Minnesota State leaders outline budget riders, student support and workforce investments to House higher-education committee

Officials from Minnesota State presented an overview of system finances and several budget riders to the House Higher Education Finance and Policy Committee on March 6, describing student-affordability programs, student-support services and workforce investments enacted in 2023 session law and how the system is using recent appropriations.

George Sowell, board chair of Minnesota State, opened the presentation and described the scope of the system: 26 community and technical colleges, seven state universities and roughly 270,000 students per year. Vice chancellors and associate vice chancellors then described a set of riders and related initiatives funded under Session Law 2023, Chapter 41.

Textbook affordability: Kim Lynch, Associate Vice Chancellor for Educational Development and Technology, reviewed the Z-degree (zero-textbook-cost) program. She said prior appropriations expanded free course materials and that a proposed base appropriation would be $1,000,000 annually to support campuses adopting and sustaining zero-textbook-degree pathways. Lynch said the program has produced tracked savings (systemwide reported savings of about $3.1 million in the most recent academic year and an aggregate of roughly $12.6 million) and that preliminary analyses show students in Z-degree courses have higher course-success rates. Lynch said additional base funding would be used to expand implementations, develop zero-textbook transfer pathways (notably for business), provide instructional design support and make targeted library purchases where open educational resources are not available.

Student supports and mental health: Paul Shepherd, Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management, described systemwide supports funded by the legislature. Highlights: - Basic Needs Resource Hub: launched August 2022, available 24/7 to connect students with campus and community resources; Shepherd said the hub has served over 2,400 students and reported a 97% positive experience rate. - Mantra Health partnership: launched September 2024 to provide supplemental, clinically monitored telecounseling and digitally delivered mental-health supports; Shepherd said over 1,600 students already use Mantra and that the platform provides self-paced modules, peer support with clinical monitoring, on-demand care and up to 12 telecounseling sessions. Shepherd told members that Mantra does not provide AI counseling and that, per the vendor contract and system review, aggregate usage data are collected but student-identifying data are not sold; students may opt to share identifying information with campus staff for follow-up. - Emergency grant program: since launch about one year earlier the system has disbursed over $3,000,000 to more than 4,800 students (average grant about $700), supporting housing, food, transportation and childcare emergencies; Shepherd said 38% of recipients reported homelessness during their time as students and 31% were responsible for at least one minor child.

Sexual-violence reporting: Shepherd also described system funding to comply with statutory reporting and case-management requirements and to support campus Title IX coordinators and prevention programs. He referenced Minnesota statute requirements for student training in sexual-violence prevention within students’ first semester and noted that costs to deliver that training are borne by individual campuses.

Workforce development: Jesse Mason, Phil Arellano and others described riders focused on industry-sector programming, workforce development scholarships, equipment and learning environments, and a Child Development Associate transfer pathway. Mason said the legislature provided $13.5 million in one-time funding for industry and work-based learning programming and that colleges have leveraged matching funds and employer partnerships for programs such as expanded dental assisting/hygiene and multi-program apprenticeship-style work-based learning. Arellano said the Workforce Development Scholarship program awarded over 2,000 scholarships in FY24 (about 42% to health-care-related pathways) and that 80% of scholarship graduates obtained employment within 12 months.

System finances and allocation: Vice Chancellor Bill Mackey and Steve Earnest reviewed the system’s audited financial position, noting an improved composite financial index and that the state appropriation increased substantially in the biennium. Mackey described the system’s allocation model (instruction and academic support constitute the largest shares) and explained the distribution of stabilization funding, tuition-freeze relief funding, a $50 million campus support appropriation and other appropriations. Steve Earnest summarized a set of new operational riders including unemployment-insurance aid, increased employer contributions for IRAP retirement accounts, and a menstrual-product distribution appropriation for restrooms used by students.

Committee members asked about privacy and data for Mantra Health, verification and limits for emergency grants, inclusion of tribal colleges in some riders, and labor/contracting and tuition-funding relationships. System officials said Mantra’s services are clinically supervised and that usage data are non-identifying unless students opt to be contacted; emergency grants are administered by campus review teams and allow documentation upload and vendor payments, and campuses set local limits for repeat grants. Mackey said campuses receive tuition-relief funding based on enrollment and reviewed how the system allocates stabilization and one-time campus support funds.

Minnesota State requested continued or base funding for multiple riders and described next steps for sustaining and expanding zero-textbook pathways, student-support hubs and workforce partnerships; no committee votes were taken on the riders during the presentation.