Today Senate Democrats passed a Higher Education omnibus bill that funnels millions to colleges with decreasing enrollment, creates a program to implement free tuition for select students, and negatively modifies the Teacher Shortage Loan Repayment program.

The legislation focuses spending primarily on new programs that are focused on social equity, rather than initiatives that advance the academic and skilled trade missions of higher education. Notably, the bill does not include a “tuition freeze” at the University of Minnesota and Minnesota State schools.

“Our focus should be providing quality higher education options for our students in Minnesota while keeping tuition affordable and limiting student debt,” said Senator Zach Duckworth (R-Lakeville), who is the Ranking Republican on the Higher Education Committee. “It’s an unfortunate reality that for nearly a decade, enrollment has been steadily declining in colleges across the state. The bill passed today mandates spending on new programs unrelated to academic instruction and will force our public universities and colleges to increase their expenditures and thereby increase tuition. Instead, we should work on keeping tuition affordable, limiting the need for debt, and maximizing higher education opportunities for students who choose to pursue them in Minnesota. When cost becomes unattainable or is the main detractor, it’s time to realign with the core mission of putting our students and their education first.”

There is great concern that this bill also creates a precedent for unsustainable spending in numerous areas and does so in a way that fails to make higher learning institutions more affordable for all students. Though this legislation has a large price tag, it fails to address the declining enrollment that has plagued Minnesota’s colleges and universities in recent years. 

Senate Republicans offered multiple amendments to improve the bill, all being rejected:

• Transfer of the “Free Public College” money to the State Grant program, therefore expanding the pool of those eligible (Sen. Rarick)
• An update to the Teacher Shortage Loan Payment language, ensuring that rural teachers and teachers in shortage areas are at equal standing (Sen. Draheim)
• Funding for “police officer skills training” in the Minnesota State programs to enhance student learning and incentivize careers in law enforcement (Sen. Farnsworth)
• Targeted funding for the University of Minnesota’s innovative “campus safety and security measures” (Sen. Duckworth)