Purpose

• The bill aims to change how Minnesota determines state grant awards for higher education and to direct any surplus grant funds to recipients at public colleges and universities only.

Main Provisions

• Assigned family responsibility calculation (changes to 136A.101, subd.5a)

  • The assigned family responsibility is defined as a share of a family’s contributions to a student’s cost of attendance, based on whether the student is dependent or independent.
  • For dependent students: assigned family responsibility = 95% of the parental contribution.
  • If the parental contribution is between 0 and -1500, assigned family responsibility = 50% of the parental contribution.
  • If the parental contribution is less than -1500, the recognized parental contribution becomes -1500.
  • For independent students with dependents other than a spouse: assigned family responsibility = 71% of the student contribution.
  • For independent students without dependents other than a spouse: assigned family responsibility = 35% of the student contribution.
  • If the student contribution is between 0 and -1500, assigned family responsibility = 50% of the student contribution.
  • If the student contribution is less than -1500, the recognized student contribution becomes -1500.
  • If either the student contribution or parental contribution is less than 0, the assigned family responsibility is 0.
  • If a student is not enrolled full-time, the assigned family responsibility is prorated based on the credits enrolled versus full-time credits.

• Surplus appropriation and adjustments (changes to 136A.121, subd.7a)

  • If the amount appropriated is more than enough to fund projected grant demand in the second year of the biennium, the office may: 1) increase the living and miscellaneous expense allowance for students at public postsecondary institutions in the second year, by an amount that still keeps enough money to fund projected grant demand. 2) or adjust the assigned family responsibility so that a negative parental contribution or a negative student contribution less than -1500 is raised to the level of the lowest student contribution under the federal needs analysis.
  • These adjustments can be made one or more times.
  • The office must balance the need to have enough resources to meet projected grant demand with the goal of fully allocating the state grant appropriation.
  • Any increase or adjustment does not carry forward into the next biennium.

Effects and Significance

• How grants are calculated: The bill tightens and clarifies how “assigned family responsibility” is calculated for different student types (dependent vs. independent) and under various contribution scenarios.
• Use of surplus funds: It creates a mechanism to use any extra money in the grant program to raise living/expense allowances for students at public institutions or to adjust how negative contributions are treated, but only in the second year of the current biennium.
• Public institutions focus: Directs surplus funds specifically to award recipients at public institutions, potentially narrowing benefits for private institutions.

Implementation Timing and Scope

• Applies to the current state grant program for the second year of the biennium.
• Adjustments linked to surplus funding are not carried forward to the next biennium.

How it changes current law

• Replaces or updates definitions and calculations around “assigned family responsibility” (percentages for dependent and independent students, and treatment of negative contributions).
• Introduces a new option to use surplus funds to increase living/expense allowances or to adjust negative contribution amounts, with a focus on public institutions and no carryover to future years.

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Relevant Terms - Assigned family responsibility - Parental contribution - Student contribution - Dependent student - Independent student - Living and miscellaneous expense allowance - Public postsecondary educational institutions - Surplus appropriation - Grant demand - Federal needs analysis - Negative contribution - Full-time enrollment - Prorate - Biennium - Higher Education Finance and Policy (committee context)