Report: The state of Minnesota higher education

http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/286922-minnesota-measures2011.html

Here's the most recent version of Minnesota Measures, the state Office of Higher Education's report to the legislature on the state of higher ed here.

I've just received it, so I haven't had time to go through it yet. Director Larry Pogemiller will be going over the highlights in his 12:30 address to the House higher-education committee, which I'll post at that time.

For now, I'll just post elements from the executive summary:

• Minnesota is sixth in the nation in educational attainment. A record number of students are enrolling in postsecondary education, and 41 percent of 18-64-year-olds earn an associate degree or higher.

• Eighty-four percent of first-year Minnesota students are on financial aid, mostly through loans. Students here borrow at higher rates than their counterparts across the nation, and are more likely to hold a part-time or full-time job during their studies. And of course, they and their families are paying increasingly more of the costs of college.

• The education gap between whites and minorities. That said, 49 percent more Minnesota students of color enrolled in college between 2006 and 2010.

Here's the link to the report and its separate components on the OHE's Web site. It first came out for the 2007 year, but oddly, it didn't come out last year.

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