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Committee reviews state student aid changes and Bank of North Dakota loan and literacy programs
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Summary
NDUS staff and Bank of North Dakota officials briefed the committee on state scholarships, a new supplemental grant and BND’s student-loan and financial-literacy activity; the new supplemental state grant awarded $2.6 million to 642 students in the first round.
BISMARCK — Committee members heard parallel briefings on state grant and scholarship programs administered by the university system and on student financing and financial-literacy work administered by the Bank of North Dakota. State aid highlights: NDUS budget staff reported a 2025–27 appropriation package of roughly $75.2 million for student financial assistance programs, including a newly funded supplemental state grant (Senate Bill 2147 language) with $7 million in the biennium. The system office made initial supplemental-grant awards to 642 students totaling about $2.6 million; eligibility requires a state grant award, Pell consideration, and family income under $80,000. The report also noted the North Dakota Scholars merit award (about 30 recipients per year), dual-credit tuition scholarships (tiered per course), and professional student-exchange slots (dentistry, optometry, veterinary medicine) with specified cohorts. Career Builders and retention: The committee was told the career builders skilled-workforce scholarship/loan-repayment program has continuing appropriations and carryover adjustments that raised its 2025–27 availability to about $8.7 million; program design ties awards or repayment assistance to in-state employment in high‑demand occupations. Committee members asked for additional retention metrics and asked the system office to provide more longitudinal tracking where feasible. Bank of North Dakota: Kelvin Hollett and Jennifer Bickel from BND outlined student-lending activity and outreach. BND reported a total managed student-loan portfolio near $980 million with roughly 83,000 active loans and an average borrower balance around $12,000; about 37,500 borrowers and 26,000 cosigners were cited. The bank’s delinquency rate is under 4% — considerably below current federal portfolio delinquency levels reported elsewhere — and the bank affords borrower counseling, recurring-payment incentives and other customer-service supports. BND also described its SMART With My Money financial-literacy initiative and its continuing work to promote 529 college-savings accounts (BND currently manages about $700 million in 529 assets). Why it matters: State grants, scholarships and loan programs shape affordability and student pathways to the workforce. Committee members pressed for more data: net tuition after waivers, the amount of scholarship waivers charged to campuses, the use and scale of online-course revenue, and cross-campus comparisons of reserve balances and deferred-maintenance spending. Ending: Staff committed to deliver follow-up data on waivers, online course revenue, institution reserves and retention measures before the next meeting.
