Financial Aid Reporting
Providing direct financial aid to students is a critical part of the Minnesota Office of Higher Education's mission. There are nearly a dozen financial aid programs outlined in state statute that the Office administers. This report provides an overview of these programs as required by MS 136A.053.
How to Navigate This Report
On page 1 of this report, choose the financial aid program and aid year for which you would like to view data. These filters apply throughout the report. View program data by institutional type on page 1, including overall spending, number of applicants and recipients, average awards, student demographic information, and information on recipient outcomes, including year-to-year persistence, completion, and average debt of graduates by award type. Use the buttons at the bottom of the page to view overall program trends by year and detailed program data by institution.
Data on all state aid programs are reported to the Office of Higher Education by institutions administering programs on campuses and are reported at the student level. Data include information required to calculate the student's award, including tuition and fees charged, enrollment intensity, and other financial information as applicable.
MS 136A.121 subd. 18 requires institutions participating in the Minnesota State Grant program to report data on student enrollment and awards conferred twice annually. Data are submitted at the student level and include information on student enrollment intensity and demographic information, by term. This information is linked to our financial aid data to provide summary reporting on financial aid programs by student demographics.
Institutions included in this report are those participating in state aid programs. Institutions may confer a range of award types, including certificates and degrees. In some cases, state aid programs are also available to students pursuing graduate degrees. For the purposes of this report, institutions are grouped into the following categories:
- Minnesota State Colleges: Community and technical colleges from the Minnesota State system. These institutions typically confer associate degrees and shorter term certificates.
- Minnesota State Universities: Universities from the Minnesota State system. These institutions typically confer Bachelor's degrees and graduate degrees.
- University of Minnesota: Universities from the University of Minnesota system. These institutions typically confer Bachelor's degrees and graduate degrees.
- Private Non-Profit Institutions: Private institutions located in Minnesota with a non-profit tax designation. These institutions may offer a range of award types, including certificates and degrees.
- Private For-Profit Institutions: Private institutions located in Minnesota without a non-profit tax designation. These institutions may offer a range of award types, including certificates and degrees.
- Sub-baccalaureate Certificates: This category includes certificates and diplomas from three award levels in OHE’s awards conferred data based on the length of the program: 1) awards less than one year, 2) awards at least one but less than two years, and 3) awards at least two but less than four years. These awards include programs that require the completion of a specialization program of study at the postsecondary level (below the baccalaureate degree).
- Associate Degrees: Awards that normally require at least two but less than four years of full-time equivalent college-level work.
- Bachelor’s Degrees: Awards that normally require at least four but not more than five years of full-time equivalent college-level work. Also includes bachelor's degrees in which the normal four years of work are completed in three years.
- Master’s Degrees: Awards that require the successful completion of a program of study of generally one or two full-time equivalent academic years of work beyond the bachelor's degree. Some of these degrees, such as those in Theology (M.Div., M.H.L./Rav) that were formerly classified as “first-professional,” may require more than two full-time equivalent academic years of work.
- Graduate Certificates: This category includes both post-baccalaureate certificates and post-master’s certificates. These certificates require the completion of an organized program of study beyond the bachelor’s level (for post-baccalaureate certificates) or beyond the master’s level (for post-masters’ certificates).
- Doctoral – Research and Scholarship: A Ph.D. or other doctor’s degree that requires advanced work beyond the master’s level, including the preparation and defense of a dissertation based on original research, or the planning and execution of an original project demonstrating substantial artistic or scholarly achievement. Some examples of this type of degree may include Ed.D., D.M.A., D.B.A., D.Sc., D.A., or D.M, and others, as designated by the awarding institution.
- Doctoral-Professional Practice: A doctor’s degree that is conferred upon completion of a program providing the knowledge and skills for the recognition, credential, or license required for professional practice. These include awards in law, medicine, and other specialized degrees. Awards coded in this award category include law, medicine, and other specialized professional degrees. Degrees requiring a “research” designation are categorized as Doctoral Degrees.
- Aid Year: The year in which the student receives aid. Aid years follow the state fiscal year calendar, which begins on July 1 annually. For example, a student receiving aid for any term in the 2023-2024 academic year falls under the 2024 aid year.
- Persistence: For the purposes of this report, persistence is defined as when a student who receives aid during one aid year enrolls in the following aid year at the same institution or completes an award.
- Completion: For the purposes of this report, completion is defined as when a student who receives aid during one aid year completes any award at their institution in the same aid year or any subsequent aid year.
- Average Cumulative Debt: The average debt accumulated by students graduating for that award type and institution. Cumulative debt is reported by institutions as debt accumulated at that institution for the award that the student was pursuing. Debt data accumulated at other institutions or for other award types is not included in this total. For the purposes of this report, average cumulative debt is only reported for aid recipients who were new-entering students at the time of entry into their program. Debt data for graduates is only available for students completing awards in 2024 or later.