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Minnesota State outlines student-support riders including Z‑degree textbooks, basic‑needs hub, Mantra mental‑health partnership and emergency grants
Summary
Minnesota State officials told the Legislature’s higher education committee that recent appropriations support a statewide zero‑textbook initiative, a centralized basic‑needs resource hub, a mental‑health supplement with Mantra Health, emergency grants and Title IX reporting infrastructure, and described program reach and costs.
Minnesota State representatives summarized how several budget riders are being used to expand student supports across the system, saying the investments are increasing access to course materials, basic‑needs help, mental‑health care and short‑term emergency aid.
George Sowell, board chair of the Minnesota State Board of Trustees, introduced the system’s presenters and said Minnesota State educates about 270,000 students annually. Associate Vice Chancellor Kim Lynch described the Z‑degree, or zero‑textbook, program and the legislation and funding that support it.
Kim Lynch, Associate Vice Chancellor for Educational Development and Technology, said the system received $1,050,000 in fiscal years 2024–25 to expand free course materials and that the base appropriation beginning FY26 is $50,000. She said the program has identified about $12.6 million in student savings, that 10 colleges now offer complete Z‑degrees, 12 campuses are on track or exploring Z‑degree implementation, and that staff tracked roughly 6,200 zero‑cost course sections and over 26,000 enrollments in those courses (Lynch: “Students have saved between $7 and $10 for every $1 invested in this work”). Lynch said the system plans to use sustained base funding to support faculty adoption of open educational resources, create zero‑textbook transfer pathways (for example in business), expand instructional design supports and buy select library resources that cannot be provided as open materials.
Paul Shepherd, Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management, described system investments in basic‑needs and mental‑health support. Shepherd said the Basic Needs Resource Hub, launched in August 2022, is a centralized phone/text line available 24/7 that has served more than 2,400 students, with 97% reporting a positive experience. Shepherd said the system contracted Mantra Health in September 2024 after an RFP process; Mantra provides a mix of self‑paced mental‑health resources, clinically monitored peer support, telecounseling (up to 12 sessions per student), crisis support and digital tools. He said over 1,600 students currently use Mantra and emphasized that clinicians are human providers (not AI) and that students must opt in for campus follow‑up; Shepherd said the RFP and the system general counsel reviewed Mantra’s data practices.
Shepherd also described an emergency grant program that marked its first anniversary last week: more than 4,800 students have received emergency grants totaling over $3,000,000, with an average award just under $700. Shepherd said the majority of grants address housing, food, transportation and childcare needs; among recipients, 38% reported experiencing homelessness during their time as a student and 31% were responsible for at least one minor child. The application process is campus‑based: students apply online or through an app, campus teams review applications, and approved awards are delivered by direct deposit or vendor payment; campuses retain application records and can track repeat requests.
Shepherd also reviewed funding used to comply with campus sexual‑assault reporting and Title IX requirements. He said that rider funds technology for reporting and case‑management functions, funds prevention programming, and supports training and convenings for campus Title IX coordinators. Shepherd noted Minnesota statute 135A.15 requires new students to receive sexual‑violence prevention training within the first 10 days of their first semester; he said the statute’s training costs are borne by each college and university, not the system rider.
Committee members asked about local staffing for basic‑needs referrals, Mantra’s clinical vs. nonclinical functions and privacy, and campus-level safeguards for emergency grants (receipt uploads, review cycles and limits set by individual campuses). Shepherd and Lynch responded that campuses identify local contacts for coordination, that Mantra is clinically monitored and not AI‑only and that campuses determine application limits and retain documentation to review repeat requests.
No formal committee votes occurred during the presentations; Minnesota State staff asked to pass the remainder of the presentation to colleagues when they concluded.
