Subd. 1. Statewide objectives.

Minnesota's higher education investment is made in pursuit of the following objectives:

1. (1) to ensure quality - to provide a level of excellence that is competitive on a national and international level, through high quality teaching, scholarship, and learning in a broad range of arts and sciences, technical education, and professional fields;
2. (2) to foster student success - to enable and encourage students to choose institutions and programs that are best suited for their talents and abilities, and to provide an educational climate that supports students in pursuing their goals and aspirations;
3. (3) to promote democratic values - to enhance Minnesota's quality of life by developing understanding and appreciation of a free and diverse society;
4. (4) to maintain access - to provide an opportunity for all Minnesotans, regardless of personal circumstances, to participate in higher education; and
5. (5) to enhance the economy - to assist the state in being competitive in the world market, and to prepare a highly skilled and adaptable workforce that meets Minnesota's opportunities and needs.

Subd. 2. Performance and accountability.

Higher education systems and campuses are expected to achieve the objectives in subdivision 1 and will be held accountable for doing so. The legislature is increasing the flexibility of the systems and campuses to provide greater responsibility to higher education in deciding how to achieve statewide objectives, and to decentralize authority so that those decisions can be made at the level where the education is delivered. To demonstrate their accountability, the legislature expects each system and campus to measure and report on its performance, using meaningful indicators that are critical to achieving the objectives in subdivision 1, as provided in section 135A.033. Nothing in this section precludes a system or campus from determining its own objectives and performance measures beyond those identified in this section.