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Appropriations panel reviews scholarship carryover, professional exchanges and student-aid system maintenance
Summary
Committee heard NDUS testimony that Career Builders carryover funds will cover the next biennium, discussed a $1.5 million request for professional-exchange scholarships, dual-credit funding, and ongoing maintenance needs for the statewide student financial aid system.
The committee paused capital and formula discussion to review scholarship and financial-aid items with Brenda Zastepal of the North Dakota University System.
Career Builders and carryover: Zastepal told the panel that carryover funds from prior appropriations (about $3.6 million from 2021–23 and an estimated $4.4 million carryover for 2023–25) mean NDUS is not requesting additional Career Builders funding for the next biennium. She said persistent underuse of the Career Builders dollars is a marketing and administration issue, not a funding shortage, and recommended investment in outreach and administration if the program is to expand.
Professional-exchange scholarships: Committee members discussed a NDUS request of $1.5 million to maintain professional-exchange scholarships for health professions (veterinary medicine, optometry, dentistry). Zastepal said $1.5 million would fund roughly 27 new awards per year for one biennium; committee members agreed to include $1.5 million in the working long sheet.
Dual-credit and other scholarships: The committee also discussed dual-credit scholarship proposals and a carried-over Bank of North Dakota authorization for certain programs. Brenda requested a $1.5 million ongoing appropriation for dual-credit scholarships; senators signaled agreement to include that ongoing amount.
Student financial aid system maintenance: Zastepal reviewed an enterprise student-aid system implemented under contract with a vendor (PCG) to manage roughly $60 million in awards. She said the implementation accelerated eight programs in a single year and will require 24–36 months of “cleanup” work; the NDUS request includes ongoing maintenance and the need for additional funding for support and upkeep. The transcript records committee reference to a $273,000 annual maintenance request in the NDUS packet.
Why it matters: scholarship and aid programs impact students’ ability to enroll and persist. Committee members repeatedly said funding decisions should align with demonstrated program use; for Career Builders they emphasized marketing and administration rather than new recurring appropriations.
Actions and direction: the committee accepted inclusion of $1.5 million for the professional-exchange scholarships, discussed but did not finalize staff additions or the exact ongoing amount for student-aid-system maintenance; senators asked staff to provide clarifying numbers on ongoing vs. one-time components of the NDUS maintenance request before final appropriation decisions.
