The office shall be under the administrative control of the commissioner. The commissioner shall serve in the unclassified service of the state civil service. The commissioner, or the commissioner's designated representative, on behalf of the office is authorized to sign contracts and execute all instruments necessary or appropriate to carry out the purposes of sections 136A.01 to 136A.178 for the office. The salary of the commissioner shall be established according to section 15A.0815. The commissioner may appoint other professional employees who shall serve in the unclassified service of the state civil service. All other employees shall be in the classified civil service.
An employee appointed by the commissioner to serve in the unclassified service as provided in this section must be a person who has studied higher education or a related field at the graduate level or has similar experience and who is qualified for a career in financial aid and other aspects of higher education and for activities in keeping with the planning and administrative responsibilities of the office and who is appointed to assume responsibility for administration of educational programs or research in matters of higher education.
History:1965 c 809 s 32 subd 6; 1967 c 615 s 1; 1967 c 895 s 3; 1975 c 271 s 6; 1983 c 299 s 21; 1986 c 444; 1995 c 212 art 3 s 11; 1997 c 183 art 3 s 11; 2Sp1997 c 3 s 18; 2003 c 133 art 2 s 5; 2005 c 107 art 2 s 60; 2013 c 99 art 2 s 29; 2014 c 149 s 5