How the MnSCU chief feels about the higher-education climate

In a look ahead with the Grand Forks Herald, Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) system Chancellor Steven Rosenstone tells the paper what he thinks of the coming challenges:

“The moment we are about to enter into is going to be the scariest moment for higher education in our lifetime.”

He also gives an idea of how he sees campus consolidation, the paper reports:

With so many campuses, there always is worry about whether a local one could close.

Rosenstone said that some campuses, which he did not identify, are on the financial bubble, but he needs to see more information before knowing if any need to close, or if changes could preserve them.

The chancellor said he needs to know “how many programs and in what regions of the state do we need to serve the people of Minnesota?”

If a remote campus serves a relatively few local students, that campus still may need to remain as is, Rosenstone said, because the alternative could force students to drive hundreds of miles to another campus. That would not be acceptable, he added.

Read the full story here.

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