Providing for the financing of higher education and related purposes

ARTICLE 1 - APPROPRIATIONS

Appropriating money to the higher education services office for state and child care grants, for interstate tuition reciprocity, for state work study, for Minitex and MnLINK, for the learning network, for the college savings plan, for the midwest higher education compact, for service learning, student and parent information, get ready outreach and intervention for college attendance programs, for agency administration and for planning for and development of a university in Rochester, to the board of trustees of the Minnesota state colleges and universities (MnSCU) for payment of competitive compensation to faculty or state for initiatives promoting excellence in student learning, for expansion of the Minnesota online program, for an increase in nurses training capacity, for farm and small business owners management education needs and for centers of excellence, to the board of regents of the university of Minnesota for instructional and noninstructional expenditures, for competitive compensation to attract and retain quality faculty members, for the biosciences for a healthy society and student retention initiatives and for research and technology support, for underserved students outreach services, for primary health care education initiatives, for the agricultural experiment station and Minnesota extension service, for health sciences programs, for the institute of technology, for system specials and for the academic health center, to the Mayo medical foundation for the medical school and for certain family practice and graduate residency programs and to the commissioner of health for the nursing low income loan repayment program; authorizing certain fund transfers; requiring HESO to study tuition levels and program offerings in the for profit postsecondary education sector and to collect data from institutions disbursing state financial aid for evaluation and reporting purposes; providing educational benefits to dependent children and spouses of public safety officers killed in the line of duty under the state grant program

ARTICLE 2 - RELATED PROVISIONS

Eliminating adjustments for inflation and enrollment changes from determination of the instructional services base for public post-secondary systems; authorizing state universities to offer applied doctoral degrees in certain fields; entitling certain resident deaf students enrolled at public post-secondary institutions to tuition and fee assistance; expanding eligibility for academic excellence scholarships and making optional the amount and renewal of the scholarships; clarifying the charging of fees under the senior citizens higher education program and excluding senior citizens enrolled in closed enrollment contract training or professional continuing education programs from the fee and tuition benefits; modifying the responsibility of the higher education services office relating to collecting and maintaining student enrollment and financial aid data and eliminating the requirement for HESO to administer the telecommunications council and the statewide library task force; modifying certain duties and extending the expiration date of the higher education and student advisory councils and prescribing a process for the appointment of student representatives to HESO advisory groups; requiring HESO to annually report to the legislature on the tuition reciprocity program and to consider developing data collection procedures and agreements to monitor employment in the state after graduation of students attending post-secondary institutions under the program, specifying certain data sharing and reporting requirements;modifying student grants eligibility relating to child support arrearages; clarifying the definition of fees for cost of attendance determination purposes; authorizing HESO to increase the living and miscellaneous expense allowance in the second year of the biennium under certain surplus appropriation conditions; retroactively extending eligibility for student and child care grants for students withdrawing from enrollment for active military service; extending the deadline for applying for state grants; requiring grant and loan eligible institutions to provide certain student enrollment and financial data to HESO; increasing the maximum child care grant award; defining eligible student for supplemental and additional loans purposes; requiring HESO to administer an income contingent loan repayment program to assist graduates in medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, chiropractic medicine, public health and veterinary medicine and residents graduating from optometry and osteopathy programs, authorizing the disclosure of applicant data to consumer credit reporting agencies; authorizing HESO to deposit and hold assets from the operation of student loan programs in the loan capital fund and providing for use; requiring and providing for the director of HESO to award grants to foster post-secondary attendance by historically underserved elementary and secondary students (intervention for college attendance program); extending the annual deadline for student associations to submit recommendations to the governor for the selection of student members to serve on the board of trustees of the Minnesota state colleges and universities (MnSCU); requiring and providing for the board to designate a certain number of program centers of excellence, requiring the creation of advisory committees and specifying certain reporting requirements; clarifying the option for technical and consolidated colleges to offer certificates or degrees; modifying certain provisions governing the college savings plan, expanding matching grant requirements and distribution method options, authorizing distribution for attendance at military academies and clarifying a certain residency requirement; modifying the purpose and duties of the regent candidate advisory council and the procedure for election of the regents; creating a low income nursing education account to be used by the commissioner of health to establish a loan repayment program for licensed practical or registered nurses agreeing to practice in nursing homes or to work as educators in the state; expanding certain post-secondary education rights of certain disabled veterans; retroactively extending eligibility for public safety officer survivor education benefits for students withdrawing from enrollment for active military service; extending and codifying the expiration date of the farmer lender mediation act; requiring HESO to examine the feasibility of reinstating interstate payments in the Minnesota-South Dakota reciprocity program while maintaining the tuition reciprocity agreement and to begin negotiations with the state of Wisconsin on the agreement; requiring HESO to convene a temporary advisory task force to study the current post-secondary funding policy and a group to develop a network containing post-secondary instructional material in an electronic format, requiring reports to the legislature by certain dates; requiring the revisor of statutes to change the terms HESO and higher education services office in statutes and rules to Minnesota office of higher education; repealing the higher education services council and certain rules relating to youth works post-service benefits and post-secondary education grants for advanced placement (AP) and international baccalaureate (IB) programs

ARTICLE 3 - PRIVATE CAREER SCHOOLS

Defining multiple location for private career schools regulation purposes;
increasing the surety bond requirement; clarifying certain provisions;
establishing certain licensure, program, solicitor permit, student transcript
and document copy fees; regulating cancellation refunds for short term programs; providing for the consideration of students as having withdrawn under certain nonattendance conditions; requiring the return of tuition upon school closure; clarifying the authority of the schools to advertise state licensure; regulating the distribution of funds for financial aid; requiring rather than authorizing the higher education services office to grant a reasonable time for license or permit holders to correct certain situations leading to license or permit revocation; classifying data submitted to the office as part of license applications or renewals; requiring and providing for HESO to convene a working group to develop recommendations to revise the regulation of private and out of state post-secondary institutions offering instruction in the state, requiring office preliminary and final reports to the legislature by certain dates

ARTICLE 4 - ROCHESTER

Establishing the Rochester higher education development committee as a temporary committee to research and make recommendations to the governor and the legislature on the creation of mission driven post-secondary educational programs or institutions in the Rochester area to meet the educational needs of the region and the state and to capitalize on the opportunities for educational partnerships in the area, specifying certain membership requirements and duties; requiring the committee to develop a proposal for establishment and implementation of expanded higher education programs or institutions, requiring the report of the committee to include certain recommendations; requiring a report to the governor and the legislature by a certain date; creating a Rochester higher education development account in the special revenue fund and appropriating money in the account to HESO for allocation to the committee and implementation of the outlined activities
(Ch. 107, 2005)