of Labor and Industry Commissioner Steve Sviggum

July economic update below forecast

According to Minnesota Management and Budget, the state’s general fund revenues for fiscal year 2009 are estimated $150 million or 1 percent less than February’s economic forecast. Individual income tax receipts were cited as the primary source of the shortfall, down $232 million, or 3.2 percent, from the forecast. Also down were sales tax revenues by $16 million. Receipts from the corporate income tax, motor vehicle sales tax, and other taxes and revenues exceeded projections by a combined $98 million. All fiscal year 2009 results are preliminary and
subject to change. A complete accounting of fiscal year 2009 revenues will be published in the October Economic Update.

New laws take effect July 1

The House of Representatives Public Information Services office publishes summaries of all new laws from the 2009 session. The new laws for 2009, taking effect July 1, can be found here. A summary can be found here.

The system also publicizes “Mandates and Curiosities,” a summary designed to highlight and explain legislation passed during the 2009 session that affects the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system. This can be found online here. If you have any questions regarding new laws, please do not hesitate to contact the government relations staff:

Mary Davenport
Mary.Davenport@so.mnscu.edu
651-296-0664

Bernie Omann
Bernie.Omann@so.mnscu.edu
651-296-6277

Jerry Janezich
Jerry.Janezich@so.mnscu.edu
651-296-6097

Melissa Fahning
Melissa.Fahning@so.mnscu.edu
651-296-0669

Candi Walz
Candi.Walz@so.mnscu.edu
651-296-6518

Obama supporter of community colleges

In The Washington Post Sunday, President Obama was quoted as saying he believes it’s time to reform community colleges so that they provide Americans of all ages a chance to learn the skills and knowledge necessary to compete for the jobs of the future. Today, the president will visit Macomb Community College in Warren, Mich., and call on the nation's community colleges to produce five million more graduates by the year 2020 and propose spending $12 billion over 10 years to improve programs, courses, and facilities at two-year institutions, according to White House officials. Obama said in his article, “In an economy where jobs requiring at least an associate's degree are projected to grow twice as fast as jobs requiring no college experience, it's never been more essential to continue education and training after high school. That's why we've set a goal of leading the world in college degrees by 2020. Part of this goal will be met by helping Americans better afford a college education. But part of it will also be strengthening our network
of community colleges.”

The proposal includes $9 billion to go toward creating two grant programs for two-year campuses and states to test programs and practices designed to improve student learning and training, increase completion rates, and better track student progress. President Obama’s proposal will need to be addressed by Congress.

U.S. House works to fund higher education

Since President Obama submitted his fiscal year 2010 budget, Congress has been busy crafting legislation. Last week, the federal budget started to take shape in the House. The U.S. House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education began to mark up the fiscal year 2010 bill.

The current legislation funds most programs at the current levels, However, funding for the Pell grant would increase $498 million to award maximum grants at the base level of $4,860. As you may recall, the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007 brought the maximum award
to $5,550, which just went into effect July 1. Both TRIO and Gear-Up received a $20 million increase under the new language. The subcommittee approved the bill, and it is expected to go before the full Appropriations Committee this Friday, July 17.

You can read a copy of Chairman David Obey’s comments on the legislation here.


Steps taken to simplify the student financial aid application

The Obama administration has announced a simplified, more user-friendly Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA form. Last month, Education Secretary Arne Duncan announced a shorter and simpler online application that skips unnecessary questions, asks Congress for
legislation to remove more than half of the financial questions, and a Web application that will let some families easily answer the remaining financial questions with data from the IRS. You may find more information here on the proposal to simplify the form.