MnSCU's board holds off on setting tuition

Trustees delayed setting the system's budget, including tuition increases, to May, when they will know how much money they will lose in the state budget.

By JEFF SHELMAN, Star Tribune

Last update: March 18, 2008 - 9:06 PM

Hoping to keep its promise of minimal tuition increases, the Minnesota State College and University Board of Trustees postponed setting tuition this week until after learning how deep the cuts to the system's budget will be.

Today, the trustees were slated to approve the budget for next school year and tuition increases of 2 percent at two-year colleges and 3 percent at four-year universities. On Tuesday, however, MnSCU's finance committee pushed off budget approval until May.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty's proposed budget cuts more than $50 million from higher education. That would mean MnSCU would have to cut staff, delay initiatives or charge students more to enroll.

"We're hopeful that as they deliberate this, we won't be saddled with a $26 million reduction because there's just no easy way to get out of it," said trustee Clarence Hightower, who chairs the finance committee.

"We know that students have been clobbered with tuition increases the last few years. We felt great when we thought we were going to be able to hold it at 2 and 3 percent. We have not backed down from that, but we also know that there are some things that have to be resolved at the State Capitol so that we can honor that commitment."

Later Tuesday, several DFL legislators criticized Pawlenty for the proposed changes to higher education funding, saying that students are being asked to pay too much.

"You can't just balance the state budget on the backs of students," said. Sen. Sandy Pappas, DFL-St. Paul.

Rep. Tom Rukavina, DFL-Virginia, said he will do what he can as chairman of the House's Higher Education and Work Force Development Policy and Finance Division to keep tuition down.

Rukavina hopes to reduce cuts to MnSCU and the University of Minnesota to $6 million to $8 million each. He said he would free up more money for higher education through cuts to the budgets of the Department of Labor and Industry and the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.

Rukavina would like MnSCU to spend some of the millions it earmarked for technology upgrades to absorb the cuts rather than pass the burden on to students.

Jeff Shelman • 612-673-7478