The college participation gap in Minnesota is large and growing.¹ According to the Citizens League's report, Trouble on the Horizon, over 50% of students of color fail to graduate from high school in four years. Out of 100 ninth grade high school students of color right now, only 3% of American Indian students, 5% of Hispanic students, and 3% of Black students will get a bachelor's degree in Minnesota within 10 years.

Socioeconomic trends, an aging workforce and global competition have significantly increased the need for a college-educated population. According to the Committee for Economic Development in their document, “Cracks in the Education Pipeline: A Business Leaders Guide to Higher Education Reform,” demographic changes on the horizon will make it increasingly difficult to maintain a skilled workforce without engaging more students in higher education. Meanwhile, strong educational and community pathways for every student to achieve higher education success are lacking. Individuals, corporate leaders, educators and communities, all have a stake in a radical enhancement of college access efforts. The Minnesota College Access Network (MCAN) will be a critical vehicle that engages multiple stakeholders to close the college participation gap in Minnesota.

What will MCAN do?

The Minnesota College Access Network's vision is to transform and enhance college access programming in the state of Minnesota so that every aspiring student has access to higher education. MCAN will serve as a critical vehicle utilized to close the achievement gap in college participation in Minnesota. MCAN will close the college participation gap by:

• Organizing the college access program field and providing existing programs with the technical assistance needed to enhance and expand programs.
• Consulting community leaders in high opportunity counties on promising practices and assisting in the development and implementation of college access programs.
• Providing technical assistance to stakeholders in Minnesota on the most efficient and effective way to proliferate college access programs, messages, or services.
• Informing public policies to enhance college access in the state with information from leading national and international research on access policies and under served populations.

The return on investment in building MCAN is clear.  A stronger college access programming field will increase the number of ready and qualified applicants to college, which in turn, will impact higher education graduation rates favorably and enhance the economic viability of and quality of life in communities across the state of Minnesota.  

For more information on college access networks, visit The National College Access Network

For information on the college degree gap, visit Making Opportunity Affordable and read their publication “Hitting Home.”

Citizens League Report on Higher Education in Minnesota, November 2004, “Trouble on the Horizon”

1. Ruppert, S., Education Commission of the States, Closing the Participation Gap, 2003, Appendix  C  p.14.