Minnesota State leaders tell Senate panel system serves 270,000 students and maintains independent audits and financial controls

Minnesota State Board of Trustees Chair George Soule and Chancellor Scott Olson told the Minnesota Senate Higher Education Committee that the statewide system serves roughly 270,000 students and has structured audit and finance oversight to protect public and student funds.

The board leaders and system financial officers described a multi‑layered governance model, an independent internal audit function and regular external reviews that they said have produced consecutive clean financial statement audits and strong federal program reviews.

"We are volunteers, the trustees are volunteers who are committed to the success of Minnesota State, our students, and the communities that we serve," said George Soule, chair of the Minnesota State Board of Trustees. Soule reviewed the trustees' policy responsibilities, including system planning, academic programs, fiscal management and tuition-setting.

Minnesota State's chancellor, Scott Olson, and trustees highlighted the system's scale and role in workforce development. Soule told the committee the system educates about 270,000 credit and noncredit learners annually and that 69% of those students attend institutions outside the Twin Cities. The board noted sizable populations of students of color and indigenous students, adult learners, Pell‑eligible students and veterans in the system.

Don Erlinson, audit committee chair, described the reporting and governance structure designed to preserve audit independence, saying the chief audit officer reports to the audit committee chair and has "full free and unrestricted access to all Minnesota State functions, records, property, and personnel" for engagements. Amy Jorgensen, Minnesota State's chief audit officer, said the system uses external CPA and advisory firms for financial and specialized audits and that the system has received clean financial statement audit reports for the last five years.

"The CPA firm Clifton, Larson, Allen, or CLA, has completed our financial statement and single audit work for several years," Jorgensen said. She described a co‑sourced internal audit model that supplements in‑house capacity with firms such as Baker Tilly for subject‑matter expertise in areas like cybersecurity and enterprise risk.

Tim Huebsch, chair of the Board's Finance and Facilities Committee, and Vice Chancellor Bill Mackey outlined the committee's oversight role for the biennial operating and capital budget requests, major contracts and capital projects. Mackey said Minnesota State administered about $650,000,000 in Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds (HEERF) between 2020 and 2023, with the majority distributed directly to students, and reiterated procurement thresholds in system policy (system office purchases above $1,000,000 and campus purchases above $3,000,000 require Board approval).

Committee members did not take formal action during the presentation; the session moved on to campus presidents' testimony afterward.

The system witnesses also invited committee members to follow up on specific audit or finance questions and noted that the Office of Internal Auditing tracks and reports on the resolution of findings until they are closed.