proposed policy agenda

Proposed Legislative Agenda

This Minnesota session is going to be quick:◦ 10 weeks versus 5 months◦ Won’t be as much time to negotiate

Not all of these issues will necessarily be a major focus:◦ We are forced to react to what’s moving

and what’s not. The agenda is purposefully broad.

Things to keep in mind…

September feedback session:◦ Students brainstormed issues:

Starting from the “big” and narrowing from there.

◦ This feedback became the base for discussions around the current legislative/political environment.

◦ This draft reflects what we believe to be the issues on which we have a chance to make an impact this session/year.

Where did this draft come from?

Supplemental Budget: ◦ November forecast shows $1.87 billion in surplus

(about $1.2 available for spending). ◦ Taxes, transportation, pre-school funding likely top

priorities◦ MnSCU supplemental request still unknown.

Capital Bonding: ◦ Minnesota State Colleges and Universities

(MnSCU) bonding request Higher Education Policy:

◦ Developmental education◦ College completion/retention rates

Minnesota Legislative Outlook

Textbooks: ◦ OERs are a popular solution for saving

students money on textbooks. ◦ Both MnSCU and the University of

Minnesota have invested resources into OER creation and promotion.

◦ We want to build off that momentum and expand the use so more students can save.

◦ Historically, legislators have been open to textbook initiatives.

State Legislative Agenda

We’re proposing adoption of the following language: ◦ MSCSA supports legislation aimed at

increasing the availability and promotion of open resource textbooks, other electronic educational materials, and any other efforts that will save students money on educational materials.

Therefore….

Developmental Education: ◦ Hot topic last session and likely to be so

again this year. ◦ Legislation last year sought a major

overhaul of how developmental education was offered to students.

◦ Improvements can have a major impact on college retention and completion rates; especially for students from populations traditionally under-represented in higher education.


We’re proposing adoption of the following language:◦ MSCSA supports efforts to save

students money on developmental education and the promotion of best practices across the state that will directly benefit students.

Therefore…

Retention and Completion Rates: ◦ Hot topic at the legislature last year and

likely again this session. ◦ Legislators want better rates from our

colleges and are linking funding to improvements in this area.

◦ Improved retention rates will help campuses and all students.

◦ A variety of proposals are likely to be brought forward.


We’re proposing adoption of the following language: ◦ MSCSA supports legislative initiatives

aimed at increasing student retention and completion, especially those focused on students from populations traditionally under-represented in higher education.

Therefore…

Bonding:◦ Campuses across the MnSCU system have

building and repair needs. ◦ The MnSCU bonding process scores

campus projects based on a detailed scoring metric and produces a ranked list for legislators to consider.

◦ Legislators generally look favorably on MnSCU’s process.

◦ Students can often be the best advocates for local campus needs.


We’re proposing adoption of the following language: ◦ MSCSA supports the Minnesota State

Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) bonding request.

Therefore…

College Affordability: ◦ A top priority for MSCSA (and legislators)

last session. ◦ We want to continue talking about the

need to address the affordability of our campuses.

◦ Proposals could come in a couple different proposals: Supplemental funding for campuses Further tuition direction


We’re proposing adoption of the following language: ◦ MSCSA supports continued efforts to

lower Minnesota’s national ranking in tuition and fees for community and technical college students.

Therefore…

Financial Aid Access: ◦ Some students have access to significant

financial assistance if they know how to find it.

◦ While Minnesota has comparatively strong FAFSA completion numbers to other states, we believe there is work that can be done to target those not attending college now.

◦ Our state needs more people graduating with a college degree and increasing FAFSA completion could help.


We’re proposing adoption of the following language:◦ MSCSA supports efforts to increase

FAFSA completion by Minnesota high school seniors as well as populations of students traditionally under-represented in higher education.

Therefore…

Textbooks: ◦ Sen. Franken has legislation around OERs

and has been pushing it for a few years. ◦ We believe now is the time to move on

federal legislation to promote OER creation and use.

◦ Having legislation in place gives us a great opportunity to jump-start a great student issue.

Federal Agenda

We’re proposing the adoption of the following language: ◦ MSCSA supports initiatives aimed at

promoting the creation and use of open educational resources and other electronic educational materials that will save students money.

Therefore…

FAFSA Simplification: ◦ National movement to simplify the FAFSA.◦ Simplification would make it less

intimidating and could increase completion rates.

◦ We would like to study national recommendations for FAFSA simplification and work them into our federal materials.

Federal Agenda

We’re proposing adoption of the following language: ◦ MSCSA supports efforts to simplify the

FAFSA in order to make the application process more student and family friendly.

Therefore…

PELL Grant: ◦ The PELL Grant has helped millions of

students pay for higher education. ◦ PELL Funding should be maintained (if not

increased) and year-round (summer semester) use should be reinstated.

◦ These discussions will be a part of the on-going re-authorization of the Higher Education Act.

Federal Agenda

We’re proposing the adoption of the following language:◦ MSCSA supports maintaining full

funding for the PELL Grant and reinstating the year round PELL.

Therefore…

College Affordability/Debt-Free: ◦ College affordability/free community

college is a hot issue in political campaigns and with the president’s proposal from last year.

◦ We want to begin a conversation with our federal delegation about a potential role for the federal government in helping to make community/technical colleges more affordable.

Federal Agenda

We’re proposing adoption of the following language:◦ MSCSA supports efforts to

significantly lower or eliminate tuition for community and technical colleges.

Therefore…

Financial Access:◦ Ongoing negotiations on the re-

authorization of the Higher Education Act allow for a broad discussion around expanding access to financial aid.

◦ With an aging workforce and the need for more college graduates, now is the time to expand access to much needed financial aid.

◦ Undocumented students are unable to access any financial aid and this is a barrier to higher education.

Federal Agenda

We’re proposing adoption of the following language: ◦ MSCSA supports changes to financial

aid programs that will allow all students to receive financial assistance regardless of immigration status.

Therefore…

Platform Committee will adopt an agenda on Sunday.

Please talk about these issues in your regional meetings!

Give your feedback to your platform committee members!

Advocacy Day and DC too!

What’s next?