2004 Minnesota Statutes

     135A.053 State higher education policy. 

    Subdivision 1.    Statewide objectives.  Minnesota's 
 higher education investment is made in pursuit of the following 
 objectives: 

    (1) to ensure quality - to provide a level of excellence 
 that is competitive on a national and international level, 
 through high quality teaching, scholarship, and learning in a 
 broad range of arts and sciences, technical education, and 
 professional fields; 

    (2) to foster student success - to enable and encourage 
 students to choose institutions and programs that are best 
 suited for their talents and abilities, and to provide an 
 educational climate that supports students in pursuing their 
 goals and aspirations; 

    (3) to promote democratic values - to enhance Minnesota's 
 quality of life by developing understanding and appreciation of 
 a free and diverse society; 

    (4) to maintain access - to provide an opportunity for all 
 Minnesotans, regardless of personal circumstances, to 
 participate in higher education; and 

    (5) to enhance the economy - to assist the state in being 
 competitive in the world market, and to prepare a highly skilled 
 and adaptable workforce that meets Minnesota's opportunities and 
 needs. 

    Subd. 2.    Performance and accountability.  Higher 
 education systems and campuses are expected to achieve the 
 objectives in subdivision 1 and will be held accountable for 
 doing so.  The legislature is increasing the flexibility of the 
 systems and campuses to provide greater responsibility to higher 
 education in deciding how to achieve statewide objectives, and 
 to decentralize authority so that those decisions can be made at 
 the level where the education is delivered.  To demonstrate 
 their accountability, the legislature expects each system and 
 campus to measure and report on its performance, using 
 meaningful indicators that are critical to achieving the 
 objectives in subdivision 1, as provided in section 135A.033.  
 Nothing in this section precludes a system or campus from 
 determining its own objectives and performance measures beyond 
 those identified in this section.  

    HIST: 1996 c 398 s 27