Higher education took on big financial losses during the pandemic, but relief programs proposed by Gov. Tim Walz’s office are aiming to remedy that if passed in the upcoming budget decisions.
Walz’s COVID-19 recovery budget includes direct emergency funding for state and tribal colleges and $35 million for a workforce stabilization program that would send students into “high-demand” programs at no cost to them.
Both of these programs, while focusing on economic recovery, also center on increasing equity for groups disproportionately affected by COVID-19, such as Black people, Indigenous people, people of color and essential workers.
