September 23-24, 2014
Sep 23 23:28 SCSU Enrollment Update Sep 23 03:26 A sad day for SCSU Sep 23 11:20 Community Action of Minneapolis, repeat offender Sep 23 13:50 Gov. Dayton, executive orders and Eric Dean Sep 23 15:25 Another MNsure 'glitch'? Sep 23 23:22 Mary Burke's biggest transgression Sep 24 14:55 Wisconsin GOP ad hits Burke Sep 24 19:28 MNsure's latest failure
Prior Months: Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug
Prior Years: 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
SCSU Enrollment Update
Fall Enrollment - Down, Down, Down!
by Silence Dogood
The following figure shows the fall FYE enrollment for the MnSCU universities from Fall 2007 through Fall 2014.
It is nearly impossible to read the values for each of the columns because the enrollment changes are small enough that the numbers overlap. SCSU is the exception. SCSU's numbers are easy to read because the decline in enrollment from Fall 2010 is so large that the numbers are clearly visible!
The numbers in the figure are current as of September 17, 2014. There is some enrollment still to be added due to concurrent enrollment. Concurrent enrollment is when students receive both high school and college credit for courses. At SCSU, there are two kinds of concurrent enrollment. PSEO where high school students attend classes at SCSU and Senior-to-Sophomore (S2S) where high school teachers instruct students in high school classes (working with a mentor faculty member at SCSU) and the students get both high school and college credit.
The following figure shows the one-year change in FYE enrollment for the MnSCU universities from Fall 2013 to Fall 2014.
Clearly, there is a lot of 'red' ink in the Figure indicating declining enrollments. Once again, these are not final enrollments. For some universities, like Winona that does not have a significant number of concurrent enrollment students, their enrollment number is pretty well locked in.
Looking at Moorhead, the figure shows that enrollment is currently down 6.25%. Since Moorhead underwent a 10% reduction in faculty and staff last spring, you certainly might expect enrollments to be down this fall simply because there are 10% fewer faculty and staff on campus and as a result fewer courses being offered.
Southwest, which has historically had the largest number of concurrently enrolled students will likely add additional FYE of concurrent enrollment so that they may only be down a small amount when the final fall numbers are finalized.
For the universities showing significant declines, that leaves only SCSU. Currently, enrollment at SCSU is down 7.89% FYE from Fall 2013. Some concurrent enrollment is already included in this number but there is still quite a bit of concurrent enrollment (mostly S2S) still to be added so SCSU might well reach the administration's revised prediction of a 4 to 5% decline.
I'm pretty sure that if SCSU's enrollment decline is only 4 to 5% that there will not be a press release bragging that SCSU's enrollment drop is second only to Moorhead where 10% of the faculty and staff are gone from a year ago. Because of declining enrollments at SCSU, the administration has announced the need to reduce this year's budget by $8,000,000-$10,000,000. As a consequence, President Potter has already announced a "Flexible Hiring Freeze" on his own. As a result, "non-essential" vacant positions will remain unfilled in an attempt to save money. Who knows whom, if anyone, is going to do the work that these people would have done. Clearly, some departments are going to be 'sharing in the pain' because some of this work needs to be done.
Looking at the overall budget and the percentage of the budget that is dedicated to faculty and staff, it's hard to imagine that the budget can be reduced by $8,000,000-$10,000,000 without reductions in faculty and staff. In 2010, during "reorganization," $14,000,000 was cut from the budget and 30 staff and 64 faculty positions were eliminated. In addition another 48 faculty FTE became available for conversion from tenured positions to part time and other short-term employment as a result of retirement and resignation in the last three fiscal years. With so many positions cut four years ago and with the shift to short-term lower cost faculty employees it is hard to believe that there is much left to cut.
An expectation on campus is that simplistic solutions like across the board cuts, a flexible hiring freeze and wishful thinking that the declining enrollment trend can be reversed in one year will simply result in kicking the problem down the road. Since actions were not taken in FY12, FY13 or FY14 to deal with enrollment declines of 5.9%, 5.4%, and 5.1%, respectively, draconian cuts will now be required to deal with another 4-5% enrollment decline this year or the financial hole will only get larger going forward.
It might not be too much to ask for an Enrollment Management Plan, which states what the 'right size' is for SCSU so financial plans that will reverse the deficit spending can be developed. Faculty, staff, students and the community deserve to know.
Posted Tuesday, September 23, 2014 11:28 PM
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A sad day for SCSU
A Sad Day for SCSU?
by Silence Dogood
The Mankato Free Press published an article on September 10, 2011 entitled:
In the article it states: "St. Cloud State is in its fifth straight year of decline." It also states that Mankato took the crown of being the "second largest university in Minnesota" two years ago.
It is amazing that the Mankato Free Press understands that it's full-year equivalent (FYE) that is important and not headcount. The importance of this distinction is something that the St. Cloud Times has repeatedly failed to understand.
The article continues:
The article also cites that FYE is up, so far, by 0.4% from last year. That's a stark contrast with SCSU, which has projected a 4-5% decline in FYE for FY15. Summer enrollment at SCSU was already down in FYE by 9.4%, as compared to the prior summer and fall enrollments looks to be down as well.
David Jones continues:
What's SCSU response? Hire two additional consultants: the RDG Planning & Design Group out of Des Moines, Iowa and the Sextant Group headquartered out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to undertake a Comprehensive Facilities Planning Initiative. Apparently, SCSU is very concerned that the two empty dorms on campus look good and have nice signage.
Posted Tuesday, September 23, 2014 3:26 AM
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Community Action of Minneapolis, repeat offender
The Strib's article about a nonprofit's reckless spending is worthy of multiple posts because this isn't the first time the NPO has gotten caught:
This is not the first time that an audit has found issues with Community Action's spending. A 2012 audit by the state's legislative auditor singled out $1.35 million given to households that were not eligible for emergency benefits. Community Action paid a $100,000 fine to the federal government.
You'd think that the Dayton administration would pay additional attention to this NPO after they were fined for misappropriation of funds. It's pretty apparent that the Dayton administration didn't pay the requisite attention to this NPO. Unfortunately, that isn't surprising. This administration is the Asleep-at-the-Switch administration when it comes to tracking the details.
Gov. Dayton has a substantial history of not knowing important things. He didn't know that the tax bill he personally negotiated included a sales tax on farm equipment repairs. He didn't find that out until right before talking at FarmFest. He didn't know that the Vikings stadium bill that he personally negotiated included a provision that allows the Vikings to sell personal seat licenses, aka PSLs, to season ticket holders.
Gov. Dayton is taking credit for lots of things that aren't accomplishments, starting with the low unemployment rate. It isn't that high unemployment is a positive thing. It's that far too many people in those jobs reports have part-time jobs or are working in jobs that they're overqualified for. The headline is nice but families need sustained economic growth that produces full-time jobs with good pay, not headlines.
No matter how much concern the DFL, starting with Gov. Dayton, express about Community Action's mismanagement and the betrayal of the public's trust, the DFL, starting with Gov. Dayton, can't hide the fact that they aren't interested in being watchdogs of the taxpayers' money.
The inescapable truth is that government has tons of slop in it that the DFL hasn't paid attention to. The inescapable truth is that Minnesota's unemployment rate is the only positive in an otherwise mediocre economy.
Gov. Dayton and the DFL haven't grown the economy. Gov. Dayton and the DFL haven't paid enough attention to whether the taxpayers' money is spent wisely or foolishly. Finally, they've supported a fatally flawed health insurance system.
In 2012, the board also approved a $17,624 bonus to Davis, three times the amount allowed by state guidelines, according to the audit. Davis made $273,060 in salary, bonuses and deferred compensation in 2011, according to the most recent tax records.
It's time we hired a governor with a lengthy history of highlighting, then eliminating, foolish and disrespectful spending. That's Jeff Johnson's history , not Gov. Dayton's.
Posted Tuesday, September 23, 2014 11:20 AM
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Gov. Dayton, executive orders and Eric Dean
After signing a bill into law that contributed to Eric Dean's death, Gov. Dayton " took a series of executive actions " to protect children from abuse:
Governor Mark Dayton today took a series of executive actions to protect children in Minnesota from the threat of abuse and neglect. These efforts include both immediate changes to the child protection system, and the establishment of a new Governor's Task Force on the Protection of Children. The Task Force, appointed by the Governor, will make specific recommendations for comprehensive improvements to the child protection system in the upcoming 2015 Legislative Session.
Unfortunately, Gov. Dayton's actions come after he signed a bill into law that contributed to this situation .
Legislators want to change bill they voted for, saying they didn't know it would restrict past abuse reports. The state's top child protection official wants to scrap a law her agency helped pass four months ago that made it more difficult for social workers to investigate maltreatment cases.
In May, the Legislature overwhelmingly approved a bill that forbids county child protection agencies from considering past abuse reports that were rejected when deciding whether to investigate a new report.
In the wake of the Star Tribune story on Aug. 31 about the death of 4-year-old Eric Dean, some of those same legislators say they did not realize what they had voted for, and now are calling for a law that will require agencies to consider all prior abuse reports.
Dean's death was a preventable tragedy.
Erin Sullivan Sutton, the assistant commissioner for children and family services for the Department of Human Services, said the law passed in May codified what had already been common practice for years.
Sullivan Sutton said DHS was concerned that allowing agencies to use prior maltreatment reports would increase the economic and racial disparities already prevalent in the child protection system. Sen. Jeff Hayden, DFL-Minneapolis, who sponsored the Senate version of the DHS bill, said he did not want child protection workers to confuse poverty with neglect. However, he said, the law was not intended to discourage those workers from identifying patterns of abuse.
Sen. Hayden should've taken more time in putting this legislation together. He should've read through the bill to see whether there were unintended consequences hidden in the bill.
Sen. Hayden should be criticized for submitting sloppy legislation. Gov. Dayton should be criticized for signing sloppily-written legislation. Gov. Dayton should also be criticized for acting like he's the man in charge who's going to clean up others' messes when the truth is that he's cleaning up the mess created by the DFL legislature and his administration.
Posted Tuesday, September 23, 2014 1:50 PM
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Another MNsure 'glitch'?
When I think about MNsure, one of the first things that I think about is the old cliche that "the third time is the charm." After reading this article , ( H/T Shot in the Dark ) I'm certain that doesn't apply to MNsure:
Minnesota Association of Health Underwriters Board Chair Alycia Riedl says health insurance brokers who work with MNsure are nervous. Riedl says there is no computerized renewal system in place, and if it is not functional by the next MNsure open enrollment, Nov. 15, it could affect tens of thousands of people who are already enrolled through MNsure.
Riedl says it will severely limit their access to information if they want to change their policies in any way and could create lengthy delays for MNsure consumers. "The renewals would literally have to be done by hand, and that will take a long time, creating a backlog that hurts consumers who want to make better choices, and it will hurt MNsure's bottom line if it isn't taken care of soon," Riedl said.
That's what a disaster looks like. What's worse is that this catastrophe won't get fixed anytime soon :
A high level roadmap was created to outline the major activities, key dependencies, critical milestones and success criteria/assumptions for the State to consider in closing as many of these 41 gaps as possible by November, 2014. It should be noted that the roadmap does not imply that all 41 levels of functionality can be achieved by systemic changes but provides a framework for the State can manage the activities needed and the timeframes that must be met in order to deliver the functionality or resort to contingent options.'
MNsure doesn't work consistently. It never has. There's nothing happening to think it ever will. KSTP's article highlights the fact that MNsure, the website that the DFL created and that Gov. Dayton spent $160,000,000 on, isn't close to working without a hitch.
Naturally, the DFL tried spinning their way through this:
MNsure executives told their board of directors the renewal system is on track. A MNsure spokesperson says the state has an automatic renewal system in place if people do not re-enroll, and no one would lose any coverage.
There's no reason to think MNsure executives are competent enough to pull this off. I haven't seen anything approaching competence thus far. Since there's no such thing as a competence on/off switch, why would I think the same incompetents would suddenly become competent?
Riedl says the issue is not about losing coverage. She says if there is no renewal system in place, MNsure consumers cannot access information they need to make changes in their policies. They also cannot change brokers, which keeps them from making better informed choices.
The thought that people will be purchasing health insurance without having the information they need is appalling.
Minnesotans can't afford another 4 years of Gov. Dayton's and the DFL's incompetence. It's time to change directions and hire someone who is competent. Einstein said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. I've seen Gov. Dayton and I'm not impressed.
That's why this November is the perfect time to hire Jeff Johnson.
Posted Tuesday, September 23, 2014 3:25 PM
Comment 1 by walter hanson at 23-Sep-14 04:57 PM
Gary:
Lets keep one thing in mind which the article didn't highlight. There will be thousands of renewals this year where the coverage will have to change since Preferred One pulled out of MN Sure.
So when they say this will have to be done by hand you have something like 600,000 that will have to do by hand to assign a new insurance company.
I think I can imagine that mess coming!
Walter Hanson
Minneapolis, MN
Comment 2 by J. Ewing at 24-Sep-14 08:13 AM
Keep in mind that the expensive audit by Deloitte Consulting found that 67% of the website's functions will NOT be ready by the renewal deadline, among those functions will be renewals. Did anybody hear a loud thud? Like a giant house of cards collapsing?
Comment 3 by Gary Gross at 24-Sep-14 12:47 PM
Walter & Jerry, I've written about both those things in the past. Perhaps it's time to write a reminder post to refresh people's memories.
Comment 4 by walter hanson at 24-Sep-14 01:15 PM
Gary:
I think you have been on the ball, I was just trying to highlight the thing that you were linking didn't mention that scenario so somebody not aware of preferred one pulling out what that means in the processing of next years renews.
Walter Hanson
Minneapolis, MN
Mary Burke's biggest transgression
When a politician gets caught lifting other politicians' ideas, things can go south quickly. That's what appears to be happening with Mary Burke, the Democrat who's running to unseat Scott Walker as Wisconsin's governor. Christian Schneider's article highlights why this charge might doom her campaign:
And this is why this latest charge hurts Burke. A scandal really only hurts a candidate if it reinforces an existing impression of that politician. If someone were to charge, for instance, that U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) was slow-witted or that U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) spent her nights at underground dogfights, it would be laughed off, as those run counter to what the public knows about them.
But for Burke, this solidifies the impression that she is the pyrite candidate; her flashy bank account gives her credibility, but she lacks even a modicum of substance. Her campaign is being buttressed by a cadre of consultants and media professionals who evidently hand her a jobs plan and say, "Here, now go sell it."
While I agree with much of what Mr. Schneider wrote, I'd just add that the thing that hurts candidates the most is the appearance that the politician isn't a man or woman of gravitas. Apolitical people generally solutions-oriented people. If they get the whiff of Ms. Burke just being another politician who'll say anything to get elected, she's history.
It is a similar avatar of inauthenticity that could sink Burke's campaign. She is, after all, someone who derides the offshoring of jobs yet made her millions working for a company that makes 99% of its bicycles in other countries. Evidently she didn't find any ways to help working people while on her two-year snowboarding sabbatical in Argentina and Colorado in the mid-1990s. Her persona and policies simply don't ring true.
Some candidates have a gift of fitting right in with the regular Joe. Bill Clinton had that gift. George W. Bush had that gift, too, though to a lesser extent than Bill Clinton had it. Ms. Burke doesn't have that gift.
The biggest thing going against Ms. Burke is how much rank-and-file union members like Gov. Walker's reforms have worked. After Gov. Walker's union reforms went into effect, school districts saved tons of money because they didn't have to buy their health insurance from WEAC Trust, the teachers union's health insurance company. WEAC Trust still exists. It's just that they have to compete for their business. Prior to the Walker reforms, they could negotiate that into their collective bargaining agreement. At that point, they could charge outrageous prices.
After getting rid of that expensive health insurance, school districts freed up enough money to hire additional teachers while reducing class sizes and/or giving teachers raises. Lots of teachers like the fact that they're getting raises or that their class sizes got smaller or that their health insurance just got cheaper.
It's pretty telling that Ms. Burke hasn't really made those reforms a campaign issue.
Posted Tuesday, September 23, 2014 11:22 PM
No comments.
Wisconsin GOP ad hits Burke
The Republican Party of Wisconsin is hitting Mary Burke with this radio ad:
Joe Zepecki, Burke's campaign spokesman, is doing his best to rewrite history :
Burke campaign spokesman Joe Zepecki said this case wasn't one of plagiarism because the consultant had recycled his own words. "These allegations are false. A respected professor of journalism has made clear that these allegations do not fit the definition," Zepecki said.
Actually, that isn't all that he did:
In the examples dug up by Walker's campaign staff, Burke has this to say in her rural community report: "While manufacturing employment in general has been declining for years, the production of wind equipment is one of the few potentially large sources of new manufacturing jobs."
A 2003 report by the Council of State Governments made a similar statement: "At a time when U.S. manufacturing employment is generally on the decline, the production of wind equipment is one of the few potentially large sources of new manufacturing jobs on the horizon."
Burke's veterans plan, "Investing for Jobs and Opportunity: A Plan for Wisconsin's Veterans," has this to say about litigation: "This places additional burdens on those who were injured and in some cases plaintiffs could die before their cases make it through the lengthened court process."
A 2013 column by Darrin Witucki in the Dunn County News carries some of the same language: "The opposition argued that the bill would impose additional burdens on those that were injured - and in some cases plaintiffs could die before their cases made it through the lengthened court process."
Mr. Zepecki's statement doesn't hold up. Clearly, things written by a columnist isn't recycling the consultant's words. Neither is lifting words from a Council of State Governments' document.
One expert on plagiarism said Tuesday that the issue isn't so clear cut.
Burke's jobs plan was presented as hers and the consultant was not named at all in it. Burke has written that, to draw up the report, she consulted with "some of the best minds in Wisconsin."
The consultant in question for Burke, Eric Schnurer of the Pennsylvania firm Public Works, was never paid directly by Burke's campaign. Schnurer and Burke's media firm, GMMB, didn't immediately respond to questions Tuesday about whether Schnurer had worked as a subcontractor for GMMB, as Burke's campaign says he did.
Burke's statement isn't honest. Whether it's plagiarism is virtually irrelevant at this point. Saying that she talked with "some of the best minds in Wisconsin" is BS. The truth is that her consultant lifted words from his previous campaigns and from other people's statements.
The truth is that her jobs plan is a rehash of past campaigns.
Posted Wednesday, September 24, 2014 2:55 PM
No comments.
MNsure's latest failure
The DFL has tried convincing Minnesotans that MNsure is performing spectacularly for almost a year. The DFL's job is getting more difficult each week. Stories like Jay Kolls' article just highlight how dysfunctional MNsure is:
Jean Hendricks doesn't understand why MNsure wants to put her son on Medicaid at taxpayers' expense when he doesn't qualify. She says MNsure even gave her a plan on how to do it. "They said, 'Well, if you don't claim him on your taxes, he can qualify for Medical Assistance (Medicaid),'" she said.
Her son is 19 years old and lives with Hendricks and her husband. The law says someone her son's age, who is dependent and lives in a household that makes as much money as the Hendricks do, does not qualify for Medicaid.
Here's why that doesn't sound right:
Because he is financially dependent on his parents, her son could be on his parents' insurance if they have coverage, and the Hendricks do.
"I was very surprised they would do that, put him on Medicaid," Hendricks said.
It's important to understand what's happening here. There's no question that MNsure employees know that people under the age of 26 can be covered by their parents' insurance policy. That's literally been known for years. Whenever a Democrat is asked about Obamacare, the Democrat reflexively reminds people that a) people under the age of 26 can be covered by their parents' health insurance policy and b) insurance companies can't reject people of any age if they have a pre-existing condition.
That raises the question of why MNsure would recommend that the Hendricks put their son on Medical Assistance, which is Minnesota's version of Medicaid, when their son is eligible for coverage under their health insurance policy.
That's more than a little suspicious. It's certainly justification for extending the audit being done by Minnesota's Office of Legislative Auditor, which is what Jeff Johnson called for last week.
Sources tell us, and the Minnesota Legislative Auditor's Office has confirmed, they are now investigating many cases similar to the Hendricks and the number could be "significant." Sources say those cases could be illegal Medicaid placements at taxpayers' expense.
If the OLA finds lots of instances similar to the Hendricks' situation, taxpayers could be needlessly paying for people's health insurance. Why would MNsure tell the Hendricks family to put their son on Medicaid? What's the use of that provision in the ACA if MNsure is telling people to avoid using that provision?
This sounds totally corrupt, not to mention the fact that it's more expensive than it needs to be. That's unacceptable. What Kolls' article tells me is that the entire MNsure leadership, if it can be called that, should be fired ASAP because they're incompetent and possibly corrupt.
Certainly, they don't act like they care how much of the taxpayers' money is unnecessarily spent.
Posted Wednesday, September 24, 2014 7:28 PM
Comment 1 by walter hanson at 25-Sep-14 10:14 PM
Gary:
I've been thinking about it. Maybe you can get an expert or two check this, but does the move create the possibility of getting more funds spent on medical care or maybe hiding the size of the increase.
Maybe by signing up separately there is a federal funding stream not available on keeping it with the parents.
Maybe by separating the plan it lowers the family plan costs for the husband and wife more than the separate costs for the son by himself.
What do you think?
Walter Hanson
Minneapolis, MN
