Minnesota State - who are they & why you should care

What is Minnesota State?

Minnesota State (formerly MnSCU) is one of two systems of public higher education in the state of Minnesota (the other is the University of Minnesota). The Minnesota State system has 31 institutions with 54 campuses serving more than 430,000 students. The law creating the system was passed by the Minnesota Legislature in 1991 and went into effect July 1, 1995. The law merged the state's community colleges, technical colleges and state universities into one system.

The system is governed by a 15-member Board of Trustees. The current chancellor of the system is Steven J. Rosenstone, who began his term with Minnesota State Colleges and Universities on August 1, 2011.

What does Minnesota State do for students?

Their Mission: The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system of distinct and collaborative institutions offers higher education that meets the personal and career goals of a wide range of individual learners, enhances the quality of life for all Minnesotans and sustains vibrant economies throughout the state.

Minnesota State works on behalf of all faculty, staff and students at the state universities and community and technical colleges. The board of trustees sets tuition based on the state appropriation and makes decisions on a wide variety of issues related to academic and student affairs and diversity system-wide.   

How can you get involved?

The main way students can get involved is by serving on a Council or Committee. Academic and Student Affairs Coordinating Commission and Councils meet regularly and provide a place where academic and student affairs issues are addressed and allow faculty, student and staff to work together. Those councils advise the vice chancellor on important issues and decisions. There are four councils that report to the Coordinating Commission. They are Academic Affairs, ASA Technology, Policy and Student Affairs.

Each of those councils and committees that report to the councils ask for a university student to attend committee meetings. There are still committees needing student representation. If you’re interested in serving please apply on our website, http://www.studentsunited.org/mnscu

• ASA Technology Council
• Policy Council
• Academic Affairs Council
• Student Affairs Council
• Transfer Oversight Committee
• Assessment for Course Placement Committee
• Graduate Education
• Enrollment Management Think Tank
• Student Diversity Task Force

• Charting The Future Coordinating Committee
• Constituent Relationship Management (CRM)
• Request for Proposal (RFP) Workgroups
• Transfer Pathway Teams
• Developmental Education Workgroup
• Faculty Development Subcommittee   
• Transfer Web Resources Project Work Group

For more information on these committees or how to apply, visit our website, http://www.studentsunited.org/mnscu

For more information about Students United's work with Minnesota State, contact Students United Director of System and Government Relations, Sarah Berns at sberns@studentsunited.org.