St. Cloud State University (SCSU) is a public university founded in 1869 above the Beaver Islands on the Mississippi River in St. Cloud, Minnesota, United States. The university is one of the largest schools in the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system, which is the largest provider of higher education in Minnesota.[9] A regional comprehensive university, SCSU has more than 14,000 students[10] and nearly 110,000 alumni.[11]