MOORHEAD — Minnesota’s public colleges and universities are preparing for what could be the largest tuition increases in a decade as the state system works to balance its budget.
The Minnesota State Board of Trustees is considering tuition hikes of up to 9% per year over the next two years. Officials say rising inflation, a decline in state funding and previous tuition revenue shortfalls are all factors in the ongoing deliberations.
“There will be considerable amount of deliberations that occur over the next two months before final decisions are made,” said Bill Maki, vice chancellor of finance for Minnesota State.
The average cost of tuition at a four-year campus like Minnesota State University Moorhead is currently about $10,000 per year before financial aid. At a two-year technical college like Minnesota State Community and Technical College, the average cost is closer to $6,000.
M State President Carrie Brimhall said it’s already common for cost to influence the kind of higher education students pursue.
“They're very aware of student loan debt and very aware of wanting to use that debt, if they need to take out loans, they want to make sure that the ROI (return on investment) is there,” Brimhall said.
Each of the 33 institutions within the Minnesota State system will submit their own tuition proposals, based on feedback from student government leaders. Final rates are expected to be set by June 18.
Maki said that while proposals have ranged from 3.5% to as high as 9%, trustees expressed concern about the higher end of that range.
“I anticipate that the results are likely to be somewhere within that range, and I would say from that discussion, it was clear that the board was not comfortable with the upper end of that range,” Maki said.
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Brimhall advises families to begin college planning early if rising costs are a concern. She also emphasized that financial aid and scholarships will continue to be available.
“It's really important that parents just breathe, take a step back, start asking questions, find somebody they trust to start asking those questions to, and try to get the numbers on paper,” she said. “College is affordable for a lot of families that don't realize that.”
Maki added that the system still anticipates offering the North Star Promise, which waives tuition costs for eligible students.
The board is expected to revisit tuition discussions in May.
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