College readiness discussed; Rochester Day at the Capitol

Yesterday at the Capitol

This week both the Senate and House higher education committees learned more about recent public high school graduates' readiness for college. Scott Olson, Interim Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs, and Craig Schoenecker, System Director for Research, both with the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system, were joined by Kent Pekel with the College Readiness Consortium at the University of Minnesota, to give lawmakers a better understanding of student readiness and what is being done to address those students who are not ready for college.

The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system and the University of Minnesota have been jointly preparing a report entitled, Getting Prepared, since 2000 that measures Minnesota public high school graduates who enroll in a Minnesota public college or university, and have taken one or more developmental courses within two years of high school graduation. The information is summarized for the Department of Education and a detailed report is provided to school districts throughout the state.

Sen. Tom Saxhaug, DFL-Grand Rapids, commented that the state needs to focus on children's needs starting in grade school throughout high school in order to see improvement in college readiness.

Olson said the readiness of students varies with the mission and selectivity of the college or university. Selective universities have less developmental instruction, while there is a greater need for students in colleges with open door policies. The panel informed committee members that the vast majority of developmental courses are taken in mathematics.

The Minnesota P-20 Education Partnership works to improve college readiness. Part of their readiness initiative includes encouraging middle and high school students to take rigorous courses, along with strategies to close the STEM achievement gap. The system provides college access and opportunity centers, and placement testing at high schools, to name a few, and both the system and the University of Minnesota are working on better communication with high schools on postsecondary expectations.

A copy of the report can be found here.

Today at the Capitol

Rochester Day at the Capitol
The Rochester Community and Technical College band will be playing in the Capitol Rotunda at 1:45 p.m.

10:15 AM
House State Government Finance
Room: 200 State Office Building
Chair: Rep. Morrie Lanning
Agenda: Overview of Secretary of State’s Office programs, services and elections; Help America Vote Act (HAVA) program detail and funding: Secretary of State Mark Ritchie
Overview of Office of Enterprise Technology (OET) including data center consolidation and enterprise e-mail
Sara Schlauderaff - Acting State Chief Information Officer (CIO)
Chris Buse - State Chief Information Security Officer (CISO)
Tarek Tomes - Assistant Commissioner, Customer and Service Management
Larry Freund, Chief Financial Officer, will also be available to answer questions

10:15 AM
House Government Operations and Elections
Room: 5 State Office Building
Chair: Rep. Joyce Peppin
Agenda: HF212 (Beard) Public employee definition modified.
HF62 (Ward) Workers Memorial Garden on the State Capitol grounds updated to include a reference to the Milford Mine Disaster in Crosby that occurred on February 5, 1924.
Overview presentation by the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission

10:30 AM
Senate Jobs and Economic Growth
Room: 107 Capitol
Chair: Sen. Geoff Michel
Agenda: Economic overview from Tom Gillaspy, State Demographer

12:00 PM
Senate in Session

12:00 PM
House in Session

3:00 PM
Senate Higher Education
Room: 107 Capitol
Chair: Sen. Michelle L. Fischbach
Agenda: Higher Education budget and funding overview. Presented by Maja Weidmann Senate Fiscal Analyst

3:00 PM
Senate Education
Room: 15 Capitol
Chair: Sen. Gen Olson
Agenda:
Effective Schools and Data Use
Charlie Weaver, Ex. Director, MN Business Partnership
Troy Vincent, Principal, Farnsworth Aerospace Magnet
Mari Lu Martens, Principal, Sibley East - Gaylord Elementary
Mary Donaldson, Director, Concordia Creative Learning Academy
Don Fraser, Co-chair, Achievement Gap Committee

Looking Ahead

Thursday, February 3

8:15 AM
House State Government Finance
Room: 200 State Office Building
Chair: Rep. Morrie Lanning
Agenda: HF110 (Kahn) Legislative Commission on Pensions and Retirement membership increased.
Finish up Public Pension fund overview from January 18th:
Mary Vanek, Executive Director of Public Employees Retirement
Association (PERA); Laurie Hacking, Executive Director of Teachers Retirement Association (TRA); and Dave Bergstrom, Executive Director, or another representative of Minnesota State Retirement System (MSRS)
Additional bills may be added.

8:15 AM
House Education Reform
Room: Basement State Office Building
Chair: Rep. Sondra Erickson
Agenda: Agency update and priorities from the Minnesota Department of Education - Commissioner Brenda Cassellius

8:30 AM
Joint Meeting: Senate Finance and Taxes
Room: 15 Capitol
Chairs: Sen. Claire Robling and Sen. Julianne
Agenda: State Budget Trends Study Commission Report presentation - Kevin Goodno, Co-Chair
State Rankings presentation - Mark Haveman, Executive Director Minnesota Taxpayer Association

10:15 AM
House Government Operations and Elections
Room: 5 State Office Building
Chair: Rep. Joyce Peppin
Agenda: HF89 (Benson) Voter picture identification required before receiving a ballot, voter identification card provided at no charge, and provisional balloting procedure established.
HF210 (Kiffmeyer) Voter picture identification required before receiving a ballot, identification cards provided at no charge, provisional ballot procedures established, election administration procedures specified, electronic polling place required, recount procedures enacted, and money appropriated.
HF1 (Fabian) Environmental permitting efficiency provided, and environmental review requirements modified.

11:00 AM
Senate in Session

*No meeting
12:30 PM
House Higher Education Policy and Finance
Room: Basement Hearing Room, State Office Building
Chair: Rep. Bud Nornes
Agenda: Will not be meeting

12:30 PM
House Education Finance
Room: 5 State Office Building
Chair: Rep.Pat Garofalo,
Agenda: Agency update and priorities
Minnesota Department of Education
Brenda Cassellius, Commissioner

4:00 PM (Note: Chair will announce start time on the House floor)
House Ways and Means
Room: 200 State Office Building
Chair: Rep. Mary Liz Holberg
Agenda: HF63 (Garofalo) Teacher licensure provisions amended, alternative teacher preparation program and limited-term teacher license established, and report required.
Meeting Documents: HF 63 A5 Amendment