Governor Steps Into MnSCU Mess

No Money for MnSCU Unless Administration and Faculty Can Work Together

By Lauren Kastner

Minnesota State Colleges and Universities funding is in danger due to the lack of cooperation between faculty unions and MnSCU administration.

Gov. Dayton’s budget proposal this January withheld any increase in MnSCU funding until the two groups resolved their differences in regards to Charting the Future.

Gov. Dayton has set aside $35 Million in funding with the hopes that the groups will reconcile.

MnSCU is looking for $142 million in new funding; the difference in funds reserved and funds needed means that even if the funds are released to MnSCU tuition may have to go up. Neither the administration or faculty have commented about the possibility of a tuition raise. A draft of talking points about the Governor's budget recommendation from within the administration and the faculty unions states specifically not to talk about tuition.

Leaders of MnSCU faculty and administration released a joint statement on Jan. 27 that showed a united front and a commitment to resolving disagreements about Charting the Future.

Faculty unions had pulled out of the attempt to overhaul and update the MnSCU process over trust and transparency issues with administration this past October. At the center of the scandal was Chancellor Rosenstone’s decision to hire an outside consulting firm without notifying the unions and committees involved in Charting the Future. Faculty felt that they were not getting enough of a voice in the MnSCU revamp.

According to Tom McCarthy, Anoka Ramsey Community College's Minnesota State College Faculty Union chapter president, Charting the Future looks like what you would expect it to be. There should be little to disagree about.

The update on MnSCU’s strategic plan is meant to increase the number of credits that transfer from one MnSCU school to the other, lower costs for students, offer more job training and increase diversity on campuses, among other things.

“It’s not about what the results have been, but about what the process has been. When you’re dealing with higher education there’s an expectation that the process is going to be collegiate and everyone is going to have a voice, especially the faculty and students. It seemed like it was more about administration having the strongest voice and even stronger than the administrative voice was the consultant,” said McCarthy.

Despite the strong administrative voice during the Charting the Future process many student representatives continued with the initiative. ARCC student body president, Kevin Berg said that he didn’t appreciate the faculty claiming to be marginalized. The students kept pushing, and ultimately received more representation.

“We’ve had to do it alone… We [faculty and students] have a lot of the same goals,” said Berg.

Both McCarthy and Berg are hopeful that the faculty groups and the administration will work out their differences.  Berg see’s Gov. Dayton’s refusal to recommend new funding to MnSCU as a good motivation to mend fences. McCarthy thinks that the Governor's decision to withhold funding has fast forwarded the groups conversations with the mediator.

“Regardless of what’s going on, the outcome affects our students,” Berg said.

Charting the Future is hosting Gallery Walks on both Coon Rapids campus and Cambridge campus next week to provide information and receive input about the initiative.