At the Phyllis Wheatley Community Center on the Northside of Minneapolis, we’ve been creating pathways for individuals to discover their strengths and take control of their futures for over a century. We’ve walked with families through hard seasons and hopeful ones. We’ve seen what opens doors — and what quietly closes them.

Unfortunately, right now, we’re watching one of the most important pathways to opportunity slip further out of reach for the very people Minnesota says it wants to lift up.

Let’s be honest about who we’re talking about.

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This isn’t the 18-year-old moving into a dorm in Dinkytown. The folks we serve are working people. They’re home health aides coming off overnight shifts. They’re single moms balancing school drop-offs, work and everything else it takes to keep a household moving.

They’re young men from North Minneapolis who’ve been grinding since high school — taking jobs where they can find them but still holding onto the idea that higher education might be part of their future.

They’re not lacking drive. They’re not lacking talent. In many cases, they’ve already started college.

Across Minnesota, more than 600,000 people have some college experience but no credential. That’s not a motivation problem — that’s a systems problem. Somewhere along the way, we built a model that works for some but leaves too many others on the outside looking in.

And the biggest barrier isn’t what people think.

It’s not ambition. It’s access.

For many who we work with, education flexibility isn’t a nice-to-have — it’s the only way this works. If you’re working two shifts, you can’t be in a classroom three nights a week. If you don’t have reliable transportation, getting across the metro isn’t simple. If you’re carrying financial pressure, you can’t commit to years of full-time school with no clear payoff.

So the choice becomes real simple: find a program that fits your life — or don’t go at all.

That’s why flexible, affordable, career-aligned education matters so much. When done right — especially with accelerated pathways tied to real jobs — people can earn degrees at an accelerated pace. They can step into fields like health care, technology, and the skilled trades and see immediate gains. That’s not theory. We see it in our community. Paychecks go up. Stability improves. Families get breathing room.

And for Black and brown Minnesotans, this hits even deeper.

We know the history here. Under-resourced schools. Generational wealth gaps. Systems that weren’t built with our communities in mind. So, when something finally works — when people can actually complete a degree and move forward — we should be expanding those pathways, not making them harder to navigate.

Because when our people move forward, Minnesota moves forward.

You see it in stronger neighborhoods. You see it in reduced reliance on public systems. You see it in kids growing up in households where opportunity feels real, not theoretical.

There’s also a workforce reality we can’t ignore.

Across this state, employers are looking for talent — in health care, education, tech and the trades. At the same time, we’ve got hundreds of thousands of Minnesotans who are already partway there. They don’t need to start from scratch. They just need a system that meets them where they are and helps them finish.

That’s not a niche solution. That’s one of the smartest workforce strategies we’ve got.

At Phyllis Wheatley, we believe access to education — real access, not just in theory — is a public good. When we make it harder to reach, we don’t just slow down individuals. We hold back entire communities. We leave jobs unfilled. And we send a message, whether we mean to or not, about who this system is really built for.

The Legislature has an opportunity to change that by expanding access to flexible, online and career-connected education pathways that actually work for working adults. But that also means taking a clear-eyed look at recent, well-intentioned policy decisions that may be limiting those options today.

The Legislature has an opportunity this session to ensure that students and families continue to have access to a full range of high-quality, flexible learning options. That includes taking a thoughtful look at how recent policy changes may be narrowing pathways for institutions to partner with experienced program managers and deliver innovative programs that meet workforce needs.

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While these decisions may be well-intentioned, particularly around oversight and accountability, it is worth revisiting whether they have had the unintended effect of limiting access, slowing program development, or reducing opportunities for students — especially working adults and our friends in greater Minnesota.

Lawmakers should focus on preserving flexibility for education access while maintaining strong standards, ensuring Minnesota remains competitive in attracting and retaining learners — our future workforce. 

Minnesota has never lacked talent. What we’ve lacked, at times, is the willingness to meet people where they are and build systems that reflect the reality of how folks live and work today.

Our learners are ready.

The question is whether our institutions — and our policymakers — are.

Bryan Tyner, EFO, is chief executive officer of the Phillis Wheatley Community Center. 

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