Minnesota is known as the “land of 10,000 lakes” and is a popular destination for outdoorsmen and tourists who enjoy wilderness recreation. Close to 60% of Minnesota’s residents live in or near the Twin Cities metropolitan area, the area located in and around the cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul. This is a booming commercial and economic area. Many institutions in the Twin Cities area are known for advances in the research and production of medical devices. This level of innovation, combined with the state’s remarkably high literacy rate and consistently high levels of voter turnout and other forms of civic involvement, stands as a testament to Minnesota’s educational system.
The Minnesota Department of Education holds online schools to a rigorous set of standards with the Online Learning Option Act. The act, passed in 2007, permits K-12 students to participate in online schools in Minnesota and sets standards that new online schools must adhere to in order to receive certification by the Department of Education. The act also limits the maximum cost of each online course to $250. To teach in online schools, Minnesota teachers must be licensed and must teach at a level at least equal to that expected from teachers in traditional school settings. Minnesota’s online school program is also set up so that credits gained in online courses apply toward high school graduation and can be transferred to other school districts.
Online K-12 programs are well established in Minnesota, so there are many different online schools that students may use to supplement or replace traditional schooling. Minnesota’s online schools include Anoka Hennepin Compass On-Line for students expelled from traditional schools, the BlueSky Online Charter School for full time students in grades 7-12, Minnesota Transitions, which provides classes to students from Kindergarten through high school graduation, and many others.
Many individual Minnesota colleges also allow students to take online courses. The Minnesota State College and University system in particular has a large and well-established online system offering thousands of accredited courses. These courses tend to be less expensive than classroom-based courses and are intended for students who are self-motivated and too busy to participate in physical classes. Traditional forms of financial aid such as federal aid, merit-based scholarships, and work-study programs can all be applied to online courses.
Minnesota’s private colleges and universities do not provide as many options for online education, and many do not offer any courses online. Some, such as the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, do offer a small selection of courses online, but this selection is nowhere near as exhaustive as that offered by the state university system.
1101 E. 78th Street- Suite 100
Minneapolis, MN 55420-1554
1550 East 78th Street
Richfield, MN 55423
1601 Jefferson Streeet
Alexandria, MN 56308
1355 W Hwy 10
Anoka, MN 55303
1515 Central Parkway
Eagan, MN 55121
1500 Birchmont Dr
Bemidji, MN 56601
3949 Bethel Dr
Saint Paul, MN 55112
3900 Bethel Dr
Saint Paul, MN 55112-6902
225 South 6th Street- 9th Floor
Minneapolis, MN 55402-3389
501 West College Drive
Brainerd, MN 56401-3900
3300 Century Ave N
White Bear Lake, MN 55110
275 Syndicate Street North
Saint Paul, MN 55104-5494
1300 145th Street East
Rosemount, MN 55068-2999
7700 France Ave. S.- Ste. 575
Edina, MN 55435-5876
4724 Mike Colalillo Drive
Dultuh, MN 55807
2101 14th St
Cloquet, MN 55720
IDS Center Ste 51- 80 South 8th St
Minneapolis, MN 55402
8089 Globe Drive
Woodbury, MN 55125-3388
1536 Hewitt Avenue
Saint Paul, MN 55104-1284
9000 Brooklyn Blvd
Brooklyn Park, MN 55445
5700 W Broadway
Minneapolis, MN 55428-3548
1515 E 25th St
Hibbing, MN 55746
2500 80th St E
Inver Grove Heights, MN 55076-3224
8911 Columbine Road
Eden Prairie, MN 55347
2101 Trinity Rd
Duluth, MN 55811-3399
1995 Luther Ct
New Ulm, MN 56073-3965
700 E Seventh St
Saint Paul, MN 55106-5000
2501 Stevens Ave
Minneapolis, MN 55404
1501 Hennepin Ave
Minneapolis, MN 55403-1779
3680 Pheasant Ridge Dr NE
Blaine, MN 55449
5910 Shingle Creek Pky
Brooklyn Center, MN 55430
11500 193rd Ave NW
Elk River, MN 55330
17685 Juniper Path
Lakeville, MN 55044
2777 34th Street South
Moorhead, MN 56560
1455 County Rd 101 North
Plymouth, MN 55447
1401 W 76 St
Richfield, MN 55423
2521 Pennington Drive NW
Rochester, MN 55901
1200 Shakopee Town Square
Shakopee, MN 55379
1201 2nd Street South
Waite Park, MN 56387
1250 Homer Rd
Winona, MN 55987
1414 College Way
Fergus Falls, MN 56537-1000
South Rd and Ellis Ave
Mankato, MN 56001
1593 11th Ave
Granite Falls, MN 56241
7801 Metro Parkway- Suite 200
Bloomington, MN 55425
6120 Earle Brown Drive- Suite 100
Brooklyn Center, MN 55430-4100
1550 West Highway 36
Roseville, MN 55113-4035
9700 France Ave S
Bloomington, MN 55431
7411 85th Ave N
Brooklyn Park, MN 55445
1101 Hwy One East
Thief River Falls, MN 56701
905 Grant Avenue SE
Bemidji, MN 56601-4907
900 4th St SE
Pine City, MN 55063
226 Park Avenue South
Saint Cloud, MN 56301-3713
2101 15th Ave NW
Willmar, MN 56201
1900 8th Ave NW
Austin, MN 55912-1473
851 30th Ave SE
Rochester, MN 55904-4999
720 Fourth Ave. South
Saint Cloud, MN 56301-4498
235 Marshall Ave
Saint Paul, MN 55102-9808
1920 Lee Blvd
North Mankato, MN 56003-1920
2004 Randolph Ave
Saint Paul, MN 55105
15 S 9th Street
Minneapolis, MN 55402
1200 Kenwood Ave
Duluth, MN 55811-4199
2900 University Ave
Crookston, MN 56716-5001
515 Darland Administration Bldg
Duluth, MN 55812
300 University Square 111 South Broadway
Rochester, MN 55904
100 Church Street SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455-0213
435 Ford Rd Ste 1000
Saint Louis Park, MN 55426-4915
155 Fifth Ave S- Suite 100
Minneapolis, MN 55401
