Board Action Item
INVESTING IN MINNESOTA'S FUTURE: THE 1997 MnSCU LEGISLATIVE AGENDA
BACKGROUND
During the 16 months since its creation, MnSCU has explored ways to manage its resources more effectively and to expand and enhance educational opportunity.
Organizational and administrative issues dominated MnSCU's first year. A chancellor was selected, co-located colleges were merged, the system office was downsized, decision making became more decentralized, mandates were reduced, systems and policies were established, and the new system was given life.
Now MnSCU has shifted its attention to educational quality and access. The strategic planning process, led by the Board of Trustees, will establish specific educational goals for MnSCU as well as benchmarks against which to test our success. The plan, which will be adopted at the board's December meeting, will build a state-wide electronic educational capacity, increase academic accountability, improve transfer, provide students with skills needed for a changing job market, and align educational programs with employer and state needs.
To achieve both MnSCU's administrative and educational objectives, additional investment is needed. MnSCU is requesting $57,900,000 to improve institutional performance and $66,400,000 to manage MnSCU more effectively. MnSCU is also seeking $10,500,000 in additional support for the Minnesota State Grant Program. Those funds, generated from dedicated Minnesota Lottery revenues, would be used for financial aid for the most financially needy students.
During the 1997 session, MnSCU will also work with the legislature to 1) fine tune the authority it received in the 1996 mandate reduction bill and 2) extend the length of collective bargaining agreements.
The MnSCU legislative request signals clearly MnSCU's intention to become more performance based and accountable to the taxpayers. It also reflects an abiding commitment to high quality educational experiences for our students and outstanding service to the people of Minnesota.
RECOMMENDATION
The Board of Trustees authorizes the staff to proceed within this legislative framework to build support for future MnSCU's initiatives. The 1997 Legislative Agenda will be brought back to the Board as part of a detailed review of the biennial budget request.
Date of Implementation: October 16, 1996,
Date of Adoption: October 16, 1996,
THE 1997 MnSCU LEGISLATIVE AGENDA |
ENHANCING STUDENT ACCESS
- Financial Aid Reform
$0
- MnSCU requests authority to manage the funds it receives from the State Grant Program, which awards over $30 million to more than 40,000 MnSCU students each year. The design for shared responsibility, administered by the Higher Education Services Office, does not effectively target funds at the lowest income students. MnSCU is committed to directing more resources to the most financially needy students.
- Student Opportunity for the Grants State Grant Program
- $10,500,000
- MnSCU seeks to dedicate 20% of the net proceeds from the Minnesota Lottery for financial aid awarded to students from families with the lowest incomes. The lottery currently nets $50-60 million each year. Funds from the lottery would augment state appropriations to the Minnesota State Grant Program, which distributes over $88 million (FY 95) to more than 70,000 Minnesota students.
IMPROVING INSTITUTIONAL PERFORMANCE
MnSCU seeks funding to support the Board's strategic goals (tentative) and to provide the colleges and universities with the financial support necessary to achieve these goals.
- Electronic Academy
$34,000,000
- The MnSCU Electronic Academy, launched with $4.5 million from the 1996 Legislature, envisions complete academic programs delivered statewide via interactive television, multi-media instructional technology across the curriculum, automated student services available on-line and through the Internet, staff development, and challenge grants for innovative technology applications.
- System-wide Strategic Initiatives
- $15,900,000
1. Academic Accountability. $4,850,000
MnSCU will evaluate its educational performance by measuring student learning at several points on the educational ladder. MnSCU will ensure that students, employers and taxpayers are fully informed of the academic effectiveness of each MnSCU institution.- 2. Skill-Based Transfer. $3,350,000
MnSCU will strengthen and expand the movement of students between institutions by creating transfer opportunities based on what students know and can do. This new skill-based transfer option will complement the existing ability of students to transfer credits between and among MnSCU institutions. - 3. Career Education. $4,400,000
MnSCU will ensure that its career programs provide students with the job-related, technological and transferable skills needed for a changing job market. MnSCU will develop an inventory of MnSCU career program skills, identify employer expectations, and match program skills with employer needs. - 4. Program Alignment. $3,300,000
MnSCU will review its educational programs to ensure that they 1) meet student and employer demand, 2) are optimally located, 3) avoid unnecessary duplication, and 4) are adjusted over time to meet changing state needs.
- Campus Innovation and Change
$8,000,000
Each MnSCU college and university is currently developing quality and efficiency indicators. The indicators will include a core set tied to the system-wide strategic goals and several other indicators tied to institutional objectives. In addition to the funds requested to advance the system-wide goals, MnSCU requests $8,000,000 to match 1:1 college and university resources directed at achieving the specific institutional objectives, which reflect the distinctive nature of each college and university.
MANAGING MnSCU EFFECTIVELY
- Management Information Systems Development
$15,000,000
- To augment MnSCU's current investment in infrastructure, MnSCU seeks $6.8 million to develop an integrated student records system, to create a comprehensive fiscal management system, and to upgrade the technology needed to carry information. MnSCU also requests $4.8 million to cover the 1997, 1998 and 1999 payments to the Department of Finance for costs related to the new state payroll and accounting systems, and $3.4 million to cover the costs of additional MnSCU staff needed to support the state's new human resources system.
- Educational Program Preservation
- $51,400,000
- To maintain the current level of service to Minnesota, MnSCU requests funding to cover the increased personnel and non-personnel costs (calculated at 2.5% per year in accordance with Department of Finance guidelines). The last inflation adjustment for higher education was approved for the 1990-91 biennium.
- Executive Compensation
$0
- MnSCU seeks support to strengthen its leadership by improving executive compensation. MnSCU will coordinate its efforts with those wishing to increase the salaries of state agency commissioners.
TOTAL MnSCU REQUEST:
| Enhancing Student Access (Minnesota Lottery) |
$ 10,500,000 |
| Improving Institutional Performance |
$ 57,900,000 |
| Managing MnSCU Effectively |
$ 66,400,000 |
| GRAND TOTAL: |
$134,800,000 |
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