Posted: January 23, 1997
Contact: Doug Anderson, doug.anderson@MinnState.edu, 651-201-1426
Chancellor Judith Eaton of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) said today she is pleased that Governor Arne Carlson's budget recommendations recognize MnSCU's strategic goals and the need to fund them.
In his budget proposals today for the 1998-99 biennium, the governor recommends $83.1 million in new state appropriations for MnSCU, a 5 percent increase over the current biennium.
"Now in its second year of operation, MnSCU has made substantial progress toward defining a vision and mission for the new system," the governor's budget summary says.
Carlson earmarks $15.8 million to implement the six goals contained in a three-year strategic plan adopted by the MnSCU Board of Trustees in December 1996.
The plan sets goals in the areas of academic accountability, including measuring student achievement; skill-based transfer; career education; electronic education; program and service alignment; and a strengthened partnership between MnSCU and K-12 education.
"I am pleased that Governor Carlson supports our efforts to transform MnSCU into a learning-centered, performance-based, technology-driven higher education system," Eaton said. "I look forward to a full discussion of our funding needs during the 1997 legislative session."
The governor recommends $24.5 million to advance MnSCU's Electronic Academy initiative, a plan to ensure that electronic education becomes a core element of all educational programs in the system of 36 colleges and universities.
The governor's budget also provides $31 million in performance funding to improve educational quality and efficiency at MnSCU institutions. An additional $6.8 million is designated to support the operation of MnSCU management information systems and to develop a systemwide MnSCU student information center.
