In-state undergraduates face tuition hikes under University of Minnesota budget plan

In-state undergraduates at the University of Minnesota's Twin Cities campus will see a 3 percent tuition increase this fall, under a 2017-18 budget proposal released Friday by President Eric Kaler.

Also in the works under a plan to be discussed next week are 1 percent tuition hikes for in-state undergraduates at each of the university's four outstate campuses, plus tuition increases of 10 percent and 5.5 percent, respectively, for out-of-state students at the Twin Cities and Duluth campuses.

Earlier this year, Kaler had warned of a possible 10 percent hike for nonresidents, plus 5 percent for in-state students, if the state failed to deliver on the U's request for a $147 million funding increase over the next two years.

In an e-mail to alumni on Friday, Kaler noted that the U received "just $54.6 million" toward its "core needs," leaving the president and Board of Regents facing the prospect of a tuition increase and "some painful programmatic cuts" in the annual budget set for action on June 20.

He also pledged to continue to trim administrative costs.

If approved, tuition for an in-state undergraduate at the Twin Cities campus would rise by $376 to $12,992, while tuition for a nonresident undergraduate would see a $2,222 boost to $24,432. The 10 percent hike for nonresidents is part of a long-term plan to move the out-of-state tuition rate from the bottom of the Big Ten, the budget documents state. Several legislators have argued that state taxpayers are subsidizing out-of-state students at the expense of their own students.

Undergraduate tuition would increase for a third straight year after being frozen between 2012 and 2015 under an agreement then between the U and state legislators.

On the salary front, Kaler's budget seeks to "retain and recruit world-class faculty and staff through a budgeted 2 percent increase," the documents state.

The Board of Regents will take up the proposal for the first time on Thursday. The board also is inviting the public and university community to provide input on the proposal via its website. To learn more, go to: regents.umn.edu/2018-budget-feedback.

Staff Writer Maura Lerner contributed to this report.