Editor’s Note: The following letter was sent from presidents of Minnesota State’s 30 colleges and universities, including Kumara Jayasuriya at Southwest Minnesota State University, to U.S. Rep. Brad Finstad

We are writing to highlight concerns we have with the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce budget reconciliation bill, known as the Student Success and Taxpayer Savings Plan that recently passed out of committee.

While the bill attempts to prioritize fiscal responsibility and student success, it will fundamentally undermine access to higher education and jeopardize critical student support programs.

There are several provisions in the bill that would have harmful impacts on our students, institutions and campus communities. The proposed risk-sharing and institutional accountability provisions would have unintended and negative consequences for public colleges and universities — and ultimately for the students we serve.

Specifically, the risk-sharing proposal in this bill penalizes institutions financially when their former students do not meet certain repayment requirements. While accountability is an important goal, this approach fails to account for the diverse missions and student populations of our institutions.

Minnesota State is an open access system and we pride ourselves on our ability to meet our students where they are and provide the support they need to be successful. Penalizing institutions based on factors outside their control could make open access challenging and ultimately harm the very students who most need access to higher education.

While we are appreciative of the increased funding to the Pell Grant, we have concerns with a number of proposed changes. Increasing the definition of full-time student from 24 credits per academic year to 30 credits and requiring students to be enrolled a minimum of 15 credit hours per academic year, to qualify for any Pell award would disproportionally harm our adult learners. During the fall 2023, more than 18% of our students, or 7,116 students, took 7 credits or less.

An additional 21,735 students took between 8 – 14 credits. These students could see their Pell Grant funding either reduced or eliminated. Students who have jobs and families they are supporting while attending school will be harmed by this proposal. Those are the very students who our state relies on to reskill and upskill to fill vital workforce needs.

Additional concerns we have with the bill include access to vital financial aid for many of our students, below are details of those changes:

• Stafford Loans: Subsidized Stafford Loans would be discontinued starting July 2026. The aggregate loan limits for undergraduate students will be capped at $50,000, with aggregate loan limits for graduate/professional students capped at $100,000 to $150,000. During FY2024, 31,242 undergraduate students systemwide received a subsidized Federal Direct Loan.

• PLUS Loans: Parent PLUS loans will be capped at $50,000 in aggregate borrowing, while PLUS Loans for graduate/professional students will be discontinued.

• Regulatory Changes: The bill repeals the 90/10 and Gainful Employment rule, weakens regulations on closed school discharge and borrower defense to repayment, and restricts the ability of the U.S. Department of Education to issue further regulations without congressional action.