The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System

Research Proposal
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Abstract
The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System, is the fifth largest of the public colleges and universities, composed of 7 universities, 30 colleges and 54 campuses across the Minnesota state. Serving more than 400,000 students, the system is one of the most successful in the state. Relative to its success since inception, this inspires another system that will be composed of one college of education, two technical colleges, one polytechnic and three universities. The data for the proposal will be collected through interviews and questionnaires. This data will then be analyzed using SPSS. The proposal is estimated to take six months to complete and a budget not exceeding $ 50,000.
Introduction
Over the last few decades, the education system has greatly changed in the face of a changing economic and social system. College education as become the pillar of the society and this calls upon students to enhance their skills relative to the ever-rising standards in the job market. It is not easy for persons that do not have a college degree to secure well-paying jobs and more importantly develop a rewarding career. The education system is certainly one of the most important pillars in the society and defines the society. For most of the industries, education marks the start of excellence. Companies will look for the most productive scholars in their respective fields. It is important for persons looking to develop their careers to get educated. Recent times have also shown how versatile technology is. Like the invention of the wheel, technology now plays a crucial role in the economy. Technology plays into every other aspect of the society, but most importantly, it is also overhauling the education system. This means that, with the various developments coming up in the various industries, it is important to keep studying to update the skills relevant for productivity (Diaz & Pina, 2013). Through constant research, students are required to make sure they stay ahead of the developments. For those in the careers, making time to advance their educational background and more importantly their relevant skills are crucial. For professionals, such as IT specialists, Medical practitioners, engineers among others, there is always new information that is being developed through research. This means the professionals have to make they update their skills every so often, if they want to stay productive and most importantly grow in their careers.
Founded in the year 1991, The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System is one of the winning higher education approaches the state of Minnesota has ever developed. This is a system that gives millions of students to study in an environment that is quite enabling. Through the system, the education standards in the state have had a significant rise and more students are securing employment (Blackhurst, Ester, & Gores, 2017). At the moment, the system is serving an estimated 400,000 students. It is estimated the system is the 5th largest in the United States with reference to the public colleges and universities in the United States. Under the system, there are seven universities, thirty colleges and fifty-four campuses that are spread out across the state. It is also important to note that the system has established some rather unique connections with some of the leading industries in the country, making it one of the most well rounded programs in the nation. Students are not just exposed to the highest level of education, they also have a chance to connect with some of the leading players in a number of the industries. This would explain why the universities under the system offer the students above 88 percent of absorption rate in the job market (Diaz & Pina, 2013). This is a fairly good system, especially considering other universities under different systems do not have as much of an absorption rate. Through the system, the students are assured of a great variety of programs they can join. This offers them better chances of joining a program they would develop into a career. This includes traditional lectures and online courses. The universities and colleges are all accredited by the higher learning commission (Putting Students First: MnSCU's Plan for Minnesota, 1997-2000, 2017). This is also the case when it comes to the programs offered at the various institutions.
Managing three universities, one polytechnic, one college of education with degree programs and two community technical colleges under the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System, is an approach that would easily boost their programs. Working with The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System, brings to the table a number of aspects that will improve the chances of the institutions to become some of the best in the states. As much of the evidence indicates, the institutions which are below The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System, all have accredited programs by the higher learning commission. This is a crucial aspect relative to the credibility placed on the institutions. Students will be looking to join institutions that are accredited by the commission relative to their level of quality. This translates to better statistics in terms of enrolment. It is also common for the institutions under the system to get better funding. This translates to better and more resources to train the students. Higher institutions are resource intensive and this require significant budgetary allocations to cover the costs (Diaz & Pina, 2013). To point further at the benefits, in light of the element of funding, where the institutions are given adequate funding from the government, the costs are not passed to the students. It is important to note that higher education in the country is quite expensive, joining up the institutions and using the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System, increases the chances of better government funding which further translates to lower costs and higher enrolment along with quality of education (MnSCU Academic and Student Affairs, 2017). The institutions under the system will also be in a position to offer the students a wide array of programs they apply for. The students thus do not have relatively cheaper options to work with, there are more programs to set their future on track. As mentioned earlier, education is the pillar of the current economy and this conglomerate will offer the student a solid foundation (Blackhurst, Ester, & Gores, 2017). It is a platform that helps to manage the institutions with some element of conformity. Using the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System, it is possible to establish a mark of quality around the education system. This is through the regulation of the institutions form a standardized approach that ensure all the institutions offer only the best level of education and choice to the students (MnSCU Academic and Student Affairs, 2017).
Research question
At the heart of the Minnesota higher education system is a number of issues that need to be addressed to make sure the system addresses the needs of the students. One of the issues that has come up, is associated with the shifting cost of education towards the students and their families. Tuition fees have been rising at an alarming rate and this has become a constant strain on most of the families’ budgets. As a result, higher education is losing affordability for most of the students as they are hard pressed against the hard-economic times, especially considering that most of the states are still recovering from the recession that took place in the 2008 (Hiltonsmith & Huelsman, 2017). This is relative to the fact that, most of the families’ bread winners who lost their jobs at the time have not been in a position to recove (Hiltonsmith & Huelsman, 2017). This has thus reduced the efficiency of the education system and will result in far reaching consequences in the few years to come. In the year 2000, the average fees of a four-year program, cost most families an estimated 8% of their income, however, by the year 2012, the share of income that would go towards taking children to the university was an estimated 17% (Hiltonsmith & Huelsman, 2017). As such, for most of the students, after they are through with their studies are left with massive debts to pay off (Hiltonsmith & Huelsman, 2017).
“In 2000, average tuition and fees alone at the average public four-year institution in Minnesota cost 8 percent of a median household’s income; by 2012 this share had reached 17 percent. Sixty-nine percent of students graduating from public four-year colleges in Minnesota in 2012 left with some student debt, a nearly identical percentage to the 70 percent who left indebted in 2004. However, the average debt of indebted graduates has risen precipitously. Indebted students graduated with an average of $29,958 in debt in 2012, a 43% rise since 2004. Even after accounting for federal, state, and institutional grant aid, Minnesota students are expected to pay $13,919 to attend public 4-year institutions, an increase of 15% since 2008-09, and over $2,300 more than the national average. Furthermore, low-income students (those from families making between $0-$30,000 annually) are expected to pay $10,092 after all grant and scholarship aid, which is not only almost $900 a year higher than the national average for low-income students, but approaches than the national average net price for students of all income levels.” (Hiltonsmith & Huelsman, 2017)
Even after the students have been given grants to support their education goals, there are still deficits that will not be covered (Diaz & Pina, 2013). This means, the students have no way of escaping the grip of debt and most of the families have to struggle further to now cover their debts related to education (Hiltonsmith & Huelsman, 2017). Even students that are from the poor families, after getting education grants, they are left with massive debts to struggle with. This is also extended to the two-year programs. While these programs would be considered to be much easier to manage on a normal scale, this is not the case as the students still have to struggle with debt (Hiltonsmith & Huelsman, 2017).
“The same is true for students at two-year institutions. Even after accounting for grant aid, Minnesota students are expected to pay $12,127 to attend two-year schools, which is almost $5,000 higher than the national average. Low-income students do not receive much of a break, paying an average of $11,352 to attend two-year schools. This is almost $5,000 higher than the national average, and is essentially the same amount that students pay to attend 4-year schools across the country.” (Hiltonsmith & Huelsman, 2017)
Ironically, there has been a rise in the number of students enrolling at the colleges and universities within the state, in the last two decades. This is relative to the high number of students enrolling from the high school programs (Hiltonsmith & Huelsman, 2017). The rate of gradation is also higher than that of the nation especially with reference to the two-year programs which are more attractive to students and most importantly those in the work force. The four-year program however, has a much lower graduation rate than that of the national average (Hiltonsmith & Huelsman, 2017).
“Total FTE enrollments at Minnesota’s colleges and universities have risen steadily, increasing 37 percent from 143,424 FTE students in 1991 to 196,719 in 2013. Enrollments as a share of the young adult population have also risen, from 32 percent of all young adults enrolled in higher education in 1991 to 39 percent in 2013. Minnesota has a very high enrollment rate: 69.5 percent of Minnesota’s high school graduates enrolled in higher education in 2010. This is the 6th-highest share of any state in the country, well above the national average of 63 percent. The graduation rates at Minnesota’s 4-year colleges and universities, however, are just below the national average.  As of 2010, 56.4% of students at the state’s public 4-year institutions graduated within 6 years, a rate 0.1 percentage points below the national average yet the 21st highest in the nation. However, the share of students at the state’s two-year institutions who graduated within 3 years was 26.3% in 2010, 6 percentage points above the national average and the 14th highest in the country.” (Hiltonsmith & Huelsman, 2017)
This proposal seeks to bring a solution to the gap in the higher education that exists with reference to the rising number of graduates, and the gap that is created by the high cost of education. While much of the state has an estimated 52%, this is a figure which is not projected to rise (Hiltonsmith & Huelsman, 2017). This is despite the fact that, most of the labor market is increasing requiring the employees to have some form of post-secondary education (Hiltonsmith & Huelsman, 2017). This is an aspect that is likely to hurt the economy, as education carries a lot of weight when it comes to the development and innovation. Lowering the efficiency of the education system hurts the future of the state, relative to the lack of innovative production systems to match the challenges in society and create improvements (Putting Students First: MnSCU's Plan for Minnesota, 1997-2000, 2017).
“Even though Minnesota’s graduation rates from its public colleges and universities are near or above the national average, they are still too low to meet the future demands of the state’s labor market, which will increasingly require a postsecondary credential. Seventy percent of all jobs in the North Star State are projected to require some sort of postsecondary education by 2018,8 yet just 52 percent of young Minnesotans (ages 25-34) currently have an associate’s degree or higher.9 This share is not projected to improve much in the near future: by 2018, just 51 percent of all working-age Minnesotans are projected to hold a two-year degree or higher, leaving the state with a significant educational gap in its labor market.10 Fortunately, Minnesota can still close this projected gap by taking advantage of our state’s resources to invest in the current and future generations of Minnesotans aspiring to realize the American Dream through postsecondary education. With the recent cuts in higher education funding, Minnesota is endangering the quality of its institutions of higher learning, threatening the state’s economic competitiveness and the future of its young people. To reverse course, the state will need to commit to bold solutions that can strengthen and stabilize funding for Minnesota’s state universities and colleges, and provide greater financial support to deserving students.” (Hiltonsmith & Huelsman, 2017)
Using Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System, to bring together two community technical colleges, one polytechnic, three universities and one college of education, this will enable to bridge the gap and step towards increasing the level of efficiency in the education system (Hiltonsmith & Huelsman, 2017).
Literature Review
The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, is a program that can be traced back to the 1980s. Ideally at the time the legislators were evaluating the various ways in which the higher education institutions would be managed in the most effective and efficient manner (Minnesota Universities, 2017). As such, the ideal of having them managed under a single body for uniformity. It was not until the year 1991, when the then Senate Majority Leader, Roger Moe brought to the floor the legislation to bring together several institutions together among them, 21 community colleges, 34 technical colleges and seven state universities (Minnesota Universities, 2017). These would now be managed under one board, which is now referred to as the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System (Minnesota Universities, 2017).
The idea behind the elemental conglomerate of institutions was that, this would for one bring an aspect of accountability (Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, 2017). This is relative to the fact that, the institutions now had a set number of guidelines they had to abide with, and the board would oversee all the operations. This means, the board has the ability to establish what institutions are not following the guidelines and will better be in a position to streamline their operations with better parallel managerial strategies. There is also the issue of student transfers that has been a challenge in the past. With the institutions managed under the same board, this will mean the students will have a much easier chance of transferring from one university to the other or among the colleges (Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, 2017). The fact that the institutions are managed under the same board means less bureaucratic processes involved in the transfers as they share the system and cross references are much easier to manage. The different faculties from the institutions will share information on the student, so they have a seamless analysis of the qualification criteria (Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, 2017). At the same time updating the new records is relatively easy, given much of the information is shared. For all the 37 colleges and universities, they offer all or part of the transfer curriculum. There is a 40-credit package for the general education courses, which are accepted for transfers, which allows the students to transfer to other colleges and universities within the system. This includes the University of Minnesota along with many other private universities and colleges (Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, 2017). The system also allows students to access the transfer websites where they can locate the universities of their choice. There are transfer specialists, who help with course selection along with transfer plans. Using the degree audit report, students are also able to track their progress and better plan their transfers. The system also offers the students a chance to reverse transfer. This means the student ca...