St. Cloud State University is getting a $10 million cash infusion from the state, approved as part of a broader rescue plan for financially strained Minnesota public universities. The Minnesota State Board of Trustees signed off on the transitional funding on Wednesday, directing the money toward core operations as the school works to stabilize its finances for the long term.
The approval, confirmed in a university announcement from St. Cloud State Today, frames the funding as support for institutions working toward long-term financial sustainability. As first reported by KNSI, the Board also allocated $4.8 million to Bemidji State University in the same action, though Minnesota's New Country put Bemidji State's share at nearly $4.9 million.
St. Cloud State President Gregory Tomso said the funding arrives at a difficult moment for the broader Minnesota State system. “We will be responsible stewards of that investment,” Tomso said, according to the university's own release. He added that the temporary support will help the school continue serving students, its region, and the state, a mission he says the university has carried out for more than 150 years.
A Decade of Cuts Behind the Request
The $10 million arrives after years of belt-tightening at St. Cloud State. Since 2010, the university has reduced its workforce by approximately 40 percent and shrunk its physical footprint by nearly 20 percent, per the school's own figures. Since 2023, the school has discontinued or suspended admission to 189 academic credentials, trimming its program offerings while continuing to invest in areas of student and workforce demand.
Those cuts followed a steep enrollment slide. According to the Star Tribune, the university's enrollment fell from the equivalent of about 15,100 full-year students in 2010 to roughly 7,300 in fall 2023, a drop the paper describes as by far the steepest among Minnesota State's seven universities.
St. Cloud State is still described as the second-largest university in the Minnesota State system, though enrollment figures vary by source. The university's own account puts current enrollment over 9,000 students, while the St. Cloud Live reported a specific figure of 9,143 students. Minnesota State Chancellor Scott Olson, speaking to CBS News, cited a figure of about 10,600 students enrolled.
Transfer Growth Amid an Overall Decline
The university's most recent fall 2026 enrollment update shows a mixed picture. Headcount was down about 5 percent from 2025, but undergraduate transfer enrollment climbed more than 6 percent this fall, according to the same St. Cloud State Today report. The university says it has rebuilt its enrollment, transfer, retention and student-success operations in response to the longer-term decline, per St. Cloud Live's account of Tomso's statement.
A Systemwide Deficit Looms Over the Decision
The transitional funding for St. Cloud State and Bemidji State fits into a much larger financial picture across Minnesota State. The system faces a $31.5 million systemwide deficit that, if left unaddressed, is projected to more than triple by summer 2028, according to CBS News Minnesota. That outlet reported the system could reallocate up to $25 million a year in total, with a proposed $10 million for St. Cloud State and $4.8 million for Bemidji State.
Minnesota State officials have acknowledged the scale of the challenge extends beyond funding transfers. Per MPR News, officials said the system needs to “right size” itself, and that could mean closing some institutions or campuses. The report did not specify which campuses might be under consideration.
This isn't the first time Minnesota State has stepped in to help financially struggling schools, though the current intervention dwarfs past efforts. Between 2005 and 2015, the system dedicated $5.5 million total to eight colleges and one university facing financial issues, according to Open Campus. The $10 million now headed to St. Cloud State alone nearly doubles that decade-long total.
For now, Tomso's message to the campus community has centered on stability rather than crisis. He has described St. Cloud State as leaner, more efficient, and more strategically focused than it has been in many years, framing the transitional funding as a bridge rather than a bailout. Whether that bridge is enough to satisfy the system's broader right-sizing plans remains an open question as Minnesota State works through its systemwide deficit over the next two years.
