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| Date: | January 6, 2012 | | Contact Name: | Chris Van Guilder | | Contact Phone: | 651-296-1388 | | Contact Email: | christopher.vanguilder@senate.mn | | For Immediate Release | |
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| SENATOR MICHELLE FISCHBACH NAMED MINNESOTA STATE COLLEGE STUDENT ASSOCIATION 2011 “SENATOR OF THE YEAR” |
St. Paul – The Minnesota State College Student Association (MSCSA), an association of the public two-year college students in Minnesota, honored Senate Higher Education Chair Michelle Fischbach (R-Paynesville) on Thursday Jan 5 with the 2011 “Senator of the Year” award.
The students recognized Sen. Fischbach for her work as Senate Higher Education Chair in protecting Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) community and technical college students from significant tuition increases, for preserving funding for MnSCU campuses, and for seeking balanced funding between MnSCU and the University of Minnesota.
Sen. Fischbach stated, “I’m honored to receive this award and recognition from the Minnesota State College Student Association. This is a reflection of our shared vision of encouraging education reform, increasing education affordability, and improving access to high quality education. A focus on this vision will help ensure that our future leaders, business owners, educators, and entrepreneurs will have continued opportunities for academic and professional success.”
The Higher Education funding bill included additional student-friendly initiatives:
· Increased funding for the Minnesota State Grant Program ($21 million in new money)
· Increased funding for the State Work Study Program (3% increase over funding provided in the previous biennium)
· Maintained current funding levels for the Child Care Grant program
The tuition cap included in the Higher Education funding bill and signed by the governor was an initiative championed by students during the 2011 legislative session.
The Minnesota State College Student Association is an association of the Minnesota public two-year college students, which works to ensure accessible, quality, and affordable public higher education while providing students with representation, leadership development, and communication across the state.
More information about the MSCSA can be found online here: http://www.mscsa.org/
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