The more than 40-year-old tuition agreement between Minnesota and Wisconsin has turned into a good financial deal for Minnesota students, while Wisconsin officials are working to reduce the program's cost.
Wisconsin paid $12.9 million to the state of Minnesota and its colleges and universities for the 10,301 Wisconsin students who went west for the 2009-10 school year, according to a report released Wednesday.
That was the largest tab since at least 1975. It includes $9 million to the state's general fund, $3.4 million to the University of Minnesota and $457,000 to the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system.
It was also the first time in 10 years the tuition payments of the 14,152 Minnesota students who went east covered the program's costs without needing state support, the Minnesota Office of Higher Education reported.
Analyst Jack Rayburn, who wrote the report, said it's mostly a function of tuitions in Minnesota rising faster than the cost of providing an education at colleges and universities in Wisconsin.
"The behavior of each state when it comes to tuition really drives what's left for the state to pay," he said.
Under the agreement, students who cross the border generally pay the tuition they would pay if they went to school in their own state. The disparity arises because tuition is more expensive in Minnesota than Wisconsin.
Because the tuition Minnesota residents pay is more than Wisconsin charges, Wisconsin sent back about $4 million for 2009. Wisconsin paid again because the tuition its reciprocity students in Minnesota pay didn't cover what Minnesota charged.
