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 certain small programs and for agency administration, to the board of trustees of the Minnesota state colleges and universities (MnSCU) for strengthening and expanding the online program, for an increase in capacity for training nurses, for establishment of an innovations fund, for farm and small business owners management education needs, for reinvestment in member colleges and universities and for centers for excellence and competitive salaries, to the board of regents of the university of Minnesota for the biotechnology and medical genomics collaborative research partnership with the Mayo foundation, for certain initiatives, for faculty compensation increases, for research support, for the agricultural experiment station and Minnesota extension service, for health sciences, for the institute of technology, for system specials and for the academic health center and to the Mayo medical foundation for the medical school and for certain family practice and graduate residency programs; specifying the state grant private institution maximums; authorizing certain fund transfers; requiring HESO to develop and implement a process to measure and report on the effectiveness of post-secondary institutions in the state and to collect certain state financial aid expenditure data and periodically report to the legislature

ARTICLE 2 - RELATED PROVISIONS

Modifying the responsibility of the higher education services office relating to the collection and maintenance of certain data on students and certain duties of the higher education and student advisory councils; modifying student and child care grants eligibility relating to child support arrearages; modifying the formula for the determination of the cost of attendance for grant award purposes and extending eligibility for student and child care grants for students withdrawing from enrollment for active military service; requiring eligible institutions to provide certain student data to HESO; 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 board of trustees of the Minnesota state colleges and universities (MnSCU) to designate a certain number of centers of excellence in manufacturing technology, science/engineering, health care, information technology, business and teacher education, specifying certain selection criteria, requiring the centers to create advisory committees and to biennially report to the governor and legislature on program enrollment, student demographics and admission, endowment growth, graduation rates and outcomes and employer involvement; 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; extending eligibility for public safety officer survivor education benefits for students withdrawing from enrollment for active military service; authorizing a housing finance agency (HFA) agreement with HESO for the issuance of student loan bonds; requiring HESO to convene a temporary advisory task force to study the current post-secondary funding policy and to recommend alternatives to the governor and legislature by a certain date; specifying certain term change instructions to the revisor of statues; 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 (HESO) 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

ARTICLE 4 - FACILITIES AUTHORITY MERGER

Repealing the higher education facilities authority and transferring the authority, duties and unexpended balance of funds collected by the authority to the higher education services office (HESO); specifying certain bill preparation instructions to the revisor of statutes
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