Minnesota State trustees approve revised NextGen timeline and authorize Workday student contract

MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Board of Trustees voted to approve a revised timeline, updated budget and financing plan for the NextGen implementation and authorized a statement of work with Workday to implement the student module and student employment functions.

Board members approved a proposed increase to the NextGen project budget of about $47,700,000 to cover student‑phase costs, project support increases and a reestablished contingency. Vice Chancellor Mackey told trustees the student budget would increase by $15,100,000, project support would rise by roughly $16–17,600,000 and a $15,000,000 contingency would be added. Those increments reflect inflation, an extended timeline and additional internal and consultant resources staff said are necessary to reduce implementation risk.

"The student budget, increasing by $15,100,000," Mackey said while outlining the proposed changes. He described a financing strategy that relies on the dedicated NextGen state appropriation, a biannual request for $25,000,000 in one‑time state funds, possible extension of institutional annual contributions, and roughly $3,000,000 estimated for projected cash‑flow interest costs. Staff cautioned that peak implementation…