University of Minnesota Regents approve biggest tuition hike in a decade
MINNEAPOLIS — It'll be more costly to attend the University of Minnesota next fall.
During Thursday's Board of Regents meeting, the board at the U of M approved a 4.5% tuition increase for students attending the school's Twin Cities' campus. The hike comes part of settling and approving a $5 billion budget.
Several board members expressed concern over the tuition hike during Thursday's meeting.
"No one likes to see tuition increases, and that conversation to me goes hand in hand in maintaining quality," said board member Mary Davenport during Thursday's meeting.
"This is probably the hardest budget that I've had to look at in my time here on the board. My greatest challenge is kind of putting the burden on students," said board member Bo Thao-Urabe. "I want to support what's being presented, but I'm really struggling with what feels like a significant increase to students."
This puts in-state tuition next year at the U of M ($17,190 in-state/$37,802 out-of-state) far ahead of other Midwest flagship schools like Purdue ($9,992/$28,794), Nebraska ($10,108/$27,748), Iowa ($10,964/$32,927), and Wisconsin ($11,606/$42,104).
"It's definitely going to be tricky, I'm going to definitely have to pick up more loans for sure," said U of M student Kamal Bhakta.
"I just think it's not fair for students. I know our loans are already crazy expensive," said U of M student Anika Hammill.
The Regents say they hope programs like the North Star Promise, which covers tuition for those whose families make less than 80-thousand dollars a year, can help all students afford classes.