Minnesota / Office of Higher Education

Agency file

Office of Higher Education

Source file: Minnesota — State Employee Payroll / ingested Jun 18, 2026

The Office of Higher Education operates a public higher-education institution — instruction, research, and student services.

In 2025, this agency had 96 employees with median total compensation of $86,650; the highest distinct record was $178,451.

Year: 2025
Total payroll: $8.4M
Employees: 96
Median total: $86,650
Highest record: $178,451

What the records show

Compensation analytics

These summaries compare pay within the agency before listing individual records.

Salary distribution

$9,428$155,540+

Hover a bar for its range; click to filter the list below.

How 2025 total compensation is spread across the 96 employees. Each bar is a pay range; taller bars mean more people earn in that range. The amber line marks the median ($86,650) — half earn less, half more. The far-right bar collects the highest earners.

Average pay composition

Base — $85,574 (98%)
Overtime — $409 (0%)
Other — $1,207 (1%)
Benefits — $0 (0%)

What an average paycheck here is made of — base salary versus overtime, other pay (bonuses, allowances), and benefits. A large overtime or other-pay share means take-home often exceeds base salary.

Pay percentiles

10th

25th

Median

75th

90th

$49,356

$67,161

$86,650

$106,598

$127,141

The pay ladder for this department. Someone at the 90th percentile earns $127,141 — more than 90% of the department; the 10th percentile earns $49,356. The shaded band is the middle half of employees (25th–75th percentile).

Largest job titles

State Program Administrative Principal

13 · $87,892

12 · $66,604

10 · $118,174

8 · $98,900

6 · $130,842

The most common job titles in this department by headcount, with the median total compensation for each. Click a title to see everyone who holds it.

Trend

Year over year

How this department's total payroll, headcount, and median pay changed across the 2 published years.

Year	Total payroll	Employees	Median pay
2024	$7.3M —	98 —	$75,795 —
2025	$8.4M ▲ 14.7%	96 ▼ 2.0%	$86,650 ▲ 14.3%

Record list

Employees

Page 1

Laura Benson

Grants Specialist Senior/Office of Higher Education

2024 total comp

$80,894

Sub-department: Dual Trng MN GI Bill Ind Schd
Base pay: $80,894
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $80,894
Hire date: 2022-07-20
Employment type: Full-Time
Pay grade: 10
Union / bargaining unit: MN Assoc of Professional Empl
Pay basis: Hourly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Work county: Ramsey

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2024: Yes
Agency Number: E60
Bargaining Unit Number: 214
Branch: Executive
Branch Code: Executive
Classified Code: Classified
Classified Status: Classified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

At Office of Higher Education, Laura Benson serves as a Grants Specialist Senior within Dual Training MN Gi Bill Ind Schd. They have served since 2022 (about 2 years), working full-time. Their 2024 pay totaled $80,894. Union affiliation: MN Assoc of Professional Empl.

Crystal Kubat

Auditor Principal/Office of Higher Education

2025 total comp

$80,082

Sub-department: Auditing
Base pay: $80,082
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $80,082
Hire date: 2016-09-26
Employment type: Full-Time
Pay grade: 15
Union / bargaining unit: MN Assoc of Professional Empl
Pay basis: Hourly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Work county: Ramsey

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2025: Yes
Agency Number: E60
Bargaining Unit Number: 214
Branch: Executive
Branch Code: Executive
Classified Code: Classified
Classified Status: Classified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

Crystal Kubat is a Auditor Principal at Office of Higher Education within Auditing. Their tenure dates to 2016, about 9 years, working full-time. 2025 total compensation came to $80,082. Union affiliation: MN Assoc of Professional Empl.

Veronica Grimsley

Ohe Senior Manager/Office of Higher Education

2025 total comp

$78,294

Sub-department: Get Ready Program
Base pay: $71,752
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $6,542
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $78,294
Hire date: 2018-03-05
Employment type: Full-Time
Pay grade: 5
Union / bargaining unit: Manager
Pay basis: Hourly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Work county: Ramsey

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2025: No
Agency Number: E60
Bargaining Unit Number: 220
Branch: Executive
Branch Code: Executive
Classified Code: Unclassified
Classified Status: Unclassified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

Veronica Grimsley is a Ohe Senior Manager at Office of Higher Education within Get Ready Program. Hired in 2018, they have about 7 years of service, working full-time. 2025 total compensation came to $78,294. They are represented by Manager.

Lesley Sisaket

Ohe Administrator/Office of Higher Education

2025 total comp

$77,660

Sub-department: Research and Policy
Base pay: $76,211
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $1,449
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $77,660
Hire date: 2021-10-27
Employment type: Full-Time
Pay grade: 3
Union / bargaining unit: Severed
Pay basis: Hourly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Work county: Ramsey

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2025: Yes
Agency Number: E60
Bargaining Unit Number: 219
Branch: Executive
Branch Code: Executive
Classified Code: Unclassified
Classified Status: Unclassified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

At Office of Higher Education, Lesley Sisaket serves as a Ohe Administrator within Research and Policy. Their tenure dates to 2021, about 4 years, working full-time. Their 2025 pay totaled $77,660. Their bargaining unit is Severed.