WINONA, Minn. — Winona area residents had the chance to offer Minnesota state leaders input about what they believe should be considered in the state’s upcoming 2026-27 biennial budget request.
“As a statewide trustee, we get a lot of information that’s cumulative about all campuses, and as trustees, it’s important that we dig deeper and understand what’s below those aggregate numbers, whether it’s how many students are being impacted by a certain challenge on this campus or on that campus,” vice chair of the Minnesota State Board of Trustees Dawn Erlandson said Thursday at Winona State University.
Erlandson said when considering topics like building and construction needs, the trustees need to know about issues like a leaky roof on a specific campus that needs to be repaired.
“That has meaning. A number doesn’t really have meaning,” Erlandson said.
She said it’s also important for the board to understand students and their stories, including both the good and the bad details.
Familiar face in the room
Erlandson wasn’t alone in her visit to Winona, former Winona State University president and current Minnesota State Chancellor Scott Olson listened and took notes about the information provided.
“Minnesota needs Minnesota State, but Minnesota State also needs Minnesota. We partner with the legislature. They encourage us, they fund us, they direct us in certain ways, and without their help, things just wouldn’t happen,” Olson said Thursday. “So we’re here today to talk about your ideas, about that conversation that we have every two years with the legislature of what matters most, what matters most to Winona, what matters most to the southeast region of Minnesota. How can we serve it better? And what kind of conversation should we be having with the legislature so we can go up to the House and the Senate of Minnesota and say, ‘This is what we’re hearing. We visited all of these communities in Minnesota , and this is what Minnesota is telling us. This is what they need.'”
From there, Olson said, Minnesota State hopes to work with the legislature to meet those needs.
Christie Ransom, president/CEO of the Winona Area Chamber of Commerce, was one of the many who shared their perspectives Thursday.
While representing the business sector, she noted how many students from the Minnesota State system end up working in other states.
“I think that we need to do something to keep students here long term, all over the state of Minnesota, when students can go to South Dakota and then get their tuition completely wiped clean if they work there for three years,” Ransom said. “We have now this amazing opportunity for students to come to school free in Minnesota. So is there a way that we can attach some sort of three years and you get, no matter what, your tuition can be refunded to you? I would love to see something like that.”
“I think the no. 1 issue should be the funding of the base inflationary expenses that the campuses and the system experience,” said Scott Ellinghuysen, Winona State University’s chief financial officer. “It’s really difficult to provide a quality education for our students if we can’t even cover our base costs.”
He believes the budget should take into consideration that some popular programs cost more to provide, like the nursing program at Winona State University, which includes about 30% of the student body.
Winona resident Jerry Papenfuss suggested the university system would benefit from narrowing the majors offered at each campus to help the system’s campuses focus their work.
“I think that you’re going to have to take a new look at the system,” he said.
The connection between K-12 schools and colleges was also discussed, along with the transition between them for students.
Topics such as student input in the budgeting process, tuition affordability, programs for students that don’t qualify for the new North Star Promise program, student debt and other health services all came up.
Some of the themes discussed Thursday were similar to those discussed at two other campuses the Minnesota State leaders have already visited during the tour, Erlandson said.
Examples of similar themes, she said, include a desire for collaboration between college campuses, employers and K-12 schools.
“One interesting theme so far that’s been at all three was how do we keep more students in Minnesota ?” she said.
She noted more students leave Minnesota for college than students who enter the state for college.
Those students leaving, she said, often go to colleges in neighboring states like Wisconsin , Iowa and the Dakotas.
Sometimes the draw to those states comes from reciprocity or incentives, but other times Erlandson is not sure why students choose to attend colleges in other states instead of staying in Minnesota.
While similar themes have been discussed across the campuses, Erlandson said she also heard some new ideas in Winona.
She liked the idea shared Thursday to extend free lunches, free breakfasts, or both to college students — similar to what is currently offered in Minnesota’s K-12 schools.
“You can’t learn on an empty stomach,” she said.
She also liked the idea of having younger students visit campuses to experience what a college student’s life is like so students can get a better sense of what college is like.
The Minnesota State leaders will continue touring the state and hearing community ideas later this month, with six more visits scheduled.
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Publish date : 2024-09-14 04:52:00
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