Education News

MPR News keeps track of the latest education news in Minnesota so you can understand the events shaping the future of learning and how it impacts students at any level.

Stay informed about local education events, policies and more happening in schools and colleges across Minnesota.

U of M – Duluth students denounce Pell cuts, Cravaack's vote
“What we’re seeing coming out of Washington, and certainly at the state level all across the country, is an attack on the poor, on the working class, and on the middle class of this country, including the ability of young people to go to college.” University of Minnesota – Duluth student and campus Democratic party…
Looks like the bill by Rep. Jim Abeler (R-Anoke) that would require all schools in the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) system to accept each other’s credits — at least as electives — is part of an annual drive to get MnSCU to hurry up its credit-transfer reform. Abeler, who said credit transfer was…
Wisconsin Republican Governor Scott Walker's proposal to curb the collective bargaining rights of many state workers has sparked big protests. The proposal is part of his plan to fix a big budget deficit. Also in the plan is a cut of state funding for K-12 schools by $834 million over the next two years. That's a nearly 8 percent reduction, and it's coupled with a measure that would limit the ability of local school districts to make up for the cut with property tax increases.
Bruininks' State of the University speech
Here’s a copy of the remarks University of Minnesota President Robert Bruininks prepared for the “State of the University” speech he’s giving at this hour: The Bright Horizon: Why High Aspirations Matter 2011 State of the University Address President Robert H. Bruininks DRAFT AS PREPARED Introduction: Like No Place Else For more than 40 years…
In case you haven’t seen it yet, MPR’s Tim Post explains why the popular tuition-is-rising-because-legislators-are-cutting-our-funding argument one hears from higher-ed officials isn’t all that clear-cut: State funding is critical for MnSCU, as it makes up one-third of the 32-school system’s budget. But declining state funding doesn’t account for the entire tuition increase. Read the whole…
Tommies finding it tough to cut printing costs in digital world
This piece in TommieMedia makes me wonder whether efforts to read everything online is simply transferring the responsibilities and costs of printing onto students — and not making a major dent in the dead-tree pile. Tommie students are printing out increasing numbers of pages, which is worrying some administrators there. University officials may have thought…
House discusses MnSCU credit transfers and for-profits today
Just a preview of what’s coming up today in the state House higher education committee. It’ll be discussing two Republican-sponsored bills: HF717. This appears to force all institutions within the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) system to accept each other’s transfer credits; and HF378. This one requires the state Office of Higher Education to…
MSU Mankato to North Dakota: We've been there with the mascot
The Minnesota State University – Mankato Reporter explains how the school once grappled with the same offensive-mascot controversy that the University of North Dakota has been dealing with: Before MSU was the Mavericks with a logo of a purple and yellow bull they were the Indians with a caricature of an Indian as a logo.…
Public Universities Seek More Autonomy as Financing From States Shrinks The colleges say they cannot afford the complicated web of state regulations governing areas like procurement and building, and need more flexibility to compete with private institutions. (The New York Times) Job Outlook: Better! Following a salary survey that gave accounting students something to cheer about,…
A rundown of the alternative teaching licensure legislation now supported by Gov. Mark Dayton and Republican leaders.