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Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system

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The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system or Minnesota State, previously branded as MnSCU,[4] comprises 26 state colleges and 7 state universities with 54 campuses throughout Minnesota. The system is the largest higher education system in Minnesota (separate from the University of Minnesota system) and the third largest in the United States, educating more than 300,000 students annually.[5] It is governed by a 15-member board of trustees appointed by the governor, which has broad authority to run the system. The Minnesota State system office is located in the Wells Fargo Place building in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

Minnesota State Colleges and Universities
TypePublic university system
Established1995
ChancellorScott Olson[1]
Students300,000[2]
Location
St. Paul
,
Minnesota
,
U.S.
Campus54 campuses
ColorsBlue and white[3]
   
Websiteminnstate.edu
Wells Fargo Place, the headquarters of the system

In 2016, the Board of Trustees approved a rebranding of the system to the shortened Minnesota State. This change was met with criticism as this is also the nickname commonly attributed to Minnesota State University, Mankato.[6][7] The change affected branding but did not alter the legal name of the organization that is identified in state statute.[8] Commonly the system is now being referenced in media as the Minnesota State System, while the institution in Mankato is being referenced as Minnesota State.[9][10][11][12]

History

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In 1991, the Minnesota Legislature issued legislation which founded the creation of the Minnesota State system. Through this process the then-existing Minnesota state university system, community college system and technical college system were combined into a single higher education system. This initially was to be accomplished by 1995 but due to statewide opposition it wasn't until 1997 that a Central Office was formed and individual institutions began to operate under centralized direction.

The members of the University of Minnesota could not be compelled by the legislature to be part of the new system because it had sued for independence in the form of constitutional autonomy from legislative oversight. This autonomy was affirmed by the Minnesota Supreme Court after the State of Minnesota was formed and was a response to lobbying demands from a newly formed Alumni Association of the University of Minnesota in the early 19th century.[13]

This difference in independence and power has led to significant differences in the way in which the State system operates and educates students. Through this legislation the State system was given the ad-hoc role of educating all students outside of the doctoral research role that the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities campus provides. In addition, individual university and college members have, by comparison, significantly smaller endowments, and receive less funding from the state government of Minnesota than comparable members of the University of Minnesota system.[14][15] An appropriation by the state of Minnesota was supposed to cover 66% of the cost to educate students, and as of 2014 the state provides about 50%.[16][17]

Operations

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Minnesota State offers a wide range of collegiate programs from associates degrees to applied doctorates.[18] All of the system's two-year community and technical colleges have an open admissions policy, which means that anyone with either a high school diploma or equivalent degree may enroll.[19] The system also runs an online collaborative called Minnesota Online, which is a gateway to the online course offerings of Minnesota State. More than 150 academic programs are available completely or predominantly online. About 93,300 students took online courses during the 2009–2010 academic year.[20]

The economic impact of the Minnesota State system is estimated to be $8 billion per year, with a return of twelve dollars for every dollar invested.[21]

Tuition at Minnesota State is lower than tuition at the University of Minnesota, private universities, or private trade schools.[22][23] More than 80 percent of graduates stay in Minnesota to work or continue their education.[17][24] The job-placement rate based on the last available data at two-year colleges is 88.0 percent in 2006, meaning that 88.0 percent of graduates find jobs in their chosen fields.[25]

The Minnesota State has not designated an official flagship institution;[citation needed] however, Minnesota State University, Mankato and Saint Cloud State University have been referred to as the system flagship at various points.[26][27][28][29][30]

Member universities and colleges

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Four-year state universities

Two-year community and technical colleges:[31][32]

Enrollment and state policy initiatives

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Minnesota has been experiencing a net loss of college students to institutions out of state since 2001.[33] Minnesota’s net migration of students has been consistently negative, with a net migration of -7,886 reported for the 2022-23 school year.[34] At postsecondary institutions across the state, a trend of declining enrollment has been present for the past 14 years.[35] This downward trend has been particularly intense within Minnesota State two and four-year colleges and universities between 2018 and 2022.[36] Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the Minnesota state government took measures to reinvest into higher education. This included a $650 million investment into the Minnesota Office of Higher Education incorporated into the One Minnesota Budget signed into law by Minnesota Governor Tim Walz in May 2023.[37] The North Star Promise Scholarship Program was amongst the many inclusions of the Higher Education portion of the One Minnesota Budget. The program covers the cost of tuition and fees for Minnesota resident students with a family adjusted gross income (AGI) of less than $80,000 who attend a public or tribal institution for higher education.[38]

The 2023-24 academic year yielded a long absent positive trend of undergraduate enrollment within Minnesota’s post secondary institutions: a 1.2% increase estimated by the National Student Clearinghouse.[35] The North Star Promise Scholarship Program is set to take effect for the fall 2024 semester across public Minnesota colleges and universities. Once in effect, the Minnesota Office of Higher Education has estimated a positive financial impact, as it relates to higher education, for more than 15,000 students statewide.[38] Other initiatives from the Minnesota Office of Higher Education include Direct Admissions Minnesota. This program works to streamline the admissions process for high school seniors into public Minnesota post secondary institutions for those interested. Nearly all schools part of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system participate in the Direct Admissions program.[39]

References

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  1. ^ "About Minnesota State Chancellor : Scott Olson". Minnesota State. Minnesota State Colleges and Universities. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
  2. ^ "About Minnesota State System". Minnesota State. Minnesota State Colleges and Universities. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
  3. ^ Minnesota State Identity Standards (PDF). Minnesota State System Office. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
  4. ^ "Goodbye, MnSCU; hello, Minnesota State". Saint Paul Pioneer Press. February 19, 2016. Retrieved April 22, 2016.
  5. ^ "About Minnesota State System". Minnesota State. Minnesota State Colleges and Universities. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
  6. ^ Editorial Board (April 23, 2016). "Our View: MnSCU name New branding proposal is confusing". Mankato Free Press. Retrieved April 29, 2017.
  7. ^ Editorial Board (April 27, 2016). "MNSCU Hops on the Rebranding bandwagon". Minneapolist StarTribune. Retrieved April 29, 2017.
  8. ^ Burger, Kevyn (July 26, 2016). "Rebranding the state's largest university system". Minnesota Business. Retrieved April 29, 2017.
  9. ^ Goessling, Ben (August 15, 2016). "Small college, special teams helped Adam Thielen bring 'toughness factor' to Vikings". ESPN. Retrieved August 25, 2016.
  10. ^ "Minnesota State Mavericks". ESPN. January 15, 2016. Retrieved August 25, 2016.
  11. ^ "Minnesota State looking to join NCHC; WCHA commish Robertson 'deeply disappointed'". USCHO News. July 13, 2016. Retrieved August 25, 2016.
  12. ^ Paisly, Joe (July 13, 2016). "NCHC may be expanding after Minnesota State applies for membership". Colorado Springs Gazette. Retrieved August 25, 2016.
  13. ^ "University of Minnesota A Century of Memories" (PDF). University of Minnesota Alumni Association. January 1, 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 1, 2016. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
  14. ^ "2016-17 Governor's Budget, Minnesota State Colleges and Universities" (PDF) (Press release). State of Minnesota. January 27, 2015. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
  15. ^ "2016-17 Governor's Budget - University of Minnesota" (PDF) (Press release). State of Minnesota. January 27, 2015. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
  16. ^ "Performance Measures and Financial Information" (PDF). MNSCU. January 20, 2015. Retrieved November 18, 2015.
  17. ^ a b "FY2013 Operating Budget (Second Reading)" (PDF). MNSCU. January 20, 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 21, 2016. Retrieved November 18, 2015.
  18. ^ "Academic Program Search". State of Minnesota. January 1, 2016. Archived from the original on April 21, 2016. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
  19. ^ "Admission Requirements". State of Minnesota. November 1, 2015. Archived from the original on November 19, 2015. Retrieved November 18, 2015.
  20. ^ "'iCollege' at $199 a class? Idea may appeal, but Pawlenty knows e-learning is neither cheap nor easy". MinnPost Paper. June 16, 2010. Retrieved November 18, 2015.
  21. ^ "Minnesota State Driving Economic and Social Vitality across Minnesota - FY2017 Economic Contribution Analysi" (PDF). Minnesota State System Economic Impact. Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
  22. ^ "College Cost Comparison". State of Minnesota. November 1, 2015. Archived from the original on November 17, 2015. Retrieved November 18, 2015.
  23. ^ "Go MN: Your 2013-2014 Guide to Minnesota State Colleges and Universities" (PDF). State of Minnesota. January 1, 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 28, 2016. Retrieved November 18, 2015.
  24. ^ "Amazing Facts" (PDF). MNSCU. January 1, 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 19, 2015. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  25. ^ "Evaluation Report MnSCU Occupational Programs" (PDF). The Office of the Legislative Auditor of Minnesota. January 1, 2006. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
  26. ^ "President Davenport responds to Free Press questions". Mankato Free Press. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
  27. ^ "Making a monetary mark: economic impact". Archived from the original on September 19, 2014. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
  28. ^ Debra Leigh (February 29, 2012). "MSR Readers: Make your own judgment on the state of St. Cloud State" (Newspaper). Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder. The Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  29. ^ Jeff Johnson (December 4, 2014). "MnSCU enrollment projections". LetFreedomRingBlog. Let Freedom Ring Blog and Periodical. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  30. ^ Bies, Jessica (August 17, 2015). "Davenport: MSU excelling as flagship university". The Mankato Free Press Website. The Mankato Free Press. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  31. ^ [1] Archived December 12, 2005, at the Wayback Machine
  32. ^ "MnSCU College Search: Begin your search". MnSCU.edu. Archived from the original on January 7, 2016. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
  33. ^ Knox, Liam. "State Support Turns Minnesota's Enrollment Tide". Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved July 27, 2024.
  34. ^ "Number of first-time degree/certificate seeking undergraduate students enrolled, state or jurisdiction of residence at application, and migration at Title IV institutions, by state or jurisdiction: United States, Fall 2022". National Center for Education Statistics. July 26, 2024.
  35. ^ a b "Minnesota's higher ed enrollment is up, but officials say gaps remain to reach 2025 target - Session Daily - Minnesota House of Representatives". www.house.mn.gov. Retrieved July 27, 2024.
  36. ^ "Enrollment Trends by Minnesota Institution Type". www.ohe.state.mn.us. Retrieved July 27, 2024.
  37. ^ "One Minnesota Bill Includes Historic Investments in Higher Education". www.ohe.state.mn.us. Retrieved July 27, 2024.
  38. ^ a b "North Star Promise Scholarship Program". www.ohe.state.mn.us. Retrieved July 27, 2024.
  39. ^ "Direct Admissions Minnesota". www.ohe.state.mn.us. Retrieved July 27, 2024.
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