Today, the Minnesota Office of Higher Education (OHE) received a $100,000 grant through Lumina Foundation’s Great Admissions Redesign initiative to develop, model, and test a new framework for disbursing state financial aid dollars. OHE is one of 10 grant recipients, with Lumina investing a total of $3.5 million to simplify the college admissions process and expand student access across the nation.
“Minnesota’s financial aid model is in need of modernization,” OHE Commissioner Dennis Olson said. “I want to thank Lumina for investing in this work. These funds will help us envision a sustainable financial aid model that continues to support higher education access and opportunity in Minnesota.”
The current financial aid award formula is complex and can be challenging for students, families, and legislators to understand and predict. OHE will use grant funds to research ways to simplify the model, ensuring state financial aid dollars can support as many students as possible, and to develop a formula in which award amounts are more stable and predictable.
This work will be the first step in a long-term effort to create a sustainable model. Any changes to the financial aid model would require approval of the Minnesota Legislature.
Lumina’s Great Admissions Redesign initiative supports states, systems, and institutions in integrating admissions, financial aid, advising, and enrollment systems. The goal is to remove unnecessary barriers and help more students successfully enroll in and complete college.
“Across the country, we’re seeing real momentum to rethink how students access college,” said Melanie Heath, Lumina strategy director. “This cohort reflects a clear shift from fragmented fixes to coordinated, student-centered systems.”
The initiative is part of a broader national effort to increase post-high school attainment and advance Lumina’s Goal 2040, which aims for 75 percent of working-age adults to hold a credential of value.
For more information about Great Admissions Redesign, visit https://www.luminafoundation.org/admissions-redesign/
