By Mila Koumpilova

Pioneer Press

Minnesota’s system of public colleges and universities will join 11 other state higher education systems in a reform effort backed by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Steven Rosenstone, chancellor of Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, or MnSCU, said the system was among 40 nationwide that competed to enter the “long-term partnership to transform higher education.” The Gates Foundation was not immediately able to provide a full list of participating state systems or the amount of financial support dedicated to the effort.

Riverland Community College is part of MnSCU.

Rosenstone said the Gates initiative will offer funding and the chance to compare notes with other systems. He credited MnSCU’s newly adopted “Charting the Future” overhaul plan with its being chosen for partnership.

“This is powerful affirmation of the work we’ve undertaken and the vision our faculty, staff and students have set,” Rosenstone told MnSCU’s trustees Wednesday.

The Gates Foundation has emerged as the major philanthropic player in higher education, making more than $470 million in grants since 2006, according to a Chronicle of Higher Education analysis in 2013.

Its goal is to increase college completion rates dramatically, especially for low-income students. It also seeks to harness technology and other innovations that could allow colleges to reduce costs.

Some critics have raised concerns about the foundation’s outsized influence and its focus on speedy graduation and marketable degrees.

The foundation put out an invitation for letters of interest in “a learning community of state systems” in October. At the time, MnSCU was gearing up to adopt its sweeping “Charting the Future” plan.

The plan aims to boost coordination among MnSCU’s 31 member institutions, expand the system’s online offerings and give students more opportunities to earn credit for hands-on experience, among other goals. Minnesota has the fifth-largest such system nationally, serving more than 430,000 students.

Much in the plan jibes with goals the Gates Foundation has championed, from technology-powered learning to competence-based degrees to measurable academic goals.

Rosenstone said the system shared with Gates the efforts underway to align programs more closely to the needs of local employers. MnSCU also touted joint purchasing by campuses to leverage discounts.

The MnSCU board has encouraged Rosenstone to pursue outside funding to support the “Charting the Future” rollout. The system is now enlisting staff and students to serve on committees that will flesh out how to reach the plan’s goals.

“Charting the Future” has garnered support from many college presidents, students and others. Some university faculty have voiced concern that the plan might lead to increased centralization and devalue the humanities.

Since 2000, the Gates Foundation has given more than $12 million to the University of Minnesota. The bulk of the contributions went to the Center for School Change, which works with Minnesota school districts, charters and policymakers. The center left the university in 2009.

Distributed by MCT Information Services