Minnesota Office of Higher Education tells Senate committee financial-aid programs are strained as state chases 70% attainment goal

Commissioner Dennis Olson of the Minnesota Office of Higher Education told the Senate Higher Education Committee that Minnesota’s adult postsecondary attainment rate is about 63.3% and the state needs roughly 101,000 additional credentials to reach the 2015 goal of 70% for adults ages 25–44.

The goal and the distribution of attainment across racial and ethnic groups matter for statewide workforce and educational planning, Olson said, and the Office of Higher Education (OHE) told senators the state’s financial-aid programs are under pressure because enrollment and FAFSA completion patterns have changed.

The OHE overview covered three linked areas: the statewide attainment goal and disaggregated attainment data; the administration and recent performance of state financial-aid programs (Minnesota State Grant, North Star Promise and other grants); and agency initiatives (basic-needs work, a tribal liaison, direct admissions and data work via SLEDS). "We'd like to invite the committee for some feedback on what the next educational attainment goal 2.0 is for the state," Olson said during the presentation.

On data and attainment: OHE staff said Minnesota is near the national leaders on attainment but that gaps by race, ethnicity and subgroups remain. The agency reported the current overall attainment rate as about 63.3% and said an additional roughly 101,000 credentials would be required to reach the 70% benchmark set by the legislature in 2015. OHE described the underlying data sources as institution reports, the Statewide Longitudinal Educational Data System (SLEDS) and U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey estimates; staff cautioned some certificate estimates are drawn from multiple sources and are therefore estimates.

On FAFSA and access: OHE officials said FAFSA disruptions the prior year made outreach and support critical; Minnesota finished the fall semester with FAFSA completion rates improved compared with much of the rest of the country. The agency also described the Minnesota Dream Act application (enacted by the legislature in…