A Report on Higher Education Performance
About Minnesota Measures
Minnesota Measures is a data exploration tool for understanding key higher education indicators in Minnesota. The dashboards available on this site display data on a variety of topics, such as higher education access, attainment, student financial aid, affordability, and student health and wellness. The data also explores equity in higher education, looking into how student outcomes compare across different groups of students.
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Only 25% of housing-insecure high school students who enrolled in college completed their degrees.
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The average amount students pay out-of-pocket each year for all college-related costs falls between $10,000 and $23,000.
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Most Minnesota State Grant recipients are dependent students from families earning less than $40,000 per year.
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College enrollment for American Indian or Alaska Native high school graduates is 28 percentage points lower than the statewide average.
KEY FINDING
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of Minnesota State Grant recipients are students of color and indigenous students.
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of Minnesota resident undergraduates were age 25 and older in fall 2019.
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of Minnesota resident undergraduate students enroll in 15+ credits per semester.
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of Minnesotans aged 25-44 have attained a postsecondary credential.
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Is college affordable?
There are several measures for understanding how much a student or family may pay for college. Those measures can be compared to family income to evaluate affordability or the relative weight of college costs on students and their families.
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Disparities persist in postsecondary educational attainment
Minnesota largely fails to graduate students of color and indigenous students; American Indian (28.6%), Hispanic (29.2%), and Black (38.2%) Minnesotans have educational attainment rates that are far below average (63%).
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Most student groups receiving need-based aid have higher rates of persistence
Most students receiving State Grant or Pell Grant awards at Minnesota State Colleges and Universities saw higher rates of persistence into the second year of college compared to students who did not receive a State Grant or Pell Grant award.
WHY IS POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION IMPORTANT?
Greater educational attainment correlates with increased earnings and lower unemployment. The ability of Minnesota workers to find employment at a family-sustaining wage to cover the costs of housing, food, transportation, and childcare is directly related to higher educational attainment. In addition to the direct economic benefits associated with postsecondary education, there are numerous indirect benefits, including: improved employee-employer job match, lower crime rates, greater civic participation, improved health outcomes, increased life expectancy, and intergenerational degree attainment effects.
Given that Minnesota’s population is rapidly changing and communities of color and indigenous communities are continuously falling behind on economic outcomes, ensuring the path to family-sustaining wages for our communities of color and indigenous communities represents a moral imperative for the State.
ANALYSIS HIGHLIGHT: Successfully Transitioning to College
To increase educational attainment, Minnesota can invest in strategies to increase college enrollment among low-income students, students of color, and indigenous students.
ANALYSIS HIGHLIGHT: EFFECTIVELY SUPPORT STUDENTS IN NEED
In order for holistic student support services to be effective, policymakers need to recognize both the commonality of student health and wellness crises, and the reality that some students are more likely to experience these crises than others. This requires Minnesota to implement equitable solutions that serve those most impacted.
ANALYSIS HIGHLIGHT: HELPING STUDENTS PAY FOR COLLEGE
Maintaining investments in state and federal grants programs ensures financial aid keeps pace with rising college costs. However, Minnesota must also address the non-financial reasons students may not enroll or succeed in college.