Immigration & Higher Education Study Committee

The Immigration & Higher Education Study Committee is now recruiting members. Please contact Victoria Ford (vford@citizensleague.net or 651-293-0575 x17) if you are interested in participating.

Charge of the Immigration & Higher Education Study Committee

Minnesota has long been recognized for its well-educated, high-quality workforce – but current trends in education threaten that role:

  • Minnesota’s workforce, relative to the size of its population, is shrinking.
  • The proportion of students of color in Minnesota’s schools will grow dramatically in the next 50 years. Students of color in Minnesota have lower levels of readiness for higher education – and lower levels of completion of higher education.
  • Minnesota is facing unprecedented competition from the global economy – and not enough Minnesota students are planning and preparing early for higher education, especially in the crucial areas of math and science.

A growing number of students of color in Minnesota are immigrants, or the children of immigrants. Immigrants are a rapidly increasing segment of our workforce and our student population, and immigrant students face a number of unique challenges that can hinder their success.

The Citizens League “Immigration & Higher Education in Minnesota” project will attempt to answer the following key questions:

What are the most important facts and trends about immigration & higher education in Minnesota? For example:
  • What are our best estimates of the number of immigrant students in Minnesota’s K-12 and higher education systems? Where are they coming from? How many are undocumented?
  • How well are immigrant students performing? How well are they performing in the crucial areas of math, science and technology?
  • What challenges do immigrant students face? Are different immigrant groups facing different challenges? Why are some immigrant groups so successful in school, while others continue to struggle?

Given these facts and trends, what are the critical choices and policy issues facing Minnesota?

  • What questions do these facts and trends raise about public policies?
  • What do these facts and trends say about the roles of government, foundations, families and other institutions?
  • What are our top priorities in addressing these issues?
  • What is the best use of existing resources? Is there need for new resources – and if so, for what purpose and from what sources?