Student Loan Reimbursement

New Student Loan Reimbursement Toolkit 

Do you want the Student Loan Reimbursement Program available at your agency?

Great! Please complete this form.

Get involved

If you have questions, please reach out to your agency's Meet and Confer Team.

Background

  • Minnesotans, including MAPE members, are taking on more student loan debt in order to access jobs.
  • Student debt is no longer just a burden—it’s become a barrier to the American Dream.
  • When loan payments were paused during COVID, MAPE members were given a new ability to investment in themselves and their families. Now that loan payments are back, MAPE members, and thousands of Minnesotans, must make difficult financial decisions that impact their work and in their personal lives.
  • State government needs to be competitive with the private sector with one out of three businesses offering some type of student loan support. 

While MAPE has made progress in getting support from the state to help with student loan support, we need more support from management. If you are (i.e., MAPE members) interested in this issue and want to get involved, please complete this form to get involved.

What has changed in the latest contract

  • The student loan reimbursement pilot has been made permanent and moved into the main body of the contract. However, it is up to each agency if they would like to implement the program.
  • The reimbursement amounts remain the same as in the pilot program, and granting reimbursement is still at the discretion of the employer. Student loan reimbursement payments shall not exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000) per calendar year per employee, up to twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) in total payments.
  • The documentation provision was fixed to clarify it is a reimbursement program, not a matching program

What is happening now?

  • Many agency's management are dragging their feet in developing processes to make student loan reimbursements permanent.
  • MAPE members are not getting clear directions on how to apply for loan reimbursement
  • Therefore, Meet and Confer Teams are working on getting this program implemented in their agency.

Tracker

See which agencies have implemented the program and which are currently working towards implementation.

SLR Tracker
Agency  Member/Group Contact  Status 
     
Revenue  Carolyn Murphy  Implemented 
PUC   Jason Bonnett  Implemented 
DOT   Theresa Chapman and Gabe Perkins  Implemented
MASC Karah Lodge Implemented
PCA  Kaity Taylor (M&C)  Getting close
Commerce Meet and Confer Beginning work
DHS  Christine Retkwa  In-progress – meeting with management
DLI  Alexis Lohse (No M&C)  In-progress - meeting with management
MNVA Brian MacNeill (M&C) In progress - meeting with management
Admin Ajeet Yadav In-progress - management currently unwilling
BWSR Melissa King In-progress - management currently unwilling
DEED Michael Prideaux In-progress - management currently unwilling
DOC Tabitha Schacht In-progress - management currently unwilling
MDH  Lydia Fess  In-progress - management currently unwilling
MNIT Andrea Morris In-progress - management currently unwilling