Enrollment of new underrepresented students increases 22 percent this fall at Minnesota State Colleges and Universities

Enrollment of new students from groups traditionally underrepresented in higher education increased by 22 percent this fall at the 32 Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, according to a new report presented to the Board of Trustees. These groups include students of color, low-income students and students whose parents did not attend college.

The state colleges and universities system enrolled 7,300 new underrepresented students. In addition, 8,000 more underrepresented students returned to the system’s institutions this fall, a 15 percent increase over a year ago. The total number of underrepresented students this fall is 94,302, an increase of 18 percent.

"These increases are important for the state of Minnesota," said Chancellor James H. McCormick. "The numbers show we have made substantial progress in recruiting and retaining more underrepresented students, although the economy also played a role in the increase."

To help the state’s employers maintain their competitive edge in the global marketplace, Minnesota needs more students from these groups to complete postsecondary programs as aging baby boomers retire and the state’s population grows more diverse, McCormick said. The system produces 33,500 graduates each year. Eighty percent of them stay in Minnesota to work or continue their education.

Though the state colleges and universities have been working to improve recruitment and retention of underrepresented students for years, a system initiative called "Access, Opportunity and Success" began in the fall of 2007. The Board of Trustees allocated $11 million a year for the initiative.

The system provided funds to every college and university to expand programs and services that have proven to be effective. The best practices include programs to help new students succeed in the transition from high school, advisors who routinely initiate contact with students, learning communities of students, summer programs and tutoring.

Brochures, posters and a Web site in nine languages also reached out to students from non-English speaking backgrounds in the 8th through 10th grades to explain the benefits of attending college and to encourage them to prepare for college.

"Underrepresented students often face barriers to entering college and succeeding once they get there," McCormick said. "The Legislature and the governor have supported this initiative, and we are grateful for their interest. It is gratifying that we are making some notable progress, but we still are a long way from eliminating the achievement gap that separates low-income and minority students from others."

Enrollment was up in nearly all subgroups. The number of new students of color this fall grew by 16 percent, new first-generation college students increased by 21 percent and new students eligible for Pell grants increased by 37 percent. Pell grant eligibility is typically used by higher education institutions as an indication of family income. The numbers released today are the official enrollment count of students taking credit-based courses on the 30th day of the fall semester. Total fall enrollment was 198,792 students.

View attached pdf of underrepresented students by institution.

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!