As a graduate of the University of Minnesota and a member of the Higher Education Committee in the Minnesota House, I would like to extend my appreciation to university President Eric Kaler and the members of the Board of Regents for their commitment to higher education. Though we may disagree on various points, I appreciate the opportunity to engage in the conversation on tuition, most recently continued in the June 28 Star Tribune editorial "The right tuition plan for a talent magnet."
I'd like to address a few points from that editorial. Toward the end, it states that "bringing more students from outside … [is] helping to secure the prosperity of the state where a majority of them will work and live for decades to come."
I have not seen data that support that claim, yet I think the desire to attract out-of-state talent must be balanced with welcoming in-state residents. Minnesota high school students consistently rank among the best-educated in the nation. We can address the impending workforce shortage by making tuition more affordable for them and keeping them in Minnesota.
Unfortunately, we seem to be struggling with this. A report issued in January by the Minnesota State Demographic Center found that 21,000 young adults move to Minnesota each year to attend college or graduate school, but a greater number of Minnesota high school students, 29,000, leave the state each year to attend college elsewhere.
Considering their families are funding the university with their hard-earned tax dollars — the U is set to receive approximately $1.2 billion from Minnesota taxpayers this coming biennium — I believe it is important to offer a more equitable rate of tuition to our own students.
This belief is part of why freezing tuition for in-state residents is my — and several of my colleagues' — No. 1 priority for the university. However, when we asked repeatedly if reducing tuition was the U's No. 1 priority throughout our many committee hearings, the response was consistently that it was among the top priorities — but not No. 1.
It was also difficult to come to an agreement on the amount needed for a tuition freeze. When asked for more information on the budgeting system, university officials informed members of the Higher Education Committee that the system is complicated (which it is).
If freezing tuition is simply one of the U's top priorities, the school could request any amount — be it $65 million or $650 million — and say it needs that much to freeze tuition. Furthermore, the "needs" appeared to be determined by the status quo vs. innovative budgeting ideas and solutions.