Higher education policy law changes aim to circumvent closure crises

With an increasing number of for-profit career schools in Minnesota closing in recent years, the Office of Higher Education has been given greater power to take action against schools that seem to be in danger of closure.

Such measures are part of the omnibus higher education policy law. Sponsored by Rep. Connie Bernardy (DFL-New Brighton) and Sen. Paul Anderson (R-Plymouth), it takes effect Aug. 1, 2020.

The Office of Higher Education — which oversees the state’s financial aid programs — will have expanded power to revoke, suspend or refuse to renew a school’s registration or licensure, or its participation in state financial aid programs. The law also:

• requires degree-granting schools to establish a process for student complaints;

• denies a religious exemption from Office of Higher Education (OHE) regulation if the school engages in misleading or fraudulent advertising;

• allows the OHE to collect a fee from postsecondary institutions for participation in the Statewide Authorization Reciprocity Agreement, and increase renewal registration fees; and

• permits the OHE to suspend or revoke the registration of a school that does not have enrollment within two years of registering.

The office will also have a Student Advisory Council that includes a member elected by students in private career schools; have the ability to prohibit schools receiving state financial aid from withdrawing a student from class or suspending them due to an unpaid student account balance; and allow students to receive prorated tuition upon canceling participation in a private career school’s programs.

The new law also contains provisions under which the Office of Higher Education will:

• consult with a newly formed Tribal Nations Education Committee;

• expand eligibility for its Child Care Grant program;

• modify the state’s student loan forgiveness program for those teaching in areas with teacher shortages, and assign the Professional Educator License and Standards Board the responsibility to define teacher shortage areas;

• establish loan limits for the state’s student loan program;

• expand the Large Animal Veterinarian Loan Forgiveness Program; and

• offer specific religious exemptions for degree-granting schools.

The Office of Higher Education will also collaborate with the Department of Education on evaluating concurrent enrollment programs — through which high school students attend college classes — and set an annual goal for the percentage of Minnesota high school seniors completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (or FAFSA).

The law also makes changes to the state’s 529 college savings plans to conform state law to changes in federal law that permit:

• apprenticeship program expenses;

• student loan payments for the beneficiary or the beneficiary’s sibling; and

• rollovers to “Achieving a Better Life Experience” (or ABLE) accounts.

It also adds to sexual assault campus law a definition of an “incident.”

HF3392/SF3683*/CH109

SF3683* / HF3392 / CH109