Located in:
b. 11. The State Plan Must Provide a Description and the Information Specified “in Subparagraphs (b) and (c)(iii) of Section 102(b)(2), And, as Appropriate, Section 103(b)(3)(a), and Section 121(c), of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (public Law 113-128) Concerning the Provisions of Services Only for Postsecondary Students and School Dropouts. (section 122(c)(20))
Current Narrative:
Postsecondary
Minnesota has long focused on developing and sustaining programs that prepare individuals for high–skill, high–wage jobs including:
- Using Perkins Leadership Funds to promote the development of new programs in colleges, either on their own or collaboratively, in high–skill, high–wage, or high–demand occupations.
- Competition among colleges for Perkins Program Development Grants, which are meant to stimulate the development of new academic programs by colleges. Proposals must address one or more of the following:
o Programmatic career pathways
o Technical skill attainment assessment processes
o Preparation for non–traditional fields
o Support for programs for special populations
o Support for programs that link high schools to colleges
o Evidence of high–wage and high–skill or high–demand occupations These projects are especially encouraged—but not required—to include:
o Employer engagement to provide experiential learning
o Existing STEM–related coursework
o Support of initiatives to facilitate transition from sub–baccalaureate to baccalaureate programs
o Incorporation of career academies and distance education
o Industry, community, K–12 or other partners
o Leveraged funds
Labor Market Analysis is partially provided by the MN Department of Employment and Economic Development. The tasks include:
- Link employment and labor demand information to existing postsecondary engagement, attainment and transition data.
- Produce information, reports and documents on current and projected employment levels, wage rates for individual colleges and universities within the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities and other labor market trends that will inform the development, maintenance, and changes to academic programming.
- Provide statewide and regional labor market analyses for technical skill assessment projects and for the development of programs of study and adult career pathways. Provide the critical link to the research and statistical information unit in the Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED), allowing both agencies to share data electronically and use those data in specific projects within the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities and DEED.
Provisions for school dropouts remain a challenge. Current legislations regarding the Alternative Learning Center opportunities such as Subdivision 9 of Minnesota Statues, section 124D.09 allows the opportunity to leverage Postsecondary Enrollment Options funding for development coursework under specific circumstances. Under this clause, student are considered eligible if they are enrolled in a core school day State Approved Alternative Program (SAAP) under the graduation incentives program as defined by the Minnesota Department of Education.