Letter: State needs continued support for education opportunities

Originally published in the Post Bulletin

As Rochester and Southeast Minnesota voters consider who to support, there’s good and bad news about one of Minnesota’s best ideas: the opportunity for high school students to earn free college credits.

Bad news: Many of these courses are threatened. The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System has proposed a 100 percent increase over the next several years in the cost of the collaborative courses they offer. The Chicago-based Higher Learning Commission, whose board is chaired by the St. Olaf College president, is making it far more difficult and expensive to offer many courses. And sadly, some high schools are discouraging students from taking courses on college campuses via Postsecondary Enrollment Options.

Good news: Rochester’s Minnesota State Sen. Carla Nelson has worked skillfully and successfully, in a bipartisan way to help promote dual credit on high school and college campuses.

More good news: Families and educators around the state are mobilizing to support dual credit courses of all kinds. Twenty-five district and charter, community and business groups, including Rochester Public Schools are co-sponsoring a free Nov. 5 meeting in St Paul to plan ways to increase dual credit participation. More information is available at bit.ly/2cw63JR

I hope voters re-elect Nelson and consider attending the Nov. 5 meeting. Dual credit courses deserve support.

Joe Nathan
Director of Center for School Change
St. Paul